A very useful exclusion diet is the nut- and pip-free diet. This is a wide group of foods and includes a number of common allergens. Some members of this group can come as a surprise: for example, coffee is a nut.
It is an ambitious diet: it is recommended that you don’t go on it until you have established a number of alternative safe foods, such as rice, rye, millet or quinoa.
Otherwise you may find yourself with very little to eat. The following foods must be strictly avoided for a short test period:
- Tomatoes, sauce, purees
- Apples, pears, plums, damsons, cherries, apricots, peaches
- Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants
- Oranges, lemons, other citrus fruits, marmalade and all fruit juices, squash, fruit-flavored drinks
- All varieties of fizzy drinks, including cola
- Jellies, instant puddings
- Chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and coffee ‘creamers’
- Grapes, sultanas, raisins, currants, prunes, figs, dates
- Nuts, coconut, marzipan, macaroons
- Peas, beans, lentils, soya, peanuts
- Melon, cucumber, marrow
- Spices, pepper, mustard, curry
- Cooking oils of all kinds and soft margarines
- All herbs (including mint)
- Bananas, pineapple