ED - Elimination diet

In an elimination diet, you will be eliminating all common allergens to see if symptoms improve. There are many forms of an elimination diet (check some of the books I listed in the Books link).
A common elimination diet for food allergies might eliminate:

• the top 8 allergens - milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat (I recommend cutting gluten altogether)
• corn - this is not in the top 8, but because this government subsidized crop has made it's way into almost every processed food and is inadvertently consumed daily by many Americans, it is quickly becoming a common allergen
  
• nightshade vegetables - potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers (hot and sweet)
• nightshades are a common source of inflammation in the body, so although they might not be causing an allergic reaction, they can add to the reaction from other foods
• refined sugars - can worsen a yeast problem and/or feed bad bacteria in your gut
  
• food dyes and preservatives - these are common sources of allergy problems in children
  

An ED is for SHORT-TERM USE ONLY. Most practitioners recommend doing an ED for about 10 days. If there is no improvement of symptoms, you should return to eating normally. If you do see an improvement, you can start the trialing period of the diet.

Trialing foods - Again, if you suspect an IgE/anaphylactic allergy, DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME. Trials should only be done in a doctor's office. For food intolerances, you can trial a food by eating it for 4 days (at least 1-2 servings a day) and watching for symptoms. If, at the end of 4 days, you don't notice any new symptoms, you can assume that food is 'safe' and add it to your diet. Keep trialing foods until you are back to a sufficient, healthy diet.