The Admirable AIP Diet: A Detailed Guide

The Autoimmune Protocol Diet¹, commonly known as the Autoimmune Paleo Diet², is abbreviated as the AIP diet and excludes foods that may aggravate symptoms or cause inflammation.

It was created to help people with autoimmune diseases by reducing inflammation and alleviating symptoms. Someone’s immune system misidentifies healthy tissue and assaults it, resulting in inflammation and symptoms such as exhaustion, discomfort, swelling, and skin changes.

If you have an autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, or Hashimoto thyroiditis³, your doctor might recommend for you, the AIP diet.

The AIP diet aims to alleviate the symptoms of autoimmune illness ⁴by avoiding foods that irritate or induce inflammation in the stomach. You gradually reintroduce meals one at a time as you heal to see how your body responds. It allows you to determine whether a particular dish is safe for you or whether you should avoid it entirely.

It contains nutrient-dense meals that help to reduce inflammation and maintain healthy gut flora. After all, the stomach is the immune system’s nerve center. You might be able to assist your immune system in regulating itself if you enhance your intestinal balance.

1. Uniqueness In Autoimmune Protocol

The difference between the Autoimmune Protocol and other dietary templates is taking a nutrient-first approach while taking inflammation triggers into account.

It draws the line between “yes” and “no” foods to have more health-promoting compounds and very few detrimental substances in our diet. Those who are generally healthy can endure less-than-ideal foods better than those who aren’t.

The Autoimmune Protocol can be seen as a pickier variant of other evidence-based dietary templates; it accepts only items that are unambiguous winners.

As a result, the Autoimmune Protocol emphasizes the most nutrient-dense foods in our diets, such as organic meat, fish, and vegetables.

Furthermore, the Autoimmune Protocol excludes recommended by other healthy diets and includes components that may stimulate the immune system or disrupt the gut environment, such as nightshades (such as tomatoes and peppers), eggs, nuts, seeds, and alcohol.

The Autoimmune Protocol’s purpose is to feed the body with nutrients while avoiding any foods that may be leading to disease.

The AIP is a holistic approach to health, focusing on lifestyle elements that are known to be ideal modulators of immune function, gut health, and hormone balance, in addition to a nutritional framework.

It involves a significant emphasis on obtaining enough sleep, regulating stress, and maintaining an active lifestyle without overtraining because they have a direct impact on the gut microbiome, these three lifestyle factors are critical for gut health.

Intestinal permeability is also increased by chronic stress and overtraining. Sleep, stress, and activity are all important hormone modulators; for example, these lifestyle factors have a greater impact on insulin sensitivity than food.

Most importantly, the immunological function is inextricably linked to one’s way of life. Getting insufficient, feeling stressed, being inactive, and overtraining all cause inflammation. Furthermore, while we’re sleeping, the regulatory parts of the immune system are most active, and sleep quality is linked to stress.

There is growing evidence that a strong sense of connection and community, as well as spending time in natural areas, might help the immune system function better.

2. Foods To Eat On An AIP Diet

The Autoimmune Protocol Diet’s precise definition changes based on the source.

Eliminates:

• Dairy: Dairy-based protein powders or other supplements derived from cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk, as well as foods derived from this milk, such as cream, cheese, butter, or ghee, should be avoided.
• Gluten
• Grains: rice, wheat, oats, barley, rye, and other cereal grains, as well as meals made from them, like pasta, bread, and breakfast cereals
• Seeds and nuts: All nuts and seeds, as well as meals made from them, such as flours, butter, and oils; also includes cacao and seeds-based spices including coriander, cumin, anise, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, and nutmeg.
• Legumes: lentils, beans, peas, peanuts, and other legumes and legume-derived foods, such as tofu, tempeh, mock meats, and peanut butter
• Vegetables of the nightshade family: eggplants, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, tomatillos, and other nightshade crops, as well as spices produced from them, such as paprika
• Oils and fats (for example, soy, and canola oil)
• foods additives, Sweeteners: trans fats, artificial sweeteners such as stevia, mannitol, and xylitol, as well as food colorings, emulsifiers, and thickeners
• Sugar substitutes: Sweets, soda, candies, frozen desserts, and chocolate may contain cane or beet sugar, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and barley malt syrup.
• Coffee and alcohol

Foods included are:

• Coconut
• chicken
• coconut and olive oil
• Fruits
• Meat
• Vegetables (except for nightshades)

3. Autoimmune Disease

When the immune system of the body loses its ability to distinguish between its cells and actual threats, an autoimmune disease develops.

When a person’s immune system attacks their cells and organs, it is known as autoimmunity. It can result in long-term issues and irreparable damage.

One example of an autoimmune disease is Type 1 diabetes. The pancreas’ cells are attacked by the body, permanently impairing its ability to produce insulin.

A person with Type 1 diabetes need to inject insulin to maintain their blood sugar levels for the rest of their lives since their bodies will never regain the ability to produce insulin.

A few other examples of autoimmune diseases are:

• Celiac illness
• Crohn’s disease
• Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
• Lupus
• Multiple sclerosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sjögren’s syndrome
• Transverse myelitis
•  Ulcerative Colitis

While genes are undoubtedly crucial in the development of autoimmune diseases, food may also play a role.

4. Food’s Significance in Autoimmune Disease

One of the most important modifiable factors on our risk of autoimmune illness may be the foods and beverages we consume.

While our genes may predispose us to an autoimmune disorder, nutrition has a significant impact on our general health.

Dietary factors in autoimmune illness are no longer being disregarded. Celiac disease ⁵is an autoimmune illness that can only be managed by dietary changes. We know that the gluten-free diet used to treat celiac disease alters a person’s microbiota in a good way (gut bacteria).

The microbiome is becoming recognized as having an important role in immune system regulation. But what about other types of autoimmune diseases? Diet is becoming increasingly widely studied as an additional treatment for autoimmune illnesses by scientists.

According to research, having a broad and robust population of beneficial bacteria living in your gut can have a positive impact on someone suffering from an autoimmune illness. Diet has a significant impact on the bacterial diversity of the gut. Thus, changing one’s diet in a specific way can be utilized to boost microbial diversity in the gut.

It’s a good thing that gut microbes are becoming more diverse. The AIP diet emphasizes foods that increase the diversity of gut bacteria. The goal is to change our immune system’s response.

5. Working Of Autoimmune Protocol

The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol works by focusing on four main areas that are known to play a role in chronic and autoimmune disorders.

These food and lifestyle suggestions are based on more than 1,200 research studies and specifically target:

5.1. Nutrient Density

To work properly, the immune system (and indeed every other system in the body) requires a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, vital fatty acids, and amino acids. Micronutrient deficits and imbalances have a big role in autoimmune disease development and progression.

Consuming the most nutrient-dense meals available allows a synergistic surplus of micronutrients to address both deficiencies and imbalances, thereby aiding the immune system, hormone, detoxification, and neurotransmitter production regulation.

A nutrient-dense diet also gives the body the building blocks it needs to repair damaged tissues.

5.2. Gut health

The development of autoimmune illness is aided by gut dysbiosis and leaky gut. The Autoimmune Protocol’s foods promote the growth of healthy levels and a diverse range of gut bacteria.

Nutrients that irritate or harm the gut lining are avoided, whereas foods that enhance gut barrier function and healing are recommended.

The Autoimmune Protocol also addresses lifestyle factors that have a major impact on gut barrier health and gut bacteria composition. Because of the relationship between gut health and immune function, reestablishing a healthy gut barrier and microbiome is a prerequisite for recovery.

5.3. Hormone balance

A range of hormones that interact with the immune system is influenced by what we eat when we eat, and how much we eat. The immune system is directly influenced when dietary factors (such as eating too much sugar or grazing instead of eating larger meals spaced farther apart) dysregulate these hormones (typically stimulated).

The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol diet is designed to help regulate these hormones, which in turn helps to regulate the immune system indirectly.

How much sleep we receive, how much time we spend outside, how much and what kinds of activity we get, and how effectively we minimize and manage stress all have an impact on these and other critical hormones that regulate the immune system.

5.4. Immune system control

Immune control is achieved by restoring a healthy diversity and number of gut microbes, repairing the gut barrier function, supplying enough micronutrients for the immune system to operate normally, and regulating the major hormones that regulate the immune system.

Both the tools and the chance for immune control are provided by the Autoimmune Protocol food and lifestyle. Reductions in symptoms are due to immune modulation along with tissue repair.

Inflammation plays a role in all chronic illnesses, and food can have a significant impact.

Inflammation is either a direct cause of illness or a contributor to how the illness developed in some circumstances; in others, it is only an element of the illness or a contributor to how the illness developed—but it is always a player and an issue.

If symptoms of your autoimmune illness flare up after reintroducing a food, it’s a hint that the food may be a trigger that you should avoid in the future. Once you’ve identified the exact items or food groups that appear to trigger symptom flares, you can adjust the diet to your personal needs.

6. Aid For AIP Diet

If you’re thinking about starting the AIP diet or have already started, it’s a good idea to be aware of the various ways you can get aid along the road.

Here are some examples of how you can receive aid for the AIP diet:

• Meal delivery for AIP patients.
• On Facebook, there is a private support group for AIP diet and lifestyle.
• AIP support groups (in your region) and online blogs are also options.
• AIP diet support website.
• RealPlans: AIP meal planning software (free).

7. AIP Diet Assist You In Losing Weight

The AIP diet may or may not cause weight loss because the purpose is to identify triggering foods rather than to lose weight. However, avoiding foods such as dairy and food additives, as well as alcoholic beverages, may result in weight loss as an AIP “byproduct.”

Several minor studies have been conducted to see whether the AIP diet can help persons with certain autoimmune disorders.

A short research of 17 women with Hashimoto thyroiditis published in the journal Cureus in April 2019 discovered that the diet enhanced their health-related quality of life.

A study published in the journal Crohn’s & Colitis 360 in October 2019 reported a comparable improvement in quality of life among 15 people with inflammatory bowel disease.

The “leaky gut” notion is one possibility for explaining how the AIP diet works. According to this idea, bacterial imbalances in your gut make it simpler for environmental inflammation triggers to pass the gut wall and reach other parts of your body.

8. How To Follow The AIP Diet

Following the AIP diet is difficult – it’s restricted – because you’re missing several food staples and even entire food groups (like dairy).

The reintroduction phase, in which you progressively reintroduce at least some of these foods back into your diet, is a time-consuming process of carefully recording when and if your autoimmune symptoms return.

The AIP diet, on the other hand, is intended to be a temporary effort to alleviate symptoms, not something to be followed indefinitely.

AIP diet dishes are simple to come by. AIP-friendly recipes can be found on websites like Paleo Mom, Phoenix Helix, and Unbound Wellness. AIP cookbooks are also available in both print and digital formats.

Eating out is permissible on the AIP diet, but you must exercise caution while ordering. It’s a good idea to check restaurant menus ahead of time for gluten-free and Paleo/AIP options. On the FindMeGlutenFree app or website, you may look for gluten-free friendly eateries in your area.

The AIP diet is time-consuming. On the AIP diet, you’ll need to plan, shop for, and cook your meals.

AIP diet resources are widely available. Online, you can find food elimination and reintroduction guides, AIP diet meal plans, and lifestyle and workout advice.

On the AIP diet, you will most likely not feel hungry. Nutritionists emphasize the significance of satiety or the contented sense that you’ve had enough. The AIP diet includes fiber-rich fruits and vegetables as well as protein-rich meat and seafood, so you should feel satisfied.

If you enjoy salt, the AIP diet is for you. On the AIP diet, moderate salt consumption is permissible.

Unrefined salts, such as Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt, are preferred, while table salt is permitted. (However, other spices, such as black pepper, are first omitted, so your taste buds may need to adjust.)

9. Exercise Should You Get On The AIP Diet

It is recommended for AIP to have an active lifestyle while keeping their autoimmune condition in mind.

The goal is to combine gentle exercise, such as walking or yoga, with moderate-intensity activity that is appropriate for your condition, such as utilizing an elliptical trainer or weightlifting at the gym.

Overtraining, according to the Paleo Mom website, can lead to digestive issues.

10. Conclusion

The AIP is an elimination diet that eliminates the foods that are most likely causing health problems. Many of the banned foods, particularly those with nutritional value despite containing some (but not excessive) potentially harmful components, can be reintroduced after some time.

The AIP is a toolbox full of tools for understanding how your body reacts to foods, lifestyle, and environment, as well as healing methodologies tailored to your specific health concerns.

While there are many unknown factors at work in the development and manifestation of an autoimmune illness, one that we can influence is food.

Of course, getting enough sleep, reducing stress, exercising, and maintaining appropriate vitamin D levels are all crucial. All have been demonstrated to have an impact on inflammation, which is a crucial component of autoimmune illness.

However, we now know that the effect of nutrition on autoimmune illness is real. So far, studies on the specific effect of the AIP diet on autoimmune illness have yielded good results. They have been demonstrated to reduce inflammation and improve quality of life by alleviating symptoms and increasing energy.

The AIP diet is not suitable for everyone. It can be challenging for the reasons listed above. However, for those looking for alternatives, it could be the missing connection.

FAQs

1. Is the AIP diet a long-term solution?

A. The AIP diet is often used as an elimination phase for a specific period, usually around 30 days. After that, some foods may be reintroduced one at a time to assess their impact on symptoms. The ultimate goal is to create a personalized, sustainable eating plan.

2. Can the AIP diet help with all autoimmune conditions?

A. The AIP diet may benefit individuals with various autoimmune conditions, but its effectiveness can vary. It’s best to consult with a healthcare provider before making any significant dietary changes, especially if you have a specific autoimmune condition.

3. Is the AIP diet supported by scientific research?

A. While there is anecdotal evidence of individuals experiencing improvements in the AIP diet, scientific research is ongoing. Some studies suggest that eliminating certain foods can reduce inflammation, but more research is needed to establish its effectiveness for specific autoimmune conditions.

Read more

1. Konijeti, Gauree G., et al. “Efficacy of the autoimmune protocol diet for inflammatory bowel disease.” Inflammatory bowel diseases 23.11 (2017): 2054-2060. ↩︎
2. Hollywood, J. B., et al. “The Effects of the paleo diet on autoimmune thyroid disease: a mixed methods review.” Journal of the American Nutrition Association 42.8 (2023): 727-736. ↩︎
3. Caturegli, P., A. De Remigis, and N. R. Rose. “Hashimoto thyroiditis: clinical and diagnostic criteria.” Autoimmunity reviews 13.4-5 (2014): 391-397. ↩︎
4. Cuthrell, Kimberly Morton, Nikolaos Tzenios, and J. Umber. “Burden of Autoimmune Disorders; a review.” Asian J. Immunol 6.3 (2022): 1-13. ↩︎
5. Fasano, Alessio, and Carlo Catassi. “Celiac disease.” New England Journal of Medicine 367.25 (2012): 2419-2426. ↩︎

Last Updated on July 23, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology