You have now really turned down the inflammation in your belly, body and brain by 'Resetting' and eating 'Supersafe' for a few weeks.

As you know, the Supersafe diet is low in food chemicals, FODMAPs, starches and other trigger foods.

In the SAFE diet, the amount of food chemicals increase from low to moderate. However, it remains low in FODMAPs, starches and trigger foods.

WHAT TO EXPECT

1- Some of your symptoms return

Your symptoms may return for various reasons.

One of these reasons could be due to severe food chemical sensitivities.

However, in our experience, most people, even people with food chemical sensitivities, will be OK on the safe diet, especially after reducing their load by 'emptying' their food chemical bucket during the Reset and Supersafe diets.

Click here to learn more about food chemicals, and to better understand the bucket concept.

Another reason may be that your gut is simply not quite ready for you to add in a lot of new foods.

You might need to slow down, stay on the SUPERSAFE diet for a bit longer, but gradually add in some of the new foods from the safe list.

2- You continue to improve

Most of you will continue to improve during the SAFE diet.

3- You experience some detox reactions.

Remember that you may experience some detox reactions at any time during the program.

Click here to learn more about detox reactions

WHAT IS THE SAFE DIET

• Low in trigger foods
• Low in FODMAPs and starches
• Low to moderate in food chemicals (histamine, salicylates, oxalates)

FOODS ALLOWED ON THE SAFE DIET

It's time for your taste buds to get excited!

We've added a lot of new foods to the safe diet list. Which means that there will be more variety in your meals.

Quick reminder: just as we've done with the supersafe list, we've done our best to present you with a list of foods that will be safe for most people with gut health issues. Just remember that you can react to ANY food. This is why you want to also listen to your body, and not just follow a list.

PANTRY STAPLES:

• Celtic sea salt
• Ghee or butter (if tolerated)
• Organic sunflower, hemp and flaxseed oil
• Light extra virgin olive oil
• Sesame oil
• MCT oil
• Cacao butter
• Tapioca flour, organic sulphite free (1 tbsp every few days)
• Green banana flour (2 tbsp every few days)
• Flax seeds (1 tbsp per day)
• Hemp seeds (1 tbsp per day)
• Activated pumpkin seeds/Pepitas (1 tbsp per day)
• Activated sunflower seeds (1 tbsp per day)
• Chickpeas (1/4 cup per day)
• Lima/butter beans (1/4 cup per day)
• Carob (1 tbsp per day)
• Fresh herbs (small amount): bay leaf, parsley, chives, sage, dill & saffron
• Maple syrup
• Egg (YOLK only)
• Cream of tartar
• Citric Acid
• Organic vanilla essence or pods
• Jasmine and basmati rice (if tolerated)

DRINKS

We debated for a long time about this one... but we think you'll like our decision :-)

Although, in an ideal world, it would better to avoid both coffee and alcohol, we know that these 2 things can bring a lot of joy in some people's lives, and this is important too. So here are your safest options.

• Decaf coffee
• Weak coffee... 1 CUP ONLY!!
• Gin
• Vodka
• Tequila

Please note that coffee replacements such as roasted chicory roots and dandelion roots are very high in the prebiotic inulin, which can cause a lot of gas and bloating in many people with gut issues. We recommend avoiding those during the Safe diet.

What about milk?

You can learn more about the various option for milk here.

VEGETABLES:

• Bamboo shoots
• Bok Choy
• Brussel sprouts (2 per day)
• Butternut pumpkin/squash (1/3 cup per day)
• Cabbage, any type (1/2 cup per day)
• Carrots (1 per day)
• Celery (to make broth ONLY)
• Choko (aka chayote)
• Cucumber (peeled & seeded)
• Green beans (blanched, 10 per day)
• Green onion ( green part only)
• Kale (dinosaur/cavolo nero/lacinato ONLY)
• Leek - leaves (2/3 cup per day)
• Leek - bulb (1/8 cup or about 1/4 small leek per day)
• Lettuce (any type)
• Mung bean sprouts (fresh is best)
• Parsnips
• Red skin potatoes (1/2 potato per day)
• Spaghetti squash
• Sugar snap or snow peas (4 pods per day)
• Swede
• Turnip
• Zucchini (peeled & seeded)

MEAT & FISH:

• Beef and beef bone marrow
• Chicken and fresh chicken frames/marrow bones
• Duck
• Lamb
• Very fresh or snap frozen, sulfite free white fish, prawn, crab, lobster, calamari, sea scallops, oysters, mussels.

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE SHOPPING LIST HERE

DOWNLOAD THE SAFE DIET RECIPES EBOOK HERE

A SPECIAL NOTE ON STARCHES AND GRAINS

As you can see in the lists of foods allowed, we have included small amounts of tapioca flour, green banana flour, jasmine and basmati rice and red skin potatoes in the safe list. We've included these because they're low to moderate in food chemicals and low FODMAPs and many people can tolerate these foods in small quantities.

However, we have found that some people experience bloating/gas or other digestive symptoms when they eat ANY starches and/or grains... even if they are low in everything!

But don't worry, many of you will be able to reintroduce some of these later in the program, especially once you have completed Phase 2... The Big Clean Up.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU STAY ON THE SAFE DIET?

We recommend staying on the Safe diet for 4 weeks or longer.

Do not be tempted to skip ahead to the Adventurous Diet, no matter how much better you feel.

Your gut needs time to heal.

Putting too many foods in too soon does not allow your gut the time it needs to rest and recover. Think of the inside of your gut like road rash or gravel rash. First you have to clean up the mess (aka - removing inflammatory foods) and then you have to wait patiently for it to heal. Your gut is the same.

Allowing your gut the time it needs to rest and recover now will make the next few steps easier and faster... and possibly save you years of trial and error. Trust us, we know this from personal experience.

It can also take time for any food chemical build up to clear out of your body.

All this to say... don't be tempted to skip ahead!

SYMPTOMS THAT MIGHT CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON THE SAFE DIET

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

Make sure you keep track of your symptoms with the symptom's tracker.

RECIPES

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SAFE DIET RECIPES EBOOK

WHAT'S NEXT?

Once you have done the Safe diet for about 4 weeks, transition to the Adventurous Diet.