Rotational Food Diet

The primary goal in using a rotational diet is to space out the time your body is exposed to certain types of food groups and to accurately record how your body reacts to what you are eating. It is important to listen to how your system is responding. Learn how to take your pulse before and after your meals, and record everything accurately because this will give you a great understanding of how your system is reacting to certain foods. If there is no significant increase in your heart rate, then in all likelihood this food does not cause your body any sensitivity. If after your meal you find that your pulse has increased, then it is an indication that the body had to work extra hard during the meal, and something in the meal is causing problems. Other signs to look out for are joint inflammation, aches and pains, itchy skin, impaired cognition (also known as brain fog), and fatigue.

Being a victim to food sensitivities is no fun at all. Food sensitivities are complex, confusing, and often times uneasily defined and difficult to identify. Food allergies on the other hand, tend to be easily distinguished and are defined as a toxic clinical reaction to food or food additives. When your body senses something it is allergic to, your immune system reacts dramatically. Your immune system’s main goal is to maintain a constant equilibrium and protect the body from dangerous foreign invaders. There is a team of highly specialized defender cells that are put to work when there is a perceived attack in the system, in this case it would be during the digestion of a certain food. Once the cells recognize the invader and work to fight it off, an array of chemicals are released, one of them being histamine. Excessive histamine release is associated with symptoms ranging from mild to severe allergic responses that can often be life threatening, such as anaphylactic shock. Reactions to food allergies tend to be very quick in nature, within minutes to an hour of touching, smelling or ingesting a certain food.

Food sensitivities are without a doubt the most difficult to detect because their responses are delayed. They tend to arise from certain molecules within foods that your digestive system is unable to break down and properly digest. Often times the undigested molecules will be allowed to permeate the gut lining and leak into the blood stream, causing an array of problems for your body. The symptoms that occur from food sensitivities are very broad, and can range from fatigue, lethargy, mood swings, bloating, acne, heartburn, constipation, sugar cravings, muscle pain, anxiety, gas, migraines, and many well-known illnesses. Reactions to certain foods can be subtle and occur up to 4 whole days after ingestion. One way to help identify hidden food sensitivities is to follow a rotational diet. A rotational diet is a very structured way to plan meals based on biological similarities within food groups, spacing out the time you expose your system to the certain types. This will help to actually prevent new sensitivities from developing, and eventually help to increase your nutritional availability within your overall diet.

We have created a sample guideline of foods that you may incorporate into your meals on a 7 day rotational basis.

1. You can eat the same food three times a day for that particular day.
2. Record your pulse rate both before and after each meals.
3. Record your reactions after each meal - anxiety, itchiness, dizziness, light-headedness, heart palpitation, sweat, fatigue, etc.
4. Report your results to your coach.