When you have an autoimmune condition and start researching diets, you could almost be overwhelmed by the options out there. There are so many success stories of people doing juice diets, smoothie diets, vegan, oil-free vegan (Paddison Program), keto, low-carb, paleo etc. What you will find is no size fits all. If one person got their condition into remission doing a juice fast or turning vegan, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you.
You need to find the best one for you and that often means trial and error. An intolerance blood test will give you comprehensive results, however, many nutritionist or functional doctors will say that it gives you an impression of how you were on a particular day and that could be very different if you were to test again in a few weeks. I’ve spent a lot of money doing quite a few of these tests over the years and apart from gluten, dairy and oats (I know, me being a Scot too!), other intolerances would change, from test result to test result.
What I have learned is variety is key, the body can start to react to things you eat on a regular basis so a four day rotation is a good way of ensuring you don’t have a repetitive diet. I have tried various diets that in turn had raised my inflammation levels, (judging by the amount of joint pain I was in, with silent gut issues, my tummy was not going to let me know the diet was unsuitable, I rarely had that kind of indication) so in the end, I settled on a low grain diet or paleo diet. No that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat a lot of meat, it just means you are not eating dairy, grain or legumes, but instead focusing on meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
This diet can be refined further into what is called the AIP or Autoimmune Protocol Diet. This is where every possible allergen is removed so no nightshades, seeds, eggs, nuts or legumes, and additives such as thickeners, sweeteners and emulsifiers such as guar gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum and lecithin – in other words this is a stricter form of the paleo diet.
As I mentioned on the thyroid page, my thyroid doctor, Dr Frey advised me to immediately go on the AIP diet until the results of my intolerance testing came through. I must admit, by the time he said this, it was February 2019 and I was totally burnt out on the different diets I had tried over the years without getting the results I wanted or the results that others people had got. But we have to understand that it wasn’t a case of me being unlucky or my case being overly complex, it was more likely to be about me being an individual, a unique person with different body with different needs compared to those I’d read about.
Remember, supporting a condition naturally is about treating the whole body and nothing like a conventional doctor treating the condition in isolation. So it was kind of obvious that someone else’s success with a particular protocol was not necessary going to be mine too. But you know what, when you’re ill and desperate to get well and get your old life back, you will try anything and everything to get well. Another person’s success offers hope. And it was my undying hope that kept me going over the years.
So, once again, I did my research and opened up my kitchen cupboards to sort out what I could and couldn’t eat. I became an expert on the AIP diet. When my intolerance test results came through, I was then advised to remove or add foods that I could or couldn’t tolerate. As you know, I’ve had to amend my diet further due to the urticaria, to lower my histamine levels.
I’ve learned to use grain-free flours I had never heard of like tigernut (amazing and naturally sweet) and cassava flour as well as those more familiar like tapioca and arrowroot (then there’s coconut and chestnut (popular in Italy) I didn’t even know you could make flour from coconuts and chestnuts!). Find out more here.
I have since settled on low grain, AIP style diet and I also do a 4 day rotation as repetition was the main thing that I needed to change in my diet. You can get intolerant to even the healthiest of foods if you eat too many of them!
AIP information and recipes:
Read these sites to gain more info on AIP as well as access to some great recipes: www.autoimmunewellness.com
This is one of the best, if not the best, sites. The volume of free resource is amazing and a tribute to these guys who only want to help rather than make money. What you will find in this functional health community is on the whole, people put people first before their bank balance. It never ceases to amaze me as the time, effort and research that goes into a site like this is breath-taking – thanks Angie and Mickey! Mickey’s book is amazing too – The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook – Mickey Trescott. It has great meal plans, recipes and amazing photos. It’s a lovely book, a good read and great resource.
Dr Sarah Ballantyne’s website was so good I didn’t bother with the book initially. I went for some cook books that could offer me ‘yes and no’ food lists as well as recipes so I could get on the diet asap without taking a week or so to read the book. Her website is really informative and a great inspirational story really boosts your motivation when looking for the root cause of your own illness. Being a book lover, I of course got her book in the end – The Paleo Approach. I heftly volume that leaves no stone unturned, all the information you will ever need.
One of my favourite AIP cookbooks I got was Autoimmune Protocol Made Simple by Sophie Van Tiggelen and it’s the one I’ve use more than any other. There is a great grain free cracker recipe and a grain free wrap recipe (so useful when you can’t have bread) they are lovely when eaten warm but don’t store and heat that well (despite what she says) so I make the dough and freeze so I can quickly defrost and roll out and throw in the pan when I want a sandwich/wrap etc. These two items keep me off the gluten free bread which is not great for health or my gut due to all the additives….though I am partial to Warburton’s FG Sourdough or Marks & Spencer’s Gluten Free white bread, sour dough or rolls (they are all too good) at the weekend! Hey, no one is perfect!
So that’s my AIP story in a nutshell – it’s a diet that rarely doesn’t work, so a great place to start getting your health and gut in order.
Best wishes and happy, healthy, hopeful thoughts to you! You’ve got this, you can do it, so many of us have been there are on the road to recovery and you can be too. Remember, you have a right to good health, you deserve it!