A food and symptom diary can help you investigate whether specific foods are triggering an unpleasant response in your body, such as bloating for example.
It’s not a good idea to self-diagnose a food allergy or intolerance and cut out a whole group of foods from your diet when you may not need to. Even if some foods trigger an unpleasant response, it may only be a few foods that you need to restrict – not a whole food group. So it’s worth the effort of keeping a food diary for a few weeks to really investigate the problem. There are other possible triggers, such as exercise or stress, so it’s best to keep a note of these too.
This diary can also be very helpful when discussing your symptoms with a dietitian or qualified nutritionist. They can then help you determine which specific foods you need to restrict, how to find alternatives to those foods, and how to ensure you still get a nutritionally complete diet.
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