FIRST A LITTLE RECAP

So far, in the Supersafe and Safe diet, you have eaten foods low in:

• Most common food triggers (gluten, dairy, soy products, eggs, nuts & seeds, corn, nightshades, sugar)
• FODMAPs, grains & starches
• Food chemicals

The goal was to reduce your symptoms as much as possible, reduce the inflammation in your gut, body and brain, and also allow some time for your gut to rest and recover.

You've also 'emptied' your food chemical bucket.

And finally, you have started to restore your microbiome by reducing the population of 'bad bacteria' in your gut, and establishing a healthy environment for the good bacteria to thrive.

WHAT IS THE ADVENTUROUS DIET

This is where the adventure truly begins! Like any adventure, there will be challenges, ups and downs and of course the fun times.

The adventurous diet is where you will be trying many new foods. This is where you'll really start to figure out what your body likes.... and doesn't like!

Here, you'll start to create your very own 'ideal' diet.

As you know, there is more than one way to climb a mountain... this is also true for the adventurous diet. You'll find what works for you as you start experimenting.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU'RE READY FOR THE GREAT ADVENTURE

It’s better to wait until most of your symptoms have improved, otherwise it will be hard to tell if those new foods are having a negative impact on you or not.

However, you can't expect all of your symptoms to go away completely, so as long as some improvements have happened, it should be OK to start the ADVENTUROUS DIET, where you will be trying many new foods.

Your symptoms will keep improving as you go along, unless you reintroduce a food that does not agree with you!

Example of someone who is ready to start the adventure:

When starting the program, your main symptoms were bloating and fatigue. You've been on the Supersafe and Safe diet for about 6 weeks. Your bloating has reduced significantly, although you still have a little bit every now and then. You also noticed that your energy levels have improved and you can get more done.

This person would be ready for the adventurous diet, as it should be fairly easy for them to notice if their bloating gets worse when they try certain foods, and if their energy levels go down.

IMPORTANT NOTES: If you're not improving or struggling to reintroduce foods, we recommend getting extra support.

WHICH TYPE ARE YOU?

1- THE ENTHUSIASTIC

This is probably the most difficult part of the program for many people... it's very easy to get carried away and go too fast, trying too many new foods at a time, only to become confused as to which food caused your symptoms to return. It's very tempting to rush this step, we know because we have done it more than once ourselves, and many of our clients do the same.

Trust us.... slow & steady will win the race!

2- THE CAUTIOUS

For some people, the idea of reintroducing food might feel a bit scary. You might be fearful that trying new foods will get you feeling terrible again. This is totally understandable if you have been feeling bad for a long time and are finally feeling better. However, staying too long on a very restricted diet can be damaging for your immune system and your gut microbiome, let alone your mood!

If you're a bit fearful, start with introducing small amounts of one new food at a time. This will be very beneficial for you in many ways, so don't be afraid.

SO... WHAT'S ON YOUR ADVENTURE ITINERARY

There will be three different stages for you to explore so that you can figure out what foods are contributing to your symptoms.

• Trigger Foods
• FODMAPs
• Food Chemicals

Some people will discover that FODMAPs are a major issue, while others may be surprised to discover that Food Chemicals have been the problem all along.

Which one should you try first?

This is really up to you. However, from our experience, people with a lot of digestive symptoms are more likely to react to high FODMAP foods... while those with more systemic symptoms (like fatigue, joint pain, headaches, skin issues etc) are more likely to react to trigger foods and food chemicals.

If like many people, you have issues with all of these, let your intuition be the guide. Trust that no matter where you start, either way, it will be okay.

This is not set in stone, but as a general rule, it might be best to start with the one that is LESS likely to be problematic for you.

Another way to decide is to think about the foods that you either miss the most or that would make your life easier.

TEST YOUR TOLERANCE TO TRIGGER FOODS

Here we will test your sensitivity to the most common trigger foods which you eliminated in the Supersafe and Safe diets.

Because these foods are not 'bad' for you if you're not reacting to them, we want you to reintroduce as many of these foods as possible.

This will allow for you to enjoy more flexibility in your diet.

Click here to get started with your trigger foods mini-adventure

TEST YOUR TOLERANCE TO HIGH FODMAPS FOODS

The goal here is to test your tolerance to the various fermentable sugars found in high FODMAPs foods. Most people only react to one or two of the FODMAPs, so it's worth spending some time figuring out which ones are a real issue for you. For instance, Gen does not react to fructose and lactose, but she has a strong reaction to even small amounts of polyols. This means that she only has to avoid polyols and can enjoy most other high FODMAPs food.

To refresh you memory on FODMAPs, go here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is generally recommended that people with SIBO stay on a low FODMAP diet for 3 months after finishing their treatment (which we do as part of 'The Big Clean Up'). This is to prevent a SIBO relapse.

Click here to get started with your FODMAPs mini-adventure

TEST YOUR TOLERANCE TO FOOD CHEMICALS

During the Adventurous diet, you will be able to identify your personal food chemical threshold. Think of your threshold like a bucket. Some of us have very small buckets and some have very big buckets. The smaller your bucket, the more sensitive you will be to food chemicals. If your bucket overflows, you have gone over your threshold and this is when you will experience symptoms.

This is why some of you will be able to eat a diet that's very high in certain food chemicals, while others may have to stick to a diet low to moderate in food chemicals for a bit longer.

Other things can influence your bucket size including: your genes, stress, menstrual cycle (aka hormones), toxic load and gut health.

As you go through the phases of this program, your bucket size will slowly increase.

Here you'll also discover which food chemicals might be most problematic for you - histamine, salicylates, and/or oxalates.

Click here to get started with your food chemicals mini-adventure