I used to be exactly where you are,
frustrated. Scared. Confused.
And looking for help.
Does any of this sound familiar?
If you’ve made it to my website, I applaud you for having the courage to seek out additional resources, that before now weren’t available to everyday people like you and me.
Let me tell you where my credibility comes from, and no I am not a doctor or a nurse, or a nutritionist.
I am not a gastroenterologist nor do I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology or immunology.
In fact, you should not really take anything I say as medical advice.
The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Please, always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here.
After all, this is just a recount of my experience with EoE, the tips tricks, and the diet I followed to clear my EoE symptoms.
It's my hope that my experiences and the lessons I've learned can help others with EoE find their Perfect EoE Diet and clear EoE from their lives.
About My EoE Journey
My diagnosis of Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) came in 2019, after a lifetime of symptoms that doctors chalked up to anything but EoE.
I heard every diagnosis possible.
Everything from ‘mental health issues' to constipation… yeah, seriously.
I had symptoms related to EoE since I was 2 years old when the doctors told my mom that I should go on a diet consisting of entirely peanut-flavored energy bars and keep from laughing because it had a tendency to make me throw up.
It went on like that for years.
From one doctor to the next. One “remedy” to another.
Until I figured out my perfect EoE diet.
I was lucky enough to receive my care and treatment at the Mayo Clinic, one of the most renowned, innovative, and cutting-edge hospitals in the US.
Most of the information presented here was given to me by world-class doctors, nurses, and nutritionists that guided me through the steps I needed to take to identify what was causing my EoE and eliminate it from my life, forever.
How My EoE Life is now
Eliminating the root cause of my EoE eliminated my symptoms, and has allowed me to go on to finish my Master's degree from a prestigious school, start my job at a great company where I work full time, and move in with my girlfriend of almost two years now.
If I hadn’t been able to eliminate my symptoms (and eosinophil count from the places they didn’t belong) with my Perfect EoE Diet I don't think I would have been able to break through and succeed.
The rest of the information I’ll share with you is what I had to learn the hard (and painful) way.
My goal in making this is that you don’t have to go through years and trial and error, doctors' visits, pointless skin-prick allergy testing, wondering, and questions that I did.
(a photo from the pointless, painful, confusing, and itchy skin prick allergy testing)
Let me stop here and re-emphasize: this entire set of resources is what helped me.
This is a personal collection and recount of the steps I took to clear my EoE.
This is absolutely in no way medical advice (as I mentioned, I am not a medical professional in any way).
This is not medical advice or treatment advice and certainly is not a claim for a miraculous cure.
Anything I suggest here is what I did, and I strongly recommend checking with your doctor before implementing anything I will tell you about in this set of resources.
But don't worry, this is not a collection of voodoo or a weird ancient cure-all remedy.
These are things that nobody told me about when I started my EoE journey that kept me from getting better.
As soon as I implemented them, my progress toward clearing my EoE count and symptoms rapidly progressed.
Nowadays, EoE is becoming slightly more common (although it is still considered a rare autoimmune disease).
After all, NORD (the National Organization for Rare Diseases) claims the disease affects 1 in 2,000 individuals.
This is a collection of information and resources that I wish I had when I was diagnosed and sent home without as much as a pamphlet of helpful information.
When the docs finally found out that I had EoE, (along with Eosinophilic gastritis and eosinophilic duodenitis (EG/EoD)) they sent me home and told me that I would have to go to a hospital like the Mayo Clinic because they had no idea how to treat EoE.
That’s it.
Seriously…
I had anything but peace of mind that I was going to be able to get better.
Almost two years later I was able to get into the Mayo Clinic and 6 months after that completely cleared my EoE.
I went from feeling horrible every day to great in a matter of months.
You can too!
My goal is to condense the 4 years of trial and error, Zoom and in-clinic doctor visits, countless endoscopies (8 so far), and (no exaggeration) thousands of hours of research into some simple and actionable tips that you can start to use today.
Here are 6 EoE Diet Secrets That They (probably) Didn't Tell You.
EoE Diet Secret #1:
Flip It Around
When you have EoE, you can't take anything for granted.
You need to know what's in every single food you eat, especially during your 6-food elimination diet and reintroduction phase.
I'm sorry to say this - but long gone are the days when you could eat any packaged food without flipping it around and reading the nutrition label and ingredient statement, thoroughly.
It's a bit of a learning curve at first, but you'll get used to it soon enough.
And no, nobody is going to think you're a weirdo at the grocery store.
People are becoming more health conscious these days anyway, so it's no big deal to flip your package around and give the ingredients a once over.
In a perfect world, we would all eat 100% percent non-processed and non-packaged foods. But with work, relationships, family, pets, etc., that isn't possible 100% of the time.
If you are going to continue to eat packaged foods (like me and the rest of the United States), no worries!
Just flip it around and give the ingredient statement a thorough read to make sure none of the foods you are currently eliminating in your 6-food elimination diet are hidden in the ingredient statement.
EoE Diet Secret #2:
Watch Out For Preservatives and Thickeners
EoE Diet Secret #2 is a tricky one.
And it can completely derail your EoE Diet if you don't watch out for it.
If you don't know which ingredients major food companies inject into their products to enhance their flavor, shelf life, or texture (or most often, all three), that are potential allergen trigger, you could be in for EoE trouble.
More often than not, these ingredients have to be sourced in the cheapest possible way, which means these ingredients are extracted from major offenders of EoE.
For instance, a common thickener, Xanthum Gum, is often included in salad dressings, soups, sauces, and baked goods. It helps these products have the desired consistency.
Unfortunately for us, xanthan gum may be made from one of a number of common allergens, such as wheat or dairy.
Preservatives and thickeners are sneaky offenders that can trigger an allergic response in individuals with EoE.
In fact, even if you do everything else correctly with your EoE Diet these seemingly innocent ingredients can cause major harm.
EoE Diet Secret #3:
Now Is Not forever
Okay, this isn't really a secret, but it's worth mentioning because I promise you that now is not forever.
If you have trouble swallowing, or pain from your EoE right, now is not forever.
As you progress along your EoE journey and discover your perfect EoE Diet your symptoms will lessen, if not completely disappear.
I say this as a broad statement.
We have seen cases, where diet intervention alone is not sufficient and more drastic interventions are required.
For those people - we stand alongside you as medical research is happening.
Now is not forever.
My opinion is that if you are able to clear your EoE with a diet alone, that should always be your first plan of attack.
The EoE diet is strict, difficult to adjust to, and overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be (more on that later).
Just remember, now is not forever.
You will get through this.
EoE Diet Secret #4:
How to do restaurants
Restaurants are hard to do with EoE.
Period.
For starters, you never know what is actually in each of the sub-components of your dish.
Flour (aka wheat) is often used to thicken sauces or coat a piece of meat before it goes on the skillet.
Hopefully, that piece of meat wasn't marinated in buttermilk (aka dairy) overnight.
Think you have to order tofu to get a good dose of soy?
Nope!
Soy sauce can be used in sauces and even soups to enhance the flavor.
Oh and not to mention cross-contamination in the kitchen.
The reuse of cooking utensils, pots, pans, cutting boards, and prep surfaces all open the door to cross-contamination of your otherwise good-to-go food.
It's just too difficult to maintain a strict EoE diet and eat out.
I say this from first-hand experience trying to clear my EoE and eat out at my favorite restaurants (ahem..Chipotle) at the same time.
That being said, if you are going to eat out here are some Eating Out with EoE secrets I've learned:
- Scour the menu beforehand using websites like AllergyEats.com and Yelp to make a game plan
- Choose health-focused restaurants, salad places, and steakhouses (it's way easier to find an 'allergy free' dish at places like this because of the simplicity of the dish)
- Tell Your your waiter/waitress about your allergies or which foods you are are avoiding! It's better to risk an eye roll than to risk your progress towards clearing your EoE
EoE Diet Secret #5:
How to Still Eat like a king (or queen)
Doc (at my first EoE-clear endoscopy at the Mayo Clinic after implementing my Perfect EoE Diet ): "So, how did your elimination diet go?"
Me: "Oh it was fine, thanks for asking!"
Doc: "I feel so bad that you had to go through that, I couldn't ever force myself to do an elimination diet... I love my food too much!"
Me: "You know it actually wasn't bad.. in fact, I think I ate better, more delicious, and healthier meals during my 6-Food Elimination Diet than I ever did before."
Doc: "Really? Well, I don't know how you did it. A lot of my patients report that they have an extremely difficult time with the diet"
Did you catch that last part? ... "A lot of my patients report that they have an extremely difficult time with the diet"
I was not one of them and I don't want you to be either!
There are so many ways that you can slightly adjust your diet using a few simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-implement tweaks that will make you forget you are on an elimination diet at all.
In fact, I think you'll be so satisfied with the foods you are eating once you implement your Perfect EoE Diet that your diet will never be the same.
Yes! That is a cause to celebrate!
You do not have to eat bland boiled chicken and white rice during your 6-Food Elimination Diet for EoE.
In fact, here are some of the dishes I discovered and incorporated into my Perfect EoE Diet:
- (No-sugar and Soy Free) Ginger Beef and Broccoli
- Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice with Turmeric
- Spicy Chipotle Chicken with Peach Salsa
- EoE Safe Chocolate Brownie Waffles
- Green Smoothie (way better than It sounds)
- Bison Meatball Spaghetti Squash Boats
- EoE Safe 'Cookie Dough' Chocolate Overnight Oats
- and the list goes on and on...
Food is an important and vital part of life, and you shouldn't have to miss out on eating wholesome, delicious food just because of a temporary elimination diet.
While I was on my EoE 6-Food Elimination Diet (which lasted a little over a year and a half for me) I never accepted that I wouldn't be able to eat delicious and healthy meals that were:
- Quick and easy to prepare
- Inexpensive (important, because Elimination Diet can get expensive quickly if you eat the wrong foods)
- Tasted delicious
- Were satisfying and left me feeling full
- Full of variety (so I never got bored with any single meal)
- So good that the whole family would eat it (and ask for seconds)
- Able to be batch cooked on a weekend for meal prep
- Was able to provide me with all of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients I needed to stay healthy
You can do it too.
But wait!
What is all of this was already done for you...
Your perfect EoE Diet Plan
6 Food Elimination Diet Plans
Here's what you get:
V1 of 6FoodEliminationDiet.Org's Complete Elimination Diet Solution Starter Pack: Everything You Need to Jumpstart Your Diet
- Eating Out Tips: A complete guide $297 (Value)
- 6 Food Elimination Diet Recipe Book: Tons of delicious recipes! $997 (Value)
- Hidden Allergen Report Sneaky additives to avoid $497 (Value)
Total value: $1,791
Today Just: $79
YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH
Let Us Handle Your Diet
It can be scary to start a 6 Food Elimination Diet. From hidden allergens in your favorite foods to wondering if you'll ever be able to eat at a restaurant again.
Get a jumpstart on your diet with our 6 Food Elimination Diet Plans, Eating Out Tips, and, Hidden Allergy Report.
- Trial and Error: Includes 4+ years and thousands of hours of research
- Experience Counts: Made by fellow EoE patients
- Why Wait? The sooner we find your perfect EoE Diet, the sooner you can get back to your life!