” I’m allergic to stupidity.” – Chris Colfer
Does your dog often feel uncomfortable, with chronic itching or recurring ear infections? Does your cat constantly suffer from digestive problems that cause her to poop next to the litter box? Then an elimination diet might be just what you need! In this blog, I’ll explain what an elimination diet is, when you should consider it, how it works, and how it can help make your buddy healthy and happy again.
What is an Elimination Diet?
An elimination diet is a nutrition plan specifically designed to identify food allergies or intolerances in dogs and cats.
It’s based on the fact that you have to build up an allergy. To become allergic or intolerant to something, your body must have had contact with it a number of times.
By putting together a food that consists of 100% new ingredients that your pet has never eaten before, your animal can theoretically not be allergic to it. If you then notice that the symptoms diminish or disappear, you know that a food allergy is the cause, or at least plays an important role in those complaints.
An elimination diet is personal!
From the above you will understand that an elimination diet is different for every animal. Every animal can be hypersensitive to other ingredients. For some dogs, a fish-based elimination diet may be fine. But for a dog that has already eaten a lot of fish in its life and has become allergic to it, a fish-based elimination diet is not suitable at all.
It is therefore important to take a good look at what your dog or cat has eaten in his/her life. There is no one-size-fits-all elimination diet that is suitable for all animals.
When to Use an Elimination Diet?
An elimination diet can be helpful when your pet exhibits symptoms that may be consistent with a food allergy or intolerance, such as:
Chronic or recurrent itching or rash
Recurrent ear infections
Persistent or frequently recurring gastrointestinal complaints:
- Regular diarrhoea
- Fluctuating stools
- Vomiting once a month or more
- Eating grass often
- Eating abnormal things such as: soil, leaves, licking metal, etc.
- Being picky with food and/or having a fluctuating appetite
- Changes in behavior such as having a short fuse, lashing out at other dogs, being grumpy etc.
Unexplained weight loss, difficult to maintain weight
In all these cases, it is wise to rule out nutrition as a cause. Isn’t there anything better than solving your buddy’s complaints with a simple change of diet?
How Does an Elimination Diet Work?
An elimination diet officially consists of two main components: the elimination phase and the challenge phase.
1. Elimination Phase
– In the phase, we will give a food with ingredients that your dog/cat has never eaten before. You can think of a food based on turkey, horse, pig, etc. It’s important to not just look at the protein source. An allergy to protein is the most common food allergy, but it can happen that your dog is allergic to other ingredients such as specific grains, vegetables or fruits.
– This phase usually lasts 8-12 weeks.
– During this time, your pet should not eat anything other than the selected diet (including snacks and chew toys). Just think of someone with a peanut allergy. A single peanut can be enough to cause the symptoms. The same goes for your pet. A very small amount of what your animal is allergic to can trigger or maintain the symptoms.
2. Provocation phase
– Reintroduction. After the elimination phase, gradually introduce the old foods one by one. This helps to identify which specific ingredient is causing the allergy.
– Observation. Record any reaction (such as itching or upset stomach) that occurs after reintroducing an ingredient.
In practice, a provocation phase is not always carried out.
Different Ways to Perform an Elimination Diet
There are several approaches to performing an elimination diet:
- Homemade Diets
This is the best way to carry out an elimination diet. By putting together a diet yourself, you have complete control over the ingredients and it is often more effective. However, it is important that the diet is complete so that there are no deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Always have such a diet put together by a veterinarian who has knowledge and experience with it.
- RAW Mono protein horse
The company RAW veterinary diets, in collaboration with veterinarians, has developed a raw meat diet that is specially intended for elimination diets. This food is based on horse meat. The horses are slaughtered separately and the feed is made separately from the other feedings so that there is no cross-contamination with other feeds.
However, this diet is not complete and should be supplemented with a vitamin/mineral supplement, cooked vegetables, carbohydrates and a fat source.
- Commercial Hydrolyzed Feeds
These diets contain proteins that have been broken down into such small fragments that the immune system does not recognize them as allergens. These are complete foods in the form of kibble and/or cans.
This seems very practical, but unfortunately we know from research that a percentage of animals with a food allergy do not respond well to these foods. If your pet does respond well to it, this can be a practical solution. But if your animal does not react well to it, you have not yet definitively ruled out a food allergy and you will still have to go to option 1 or 2.
How I Can Help You
As an integrative veterinary nutrition therapist, I have a lot of experience with these types of diets and can help you with every step of the elimination diet:
Personal Guidance: Together, we create a customized diet plan that fits your pet’s unique needs.
Nutritional analysis: We make sure that the diet is complete and balanced so that your pet gets all the essential nutrients.
Regular Evaluation: We monitor progress and adjust the diet as needed to achieve the best results.
Support and Advice: You’ll receive continuous advice and support throughout the process, so you never feel overwhelmed.
Feel free to contact me for more information or for a consultation. Together we work on the health and well-being of your buddy!
