What people miss most on a Rotary Diet is not so much their favourite foods but the spontaneity of eating what they want, whenever they want. A therapeutic diet of any kind takes at least some organization and planning. If you are in the habit of not deciding what to serve for dinner until you’re driving home from work at 5.15, a Rotary Diet will require some self-discipline. But the minor inconveniences are better than feeling miserable all the time. Feeling better, in fact, will reinforce your determination to stick with it and enjoy what you can eat all the more.
Doctors who treat food allergies with the Rotary Diet say people will have better luck if they follow a few basic rules.
1. For the first few weeks, try your best to avoid all foods to which you know you are even moderately allergic – giving yourself an allergic ‘rest period’. If you wish, you can start a Rotary Diet without that initial rest period. However, you’ll probably experience some symptoms for the first few cycles.
2. Learn about food families. Nature is full of surprises, and learning about relationships between foods can be fun. White potatoes and sweet potatoes are not related, for instance. Neither are tuna and prawns. Or raisins and prunes. Peanuts are not really nuts, but legumes. Ginger, clove and cinnamon are three totally different plants. So there is no such thing as an allergy to all spices. Or all nuts, for that matter. Or all fish. Chances are you can find suitable and appetizing alternatives to your favourite foods by choosing members of unrelated families.
Surprises work the other way, too. Asparagus is related to onions and garlic. Cucumbers are related to melons. Carrots are related to celery. Working out a Rotary Diet teaches you to think about foods in a new way.
3. Diversify your foods. By working in members of food families that are new and different for you, you make your menus more interesting and find it easier to stick to the diet. Within familiar food families, eat a variety of foods. Diversification also helps to prevent future allergies.
4. Stick to primary foods – fish, meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables – as close to their natural state as possible. Avoid secondary or combination foods – mixes, sauces, blends or packaged foods.
5. Similarly, rotate only wholesome, nutrition-packed food, not cupcakes, soda and the like. ‘I tell my patients to rotate and stay off junk food,’ said Dr Boxer. And stay away from alcohol, coffee and tobacco.
6. Select a minimum number of foods for each meal and fill up on them, rather than choose a potpourri of multiple foods. For instance, an eight-ounce portion of broiled fish, half a plateful of steamed broccoli and a large potato would comprise a typical Rotary Diet meal.
7. Whenever possible, avoid eating the same food more than once a day.
8. Grow as much organic, additive-free food as you can. Or buy organic food when you’re absolutely sure it’s the real thing and not a fake-labelled, high-cost rip-off.
9. Don’t forget to rotate spices, cooking oils and beverages. Soybean, safflower and sunflower oils, for instance, are derived from different families. Among herb teas, lemongrass, mint, sassafras, verbena, hibiscus and rosehips are unrelated to each other.
10. Write down everything you eat. Otherwise, it’s practically impossible to keep foods straight.
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