Autoimmune Paleo Diet – SUPER Tips You Can Use TODAY!

Autoimmune paleo diet (AIP diet) is relatively new.

In its core, this diet is a food-based approach to eliminating the inflammation in a person’s body caused by autoimmune conditions.

Also, it aims to reduce other symptoms of autoimmune disorders over time.

This diet is highly restrictive but can lead to amazing results.

The diet is very restrictive and mainly includes meats and vegetables.

Generally, you would try the AIP diet for several weeks before adding in foods outside of the diet.

So, let’s begin!

Here Are Some Of The Basics Of The AIP Diet:

The diet is very restrictive and mainly includes meats and vegetables.

Generally, you would try the AIP diet for several weeks before adding in foods outside of the diet.

Here are some of the basics of the AIP diet:

  • It’s an elimination-focused diet. Its goal is to cut inflammation-causing foods to reset your body’s immune system. The idea is to reduce inflammation in your body and put your autoimmune condition into remission with better eating habits.
  • It’s often aimed at treating a “leaky gut.” It’s thought that autoimmune conditions may be caused by small holes in your intestines. These holes can allow food to be released into the rest of your body and trigger your immune system to react. By eating only foods in the AIP diet, you help heal this leaky gut.
  • It’s rooted in the paleo diet, but it’s even more restrictive.
  • It promotes vitamin- and nutrient-rich foods and also emphasizes foods with omega-3 fatty acids.

You need to follow the strict eating plan for several weeks before you can start adding foods not included in the diet.

Some people try it for a short period of time, while others adapt the AIP diet as a long-term lifestyle choice.

It takes time to add new foods to your diet, and they should be added gradually.

Every few day to once a week, make sure you add some new food and then monitor whether you have any reactions to it.

If you notice that you are experiencing some side effects of certain food, take it out of your diet again.

To help you find out how this diet works, what you are allowed to eat and what you should restrain from, what benefits it brings and how effective it is in the long run we’ve done extensive research and created a guide that covers pretty much all the things you need to know about this diet. 

1. What Is Autoimmune Paleo Diet?

First, let’s cover some basics that should help you get a bigger picture of what this diet represents.

It’s elimination-focused diet – the goal of this diet is to cut inflammation-causing foods and therefore reset your body’s system.

In this way, your autoimmune conditions will be put into remission and you will develop better eating habits in the long run.

It’s often focused on treating “leaky gut” – One of the beliefs is that autoimmune conditions are often caused by small holes in your intestines.

These holes allow food to enter the rest of the body system and trigger your immune system to react because it thinks that those small food particles are the enemies it should protect the body from.

It has roots in the paleo diet – but it’s even more restrictive.

It emphasizes foods with omega-3 acids and promotes vitamin and nutrient-rich foods.

Before you start adding foods that are not included in the diet you need to follow a highly strict AIP diet plan for several weeks.

While some people choose this diet as their life-long choice and a new eating habit, others try it for a shorter period.

Either way, this diet requires you to be disciplined, set some goals and stick to them.

Also, new foods should be added gradually.

For example, add one type of food each day just to see what kind of reactions you have to it.

In case you notice any kinds of side effects, you need to take it out of your diet.

2. What Are Autoimmune Diseases?

The main goal of the auto-immune diet is to help you get rid of the inflammation caused by auto-immune diseases.

But what are these diseases?

How to recognize the signs?

What should you do to avoid?


Here are the answers to your questions:

This disease occurs when your body mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissues.

In this case, your immune system creates antibodies that should destroy substances known as antigens that can easily find the way to your system.

Here are some of the antigens: various toxins, cancer, viruses, unhealthy bacteria.

All of these antigens may develop as a result of your environment or your current lifestyle and eating habits that you might have.

These habits may include drug and alcohol consumption, the exercise of a lack of exercise, specific diets, smoking, etc.)

Once you develop an auto-immune disease, your body cannot tell the difference between healthy body tissues and these antigens.

Some auto-immune diseases are:

  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Asthma
  • Graves’ disease
  • Lupus
  • Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Type I diabetes
  • Celiac disease (gluten intolerance)
  • Eczema (as well as various rashes)
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Rheumatoid arthritis

From thyroid and pancreas to muscles and blood vessels, there are different parts of the body the auto-immune disease can affect.

Also, they can affect your energy levels, mood digestion and a whole range of things.

These diseases are highly impactful which is what all kinds of measures should be taken to decrease the bad impact and make them disappear after some period of time.

If you are reading this article, you are either experiencing similar issues or are just wondering that you have one if you recognize some similar symptoms.

On the other hand, maybe you just want to get more information so that you would know how to help somebody who has one of these diseases or showing some kind of symptoms.

There is one thing that you should keep in mind: if you have been consuming processed foods that mainly consist of industrial seed oils and gluten, there is a good possibility that you have some auto-immune conditions.

There are a number of other things that can contribute to the development of auto-immune diseases.

Some of them are mycotoxins, genetics, heavy metals, frequent consumption of NSAIDS or steroids as well as alpha-blockers, antibiotics and infections like candida or chronic infections due to food insensitivity.

To determine whether you have some kind of auto-immune disease or not, you need to look for signs like insomnia, rashes, chronic joint pain, abdominal pain or constant bloating after eating, frequent muscle pain and weakness, tingling hands or feet, blood or mucus in your stool, frequent colds and sickness, etc.

To be sure that you are suffering from a certain auto-immune disease you need to consult a physician.

However, there are also a few tests you can do to figure out if you have these conditions: CBS test, IgG test, C-reactive protein test, Autoantibody test.

But, as we have already said, to be definitely sure that there are some issues you need to treat you need to go to the doctor.

3. What Is Paleo Autoimmune Protocol?

This protocol was originally developed by Dr Lorein Cordain and Robb Wolf as a variation of a Paleo diet to help the people fight autoimmune disease.

The idea behind this protocol was to eliminate foods that damage the intestines of certain people, that is to eliminate foods that are on the “not-allowed” list for at least 30 to 60 days, and then reintroduce some foods one step at a time to see how the body reacts.

The fact is that the only way to see which foods have an adverse impact on our body is to eliminate them all for the period of up to 60 days.

4. The Origins Of The Paleo Diet

Before we dive deep into the AIP diet, there are a few things you need to know about the Paleo diet which is the diet that the AIP diet originated from.

Many people who are suffering from some kind of autoimmune disease, as well as those who are suffering from Hashimoto’s disease, are aware of the incredible benefits of the Paleo diet.

This diet has helped thousands of people deal with the health issues and feel better from a wide range of symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, ga, joint pain, bloating and many others.

According to a survey, 81% of people reported that this diet has helped them improve symptoms and feel better altogether.

When it comes to Hashimoto disease, Palo diet has even helped many people lower or completely eliminate their thyroid antibodies.

For those of you who have tried the Paleo diet but hasn’t seen any significant improvements, there are a few additional steps you can take to reach the best possible results and give you the power to take back your health.

The traditional Paleo diet is a classic elimination of different kinds of foods that people are usually sensitive to with the aim to lower inflammation.

The paleo diet eliminates foods like grains, soy, processed foods, legumes.

Put simply, you take out the foods that cause your symptoms and replace them with the foods that are rich in nutrients such as wild-caught fish, organic or grass-fed meats, organic vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs from pasture-raised hens and dairy products.

All in all, Palio diet is a great start and you should try and practice it.

However, sometimes the Paleo diet is not enough to address every case of Hashimoto or any other kinds of autoimmune disease and this is where you need to think about taking the next step.

Most importantly, with each new diet that you try out, you are discovering new kinds of foods that may or may not help you improve your symptoms and you are finding out the ways your body responds to those foods.

The thing is that each case of Hashimoto is different and many of us have different food sensitivities that are affecting our immune system.

For example, people who are suffering from Hashimoto usually have sensitivities to a wide range of foods including dairy, gluten, soy.

These are all omitted on the Paleo diet.

So what should you do if the traditional Paleo diet simply does not work for you?

Your next step is to try the autoimmune Paleo diet whose goal is to heal leaky gut by removing commonly used foods that cause inflammation.

In this way, your body should start healing from the autoimmune disease you are experiencing.

5. How Does The AIP Diet Differ From The Paleo Diet?

For starters, 60 days of a diet is a stricter version of the Paleo diet.

So, basically, you do a typical Paleo diet but then also eliminate the additional “not allowed” foods for AIP.

Next, you spend a few weeks reintroducing not allowed foods back into your Paleo diet.

So, once you introduced all the not allowed foods into your diet, you will keep on following the Paleo diet while eliminating the foods that caused issues when you tried to reintroduce them.

For instance, if you reintroduced eggs after your 30-60 days period, this means that you will have to keep eggs out of your paleo diet always even though many people who practice Paleo diet eat a lot of eggs.

6. What To Do If You Have An Autoimmune Disease And How To Avoid It?

Auto-immune disease is also known as a leaky-gut disease.

Essentially, leaky gut happens when bacteria, waste, toxins or substances that are not completely digested reach the bloodstream causing autoimmune reactions.

You need to keep in mind that 80% of the immune system is found in the gut, which means that much of the focus you need to have when you are trying to reduce the effects of the auto-immune disease is to heal your digestive system.

The GI tracts are not only aimed at digesting and absorbing nutrients.

It also contains neurotransmitters, hormones, enzymes, and chemical messengers that deliver information to your brain.

One of the ways to deal with these awful diseases is to practice autoimmune paleo diet.

For most people, following this diet for three to four weeks and developing new healthier eating habits is the key to reducing the impact which should help them get better and be healthy again.

In this text, we provide you with all the bits and pieces you need to know to reach success and live a healthier lifestyle by following an autoimmune paleo diet.

7. How To Follow An AIP Diet?

Since this diet is an elimination diet, it means that there are certain foods that should be avoided for several weeks.

What is paleo diet

According to the research, this diet is an extension of the paleo diet.

This means that a person who follows this diet usually eats vegetables, lean proteins, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Also, this diet is focused on foods that are rich in nutrients and other types of vitamins.

Anyone who decides to eat this diet will not consume anything that has added sugar or some other additives that can trigger a bad reaction and autoimmune response.

A person should follow this diet for a few weeks and then slowly introduce foods that are not included in the diet and look for reactions so that they would know what foods to exclude in the long run.

What Foods Should You Eat?

Foods you are allowed to eat on the AIP diet: Keep in mind that with the AIP diet, you’re eliminating a lot of nutrient sources.

So it’s important to choose nutrient-rich foods, including a variety of fresh vegetables, wild-caught fish, fermented foods, organ meats, and bone broth.

The core of AIP diet is meat and vegetables which makes it quite similar to paleo diet, inly with a little bit more restrictions.

For example, people on the paleo diet can eat tomatoes and nuts; foods that are restricted from the autoimmune protocol.

  • Grass-fed meats (these include organ meats rich in nutrients)
  • Seafood and wild-caught fish
  • Herbs
  • Green vegetables (endive, spinach, herbs, etc.)
  • Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc.)
  • Root vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, etc.)
  • Fermented vegetables
  • Avocados 
  • Sea vegetables 
  • Fruit: citrus fruit, berries, cherries, apples and others. 
  • Coconut oil and olive oil 
  • Vinegars with no added sugar (red wine, balsamic, cider vinegars)

Before you begin with a restrictive diet like the AIP diet, consult your physician or a dietitian.

Your doctor or dietitian can help you manage the AIP diet, helping you refine and adapt the diet to meet your individual needs, while addressing concerns about meeting vitamin and mineral requirements, the possibility of elevated levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, and so on. 

Naturally, with an AIP diet there is a list of foods you are allowed to eat and the list of foods you are not allowed to eat.

But, the great news is that there is another list: he foods you should be eating.

Feel free to go crazy with them because they will only help you and your body to heal faster.

Here is a list of the top 6 staple food items that should be a part of your meal if you are on the Autoimmune Protocol Diet.

6 foods that will help you beat the autoimmune disease

Turmeric

Turmeric is one of the very important ingredients that is frequently added into Asian dishes.

Its aim is to enhance the flavour and the colour of the food.

An interesting fact is that people have been using turmeric for centuries to heal wounds and reduce pain.

It is an amazing ingredient with anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that can heal almost anybody. 

There is curcumin in this bright orange spice, a powerful healing component that has proved to be effective in healing rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis. 

Activated charcoal

While you are on the AIP diet, it is not only important to reduce the inflammation in your body.

It’s also worth making the effort to eliminate any chemicals or toxins that are causing inflammation.

This is why it’s encouraged that you eat only organic and free-range foods.

But what about the toxins that you cannot avoid?

Use activated charcoal.

This amazing substance was once thought to be the unique cure to all illnesses.

Activated charcoal has been used in Asia for thousands of years by Ayurvedic practitioners and Chinese healers.

An interesting fact is that it has been used as an emergency treatment for overdosing since the early 1800s.

When activated, charcoal has a negative impact that attracts positively charged particles like toxins and gases, binding itself to the unwanted guest and preventing it from being absorbed into the body.

Considering its powerful qualities, the detox world has turned to activated charcoal as a tool people can use for cleansing the body and nurturing digestive health, heart health, and to slow down the process of ageing.

Activated charcoal detoxes can be found online, as can charcoal pills. 

Coconut oil

Another food with powerful anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain-relieving) properties is coconut oil.

Should you use it instead of avocado oil or olive oil (two other oils that are permitted by AIP), you will find that your foods have an additional, delicious flavour and are boosted with nutritional properties and healing effects you cannot find in the other two options.

Coconut oil is additionally good for massage because the oil will be infused into your bloodstream through the skin, further helping to reduce inflammation in your body.

Broccoli

As other sulfur-rich foods (kale, cabbage, onions, radishes, cauliflower), it’s rich in a powerful antioxidant called glutathione, which has been shown to help alleviate autoimmune diseases.

Broccoli reduces chronic inflammation and protects against oxidative stress.

Studies show that glutathione status may be diminished by almost 50% in people who are suffering from autoimmune disorders. 

For instance: Toss broccoli spears in garlic, olive oil, garlic and red pepper all is and grill until tender; cook cauliflower, broccoli and leeks in broth and then purée until it is creamy for dairy-free soup; shred or grate broccoli stems, celery, red cabbage and onions and green apples, dress with mayonnaise, and add golden raisins, raw honey and apple cider vinegar.

Broccoli is jam-packed with nutrients, one of which is sulforaphane.

This amazing antioxidant has the power to fight inflammation by lowering your levels of NF-kB and cytokines.

According to the research, it can also lower your risk of cancer and heart disease Bon appetite!

Green Tea

It’s high in a compound called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which has been shown to improve symptoms and reduce the pathology in some animal models of autoimmune diseases.

The dysregulation of T cell function is a critical factor in the development of autoimmune inflammatory diseases, and green tea has a dramatic effect on T cell function, especially their differentiation, in a way that can favourably impact autoimmunity.

While further studies in humans are needed, the results are promising.

Try This: Brewed green tea with mint tea, slices of ginger and raw honey; mix brewed green tea, bananas and coconut milk then freeze in an ice cream maker.

Wild Alaskan Salmon

This food is full of omega-3 fatty acids.

They protect against various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis,  ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease.

They modulate immune activity, decrease inflammation.

There are various types of fish including tuna, mackerel and sardines, and also other types of fish that  are also great sources of omega-3 fats. 

Try This: Simmer seaweed noodles in a broth with garlic and ginger and then top with crumbled cooked salmon and scallions; combine leeks, salmon zucchini, onion and garlic in a food processor and then use it to make patties; toss canned salmon with cubes, shredded carrots, chopped kale, and a simple vinaigrette.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut

Traditionally fermented sauerkraut is full of probiotics, which can help balance the microbiome in your gut and improve the barrier function of the intestine, which is crucial in protecting against autoimmune conditions.

Studies show that people with rheumatoid arthritis who take probiotics feel a significant reduction in stiffness, swelling, pain, and inflammation.

There are a few other probiotic dairy-free sources such as fermented vegetables, kimchi, coconut yoghurt with added probiotics, pickled ginger and water kefir. 

What Foods Should You Avoid?

As we have mentioned before this is a rather strict diet which means that many different kinds of foods are eliminated and should be avoided for good.

These kinds of foods are also the foods that should be avoided when following a paleo diet but there are also a few more that are added to the list.

These include: grains, dairy products ( including raw products as well), processed foods, refined sugars, industrial seed oils (these include canola and vegetable oils) 

However, this diet also bans some of the foods that are not banned in the Paleo diet.

These include emulsifiers and food thickeners, eggs, gum, alternative sweeteners, nightshade vegetables (potatoes, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and many more), nuts and seeds and the foods and drinks like coffee, chocolate and certain spices like coriander and cumin. 

On top of this, you should also avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and alcoholic drinks while following this diet.

NSAIDS include all the painkillers like aspirin (Bufferin), naproxen sodium, ibuprofen, etc. 

Researchers and medical experts also believe that blue-green algae can also have a tremendously positive impact on your health and significantly reduce the bad impact of auto-immune conditions.

However, this is not specifically addressed in AIP protocols. 

Now that you are familiar with what kinds of foods you should not eat we present you the list of foods you can consume while following auto-immune diet: 

These foods should definitely be rich in vegetables and different kinds of meats.

Keep in mind that you need to exclude nightshades when it comes to vegetables. 

So here are some other kinds of foods you can also consume:

– Olive oil
– A variety of vinegar, including balsamic, red wine, and apple cider, so long as they have no added sugar
– Herbs
– Arrowroot starch
– Gelatin from grass-fed beef
– Coconut products, including coconut oil
– Fermented foods, so long as they don’t contain dairy (for example, kombucha, non-dairy kefir, and fermented vegetables)
– Small portions of honey or maple syrup

There are also some foods you can incorporate on a limited basis.

Also, keep in mind that fruits are controversial types of foods when it comes to this diet.

According to some researchers, you should exclude fruits altogether, while some experts believe that you should consume 10-25 grams of fructose daily or about two pieces of fruit.

Plus, you can consume green and black teas, that is teas that aren’t seed-based. 

Before starting a restrictive diet like auto-immune diet, you simply must talk to your physician or a dietician to find out more about what you can consume and how much.

Also, a medical expert in this field can help you manage your AIP diet, guide you through the steps you need to take to refine it and adapt it to your needs while also taking the levels of vitamins and nutrients you should consume into account. 

The AIP diet is designed for the people suffering from autoimmune disease to lower nourish the body and inflammation.

But what are you allowed to eat?

How do you manage it?

The AIP diet (Autoimmune Protocol) is specially designed for those people who are suffering from autoimmune disease so that they can reduce inflammation and help their bodies to heal.

It removes inflammatory foods, gut irritants and immune stimulants for around 30 days.

Once they are eliminated, you can start consuming foods one by one to check if your body has healed and if it can tolerate the foods you used to consume again.

Many people continue to follow an AIP template even after they stopped feeling their autoimmune symptoms.

This can help them stop symptoms from flaring again, or they simply developed new eating habits and realised that they feel better eating more of an AIP template.

Regardless of how long you keep following this diet, AIP is meant to be a short-term healing solution and not a long-term way of life.

– All animal proteins (excluding eggs)
– All kinds of vegetables (except for nightshades)
– Fruits (not in huge amounts)
– Healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, animal fats, etc.)
– Organ meats, bone broth
– Baking flours with no grains (tigernut, cassava, coconut, tapioca, etc.)
– All grains (wheat, rice, oats, corn, etc.)
– All dairy products (all dairy of all types)
– All legumes (all beans such as lentils, black beans, chickpeas, and vegetables like green beans as well as peanuts)
– Spices and nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, all peppers, red spices)
– All nuts and seeds
– Seed based spices (cumin, mustard, sesame, etc.)
– Eggs
– Soy
– Gums, thickeners, and food additives
– Poor quality seed oils (sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, etc.)

How does it work?

There are four important areas The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol addresses which are known as  crucial contributors to autoimmune and chronic diseases.

aip how it works

According to the insights collected from around 1,200 scientific studies, these lifestyle and diet recommendations particularly target:

Nutrient density

The immune system (and indeed every system in the body) requires a variety of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids to maintain normal functioning.

Imbalances and deficiencies are key players in the progression and development of autoimmune disease.

Being focused on eating the foods that are rich in nutrients corrects both deficiencies and imbalances, which supports regulation of the hormone system and immune system, detoxification systems, and neurotransmitter production.

A diet that is rich in nutrients further provides the foundation that your body needs to heal tissues that are damaged. 

Gut health

Leaky gut and gut dysbiosis are key facilitators in the development of autoimmune disease.

The foods recommended on the Autoimmune Protocol support the growth of healthy levels and a healthy variety of gut microorganisms.

Foods that damage the gut are avoided.

On the other hand, the foods that can restore gut barrier function and lead to healing are the ones you should focus on.

Many factors that have a strong impact on gut microbial composition as well as on gut barrier health are also addressed on the Autoimmune Protocol.

Restoring a healthy gut barrier and microbiome are necessary precursors to healing since gut health and immune functioning are closely connected. 

The regulation of hormones

When, how, and how much food we eat affects a number of our hormones that interact with our immune system.

When eating plenty of foods that are rich in sugar have a bad impact on these hormones, the immune system is directly affected.

The aim of AIP diet is to emphasise the regulation of these hormones which automatically regulates the immune system as well.

These hormones that can have an enormous impact on our immune system are significantly under the influence of how much we sleep and how we sleep, what kind of activities we do ona daily basis, how much we are exposed to the Sun, how much time we spend outside in the open air and how well we deal with stress. 

The regulation of Immune system regulation

By restoring the barrier function of a gut, providing enough micronutrients for our immune system, and regulating the crucial hormones that have a positive impact on the immune system we can achieve Immune regulation.

Not only Autoimmune Protocol diet but also our lifestyle play key roles in providing opportunity and resources for immune regulation.

If we combine tissue healing with immune regulation, reduction in symptoms is almost guaranteed.

Inflammation is a factor in all chronic illnesses, and this is one area where the foods we eat can make a huge difference.

In some cases, an immune system that isn’t regulating itself properly causes the illness; in others, inflammation is merely an element of the illness or a contributor to how the illness developed – but it is always a problem and a player.

What this means is that reducing inflammation and giving the immune system the resources it needs, as well as the opportunity to regulate itself, can help in every single chronic illness.

This is important because inflammation is strongly influenced by what we eat, how well we sleep, how stressed we are, and how active we are.

And this is why chronic illness can respond so positively to changes in diet and lifestyle.

Food has therapeutic potential for every chronic illness – but that’s not the same thing as calling food a cure.

Depending on the illness you’re struggling with, how long you’ve had it, how aggressive the disease is, and what confounding factors you’re dealing with, dietary changes may get you as far as a complete reversal of your disease, or they may slow the progress of your illness, or they may simply improve your quality of life.

These are all successes worth celebrating.

Good food may not be the miracle cure you’re hoping for, but it’s pretty darn powerful all the same.

Once you adopt the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, your choices of food become focused on consuming the nutrients to support healing.

Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to sustain a normal metabolism, build new tissue, and produce hormones, important proteins, and signaling molecules. 

And the full range of fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to get rid of inflammation, regulate the immune system, and support the normal functioning of all the body’s systems. .

8. Who Should Try The AIP Diet?

According to the feedback we got from a number of people, it seems that just sticking to a pure Paleo diet and its strict rules helps people deal with the issues of their auto-immune disease.

There are a lot of people who managed to improve their Rheumatoid Arthritis just by following the Paleo diet.

However, for those people whose autoimmune conditions don’t improve through the Paleo diet, trying the AIP diet is definitely a solution.

The biggest challenge with this diet is that it is extremely restrictive which means that you have to be very determined, disciplined and eager to do your best if you want to achieve positive results.

Also, since the diet is highly restrictive, the best option is not to eat out at all. 

9. How To Know If The AIP Diet Worked For You?

Although it is recommended to practice this diet for 30 to 60 days, it is always the best option to wait to see the improvement this diet will bring before starting reintroductions.

This elimination is not meant to last forever but it can sometimes take even a few months to see any improvements in symptoms success.

Once you see the improvement, you can start reintroducing new foods.

Also, it is highly advisable that you work with one or more health couches so that they would give you guidance and support while introducing new kinds of foods.

Ultimately, your goals should be to create a personalized diet that works for you by uncovering dietary triggers and promoting healing in the long term.

In case you are suffering from symptoms that include fatigue, muscle strain and joint pain, gas, rashes and bloating as well as overall body aches, reduction in symptoms like these can often be as a sign that the changes in our eating habits have a positive impact and that AIP is actually working.

In addition to feeling better, getting tested by a doctor for changes in inflammatory markers is highly advisable.

Also, the health of the gut microbiome is the most objective way to make sure that the diet has produced decreased inflammation in your body.

Some medical experts claim that they have seen success and even a complete disease remission in those people suffering from an autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and others.

10. Will You Feel Better Immediately After You Start Following An AIP Diet?

Keep in mind that there is a transition/withdrawal period before you start feeling better on AIP diet, especially if this is the first time you removed gluten, processed foods and dairy foods from your everyday meals.

According to many experts and researchers, casomorphins (which can be found in protein casein) and gliadorphin (which can be found in gluten, a protein found in wheat) can trigger good feelings making us feel like we are under the influence of certain types of addictive drugs.

This is why some people believe that certain types of foods are addictive as drugs which explains why it is so hard for us to cut down on our most favourite foods and build healthier habits.

While this is certainly an exaggeration, because you certainly cannot compare the immense impact of drugs with the impact certain types of food can have on your body, we have also seen some people experience withdrawal-like symptoms, including brain fog, cravings, irritability, fatigue, headaches, once they quit consuming foods like gluten, dairy products, and sugar altogether while they were trying to remain disciplined during their AIP diet.

What’s good is that once you eliminate these inflammatory foods, you will immediately start to feel better.

So, you can expect to see some amazing results within 30-90 days of implementing the AIP diet.

Sometimes, it can also take a bi longer – it depends on the severity of your own symptoms and your whole body state.

In case you do not see the results after 30 days, you should also eliminate mammalian types of meat and consume fish as your main protein source.

Then you can start reintroducing foods one by one and see how your body reacts.

As we have already mentioned this allows you to create a diet that is tailored for you and that will perfectly fit into your lifestyle.

In this way, you will be more in touch with what does and what doesn’t work for you and your body.

 

History of AIP Diet

The AIP diet is relatively new, having been launched from the Paleo diet after Dr. Loren Cordain noticed that certain foods on the Paleo diet caused symptoms to flare in people with autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Cordain is a nutrition researcher at Colorado State University and founder of the Paleo diet.

The AIP diet received a push into mainstream consciousness from the platforms of Robb Wolf and Dr. Sarah Ballantyne. Robb Wolf is a biochemist researcher who mentioned the diet in his book The Paleo Solution.

And Dr. Ballantyne wrote about the AIP diet on her website, The Paleo Mom.

Like the Paleo Diet that is based on high amounts of protein and low amounts carbohydrate, the AIP diet restricts foods like grains and legumes.

Some common legumes are peas, chickpeas, beans, peanuts, soybeans, lentils, carob, and tamarind).

Although, the AIP diet is more restrictive than the Paleo diet.

For example, eggs, nuts, seeds, and nightshade vegetables (eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) are not consumed.

Is AIP diet right for you? Who is it for?

 

People with autoimmune diseases

The autoimmune protocol used to based on biological plausibility, educated conjecture, and a convincing stream of anecdata.

It did seem to work for many of the people trying it, but it hadn’t been demonstrated in a legitimate study.

That changed in 2017 when a study found the autoimmune protocol to be effective against inflammatory bowel disease.

15 patients with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis were enrolled in the study.

On average, the subjects had been dealing with their disease for 19 years.

These were IBD lifers.

They spent 6 weeks phasing out all the foods, using Sarah Ballantyne’s great book on the autoimmune protocol as a guide.

Experienced Primal eaters could probably phase out the foods more quickly, through the 6 week phase out might be an important part of the total effect.

They spent 5 weeks trying to maintain the protocol once everything was eliminated and when symptoms had stabilized.

11 of 15 patients had total remission.

They’d spent an average of 19 years having to map out the nearest toilets whenever they left the house, and all of a sudden they were basically normal.

That’s huge.

That’s better than any IBD drug.

There are limitations here.

15 subjects is quite low; I’d like to see ten times that many.

There was no control group; this wasn’t a randomized trial (which the authors acknowledge).

But it’s quite impressive and bodes well for other autoimmune conditions.

Although this was the only study to examine the entire autoimmune protocol, we know that there are specific foods which play important roles in particular autoimmune conditions.

Grains containing gluten are probably the biggest offender, since gluten has the ability to open the tight junctions in our guts, which is called leaky gut, and then create passage of food particles and endotoxins into our bodies where they can lead to inflammatory and autoimmune processes.

Gluten-free diets have been presented to help with:

  • Autoimmune hepatitis
  • Type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune disease)
  • Rheumatoid arthritis

Recommended best practices

Based on the experience of many people we have talked about and the results of many kinds of research we have conducted we found out what the best practices are when it comes to AIP diet.

Here are some of them:

  • Don’t eat on the run and make sure you chew and consume your food properly.
  • Learn how to ferment your own vegetables. It’s good to know and you will not have to spend extra money on buying fermented products.
  • Make sure you have around d 80% of vegetables and 20% of meat or fish in each of your daily meals.
  • Drink plenty of filtered water. We all know how beneficial water is in almost any diet.
  • Limit fruits to 1 or 2 servings per day and ensure that they are low on the glycemic index (this is a ranking telling us how low fast carbohydrates are digested).
  • Include 6-8 servings of vegetables each day.
  • Focus on sauces, dips and broths.
  • Try consuming as many fats and oils (olive oil, coconut oil, duck fat, beef tallow) as possible in your daily meals. But make sure they are cooked at the right temperature.
  • Don’t forget to check supplement labels to ensure that they are free of the ingredients you should avoid.

11. How To Get Started On The AIP Diet?

Like with many diets, usually, the hardest part is how to get started because we know what kind of sacrifice we need to make for a certain period of time.

One of the ways you can ease this process and help yourself make the first step towards achieving your goal is to start reading a lot of literature covering the main topics of the AIP diet.

Some of the best resources you can find on the internet are Autoimmune Wellness, the Paleo Mum and Unbound Wellness.

You will find many interesting autoimmune paleo diet recipes and useful tips on these sites that will empower you to start with the diet in no time, build and maintain new healthy eating habits.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that you will probably have to spend some extra money on numerous groceries you need to make this diet successful.

However, there are ways you can cut your costs down.

For example, try some more affordable cuts of meat (these may usually require more cooking time), bulk portions of dried herbs and spices.

Also, when it comes to producing, it is always best to buy seasonal foods as they are much fresher which will also make your food taste better and they are much more affordable and abundant.

When starting a new diet the best thing you can do is to first make a plan and then create a shopping list which you take with you when going to the supermarket.

This will give you an insight into how each of the products you need to prepare the cost of your meals and then plan meals carefully.

There are sale items in every market and you should definitely take advantage of them because this will significantly decrease your costs in the long run.

Bear in mind that some diets allow occasional cheating.

But, the AIP diet is not one of them.

To get the best results possible you need to be very disciplined and determined throughout the process.

The intention is to clear your body of all the unwanted inflammation and sneaking the foods that may harm your body system is not the road you want to take.

Your body will respond to inflammatory food even when nobody’s watching.

So to get what you want to stick to the diet and you will start feeling the benefits in no time.

12. Tips On How To Triumph In Your AIP Efforts

Reaching success on your AIO diet journey can be full of challenges and it takes time for you to see some positive results.

So, here are some tips you should follow if you want to go through this process as smoothly as possible.

Eat the same things

Trying to figure out what kind of food to eat is one of the things that may be quite challenging.

However, don’t panic.

The only thing you have to do is to actually eat 7-10 meals each day, less but more frequently.

Of course, it is always better to have a clear knowledge of what you can eat and what you can’t eat because this gives you more time to focus on your success and not think about what kind of food you should prepare every day.

Buy in bulk

You need to know that you will be eating more food than usually which means that you should try to buy in bulk every time you go to the store.

In this way, you won’t have to go to the shop every once in a while and you will be able to focus on what matters.

Also, you will be able to save money and avoid the anger of not having what to eat at every given moment.

Also, since this diet removes foods like gluten, dairy products, sugar, you will have more space than usual and you won’t have any fillers taking some extra space in your stomach or the entire body.

This means that your body will be able to assimilate nutrients quicker and metabolize which is a major plus.

Prepare meals in advance

The easiest thing you can do is just to prepare your food meals in advance and then just reheat instead of cooking everything from scratch.

Also, try cooking the meals the night before because, in that way, you will save a big chunk of your time for daily activities.

Plus, if you prepare food for 2 or 3 days, you will save much money along the way.

If, at some point, you get bored with the same food, try experimenting with some new recipes that fit into your daily meals.

Think AIP thoughts

To be truly dedicated to your goal and give your best to achieve amazing results you need to adopt a particular mindset and stick to it all the way.


There are a few things you can keep repeating to stay focused on your goals:

  • This diet is not a permanent solution. You are not going to be on this diet forever, it is just something a temporary stop on your healing journey.
  • Don’t focus your thoughts on the things you can’t have. Instead, try focusing on all the amazing things you can have.
  • Your body is your temple, it looks after you. So, now’s the time you started taking care of your body and health.

Do some research

It seems that not everyone who is suffering from the autoimmune disease should do AIP diet.

Dairy products and gluten don’t necessarily affect everyone.

There are plenty of ways you can heal yourself if this diet does not work for you such as Homeopathy, Chinese medicine, Neuropathic options, and even maybe modern medicine can help a lot.

Finding out what works best for you and knowing that you have many options to help your body heal will ease your mind and make you feel more determined.

In this way, you can make important healing decisions and ensure that you are following the right path.

Remember that healing is the process and that you need to constantly listen to yourself to find out what works best for you.

Have some occasional snacks to satisfy your cravings

Choose some of the snacks like banana waffles, or baby carrots or plantain chips with liver pate or a bowl of fresh seasonal fruit during the summer.

Remove non-AIP foods from your kitchen

Get rid of all the foods that you are not allowed to eat during AIP diet.

Although this may seem a bit difficult to do, we recommend giving that food to either neighbors or friends, especially if you have a lot of cans or unopened boxes of food.

Plus, you can donate food to the local food pantries as well.

It’s a win-win!

In case you have foods that can be used as reintroductions, you can give them to a neighbor just to keep them safe and then use them when it’s time.

Don’t rush reintroductions

Some people who start an AIP diet get easily frustrated and start complaining about not feeling anything different after 30 days of following the diet.

If you don’t feel that the symptoms are improving after 30 days, you need to keep on with your diet.

If you have been eating a lot of foods that are rich in sugars before you have started your diet, you will probably experience a withdrawal period and you may experience various sorts of nasty detox symptoms.

Whatever you do, you mustn’t quit.

If you find it too demanding, you can always start the diet from the beginning, but this time with small baby steps.

All of these things are a part of the process and should be taken seriously.

The most important thing is to reach a goal.

How fast or slow you are going to progress depends on your determination and dedication.

If, after several months you don’t see any improvement, then you should consult your dietician who should give you step-by-step guidance on how to manage your AIP diet successfully.

AIP diet is the first step you need to take.

You have to give it a fair chance without rushing into reintroductions.

Keep in mind that as your gut and the whole body is healing you might have a certain reaction to a specific kind of food, but as the time goes by that kind of reaction might change or can disappear as well.

The easiest way to keep track of what foods cause you what reactions and how those reactions change over time is to run a journal where you would write all the details.

Look at this entire protocol as an experiment and think happy thoughts.

Instead of getting frustrated try going for the positive.

Also, try planning your reintroductions in the same way you planned your daily meals.

There are many great sources on this topic and we will be writing more on this in the future.

Ask for the support

Besides a strict meal plan, you should also ask for support from your closest ones as well as the experts in the field of AIP diet.

Support is the key to success. Find the ones who are familiar with your current health state and tell them about your new diet.

Ask them to help you be accountable and stay on the track no matter the circumstances.

Even better, find a friend who is willing to do AIP diet with you.

Besides family, you can join some of the online forums and communities and participate by asking and answering questions.

Forums may provide you with invaluable insight into the first-hand experience shared by many people suffering from the autoimmune disease who decide to start their AIP diet journey.

You will find great comfort and realize that you are not alone in this a that there are many people struggling to heal from the disease similar to yours.

You might even become friends with some of them.

Finally, you can ask for professional support and help at any time.

If you are feeling depressed or under stress, you might want to consult a psychotherapist.

Emotional issues we experience may be some of the root causes of the disease so it’s a good idea to let this out and address that trauma.

A psychiatrist will help you reconnect with yourself and get to the root of the problem which will help you speed up your healing process.

Besides psychotherapist, a dietician or a medical expert can help you with your meal plans in case you don’t want to search for meal plans online as this may take a lot of your time.

If you have trouble implementing changes to your life, you should consult a health or life coach.

They should provide you with the steps you need to take to make lasting behavior changes not only with the diet but with many things in life as well.

Keep a journal

We’ve already mentioned somewhere above that keeping a journey is a good idea.

We highly recommend keeping a “food-mood” journal.

In this journal, you should write about what you eat and drink and what kind of medications and supplements you take.

Also, write down how you feel about those changes.

Certain patterns will appear and you will learn a lot from these behavioral patterns.

In other words, they will help you realize what works or not and what else you need to change to reach success.

Besides noting down what you consume daily and what reactions these foods trigger, make sure you also write about your sleep patterns, mood and exercise.

Write down about how you feel and how your mood changes from time to time.

Also, write about how much you exercise daily and how you feel afterwards.

There is nothing you can lose except a little bit of your time

13. How To Personalise AIP Diet?

Start with a 30 day reset

Chris Kresser’s book The Paleo Cure (formerly Your Personal Paleo Code), he suggests that everyone looking to discover their ideal diet start with a 30-day strict Paleo protocol.

This means following the standard Paleo guidelines: no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no industrial seed oils, no alcohol, and so on.

I suggest that someone with an autoimmune disease who is currently eating a standard American diet start with the normal Paleo 30-day reset.

Many people with autoimmunity will do just fine following a Paleo diet, and adding in the autoimmune diet restrictions shouldn’t be necessary in this situation.

Going immediately from a standard American diet to an AIP can be overwhelming for many people, which is why I generally suggest starting with the standard Paleo approach if you haven’t done so yet.

That said, if you have already given the standard Paleo 30-day reset a try.

This time, I recommend adding in the standard AIP diet restrictions, as well.

This means additionally eliminating nightshades, eggs,  (e.g., potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers), and seeds and nuts.

I generally recommend extending the reset to a minimum of 60 days for people with severe autoimmune conditions that affect neurological function, or cause symptoms that have a noticeable impact on daily life.

I’ve found that most people see enough improvement within the first 30 days that extending the reset another 30 days is no problem for them.

Side note: each time you consume foods like dairy, eggs and others that trigger an immune response, your body starts producing antibodies that lead to the attack on your immune system.

This kind of attack can last for weeks, days and even months if you consumed a lot of these foods.

If you commit fully to the reset time period you will most definitely see the improvements you are looking for and this is why the reset time is so important.  

Also, it’s vital to keep in mind that AIP diet is not something that will help you heal, and it may not be the only way to heal the damaged tissue or put your illness into a full remission.

By supporting your illness with additional medication or some of the targeted AIP supplements might be something you will have to focus on to gain the best results and help your body start functioning properly.

To maintain the body’s optimal functioning, you may consume medications or targeted AIp supplements.

You don’t need to feel ashamed of using traditional medicine along with lifestyle and dietary approach to the healing process. 

Having that in mind, once you remove toxins and foods that create autoimmune response and include some of the nutrients that.

That said, by removing the foods and toxins that contribute to the autoimmune response and providing adequate nutrients to fuel the healing process, you can significantly reduce symptoms and even possibly put the disease into remission.

Optimize Your Nutrient Intake

When it comes to adequate nutrients, if you simply remove foods from your diet it isn’t enough for you to heal from an autoimmune disease.

You must be determined to add certain foods into your diet so as to be able to enrich your body with nutrients that will then repair organs that are damaged, modular the immune system and provide cure to the gut lining.

Apart from removing the common autoimmunity triggers we talked about above, it’s vital that you add some foods that are rich in nutrients including bone broth, fermented foods, high-quality meats and fats, shellfish and fatty fish. 

There were clients I have been working with who followed AIP restrictions strictly, but they didn;t add any foods that are rich in nutrients, which made them unable to heal easily and quickly. 

Another great benefit of focusing on adding foods is the effect your total calorie intake will have on healing.

There is a whole range of challenges many of my clients following the AIP diet have to face, but one of them is the most common one: undereating.

Since there are numerous restrictions you have to respect, some people end up eating less calories than they should which is not good.

Regardless of what challenges you have to face, undereating is never a good chise and can only worsen your health. 

There is a list of foods you simply must add to your list along with consuming a certain number of calories.

This is the right path you need to take to heal your body from autoimmune disease. 

Liver, Fatty Fish, and Shellfish

There is a wide range of nutrients in foods like fatty fish, liver, shellfish.

These include vitamins A and D, choline, zink and various B vitamins which are crucial for modulating the immune response (particularly the T-regulatory cell response), supporting energy production as well as the healing process of  tissues that are damaged, particularly the gut lining.

One of the foods that can make a significant impact on body health is liver when you are on a strict AIP diet.

Liver contains a variety of nutrients that otherwise come from eggs, which are not used in the AIP diet.

Currently, the theory says that “leaky” and inflamed gut leads to the development of  autoimmune disease.

Therefore, doing a diet that allows you to create healthy gut integrity is highly important if you want to get your body into shape and heal from autoimmune diseases. (We will be discussing leaky gut in detail in another article). 

Fermented Vegetables

When it comes to fermented vegetables, you need to know that they provide beneficial probiotics and that they also contain fermentable fibers that are extremely good for your gut flora.

Fermented Vegetables

This is crucial for keeping a healthy gut lining which is also supported by bacteria’s ability to produce butyrate.

This cell is a key player in T-regulatory cell differentiation and production, and can have a very positive impact on the immune system. 

Bone Broth

Another food you need to focus on in your AIP diet is bone broth.

It contains gelatin, which is a protein that has amino acids like glycine, glutamine and proline.

They can help reduce inflammation, heal the gut lining, and generally have a positive effect on gut integrity.

Glycine is known for its ability to inhibit immune activity and function as an anti-inflammatory.

All of this makes bone broth one of the crucial foods that can improve gut healing and is a perfect choice for a person suffering from autoimmune disease. 

Most of the people who are doing an AIP diet are very successful at avoiding the foods that are not allowed on an AIP diet, they still often find it hard to add foods that are rich in nutrients like shellfish, liver, bone broth, fermented vegetables.

However, you need to keep in mind that these foods are the essentials of the successful AIP diet and should therefore be included in your daily eating habits if you really want to achieve success and heal from autoimmune disease. 

Taking a Systematic Approach with AIP Reintroduction Stages

There are many benefits of reintroducing foods that are not allowed in AIP diet:

There is a possibility you will be able to tolerate foods that are full of nutrients like dairy and eggs, which can have a very positive impact on your overall body’s health.

You will have a clearer picture of what foods you need to avoid more than others which will allow you to choose foods you want to eat more freely

Eating a variety of foods during an AIP diet can have a great impact on your ability to truly enjoy the food you consume when you are eating out and when you are preparing food at home, which leads to a number of high-quality life benefits.  

If you conclude that you can easily tolerate dairy products, you can also try to enjoy a variety of nutritional benefits of grass-fed dairy.

Actually, raw milk may bring a lot of benefits to the people suffering from autoimmune diseases.

For instance, drinking raw milk can substantially increase the levels of glutathione which is another nutrient that can modulate the immune response. 

Probably one of the most challenging tasks in the AIP diet is reintroduction of foods.

This is one of the ways of personalising AIP diet.

As we have mentioned above, it can take a lot of time for an immune system to kick in to the point where symptoms return.

While some people might react strongly to some foods which are otherwise not allowed to be consumed during the AIP diet and that they have immune activity against (for example, gluten here is the one to blame), other people can only have minor reactions and just a few symptoms.

One of the best ways to start a reintroduction phase is to first choose the foods you find important, and then adopt a systematic approach to bringing them back into your diet. 

If you have autoimmune disease, I rarely suggest that you should introduce gluten again. 

However, people with autoimmune disease can frequently tolarate foods that are generally excluded from the diet like white rice, nuts and seeds, nightshades, eggs and dairy products, legumes.

But, be mindful that there are certain groups of foods you need to reintroduce in a certain order. 

One of the examples is dairy products. 

Here you can start with ghee which has so little milk proteins and then you can consume other dairy products like heavy cream, butter, fermented dairy, fluid milk, etc. 

Also, you can include eggs on this list where you should first introduce yolk, and then nightshades.

When it comes to nightshades you need to introduce foods one by one (first you need to start with potatoes, tomatoes, and then eggplant, etc.

Plus, you can reintroduce foods like gluten-free grains or rice if you want to. 

If you wish to find out more about the foods you should reintroduce in your diet eventually, you need to read the book the Paleo Cure.

However, one thing you always need to keep in mind is that you need to reintroduce foods one by one and one food at a time.

Also, give yourself at least three days to recognise if any of your symptoms start exacerbating.

For instance, some symptoms like joint pain, skin inflammation or even some new “unrelated” symptoms such as gastrointestinal distress or fatigue.

If it has been three days since you have started eating these foods and you don’t seem to notice any symptoms, you can conclude that eating this kind of food is perfectly fine.  

Do Some Tests for Sensitivities

Reintroduction tests may not be enough to find out which foods are having a bad impact on your immune system.

If you notice that your symptoms are not improving while practicing AIP diet, and if you have gone through the reintroduction phase and you realise that symptoms started coming back, maybe you are still eating foods that have an adverse impact on your immune system. 

In this scenario, the best advice is to have some tests to determine which foods are causing this kind of reaction.

These tests include testing both immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A antibodies and can help you discover what kinds of foods your body is intolerant to. 

There is a test called Array 10 which allows you to test a large number of different kinds of foods in raw and cooked forms.

This test is a great way for anyone on an AIP diet who does not seem to see any kind of improvement they were looking forward to.

So, if it turns out that you are not satisfied with the results of your diet and would like to change something, you can always do this test and get all the necessary details that should help you eventually reach success. 

Do note that these tests are relevant and accurate only if they are done on the food you have eaten in the last four to six weeks.

This means that if you haven’t been consuming dairy products, testing whether you are sensitive to dairy will probably not give you the desired results , even if you are intolerant to those products.

So, all in all, testing is always a better option for people who have been consuming some of the foods in question recently and have also felt that the symptoms have returned or worsened. 

Also, be mindful that there is a whole range of tests on the market today and not all of them are relevant and useful.

Some of them lack accuracy and are simply not good and efficient enough.

Also, some of them might create disordered eating habits which is something we definitely want to avoid.

Plus, those kinds of tests can make a person refocus his or her attention from dealing with the root cause of the problem and eliminating sensitivities in order to help their body heal properly.

In case you feel you need to test your current body state to identify which foods might have a bad impact on your body from an immunological standpoint, It’s always best to consult a professional or a qualified practitioner who can give you guidelines on how to navigate testing options and understand your tests’ results. 

Focus on Your Lifestyle


One of the things that play a major role in the health state of most people are their everyday lifestyle and eating habits.

So, besides going on AIP diet or any other diet, you should also make sure you are physically active and that you take care of other habits that significantly impact your lifestyle.

For example, you need to pay attention to how much you sleep, how you accumulate and relieve stress and how much you exercise on a daily basis. 

If you fail to live a healthy lifestyle, like having enough sleep and get physically active as much and as often as possible ,this can have an adverse impact on your diet and undo all the benefits that it could otherwise bring. 

Exercise

Besides being extremely important for cardiovascular health and weight loss, exercising is also important for healthy immune functioning.

According to research, exercising is important for T-regulatory cell production and it can also help reduce inflammation in people suffering from auto-immune diseases. 

So, the best recipe is to do exercises at a low to moderate intensity.

Generally, this means that you need to avoid overly intense or excessive exercises, have some rest between workouts, move on a daily basis at low intensity, and limit inactive lifestyle. 

Manage Your Stress

Stress can lead to bad lifestyle and have an adverse impact on health.

It can reduce gut barrier integrity and can even worsen autoimmune disorders like psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, MS and others.

According to one study, chronic stress causes a body to lose its ability to regulate inflammatory response.

This explains why more women usually have autoimmune disease than men.

So, if you are not using some mechanism to deal with stress, your efforts to achieve positive results with AIP diet will simply fall flat. 

There are a whole variety of ways you can use to manage your stress, from yoga and meditation to planned social events and occasions with friends and loved ones.

It’s up to you to choose the ones that perfectly suit your needs.

Hugging a person, petting a dog, going for a monthly massage can help you decrease the level of stress you are experiencing.

So, choose a few and do your best to get rid of stress.  

Sleep

Sleep is one of the most important factors when it comes to building healthy lifestyle habits.

If you fail to sleep enough hours you can only experience even more stress in life which can then have a negative impact on your health.

Poor sleep can also be a source of inflammation.

If you experience poor sleep for weeks or months, inflammatory immune cells can start producing excessively which then might have an adverse impact on the body’s own tissue.

If you are worried about how much you sleep, you should consult an expert that should give you advice on how to get back to the track and he or she will explain to you in detail what circadian rhythms are and what their role is in regulating hormone cycles. 

Spend Time Outdoors in the Sun

We all know that sunshine is a source of life and that it is full of healthy vitamins D which can directly influence the immune system in a positive way.

Also, vitamin D plays an important role in reducing the symptoms of autoimmune disease.

This is why it is often used as a treatment to fight against this awful disease. 

The easiest way to get vitamin D is to take every moment you have to expose yourself to the Sun as much as possible.

In case there is not much sun in the area where you live, you may want to use supplements.

But, ensure that you consult a dietician who will give you the guidelines and tell you how much you are allowed to consume and when. 

 

Avoid Toxins

If you want to reduce the burden of your immune system, you may want to avoid toxins in your everyday life and do whatever it takes to make your body healthy and clean.

According to one study that was conducted on mice, there was an increased risk of  developing autoimmune disease when the mice were exposed to phthalates.

These are found in various substances from plastic food and beverage containers to detergents and cosmetics. 

One way to minimize your exposure to these substances is to start using natural products whenever you can.

For example, try using natural products when you are cleaning your house, washing laundry or drinking a bottle of water.

Also, make sure you decrease your usage of industrial cosmetics and use organic instead.

There is a whole range of blog posts and articles explaining how you can clean your house by using chemicals that are not toxic as well as what kind of organic cosmetics can help you achieve the best results without causing any damage to your skin and body. 

Get Help When You Need It!

If you follow these tips you will be able to personalize your AIP diet and unquestionably see big improvements of your symptoms over time. 

Also, keep in mind that some people might need additional tweeks, more frequent and deeper testing to achieve personalized changes and develop a new lifestyle plan before they see any improvements. 

This refers to people who are suffering from some serious illnesses like long-term neurological involvement or surgical intervention, pharmaceutical dependency and other issues.

In case you are looking for some serious in-depth testing, or you just need some advice on how to follow this diet, tweak it in the best possible way, or what kind of supplements to use, it’s always best to consult a qualified Functional Medical practitioner.

This particularly refers to people with severe gut issues, long-term neurological involvement, or compounding issues like surgical intervention or pharmaceutical dependency.

Some people who are suffering from autoimmune diseases have to follow an AIP diet.

But, there are also people who do not have to stick to the diet and can use some other mechanisms to help their body heal.

Some of them are able to tolerate some foods while others have exacerbated symptoms.

How does AIP food reintroduction work?

When you try to control your eating habits and gauge your reaction to different kinds of foods that you like eating, adding them to your diet all at once is something that you definitely should avoid.

The most important thing here is that you go slow because it will allow you to determine the foods that are causing issues in your body.

Also, you want to avoid overloading your body with the foods that potentially do harm to your system.

Here are a few steps you need to take when reintroducing the foods that are not on the AIP diet list:

  1. Follow the protocol for about 30 days until you get to the point where you can recognise that the healing process has started and that your body is experiencing some positive changes
  2. Start with the level 1 reintroduction schedule
  3. Eat one kind of food and wait for the reaction to happen
  4. Make sure you prepare your food at home instead of eating out
  5. Start writing your reactions to foods in a journal so that you can easily track if there is anything that causes autoimmune conditions. You should be looking for symptoms like headaches, mood swings, fatigue, skin changes, bloating and other things
  6. Add foods that work for you and remove the foods that seem to be causing bad reactions
  7. Repeat the entire process

And, how do you know that your body started healing from auto-immune disease?

The answer to this question can be different for everyone.

But here are two ways you can use to estimate whether you are healing or not.

  1. There is a change in your labs/blood work
  2. There is a noticeable reduction in your symptoms

As we have mentioned the details are different for anyone which means that you need to consult your dietician who will explain to you how the healing may look like for you specifically.

AIP diet daily menu

To help you start with the diet more easily, we’ve compiled a list of foods you should eat for each meal.

Breakfast

When it comes to an AIP breakfast, smoothies are your friend, believe me.

They’re the perfect way to start your days full of tasty nutrients, and it should last you until lunch!

Ingredients:

  • Banana ½
  • Avocado ¼
  • One cup of vegetable juice
  • Two or three cups fresh leafy greens (for example, kale and spinach)
  • One or two scoops AIP-friendly (collagen) protein powder

Lunch

Continuing with the island theme, here’s a super tasty Teriyaki bowl from the team over at Forest and Fauna.

Ingredients:

  • Two boneless pork chops
  • Four slices pineapple
  • One red onion – small one
  • Coconut oil
  • Four cups of green leaf lettuce
  • Green onions or cilantro

Teriyaki Sauce + Marinade

  • Cup coconut aminos 1/4
  • Two teaspoons maple syrup or honey
  • One teaspoon ginger juice
  • Teaspoon fish sauce 1/2
  • Cup pineapple juice 1/4 

Cabbage Slaw

  • A head of red cabbage 1/2
  • One Tablespoon lime juice
  • One to two teaspoons honey
  • Pinch of sea salt

Dinner

Orange chicken teriyaki meatballs from AIP lifestyle are so good, and the meatballs are extremely simple.

Ingredients:

Meatballs

  • 2 pounds ground chicken
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
  • 2 tsp orange zest (2 oranges worth)
  • big pinch salt

Sauce

  • 2/3 cup fresh orange juice (juice of 2 navel oranges)
  • 2 tsp grated ginger
  • 1/4 cup coconut aminos
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 clove crushed garlic
  • 1 tbsp honey

Need something to get you through the day? Here are a few common AIP snacks:

  • AIP Granola
  • Avocados
  • Tuna
  • Berries
  • Cucumbers
  • Root vegetable fries
  • Make your own AIP trail mix
  • CHOMPS Italian and Sea Salt Beef

What does a typical day on AIP diet look like?

Breakfast: The best way is to mix pumpkin puree with homemade coconut yogurt, pomegranate arils, cinnamon apples and AIP granola. You can also drizzle just a little bit of maple syrup on top of the whole bowl. 

Making an AIP breakfast can be a little bit tricky as most of the common breakfast foods are excluded including toast, oatmeal, eggs, pancakes. There is also a yogurt bowl which isn’t 100 % AIP because it focuses too much on fruit and it does not have enough nutrients.

You can choose to rotate between two kinds of breakfasts – potato scrambles which include garlic, onion, bacon, sweet potatoes and some greenies.

Lunch: Try preparing beef stroganoff with mashed cauliflower, apple cider dressing and spinach salad.

In case you have been eating a diet that was entirely based on plants (including eggs, and maybe some fish or seafood), it might be difficult for you to go back to meat again and consume it on a regular basis.

Even so, try bringing back meat into your plate – it will make your diet even more enjoyable and versatile. 

It’s a completely normal thing that there is no one diet that could perfectly suit everybody’s needs.

What one person needs might be completely different from what another person wants and needs.

Also, some people’s needs may change over time, so they may have to change their diet after only six months.

What’s important is that you do whatever is best with the information we have now. 

Snack: Even though snacking is not really a part of AIP diet, you can always grab an avocado, berries or watermelon just to stop being hungry.

For instance, watermelon is really low in calories making it one of the top favourite snacks in AIP diet.

When it comes to avocados, aIl you need to do is put some salt and pepper on it and, voila, you got yourself a perfect snack. 

Dinner: Some of you might experience a lack of appetite during your AIP diet.

The food might taste as cement sometimes.

If you experience such a thing, the best solution is to cook yourself a soup.

It is an excellent answer to your lack of appetite.

Make yourself a small bowl of soup. It should give your body nutrition that it needs without making you feel hungry or nauseous.

Or, for example, you can make a bowl of chicken broth and have that for your dinner.

This can be a great source of nutrition especially when the weather is cooler.

Sometimes you can cook soup in larger quantities and then just heat it up for dinner instead of making it every time.

When it comes to the lack of appetite you should know that this is a common response of the body when it is fighting against a certain severe illness.

For instance, when you have the flu, you don’t want to eat soup because your body uses the energy that should be used for digestion to fight the illness.

So, the best things to focus on simple foods like soups, smoothies, broths, etc. when you are not feeling hungry. 

 

Is An AIP Diet Safe?

As mentioned above, special care needs to be taken with patients with anatomical abnormalities.

There is a risk of obstruction in patients with narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract with the increased fecal load from the high-fibre diet.

Another potential risks of this protocol includes reactivation of a latent eating disorder.

Orthorexia is a very real syndrome and possible risk of the autoimmune protocol.

This is where people become obsessed with what they usually eat.

It is imperative that any foods to which somebody has a significant allergy or anaphylaxis should not be reintroduced during the rechallenge phase.

Cost and time can also be issues as fast foods and processed foods are sometimes unreasonably cheap.

Micro nutrient deficiencies can occur but realistically this can also happen with the standard American diet as we well know.

Social isolation is another possible issue.

It’s back to our friends again.

It could be difficult to be all ‘paleo’ or ‘autoimmune protocol’ if your friends are having a beer and pizza movie night.

The Benefits of AIP Diet 

    1. It Enhances Beneficial Gut Bacteria
    2. It Restores Gut Integrity
    3. It is Rich in Healthy Foods full of nutrients
    4. It Decreases Inflammation
    5. It Allows you to find more about your body
    6. It Discovers foods that cause symptoms
    7. It Reduces Symptoms of Autoimmune Conditions

                         

It Enhances Beneficial Gut Bacteria

Based on the research, this diest can have a very positive impact on the good bacteria in yur gut, which can affect the severity of the symptoms for those people suffering from autoimmune disease.

The beneficial bacteria in your gut has a major impact on your overall health, from weight control to immune function and beyond

So, AIP diet brings a lot of benefits – from relieving the symptoms of your autoimmune condition to promoting the overall health and wellbeing. Finally, it also enhances the health of your gut microbiome

It Restores Gut Integrity

The autoimmune inflammatory diet is a healing diet aimed at restoring the gut integrity and reducing inflammation in order to decrease symptoms.

Those people suffering from autoimmune disease, this can have a very positive impact when it comes to improving their lifestyle. 

Leaky gut syndrome is a condition where bacteria and toxins pass through the walls of the intestine, leading to symptoms like digestive issues, inflammation and food sensitivities.

According to studies, inflammation can enhance intestinal permeability, increasing the risk of leaky gut syndrome.

Because the focus of AIP diet is to cut down on foods that cause inflammation, it can help prevent leaky gut syndrome and restore gut integrity to let you feel your best.

It is Rich in Healthy Foods Full of Nutrients

The AIP diet promotes unprocessed, rich in nutrients and anti-inflammatory foods.

For instance, one of such foods is vegetables.

Regardless of whether you are suffering from autoimmune disease or not, everyone can benefit from consuming these kinds of foods.

Once you include more healthy foods in your diet, you can easily fight against chronic diseases and reduce h risk of getting sick from autoimmune diseases and nutritional deficiencies.

Finally, it can help you maximize your health. 

It Reduces Inflammation

Certainly one of the most important benefits of this diet is the fact that it reduces inflammation which leads to reducing symptoms as well and ultimately promoting better and improved overall health.

By eliminating a few groups of foods from your diet and including foods that are rich in nutrients can have na immense and positive impact on inflammation and therefore your health. 

This was shown in the recent study published in 2017 where around 15 people who were suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases started following the AIP diet for the period of 11 weeks.

This period also included six weeks of elimination and five weeks of maintenance.

Finally, it was discovered that inflammations in their intestines decreased leading to improvement of the overall quality of life and symptoms of all the participants. 

It Allows you to find out more about your body

One of the biggest benefits of this diet is that it helps you learn about your body and get an insight into the ways this diet can have a positive impact on your body and mental health.

It also allows you to learn more about how you can follow a nutritious diet for many years to come and find out which foods suit you the best so that you can enhance your health and meet all of your nutritional needs. 

It Discovers the Foods that Trigger Symptoms

In addition to the previously mentioned, the AIP diet can help you understand which foods may lead to symptoms for you.

Although it might seem tough to follow this diet at the beginning, discovering which foods you should cut from your diet can help you a lot and enable you to understand what lies behind the symptoms. 

This diet is also highly beneficial because it lets you know which foods can hurt or help your symptoms so that you would know how to prepare meals in the long run. 

7. May Decrease Symptoms of Autoimmune Conditions

It is a well-known fact that AIP diet’s main ability is to treat autoimmune disorders.

However, many people claim that it has helped them improve the way they feel as it decreases common conditions such as fatigue, brain fog, chronic pain, etc.

According to researchers, this diet has a tremendous impact on the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease which is another autoimmune disease where symptoms are abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and inflammation. 

14. What Are The Benefits Of AIP Diet?

As said before in the text, this diet can help you reach success if you are determined and strong-willed to do your best.

27-calorie intake

There are numerous benefits this diet can bring to your body and help you recreate your lifestyle and live a better life in general.

So, let’s see what are some of the biggest and the most important benefits of this diet:

It restores gut integrity – Most importantly, an autoimmune inflammatory diet is a healing diet that is meant to restore the integrity of your gut and reduce inflammation in order to alleviate symptoms.

To those suffering from these treacherous diseases, this can mean a world of difference when it comes to improving the general quality of life.

The leaky gut syndrome is a condition where bacteria and toxins cause inflammatory and digestive issues as well as food sensitivities.

According to studies, widespread inflammation can increase intestinal permeability increasing the risk of the leaky gut syndrome.

Since this diest is focused on eliminating foods that cause inflammation, it can help restore gut integrity and help you feel your best.

It boosts beneficial gut bacteria – Based on studies this diet can also have a beneficial effect on your gut, which may impact the severity of symptoms for those suffering from autoimmune conditions.

From immune function to weight control, beneficial bacteria in your gut lay a major role in just about every aspect of your health.

So, not only does the AIP diet decrease the symptoms of autoimmune disease, but it also helps you improve the health of your gut microbes as well as your overall well-being.

In other words, it can help you build healthy lifestyle habits.

It helps you learn more about your body – In this fast-paced modern world, most of us find it hard to keep track of our daily eating habits.

We usually grab something to eat because we don’t have enough time to have a decent meal three times a day.

Unfortunately, this may damage your health and prevent you from following a nutritious diet which can then have a bad effect on your health.

By following the AIP diet, you will get an insight into how your body works and what it needs to enhance your overall body health.

Put simply, although this diet you will find out more about what brings benefits to your body and what causes damage to your health.

Identifies foods that trigger symptoms – As we have said, through this diet, you can learn about which foods trigger symptoms with you and then avoid them.

Although this diet is definitely a challenging one as it requires you to be highly disciplined and stick to your ultimate goal, it can also be very beneficial for you to know which foods cause symptoms and make meal planning even easier in future.

Rich in nutrient-dense, healthy foods – One of the foods this diet promotes is vegetables because they are nutrient-rich, unprocessed and anti-inflammatory.

Regardless of whether you are suffering from any kind of autoimmune diseases, these insights can help you find out more about healthy foods that you should incorporate in your diet.

This can protect you against chronic diseases as well as decrease the risk of nutrition deficiencies and bring your health to a whole new level.

It can help reduce inflammation – one of the biggest benefits of this diet is its ability to alleviate inflammation which is the key to decreasing symptoms of the diseases.

All in all, eliminating foods that have a negative impact and introducing the ones that have a positive impact on your well being can have a powerful effect on your health and significantly reduce inflammation.

For instance, in a recent study carried out in 2017, 15 people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease followed this AIP diet for 11 weeks.

This included 6 weeks of elimination of certain foods and 5 weeks of maintenance.

By the end of this study, the researchers discovered that the inflammatory symptoms significantly decreased in participants which ultimately resulted in the improvement of the quality of life and symptoms in general.

It decreases symptoms of autoimmune diseases – Since the ultimate goal of this diet is to treat autoimmune diseases this is exactly what this kind of a diet does.

Many people said that following this diet helped them improve the way they feel as it helped decrease fatigue, brain fog, chronic pain, etc.

Also, according to studies, this diet helped improve the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease with some people.

This is one of the autoimmune disorders characterized by inflammation in the digestive tract as well as the symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating.

15. What Is The Best AIP Diet Breakfast?

Skipping breakfast is not a good idea because this might lead to various unpleasant symptoms and very low blood sugar.

Also, experts advise that it’s best to use pancakes and waffles as a reward on special occasions and weekends.

It isn’t a good idea to skip breakfast because this will lead to too-low blood sugar and the subsequent unpleasant symptoms.

At the same time, the specialists don’t recommend eating AIP pancakes or AIP waffles for breakfast. 

Foods that you should be consuming for AIP breakfast are vegetables, healthy fats and proteins.

You can also add a cup of bone broth to your breakfast if you like.

This is actually a great idea if you want to replace a morning coffee with a soup.

Also, there are some shakes you can prepare for breakfast from vegetables where you can add additional proteins and you don’t have to if you don’t want to. 

Is there an AIP diet for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?

This amazing diet has become a cure for sky kind of manifestation of autoimmune diseases, but it does not have to be an answer to everyone’s needs.

There are many people who are suffering from Hashimoto and who are aware of the advantages of AIP diet.

And there is a good reason for this.

This diet can help remove some of the unpleasant signs of autoimmune thyroiditis which include brain fog, joint pain, bloating, fatigue, gas, etc. 

But, patients should always keep in mind that they need to follow their doctor’s therapy and advice.

And there are also patients who will not see a positive impact of the paleo diet. 

What can I eat as AIP diet snacks?

Some easy AIP snack ideas are the following: black, green, or Kalamata olives; coconut butter and coconut flakes; protein bars; sweet potato, plantain, or cassava chips; kombucha; porkitos and prosciutto (baked prosciutto chips); sardines or smoked salmon; avocado; and veggies, like cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, celery, cauliflower, and radishes.

You can always use small servings of leftover food and broth.

Dried and fresh fruits are the most natural thing if you haven’t anything else that’s AIP-suitable.

There are also plenty of autoimmune diet recipes for snacks that can be included in your daily routine.

How do I reintroduce foods from the AIP diet food list? 

Once the first phase of the AIP diet is over, if you follow it properly, you should see the improvements.

Next, it’s time to think about some of the foods you are not allowed to eat again.

The reintroduction of these foods should be systematic and slow in order to reduce the risk of reactions.

During this process, you will find out which kinds of foods you are sensitive to.  

What snacks can I eat?

There are a few AIP snacks you can consume like protein bars, coconut butter, sweet potato, plantain, kombucha, cassava chips, porkitos, prosciutto, avocado, veggies including cucumbers, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, etc. 

And, you can always eat some broth and leftover food.

In case you don’t have anything else for a snack, you can always eat dried fruits.

However, there are many AIP recipes for snacks you can experiment with during your diet and include them on a daily basis. 

Is the AIP diet the one thing you are missing from finally taking control of your autoimmune disease?

 It turns out that there are probably better options for you and some things that you should seriously consider before using this diet.

Like other diets, it can actually cause more problems than it can help.

Use this guide to determine if the AIP diet will be helpful in YOUR specific case and what to do before you start the diet:

Is AIP diet safe?

AIP diet was initially designed to help improve GI functioning while reducing both inflammation and autoimmunity.

The goal of this diet is to help the people suffering from autoimmune disease remove all the immunogenic sources and sources of inflammation from food. 

In other words, this diet is a more strict version of the paleo diet.

One thing you need to keep in mind is that most of the issues that develop as a result of an autoimmune diet come from GI tract.

Also, they are triggered by certain bacteria and various environmental factors. 

The goal of AIP diet is to help you direct it towards improving GI function and decreasing inflammation which should theoretically improve an immune function and significantly reduce your autoimmune symptoms. 

But there is a question you need to consider here: 

Is this diet safe for your body and health and should you use it?

First of all, it’s all up to you.

Whether you will continue with the diet and achieve the best possible results depends solely on your strong will and determination.

But you also have to know that not all the patients have to use this diet.

There are actually many patients who are perfectly fine without this diet.

So, it does not mean that it is obligatory to follow this diet if you are suffering from autoimmune disease.

There are even patients that would do worse if they decided to follow an AIP diet.

So here are a few pitfalls of AIP you should be aware of that could easily harm your health: 

  •  
  • It may lead to calorie restriction and worsening of metabolism
  • It may cause intolerance to certain foods if they are used in the long run 
  • Some people might find it hard to adhere to AIP diet in the long term
  • It may cause difficulty to manage macromolecules for some of the hormone imbalances (for instance, leptin resistance) 
  • It may lead to nutrient deficiencies if not done correclty 
  • It may not have a positive impact on your autoimmune disease unless you also address some other factors like hormone imbalances, infections, nutrient deficiencies, etc.

Of course, to clearly understand the above listed you need to do some further research of the topic. 

A Few Things to Know Before Going on the AIP Diet

Before you consider using the AIP diet I recommend that you take a personal inventory of this entire list and make any changes necessary.

If you’ve already done every part of this list then you should consider using the AIP diet, but most of you will still find areas that you can improve upon first.

1. Clean up your existing diet FIRST

One thing you need to do before you decide to go on an AIP diet is to evaluate the diet you are currently on and check if you can improve it in any way.

There are patients who can decrease their autoimmune disease symptoms significantly and improve GI function thus leading to the improvement of GI function by making only basic changes. 

While it’s a fact that an AIP diet can truly help lower the level of antibodies, there are situations when changing from a regular diet to AIP diet can reduce adherence making the benefits only temporary.

Why is it so? 

This is because the AIP diet is generally a very strict diet.

You should be focused on making a long-term change, something that will have a super powerful impact on your entire body health and that will boost your immune function. 

In case you haven’t made some of these changes to your existing diet, here are a few changes you should implement: 

  •  
  • Get rid of all the sources of sugar. If you have already done this, make sure you check the ingredient list on each bag or a box of foods you are consuming to search for some hidden sugars 
  • Get rid of all the processed foods which means that you should focus on foods that have no more than to ingredients which you need to be able to pronounce and identify in any of your meals. 
  • Stop consuming inflammatory oils and fats or industrial seed oils. They are quite cheap and you can find them in literally any kind of “healthy” food such as gluten-free quick snacks or protein bars. 
  • Avoid consuming artificial sweeteners 
  • Stop consuming soda, soft drinks, cheaper types of teas, energy drinks. Instead, use herbal high-quality teas 
  • Avoid things like pre-made salad dressing or ketchup which are highly unhealthy and full of calories 
  • Include some kind of fermented foods like coconut kefir, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut at least 2 or 3 times per week 
  • Ensure that you avoid “healthy” versions of bad food like protein bars, shakes and anything that is low-fat, etc.)
  • Avoid grabbing some junk food or eating out for at least two months and make sure you prepare all of your meals yourself. 
  • Avoid consuming gluten and dairy products 
  • Focus your attention on a whole food based diet 

This list is not so strict as the AIP dietary guidelines. 

Keep in mind that if you follow the given list and undergo testing for sensitivities, you will surely notice the difference and a big improvement in your symptoms. 

2. Get tested for gluten antibodies and food sensitivities 

It’s crucial that you undergo testing for food sensitivities. 

If you do not do that, you might experience severe consequences like chronic low-grade inflammation in the GI tract which can eventually lead to leaky gut and maybe even increase the risk of developing autoimmunity.

Food sensitivities do not refer to true allergies.

You might consider the possibility that your body is not tolerant to certain food groups or foods because of the inflammation caused by the diet you are currently following.

It’s an imperative to identify the foods that are causing such a state in your body and triggering this big issue and finally to eliminate it. 

One way to do this is to undergo a special delayed IgG sensitivity test via your serum. 

Through this test you can determine which foods you are reacting to which can be quite helpful and useful.

Be mindful that you need to make a difference between this kind of test and a skin “prick” test which analyses IdE antibodies to certain foods.

Do note that the skin test is less accurate than the delayed IgG sensitivity test for a variety of reasons and should definitely be your choice when it comes to choosing tests. 

There is another test which allows you to analyse gluten antibodies.

A problem with the test for gluten antibodies is that most of the symptoms that occur may be away from the intestines, or extra intestinal.

This might mean that you are showing some signs and reactions to gluten and experiencing symptoms such as depression, reduced immune system, changes in mood, rashes, irritability and other illnesses. 

This is why it is crucial that you evaluate your antibodies to gluten, and the easiest way to do this is through two kinds of tests: tissue transglutaminase antibody and deamidated peptide antibody

It’s always a good idea to try consuming foods that are gluten free for a certain period of time before you start with AIP, but it is also always good to know if antibodies exist in your serum. 

3. Experiment with basic gut supplements

It may sound a little bit strange to you, but you can do a lot with just a few basic supplements.

Before you start your AIP diet journey, you should think about using several different supplements that are especially designed to help you with your GI function.

It’s common knowledge that your immune system is in the GI tract.

This means that by improving your GI tract you will also be able to improve your immune system which will bring you amazing benefits in terms of treating some hormone imbalances or autoimmune disease you may be suffering from.

On top of this, you can help balance the levels of hormones  by improving basic GI function, improve immunity, increase the transmitter levels and nutrient absorption. 

All of this can be done by using some basic supplements.

But you need to be mindful that some people may need some more aggressive GI supplements.

There are a few supplement you need to have in mind: 

  • L-glutamine: This supplement is required because it enables you to keep proper epithelial cell tight junctions in your GI tract. These play a major role as they keep your body protected from bacteria that can do damage to your body and cause inflammation and even lead to autoimmune disease as well as protect you from absorbing proteins.  This supplement can help a lot when it comes to protecting the intestinal barrier and even heal your “leaky gut”. In order to achieve the best possible results, try consuming 5 grams of L-glutamine on a daily basis. 
  • Probiotics: According to many studies, probiotics significantly decrease inflammation, help reduce the duration of GI infections and improve immune system. To reach optimal results, you need to consume probiotics in doses that are high enough. It’s important that you stick to the probiotics which have well studied strains of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. 
  • Digestive enzymes: Proper stomach enzyme and enzyme production are necessary for the breakdown of bacteria and food products as well as for the absorption of nutrients. Hormone imbalances like hypothyroidism decrease acid production in the stomach might also contribute to the extensive growth of harmful fungi and bacteria and decrease nutrient absorption. You can reduce the “load” that your body needs to produce which would make the process of digesting your food much easier and more effective If you supplement with digestive enzymes.
  • In order to reach the best results, you should consume digestive enzymes both with meals and in between meals, a few times a day
  • Marshmallow + DGL+Aloe + Slippery elm: This is a combination of herbs that significantly helps you enhance GI function by protecting your GI lining. They also protect against acidic damage and help promote the process of regrowth of epithelial cells.YOu should use this magic combination if you believe that you might have the above mentioned “leaky gut” or even increased intestinal permeability. In this case you need to take 1 scoop a day and mix it with other GI supplements that we have listed above.

These basic GI supplements specifically target common GI related issues that may be contributing to your autoimmunity. 

Often just using these supplements can result in dramatic improvement. 

For best results, you should use at least 3+ supplements listed above.

Naturally, it is always best to target GI supplements to your specific conditions.

If you don’t know where to start or how to continue with the process, these supplements can be a great starting point. 

What you can do:

4. Check ALL of your hormone systems

Keep in mind that your hormones are very important as they play an important role in your GI tract and immune function. 

For example: Thyroid hormone has a big influence on kinetic GI movement and promotes regular production of stomach acid.

Using his mechanism, hormone for a low thyroid leads to lower nutrient absorption (this is a very important thing particularly for people with iron and B12 deficiency).

Sex hormones also have a big impact on your immune function.

Low testosterone levels are connected with an increased risk of autoimmunity.

Also, testosterone and estrogen can have a big influence on nutrient absorption (like, for instance, iodine) which can reduce the function of thyroid and result in the development of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

So, in case you have not done anything regarding imbalances of your hormones then you will have to deal with the problems in order to be able to see that your symptoms eventually improve. 

Having an insight into what is happening in your body is extremely important for long term treatment.

Keep in mind that doing AIP diet will help you deal with your autoimmune disease, but it certainly won’t help you fix the problems you might have with your hormone imbalances. 

But you should also know that if you treat your hormone imbalances, you might as well improve your immunity  without having to do rigorous diets and make drastic changes to your eating habits. 

5. Evaluate GI Issues (SIBO, IBS, IBS, IBD, etc.)

Another problem you might have o and want to deal with is the presence of abnormalities in your intestines such as the overgrowth of small intestinal bacteria or small intestinal fungi. 

In this case, changing your diet will not be enough to fix all the issues.

Also, the presence of issues that are related to GI may actually lead to your autoimmune disease.

This is why you should definitely make the assessing of your GI function the number one priority on your list. 

There is a good connection between the GI tract, your brain and your immune system. 

Whatever leads to local inflammation like, for example, bacterial or fungal overgrowth causes low-grade inflammation in your GI tract. 

This inflammation decreases the tight junctions whose role is to protect your body from damaging bacteria and breakdown products. 

Once this lining gets damaged, your intestinal begins to absorb large particles (including bacteria) that change immune function and increase systemic inflammation. 

Over time, your body starts recognising these particles as enemies and starts creating antibodies which usually look quite similar to your own tissues.

Next you get something that is called cross-activity which results in an autoimmune disease.

So, it all happens as a result of GI dysfunction. 

So, before you decide whether to start with AIP diet or not, make sure you get a complete GI evaluation plus advanced testing of your stool if necessary.

Our experience has shown that there were many patients who have seen dramatic improvements (including autoimmune markers in patients suffering from Hashimoto) after treating SIBO.

We also need to point out that patients who are suffering from thyroid dysfunction are more likely to develop SIBO because of a strong impact of thyroid hormone on the GI tract. 

According to some studies, almost 50% of hypothyroid patients have SIBO.

This means that this group of patients should be given special attention. 

What’s Your Next Step?

To reach the best results from Autoimmune paleo diet, you need to be a true believer.

With that in mind, you need to start by setting clear goals, adopting a new mindset and sticking to it.

In order to help your body heal and bring your health to the next level, you need to have a lot of insight into all the details regarding the AIP diet.

Hopefully, this ultimate guide that we have compiled for all of you who are either suffering from an autoimmune disease or just searching for some info to be able to recognize symptoms to help you be in the know and start your healing process.

By following these steps and tips you will be able to find the right formula to start your journey and get better in no time.

In case you have any questions feel free to contact ys, we will be glad to help at any time.