A good explanation of the Total Elimination Diet (TED) is on Dr. Sear’s website at http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-eating/feeding-infants-toddlers/food-allergies/elimination-diet.
The basic TED foods are:
- Turkey
- Lamb
- Rice
- Sweet Potato
- White Potato
- Zucchini
- Yellow Squash
- Pears
- Most moms use sea salt, pepper, and olive oil while other moms include additional spices, sugars, and other oils.
- Some moms use only “green and yellow squash” (as per the Dr. Sears information) while other moms include all forms of squash (winter squash, etc.).
Most moms take a multivitamin and additional calcium. However, you must read the labels carefully to avoid dairy, soy, or other ingredients that cause problems for you/your child.
You will likely be hungry when first starting the TED. Eat often! Always try to have food already prepared and available to reheat. The food cravings will lessen and the diet becomes easier as you get used to the routine and you (hopefully) see positive changes in your child.
Since weight loss is a problem for many TED moms (hard as that might be to believe), look for ways to add calories to your diet – sauté your veggies in oil, deep-fat fry foods, add oil to foods (like on your veggies or potatoes), use oil liberally when cooking your meat, etc.
Depending on your baby’s symptoms, it may take a number of days or weeks to see improvements. If your little one is having bloody/mucousy stools, remember that it will take time for the GI tract to heal. Also, it may take 2-3 weeks before all of the offending proteins are fully out of your breastmilk.
Hope this helps you as you start TED.
Dianne
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