What is the Autoimmune Wholesome Diet?

While coping with your autoimmune disease, you may have heard of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet. This diet is designed to get your autoimmune system working at its best. If this is the first time you’re hearing about AIP, let me introduce you in a simple, straightforward way.

AIP targets both food and lifestyle choices as a way to strengthen the immune system. Food tends to be a cause for inflammation in autoimmune disorders and the right therapies can help you heal from disease. It relies on food and lifestyle choices that eliminate inflammatory foods and replaces them with nutrient-dense foods instead.

The AIP treats food like medicine as a way to reverse the damage to your immune system. In order to heal, you first have to learn what to and not to eat.

In some ways, it’s similar to the Paleo Diet, only stricter. One of the factors of autoimmunity is having a leaky gut; hence, we need to remove foods that cause that. You can make changes slowly and integrate them one at a time until you feel comfortable.  Here’s a list of foods to avoid:

• Gluten
• Dairy
• Grains
• Alcohol
• Legumes
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Nightshade Vegetables

Don’t Panic…You Can Do This! From AIP To AWD

The AIP diet may seem impossible at first because it eliminates all gluten, grains, and many of the foods most people are accustomed to having on a daily basis. I tried it, and ended up feeling guilty all the time because I found it tough to abandon al grain. Specially being an athlete, you need carbs. I instead tweaked the diet a bit to fit my lifestyle while still feeling good. The Autoimmune Protocol Diet became The Autoimmune Wholesome Diet to cater to a more realistic diet I could keep and feel good about it. 

Autoimmune Wholesome Diet

I started with taking away just two foods, Gluten and dairy.  When I adjusted by taking away those 2 and began a wholesome diet, I saw the difference right away. Once I learned what most affected my well being, I watch mostly the grains, dairy, and sugar. I eat all vegetables, I do not watch for inflammatory or nightshades as vegetable is vegetable. If you only cut gluten and dairy, well done. Now it’s time to add the good stuff. Here’s a list of foods that will strengthen your immune system:

• Quality fats – avocado, coconut oil, and olive oil
• Fatty fish – salmon, trout, herring, and sardines
• Quality meats – grass-fed
• Vegetables – organic, whenever possible

Fermented foods – kimchi, fermented vegetables, and kombucha

To learn more about AIP, visit Dr. Sarah Ballantyne at www.Paleomom.com.