What is the FAILSAFE diet?

Do you or your child have ADHD or regularly experience eczema, hives, headaches, stomach pains, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, asthma, rhinitis or mood swings? If so, this post is for you!

In my last post, I talked about a few different elimination diets but today I want to share a bit more information about a diet that can be a game-changer for people with the above symptoms.

The FAILSAFE diet (Free of Additives, Low in Salicylates, Amines, and Flavour Enhancers) is a specialised elimination diet designed to identify and manage food intolerances, particularly those related to natural food chemicals and food additives (not typically recognised by traditional food allergy testing).

My family did the FAILSAFE diet many years ago when my children were little and my daughter was having lots of digestive issues and eczema flare-ups. We hadn’t been able to get any answers from the GP and I found out about the diet from a friend who had found it helpful for her child. I was desperate to do something to help my daughter as she was losing a lot of weight and her stomach pains were so bad that she had to go to sleep with a heat-pack on her stomach each night.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐭

Elimination Phase (2-6 weeks)

During this phase, the following foods and additives are completely eliminated from the diet.

• Salicylates: found in many fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, and honey.

• Amines: present in aged, fermented, or overripe foods such as cheese, chocolate and processed meats.

• Glutamates: naturally occurring in some foods and used as flavour enhancers (e.g. MSG).

• Food Additives: artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and some antioxidants.

The following foods are allowed (note: this is not the complete list):

• Fruits: pears (peeled), red delicious or golden delicious apples (sometimes)

• Vegetables: potatoes, green beans, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, leeks, iceberg lettuce, spring onions, chives and celery

• Proteins: fresh meats, chicken, eggs, seafood and fish (not aged or processed)

• Grains: white rice, rice noodles, certain types of bread and cereals that are free from additives.

• Dairy: milk, cream, butter, certain additive-free cheeses and yogurts.

Reintroduction Phase

During this phase, foods are gradually reintroduced one at a time, usually every 3-5 days, to monitor for any adverse reactions.

As a family, we strictly followed the elimination diet for 6 weeks and it quickly became clear that salicylates were an issue for my daughter (and my other children, as it turned out). I had never even heard of salicylates at the time but basically they are natural food chemicals found in most fruits and vegetables, and many other foods. Within a very short time, our daughter’s eczema started to improve and her stomach pains disappeared. Two months after starting the diet, her eczema was completely cleared.

I kept a food and symptom diary throughout the process and we discovered that the children also reacted to food additives but luckily had no issues tolerating amines.

I’m not going to sugarcoat this, the FAILSAFE diet is not easy. It is very restrictive, you have to carefully read the ingredients list of everything you buy, and by the end of it you will never want to see another pear in your life!

Having said that, I'm glad we did it as it helped us to find answers to my daughters health issues (unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much awareness of salicylate intolerance in the mainstream medical community).

As with all elimination diets, it's recommended to undertake the FAILSAFE diet under the guidance of a healthcare professional, so that you can be supported through the process and to ensure your nutritional needs are being met. A healthcare professional can also help with identifying intolerances and determining reaction thresholds during the reintroduction phase.

𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬.

I know there are a few people in the online FAILSAFE community who will disagree with me and who follow this diet long-term as a means of managing their intolerances and preventing unpleasant and debilitating symptoms. Whilst I completely understand the logic behind this, it is important to acknowledge that persistent food intolerances are often a sign that there are problems with the gut.

Temporarily removing problematic foods is essential, but it's equally important to simultaneously address underlying gut health issues and reduce inflammation, which can worsen food intolerances. Managing stress is also crucial, as chronic stress can contribute to gut inflammation and exacerbate food sensitivities.