Salicylate Food List

By following the salicylate food list you will be able to eliminate or reduce symptoms related to salicylate intolerance or sensitivity.

General Rules 

Salicylates are:

• Present in varying amounts in nearly all foods and products that come from plants including fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, seeds, flowers and bark.
• Natural regulators of growth, flowering, ripening, ageing and defence against pests and diseases.
• Highest in firm unripe fruit and lowest when ripe fruit is ready to drop off the plant.
• Highest in the skin and just under the skin of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, always peel fruits and vegetables before consuming.
• Present in processed food. Therefore eat whole unprocessed fruit and vegetables. Avoid food with strong fruit or vegetable flavours, including juice, fruit yoghurts, jams, sweets, soup stocks and sauces.
• Increasingly present in genetically engineered plants for greater resistance to disease.

High Salicylate Foods to Avoid:

• Food that contains Sulphites (read the label on your food item)
• Medications (prescribed or over the counter) that contain salicylates.

Establishing your Threshold

When I first started my daughter on the low salicylate diet I only gave her food from the negligible and low column list for 4 weeks. Thereafter once her symptoms improved I combined food from the moderate column.

Foods from the moderate column can be combined with foods from the high column provided you do not exceed your child’s daily threshold level.

Foods from the very high column should only be taken very rarely and in small amounts.

Initially, it was hard for me to consider a low salicylate diet for my child. Fruits were always considered healthy and were a daily routine in both her kindergarten and school. It was difficult for me to avoid fruit completely and she would fuss to only eat pear and banana. However, if you do suspect your child is salicylate intolerant it is worth limiting fruit to one serving a day.

You can check out my recommended supplement guide here.

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