Plan for reintroduction to avoid systemic inflammation?

[Ekarmoko]

Hi- this is probably my 5th or 6th Whole30, but the first time I am doing it with a real medical condition.  I was diagnosed over a year ago with Interstitial Cystitis which is chronic inflammation of the bladder. I have seen several doctors, tried all kinds of meds and supplements, and nothing worked. I finally became confident that the issue had to do with leaky gut and systemic inflammation and couldn't wait to do my annual Whole30 to see if it improved. And sure enough, my symptoms are totally GONE. Better than it has been in over a year. 

I have never really been very strict about the reintroduction phase before... usually I start out slow but within a few weeks/months I am back to my bad habits.  However, I have been fine with that in the past since I always knew that come January, I would reset.  But this is different now... I cannot go back to living with that chronic pain.  So I really want these results to last.  

My question is how to do reintroduction where the side effects you are looking for are more long-term?  Like I am not looking for GI issues, skin problems, fatigue or other things that might be noticeable right away after eating a problematic food.  I am more worried about the cumulative effects.  But I also can't live my life on Whole30 forever. I am wondering if I should try to just keep being gluten and dairy free and maybe sugar?  Just pick a few of the most inflammatory foods and try to make it as long as I can without them?  

Does anyone have any advice about this or recommendations on which foods are the worst as far as long-term inflammation goes?

Thank you!

[ShannonM816]

There's no official guidance for this, so you're mostly going to have to figure out what works best for you, and there will probably be some trial and error involved, but that's ok. If you start to feel less than great, you know it's time to go back to a strict Whole30 until you feel better, and then try again. The good news is that typically, if you pay attention and get back on track quickly, it won't take 30 days every time. 

Something you might consider could be doing more drawn out reintroductions. Start with one thing and have it every day for a week or two. Stop if you start to feel bad, and go back to strict Whole30 until you feel good again. You'll get a pretty good idea of how much of that particular item you can have before it affects you.