Hi!
My name is Mikhaila Peterson. I’m a 26 year old mother (and loving it!). I live in Toronto.
Short background on me:
I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 7 years old. My parents think it started when I was around 2 noticing the way I walked. I was the first child in Canada to be put on injections of Enbrel, an immune suppressant. I was also put on injections of Methotrexate. In grade 5, when I was 12, I was diagnosed with severe depression/anxiety. I started taking Cipralex (Celexa), an SSRI. I was on a very high dose for a child, but if I tried to lower it, I couldn’t. That dose increased into my teenage years and early 20’s when my depression worsened. When I was 17 I had a hip and an ankle replacement from the arthritis (that diagnosis was changed from rheumatoid arthritis to idiopathic arthritis). I was prescribed Adderall to keep myself awake because I couldn’t stay awake. Diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia. My skin was itchy, I had mouth ulcers, floaters, and terrible skin problems starting in my early 20’s.
At the peak of my medicated times I was taking:
For Arthritis: Enbrel and Methotrexate, (immune suppressants). Folic acid because of the Methotrexate. Tylenol 3 so I could sleep at night without as much pain.
For depression: Cipralex and Wellbutrin
For fatigue: Adderall to keep me awake, Gravol and Lorazepam to put me to sleep from the Adderall.
For my skin: Minocycline (antibiotic), and later dapsone (antibiotic)
Other: Birth control (seasonique)
I’ve probably taken antibiotics 2-3 times a year since I was 2. That’s almost 40 rounds of antibiotics.
I’ve been on way more than that too. That was just at one point in time.
Anyways, all in all, I was very sick.
May 2015, I stopped eating gluten. I thought that my skin problems that had slowly been growing worse were probably Celiac related (dermatitis herpetiformis). I never had stomach pain so I had never looked at food before. Cutting out gluten maybe helped a bit… But not nearly enough.
September 2015, I went on an elimination diet. I went on it to see if I could control my arthritic symptoms. I could. 3 weeks into the diet my arthritis and skin issues went away. This was unheard of. I don’t have the type of arthritis that goes away.
3 months later my depression disappeared. My arthritis ate my hip and my ankle but I haven’t experienced anything more debilitating than depression.
A month after that my fatigue lifted.
Everything wrong with me was diet related. Arthritis, depression, anxiety, lower back pain, chronic fatigue, brain fog, itchy skin, acne, tiny blisters on my knuckles, floaters, mouth ulcers, twitching at night, night sweats, tooth sensitivity, and the list goes on, but everything was diet related. Every single thing wrong with me was fixable.
Then I got pregnant.
Things shifted in my body and the original diet I followed didn’t get rid of my symptoms anymore. My arthritis came back (albeit much less awful than before) and my depression came back (again, much less awful). I lost the ability to tolerate any carbs.
The following is a list of foods that I could originally eat without reacting. This is a good list of foods to start with for the elimination diet. In order to do this, you have to be very strict. If you have questions, please comment! If the following list doesn’t work for you after a month, you can try even more strict, or you can go zero-carb/lion diet. If you’re suffering from an autoimmune disorder or you need to get better ASAP (as in you’re dying from what ails you), I’d recommend zero-carb. You can reintroduce vegetables after a month (if you want to).
If you can’t manage to do zero-carb, or the following list of foods, (it makes eating out almost impossible), at least cut-out gluten and dairy and sugar. If you’re a “healthy” person, cut out gluten and dairy. All of it. Gluten is hidden in soya sauce, twizzlers, malt vinegar. Cut it all out for 4 weeks and see how you feel. If you’re suffering from an autoimmune disorder or depression or another mental disorder than I would suggest doing the following diet or doing zero-carb. Cutting out gluten and dairy will help but it might not be enough. You may find that you’re able to reintroduce most foods after the elimination diet.
Meats:
- turkey
- beef
- chicken
- lamb
- duck
- wild game is fine too, elk, moose, etc.
- wild salmon
- tuna – check the ingredients! Get stuff that’s just tuna and water and perhaps salt.
- organ meat – chicken liver tastes the best I find
- wild herring – check the ingredients!
- wild sardines – check the ingredients!
Veggies:
- lettuce
- arugula
- arugula microgreens (arugula sprouts)
- cucumber
- swiss chard
- seaweed – check the ingredients! this is hard to find without soy and other things. The brand I’ve linked to is safe and really tasty
- cilantro
- collard greens
- broccoli
- turnips
- cauliflower
- parsnips
- sweet potatoes
- spinach
Fruit:
- olives – check the ingredients! see my olive post. be super careful about which brands you buy here too, many have preservatives and flavours and dyes.
Vinegars:
- Omega Nutrition Certified Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, 12-Ounces
apple cider vinegar – try to get the organic stuff so there aren’t dyes and flavours added
apple cider vinegar – try to get the organic stuff so there aren’t dyes and flavours addedOils:
- coconut oil – get unrefined. And try to avoid the Nutiva brand. It’s everywhere but it doesn’t taste as good, and I’ve had ones that have gone bad before.
- olive oil – make sure your olive oil is pure olive oil. Sometimes it’s also soybean oil!
Spices/Seasonings
- salt
- pepper
- marjoram
- parsley
- oregano
- thyme
- rosemary
- peppermint
- turmeric
- basil
- bay leaf
- coriander
Other:
- baking soda (probably won’t eat this but it’s good for toothpaste 🙂 )
- peppermint tea – check the ingredients. Buy loose leaf (David’s sells an organic peppermint which is lovely) or organic. We want to make sure there aren’t preservatives or flavours added. White tea bags or coffee filters are often bleached with sulfites. If you’re super sensitive (dad and I), you’ll react to these. So make sure you get organic tea bags as well!
- black tea- check the ingredients. Buy loose leaf if possible
- green tea- check the ingredients. Buy loose leaf if possible
Alcohol – not for the first month. I can kinda handle it, but lots of people can’t.
- vodka
- bourbon and American Whiskey labeled “straight” whiskey
Good luck! If you try this for 4 weeks you should be able to see a huge difference. Then reintroduce foods by having a bite of it. I do not recommend reintroducing dairy and gluten ever but do so if need be. It took me 8 months to realize how sensitive I was, it doesn’t seem possible, but I react strongly to half bite of food. Have a bite or two of the new food and then wait 4 days before reintroducing something else. Most of my reactions (but definitely not all) take about 4 days to hit peak terrible – particularly arthritis and definitely the depression. Skin issues take about 7 days to come up after eating an offending food.
Things to try and reintroduce first after the first month:
- avocados
- other leafy greens
- macademia nuts
- foods that are listed as okay by the AIP or SCD diets
Foods to always be wary of:
- grains
- dairy
- sugar
- soy
Foods that I had major issues with when I tried to reintroduce
- almonds
- rice
- sulphites
- dairy – ouchhhh that was not fun to experience
- gluten
- kelp noodles
- white cabbage
- bananas – terrible for the arthritis
- cane sugar
- food dyes
- citrus
- melons
- grapes
- onions
- zucchini
- soy
- probiotics – I can’t handle them, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Hopefully, after some healing, I’ll be able to handle them too.
My father and my husband have the same sensitivities, and I’ve been contacted by people who also have extremely similar reactions to the same foods. This is widespread. These are terrible reactions that most people don’t realize until they’re gone. What’s the point of realistically thinking about everything bodily that’s bugging you? Muscle pain, fatigue, digestive issues, minor skin problems, the occasional mouth ulcer – all things people ignore. Don’t. These are signs. Good luck!!
To find out exactly how to go about doing an elimination diet please read this (especially if you suffer from depression/anxiety, there are some things you should know before going on an elimination diet).
Hello mikhaila! i am going to start your diet to try get rid of my joint and muscle inflammation, digestive issues, fatigue etc.
i already cut out gluten for a month and it helped a lot
i wanted to ask if honey is ok on the elimination diet
and if it matters what honey i buy
thank you!
I wouldn’t recommend honey, but to be completely honest, I was eating it when I first went on an elimination diet. The type of honey didn’t seem to matter, and it didn’t bother me like sugar or some fruits did. If you need something sweet, it seems to be pretty safe. (I lost my tolerance to honey later though).
I was inspired by the video of you and your dad on YouTube. I never went on any diet my entire life because I’ve never been overweight or felt the need to. Having said that I suffer from depression and the same problems with focus and short term memory that you had. Though Anti-depressants never gave me noticeable relief so I gave up on that avenue. Being in college, I basically eat what ever I want and what ever is convenient. I really see potential in your diet though. I started eating only chicken and broccoli for dinner with protein (eggs) for breakfast, cutting out as many carbs as possible so maybe I can reap similar benefits. Being on a diet like this will inadvertently create some order too! I think this diet would be fantastic with regular exercise. From what Ive been told, a high protein diet like this can help with muscle gains. I love cereal and dairy but I am willing to stay clean for months even.. If it means positive improvement in my alertness and mind. (Diet never occurred to me when it comes to mental health)
Sorry if posted already but have you ever wondered about the possibility of vaccine damage and food sensitivities?
I’m currently trying to change diet to improve health, supposed fibro/CFS.
You and your family are an absolute inspiration. ?
I’ve wondered about everything. I don’t think I’ll ever know the answer to the vaccine question unfortunately.
Hey Mikhaila
I’ve been having trouble with anxiety-induced insomnia for the first time since december and it’s been absolutely ridicolous. I have been an avid bodybuilder for two years, this disorder has taken everything from me, so as a last resort I have gone for an antidepressant treatment (lexapro) and light therapy since last week. There have been several episodes where the idea of suicide was a delicate one, so I had to get on the meds. I hate the fact that the medication numbs my emotions and I was thinking about starting this diet. The problem is my metabolism, i’m burning a lot of calories. With this diet I might lose the last of my muscle mass which would have been quite sad. I’m just wondering how can I incorporate all these dietary adjustments in an orderly fashion without leaving me in a state of atrophy.
Big fan of your father, he’s been kind of a liberator in a time of true despair, and thank you for your story and the creation of this diet.
Sebastian
Eat meat. You won’t lose muscle. I had to convince my husband that he didn’t need carbs to work out too. Follow Shawn Baker (Instagram I find is the most useful). He posts pictures of people who have gone all meat. He eats that himself and he’s huge. The idea that you need protein supplements and carbs to get muscle is just wrong. You’ll hear people concerning themselves with glycogen, etc., but I’d recommend you try it for a month and see how you feel. If it doesn’t help the depression, try all meat. You may get leaner, but you won’t lose muscle.
Hi Mikhaila,
Congratulations on finding a dietary solution! I can understand this journey. I also went through a search for answers through dietary restrictions and tried lots of things, some of which helped but didn’t address the whole picture. It took one doctor to look at my list of symptoms (they’re similar – digestive issues, muscle/joint pain, fatigue, depressive episodes and panic attacks, nausea, heart palpitations, …) and suggest I might have a histamine intolerance. It turns out I do, and since I’ve followed the low-histamine diet my symptoms have gone away. Have you heard of histamine intolerance before? I ask because your safe-food list looks a lot like mine. Over here in Germany histamine intolerance is a fairly well-known problem, but I’ve heard that’s not the case in other countries. The intolerance can be hereditary (like mast cell activation disorder) or it can develop spontaneously like mine. I’ve read it can also accompany Celiac’s. Thought I’d mention it because I’m amazed none of the other comments have! Wishing you the best,
Freya
P.S. The worst “high histamine” offenders are red wine, preserved meats, hard cheeses, fermented foods, soy, shellfish, tomato sauces.
I tried that. I looked into histamine intolerance, and mast cell activation disorder, and a whole slew of other things. It’s not that unfortunately, thanks for the kind words!
Hi Mikhaila, I found your blog after finding your dad and watching his videos and reading his book the last few months. I have auto-immune symptoms but have never been diagnosed with anything. But I’m super excited to try your diet and am going to start it soon. I’m wondering if greens not on this list such as kale, celery, and asparagus are ok? Thank you for your blog and sharing this information with others and for figuring it all out for yourself to begin with.
Celery was a huge problem for me. Don’t ask why, I can’t explain it. Celery seems to bother my husband and dad too. Kale I have a hard time digesting (but hell I’m only eating meat now anyway.) I’d say that’s safe. Asparagus had too much sugar in it for me. It wasn’t as bad a reaction as celery though.
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