Why do I have to go Whole30 every two days?

[tomatowitheyez]

Hello! I'm on day 20 and I'm psyched for my reintroduction stage. I'm curious, why would I have to go Whole30 every two days if the new food group doesn't give me any bad reactions? For example, lets say I add in gluten grains and I get no bad reactions. Am I good to eat gluten from now on?

[ShannonM816]

Sometimes effects can be slow to show up -- you don't notice an issue when you eat the food, but the next day you're anxious or depressed or have digestive issues. Sometimes a little bit of something won't show noticeable effects, but continued consumption of it can. Sometimes gluten alone won't affect someone, but gluten and dairy together will. 

[Jihanna]

Reintroduction is essentially a science experiment. The 30 days of compliance builds a "control" environment for you to work within. Each food is tested separately, and the 2-3 days in between tests allows your body to return to that control environment state to make sure you get true results that aren't being affected by any potential overlap. That's also why it's good to give a little extra time between tests if you have a significant reaction, to let yourself heal before you take on another test.

Once the entire experiment is over -- you've done the tests and have the results, you know what works and what causes issues -- then you can go about deciding what's worth returning to your diet and how often you might want to eat it.