Washing Up Liquid
Ensure that you rinse off washing-up suds from all dishes used during the elimination diet.
Dishes from the dishwasher are fine.
Butter
To remind you, Yeo Valley unsalted and Tesco’s own brand organic unsalted butter are the only butter I have tried that do not trigger symptoms for me.
Plastic Wrapped Fish and Meat
I’m not sure why, but if I eat fish from the supermarket wrapped in cling film, I sometimes get slight tannin symptoms, the same with bags of frozen fish. The fish might be covered in a preservative that doesn’t have to be mentioned in the list of ingredients, or maybe there is something in the plastic that contaminates it. I usually buy it from the fresh fish counter instead. I rarely eat farmed fish (salmon, etc) as I believe they are fed hormones.
Cheese
Packets of cheese will usually only list milk in the ingredients, but salt and rennet (which may contain tannin) are typically added.
Vitamins
Don’t take vitamin tablets during the elimination diet if you normally take them. They all have some form of tannin in them. If you prove to have a tannin intolerance, you can take them on the days you eat tannin.
Himalayan Salt
Check that there are no additives.
Flour
Make sure it is 100% flour with no vitamins added, as some may come from a source that contains tannin.
Lemons
Some websites say that citrus contains tannin, but I don’t get a reaction when I drink fresh lemon juice or eat oranges. I think this is because the tannin is in the rind, not the juice. Also, lemon juice neutralizes tannins (to some extent).
If you find that you do have an intolerance to tannin, you may not be as sensitive to tannin as I am. You can experiment with eating foods low in tannin (like white beans, chickpeas, blanched almonds, and peanuts without skins).
You will find further information about how to follow the two day tannin elimination diet on the following pages: Introduction, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, and Recipes and Snacks.