What is the typical duration for a dietary elimination trial in FRD?

• A. 2–4 weeks.
• B. 6–8 weeks.
• C. 1–2 days.
• D. 12 weeks.

Answer: (B)

When evaluating a suspected food-responsive disease, you switch the patient to a strict elimination diet to see if signs improve, and you give it enough time for a true dietary response to become evident. The typical duration is 6–8 weeks because many GI and systemic signs take several weeks to resolve as the gut mucosa heals and the inflammatory process quiets. If there’s a genuine food response, you’ll usually see noticeable improvement in stool quality, weight, appetite, or itching within that window. Shorter trials, like 2–4 weeks, can miss a real response and lead to an incorrect conclusion, while much longer trials aren’t necessary and may delay exploring other causes if there’s no improvement. Hence 6–8 weeks is the standard duration for an elimination trial in FRD.