Reset Diet

The reset diet is like a mini-fast and can be incredibly reparative and anti-inflammatory. It gives your body a rest from digesting and a chance to start healing.

It's like hitting the reset button, helping you get back on track quickly!

It can work wonders to calm down symptoms and allow your gut to heal quickly.

Symptoms that might improve during the reset diet include:

Digestive symptoms such as gas & bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, and reflux... and other symptoms like fatigue, skin issues, anxiety, joint pain, headaches, etc.

Tracking your progress:

If you haven't done this already, we highly recommend filling in the symptom's tracker before starting the reset diet and then weekly after that to follow your progress.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE RESET DIET RECIPES EBOOK


HOW LONG SHOULD YOU DO THE RESET DIET

You can do the reset diet for 2 to 7 days. It depends on how well you feel while doing it. Most people will feel a bit off during the first day or two and then start feeling better.

You can also come back to the reset diet multiple times during this process, even when you are in Phase 2 or 3.

Good reasons to come back to the Reset diet:

  • You are experiencing a set back. This will help to reset your system quickly.
  • As a way to speed up healing. The more you do it, the quicker you will heal.

DRINKS ALLOWED DURING THE RESET DIET

  • Water
  • Homemade Bone Broth (see below if you have histamine intolerance)
  • Elemental Diet Shake (Australia: ElementGold, USA: Elemental Heal)
  • If you can't go without coffee... we would recommend black decaf, 1 cup per day!

WHAT WILL YOU EAT

You have two great options:

Option 1-Soup Reset

Your choice between chicken soup, pumpkin soup, carrot soup, slow cooked beef and bone broth.

You could also replace 1 meal per day with an elemental diet shake. Click here to learn more about the elemental diet.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SOUP RESET RECIPES EBOOK

You can eat as much as you want.

Option 2-Elemental Reset

You could also eat nothing but the elemental diet shake during the reset diet. The elemental diet is a treatment option for SIBO, when done for 2-3 weeks. However, it will also be very healing even if you do it for only a few days.

This is a fantastic option for a few reasons:

  • No need for cooking... great if you are time poor or too tired to prep.
  • As the food is in a 'pre-digested' form, it really gives your digestive system a break and allows for very fast healing.
  • It's a very good way to start starving the bad bacteria in your small intestine (great for SIBO) as the food is absorbed very quickly.
  • If you have severe food sensitivity/intolerance, this is the best option for you.

We recommend the following elemental shakes:

Australia:

ElementGold WHEY

Element Gold VEGAN

USA: Elemental Heal

Each tub has 10 serves in it. You'll need approximately 1 tub for 2-3 days, depending on how many shakes per day you consume. Most people need 4 serves per day. If you tend to have a big appetite, you might want to plan for more.

For more information on the Elemental Diet, go here.

A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES

Die-off Reactions: You might experience a ‘die-off reaction’ during the reset diet, which is perfectly normal. Please refer to the section Understand Detox Reactions and the Die-Off Rescue Kit.

Fatigue and Blood Sugar Imbalance: If you tend to feel tired and irritable when going a long time between meals (a sign of low blood sugar), or if you suffer from fatigue, we recommend eating every 2 hours to keep your blood sugar balanced.

Food Chemical Sensitivities: Many people with gut issues develop a sensitivity to food chemicals. Scroll down to see our tips to make the Soup Reset 'Supersafe' (low in histamine and salicylates). We recommend that everybody follows these tips the first time they do the Soup Reset, whether or not you have a known food chemical sensitivity. You could also choose to do the Elemental Reset instead.

Curious about food chemicals.... Read More Here

Constipation: If you have a tendency towards constipation, we recommend using one of the supplements or techniques in this section during the reset diet: Constipation Rescue Kit

THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOUR START THE RESET DIET

While you’re preparing for the reset diet, it’s a great idea to stock up on what you need for the Die-Off Rescue Kit, and the Constipation Rescue Kit to make sure you have the supplements and equipment you require, if needed. For example: do you have an enema kit, epsom salts, a binder or a supplement to stimulate bowel movement if you are prone to constipation? 

It’s also a good idea to start reducing caffeine (tea and coffee) during this preparation phase. The reset diet is the only time during the program where we recommend going completely caffeine free. Refer back to the section Coffee and Alcohol for more information.

If you are used to drinking lots of coffee and/or tea, we recommend you take a few days to progressively lower your consumption, this will minimise the usual withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and irritability.

Reduce by 1/4 to 1/2 cup every day.

HOW TO PLAN AND PREPARE FOR THE SOUP RESET

We highly recommend that you prepare all your meals in advance before starting the soup reset. This will allow you to rest as much as you need to... and you will enjoy a stress-free week!

When you’re trying to live with ‘brain fog’ and fatigue, it can be very difficult to wrap your head around the planning and execution of the meal preparation that is required to support your recovery. 

You want to allow yourself plenty of time to prepare both mentally and physically for the reset diet.

You will therefore find a suggested plan below to make things easier for you. This way, you can conserve some of the energy your body will need to progress through the reset diet.

Alternatively, if it all seems like too much, you can choose to do the Elemental Reset instead.

Keep your energy levels in mind as you consider how you will prepare your meals. Pushing yourself to do it all at once could lead to exhaustion and then reluctance to want to do the reset diet again if required. Remember, there’s no rush. If you need to have a rest day in between each day below, that’s okay! Relax and pace yourself. 

Here’s an example of how you could plan your meal preparation:


Based on the example above, create your own unique plan that will respect your current energy levels and lifestyle.

A few extra tips:

  • Make sure you have plenty of room in your fridge and freezer and enough storage containers. Souper Cubes are great to freeze broths and soups.
  • If you make enough for more than 2-3 days, it's best to freeze (freezing is essential if you have histamine intolerance, see the 'Supersafe' reset diet tips below.) We recommend freezing in serving portion sizes, e.g., 1 cup. 

Here are some extra tips to make the Soup Reset SUPERSAFE - aka - LOW IN FOOD CHEMICALS AND FODMAPs.

It's important for you to know that not everyone with gut issues will be sensitive to food chemicals. However, because it's fairly common, we believe that everybody should at least try a few weeks on a low food chemical diet to see how they feel.

This is why we recommend that when starting this program and doing the reset diet for the first time, you follow the Supersafe tips. You will continue a low food chemical diet after the reset diet, by following the Supersafe diet.

However, if you do it later in the program and you know you DON'T have a food chemical sensitivity, then you don't need to follow these extra tips.

* Remember that the Elemental Reset is also an excellent Supersafe option!

WHO IS THE SUPERSAFE RESET DIET FOR?

  • Everybody doing the reset diet for the first time (at the beginning of the program).
  • If you know or suspect you have a sensitivity to histamine and/or salicylates.
  • If you have any of the common histamine or salicylates sensitivity symptoms; including headaches, itchiness, hives, rashes, flushing, racing heart, symptoms resembling anxiety or panic attacks, nasal congestion, etc. You can read more about symptoms of food chemical sensitivities here.

TIPS TO LOWER SALICYLATES AND HISTAMINE FOR THE RESET DIET

The Reset Diet is naturally low in oxalates, which is why there are no specific recommendations here regarding oxalates (read more about oxalates here).

We have also included these tips in the recipes to make it as easy as possible, under the 'Supersafe' icon.

To lower salicylates:

  • All herbs and spices, including pepper, are very high in salicylates. You can omit or reduce the amount of herbs and spices in all of the recipes. Try using one bay leaf and a small amount (1/4 - 1/2 tsp) of 1 herb only for each meal. Chives, parsley and saffron are lowest in food chemicals.
  • Ginger and lemon are very high in salicylates. You therefore may have to avoid the Pickled Ginger.

To lower histamine:

  • Ask your butcher for the freshest whole chicken, beef cheeks and marrow bones/chicken frames possible. It's best to go into your butcher on the day that they receive their delivery of these items; or ask your butcher to freeze them for you on the day that they receive their delivery. Meat goes up in histamine as it ages, so the fresher the better! Supermarket meat and vacuum packed meat is best avoided.
  • It's best to cook your soups and bone broths on your stove top, not in a slow cooker, as a slow cooker increases cooking times and therefore histamines.
  • Once cooked, cool immediately (as quickly as possible); for example: under the air conditioning or in the fridge. Freeze within 30 mins of straining and filling your jars etc (unless you are going to consume some on the same day). Left overs accumulate histamines. You want all of your meals to be as fresh as possible (eaten on the same day as cooking) or frozen. Do not eat left overs from the fridge the next day if you have histamine intolerance issues (this includes your vegetable soups).
  • Partially defrost your meals in cold water in the sink and then transfer them to the fridge. It's best to reheat your meals while they still have some small pieces of ice left in them. 
  • All vinegars are high in histamines (because they are fermented). Omit or reduce the amount of apple cider vinegar to 1 tsp.
  • All citrus are histamine liberators. You therefore may have to avoid the Pickled Ginger.

For more tips on the appropriate handling and preparation of foods for low histamine success, visit the Histamine Success Food Handling & Preparation Guide section.

RECIPES

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SOUP RESET RECIPES EBOOK

WHAT'S NEXT?

Once you have done the Reset Diet for 2 to 7 days, transition to the Supersafe Diet.

Complete and Continue