Eat It!
When I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Disease (Sjogren’s Syndrome, Celiac Disease and Fibromyalgia), I somehow knew that prescription drugs was not going to be the road back to health for me. It was about this time my son was having digestive issues of his own and started following the works of Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD akaThe Paleo Mom.
The Paleo Mom was the answer to my prayers as she explained the dynamics of autoimmune disease, she shared her journey back to health with a diet that strengthened her immune system and brought down inflammation. She explained more than my rheumatologist ever did!
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet is a diet Dr. Ballantyne created. It takes out the foods that cause inflammation and adds food into your diet that repairs your gut.
This diet is very, very, very difficult to do! It’s also known as an elimination diet. I tried it for one month and really didn’t notice to much improvement in my symptoms. Then when I went back to my normal diet…bam!…my symptoms got really bad. The fatigue, the pain was intense. I rethought about the AIP diet and decided to try it again but for a longer period of time…a total of 7 months! I feel this was the single best healing period of my recovery. I would recommend the AIP diet. Keep in mind, it’s a temporary diet so your digestive system can heal. It is doable!
You can learn about the AIP diet and what you can and can’t eat at Sarah’s website https://www.thepaleomom.com and her book, The Paleo Approach. I have bought this book many times over and end up giving it to people who are also suffering with autoimmune diseases….it’s a good place to start. Click on the link below to learn about how and why the diet works. It gets quite scientific, so if your eyes start to glaze over, no worries, you are in good company, so just read a section at a time. You will learn what is currently known about autoimmune disease and how and why diet is your best bet in healing yourself. (More information: https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-here/the-autoimmune-protocol/)
Helpful Hint:
Changing your diet. It is hard to go straight from the American Diet with all the yummy stuff like sugar, cheese, and carbs to the bland AIP diet. Some people do fine doing a 180. Me, I did better transitioning. I started with deleting soda, caffine, and alcohol. Then taking out processed foods and sugars. Then adding more vegetables…which was difficult as I was not a big veggie eater. It was only at this time did I start with the AIP diet. When in doubt of what to eat, stick to real foods or sometimes referred as whole foods. Organic for nuts, fruit, vegetables, pasture-raised and organic for meat and eggs and wild caught fish.
The advantage of taking the time to transition your diet is your taste buds will have a chance to adjust to less sugar and salt. This will make it easier going on the AIP where seasonings like pepper is restricted.