Action Research

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Action research is a method for conducting co-operative enquiry. This is a way of working with other people who have similar concerns and interests to yourself. A brief introduction to action research can be found at Bath University's website: http://www.bath.ac.uk/carpp/publications/coop_inquiry.html.

The main points are that through the participative and democratic process of group enquiry, we can explore and give voice to our experiences in a way that will lead us towards practical knowing. This is where our knowing is grounded in our experience, where our knowing will be more valid: richer, deeper, more true to life and more useful.

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Action Research and Elimination Diets

As a method for trying to detect ‘hidden allergies’ the elimination diet process rests on the assumption that participants will be able to accurately observe qualitative changes in their life when foods are withdrawn and then re-introduced. This is not a simple process by any means, as there are always many other influences affecting ones state of physical and mental wellbeing, and the idea that once ‘offending’ foods are withdrawn the body will automatically become completely well, is not quite right. There are several factors to take into account that will affect the outcomes and likelihood of success in completing an elimination diet programme. These include:

• Most people who decide to partake in an elimination diet notice significant changes in how they are feeling within 10 days. This is regardless of whether or not they are actually reacting to particular foods, because nearly everyone experiences physical and mental symptoms when, for example, bulk carbohydrates are withdrawn from the diet.

•Identifying actual allergens or triggers is not as clear cut as one would hope, as this process is entirely dependent on how systematic you are in observing your own symptom patterns and monitoring your own state of ‘wellness’.

• A quick reading of the diet sheets will show you just how strict this diet is - a daunting prospect if you are going to try and complete it on your own.

• The process doesn’t work if you don’t stick rigidly to the guidelines

• Merely knowing that there are certain foods one is reacting to is sometimes not enough for some people to be able to implement immediate changes in their diet. For most people, our dietary habits are fairly entrenched, and, of course, there are usually other people to consider. So there is a bit of work involved once you’ve discovered the foods that don’t agree with you.

• The very positive benefits felt during the diet process are often forgotten as time progresses, and old habits begin to reassert themselves.

The Problem

The Solution

Most of the problems associated with doing an elimination diet can be addressed very easily by working with other people who are sharing the experience. This is what co-operative enquiry is all about, and the central purpose of Action Research is to give people a much greater chance in succeeding in their journey to wellness.

During the initial meeting the group members explore and agree to a set of procedures by which they will observe and record their own and each other’s experiences. Everyone in the group, including the facilitator, will be following the same rigid diet plan, and the process of support and observation is, right from the start, entirely democratic. This effectively gives the power of diagnosis back to the individual, so that any insights into how food might be affecting your health are actually gained through direct perception and experience, rather than on the say-so of an ‘expert’ or by using unproven or unreliable diagnostic tools.

A framework for observation will be suggested by the facilitator based on prior experience of doing the elimination diet with other groups. Typically, subsequent meetings will involve giving space to each group member to describe their experiences in as much detail as they wish. What emerges out of the collective observations, and how they are articulated, creates a level of understanding that would be extremely difficult to achieve if you were doing the diet alone. In this way you will be able to get the most out of the elimination diet process by feeling well supported and, just as importantly, having a really useful framework for observing your own responses or reactions.

In terms of outcomes, results from previous groups have been outstanding. It is not uncommon for people to feel elated at how much energy they have, and at the disappearance of symptoms they have suffered for years. Sometimes these are things that one has become so used to that they only become really apparent once they disappear.

Changes can happen quite soon after starting the diet - and these probably would have happened regardless of working with a group. For example, many people suddenly rediscover their sense of smell, or sleep right through the night for the first time in ages and wake up in the morning feeling clear headed.

The Action Research process helps to turn this experience into grounded knowledge about yourself, and so it becomes much easier to introduce longer term changes to entrenched habits in your life that might be causing harmful symptoms.

For a place in the 2010 Elimination Diet Action Research Group