Oh, I agree with what you are saying Kim. I know for certain dairy and peanuts bug Arthur, so, die-off or not, there's now way I'm introducing them back in my diet just yet. I believe he still needs far more healing.
The difference between the 2 is really tricky. This is from the FAQ page I posted a bit ago:
1)How do I tell whether a reaction to food means “back off of this food” or a die-off that means “go slowly but go ahead”? For example, when I introduced yoghurt both my son and I got eczema. I though it meant that we needed to stop dairy, but you told me to “push through” – and sure enough, after a while eczema did resolve?
There are two reasons for reacting: damaged “leaky” gut wall and “die-off”. Damaged gut wall allows through partially digested foods which cause reactions. If the reaction is very severe and you know which particular food you have reacted to, avoid that food for a few weeks, then try to eat a tiny amount. If you still react, again wait for a few weeks and try again. As your gut wall starts healing, the food in question will get the chance to be digested properly before absorbing and the reaction will disappear. In order to heal and seal the gut lining follow the GAPS Introduction Diet. This also applies to phenols and salicylates in foods (please read more about that in the GAPS book). In the case of probiotic foods, such as yoghurt and kefir (they are the first dairy we introduce on the Introduction Diet) most reactions are “die-off”. It means that the beneficial microbes in the probiotic food are killing the pathogens in your gut; when those pathogens die, they release toxins which cause unpleasant symptoms – a “die-off reaction”. It is important to control this reaction by introducing probiotic foods gradually starting from small amounts. The introduction process is always individual: some people sail through it, others take a very long time to introduce a few teaspoonfuls of yoghurt or kefir.
2)Distinguishing die-off and food intolerance is still vague to many, how can one tell the difference? For example, how do you know if flatulence is caused by the meal you just ate or from the meal prior to that one?
The die-off symptoms can be new symptoms or can be your usual symptoms getting worse, when you introduce new diet, probiotics or anti-parasitic, anti-fungal/anti-bacterial remedies. Food intolerance symptoms appear when you introduce new foods into your diet. If you have been eating a particular food routinely, which you suspect as causing food intolerances, remove it for 3 - 4 weeks, then try to eat it again. Your body will let you know if you are intolerant to it. Production of gas takes time; it is the pathogens in the gut (usually fungi) that convert food into gas. So, it is your previous meals that produced the gas. Every meal sends a propulsion reflex down the digestive system, so that gas in the bowel may be released when you are eating your next meal.
3)Which symptoms should you push through and which symptoms are a sign that you should remove the food?
If the symptoms are due to die-off, initiated by the introduction of probiotics, the diet or natural anti-parasitic remedies, then continue gradual increase of the remedies and gradual progression through the diet, keeping the die-off at a manageable level. If new symptoms appear after introducing new food, then you are not ready for that food (your gut lining is not ready). Remove the food, work on healing your gut lining with the diet and probiotics for a few weeks, and then try the new food again.
More can be found under this FAQ link, just scroll down to the topic of Die Off:
http://www.gaps.me/preview/?page_id=32
