Autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and rheumatoid arthritis, can be at the root of many unwanted and debilitating symptoms.1 Inflammation and pain can take a toll on your immune system and affect your quality of life. Enter the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet.
While no diet offers a complete cure for autoimmune conditions, the AIP diet may reduce inflammation in the gut and improve autoimmune symptoms. So, what is an autoimmune diet? In this article, we’ll break down the science behind the elimination diet, discuss how it works, and cover its risks.
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What Is an Autoimmune Diet?
A healthy immune system typically produces antibodies that attack harmful cells or free radicals in the body. However, the immune systems in those with an autoimmune disorder produce antibodies that attack healthy cells, resulting in a range of symptoms. Symptoms of autoimmune diseases may include fatigue, joint pain, diarrhea, brain fog, and nerve damage, to name a few.2
Autoimmune diseases can be caused by various factors, including genetic propensity, stress, infection, and medication use.3 Some individuals may also experience increased intestinal permeability, or leaky gut, caused by damage to the gut barrier. It’s believed that a leaky gut can contribute to the development of certain autoimmune conditions.
Some foods are believed to increase gut permeability, increasing your risk of developing a leaky gut and a resulting autoimmune disorder. Hence, an autoimmune protocol diet was developed. The AIP diet eliminates foods believed to trigger an immune response and replaces them with nutrient-dense foods that support a healthy gut microbiome.4
It’s typically more strict than the paleo diet, eliminating inflammatory foods like grains, nightshade vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs, and dairy. Instead, the AIP diet prioritizes fresh fruit and veggies, minimally processed meats, herbs and spices, natural sweeteners, olive oil, and probiotic-rich foods.
How Does an Autoimmune Diet Work?
The AIP diet has several phases, which is why it’s often considered an extension of the paleo diet. The steps to implement the Autoimmune Protocol are very straightforward, but the effects will vary between individuals. No two bodies are the same, after all.
Because the AIP diet is so extremely restrictive, it’s best to talk with your doctor before embarking on the elimination journey. Your doctor can help you understand your medical diagnosis and navigate the treatment options available to you, assessing whether or not the Autoimmune Protocol is appropriate based on your medical history.
1. Elimination Phase
The initial phase of the AIP diet can last as little as four weeks and up to three months. The elimination phase requires you to eliminate medications, foods, and additives that are believed to trigger intestinal inflammation and cause an imbalance in your gut microbiome. During this phase, you will eliminate:
- Refined sugars
- Grains
- Legumes
- Gluten
- Food additives (emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners like stevia, and thickening agents)
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Canola oil
- Almond flour
Permitted foods during this phase include:
- Minimally processed vegetable oils (e.g., olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil)
- Probiotic-rich foods (ex: dairy-free kefir, kombucha, unpasteurized sauerkraut, and fermented vegetables)
- Fresh fruits (e.g., bananas, pears, apples, berries, and melons)
- Vegetables
- Minimally processed meats (e.g., grass-fed beef and organ meats)
- Fresh herbs and spices
- Natural sugars (e.g., honey and maple syrup)
- Avocado
- Bone broth
These dietary changes may seem overwhelming at first glance. However, the efficacy of the Autoimmune Protocol diet requires a thorough understanding of your response to the food groups. During this phase, you’ll cut this list of foods out of your diet entirely and all at once. Then, over the next four weeks, monitor your chronic inflammatory symptoms.
By the end of the elimination phase, you should notice an improvement in your symptoms and feel better overall. Still, this eating pattern is not sustainable longer. You will eventually need to reintroduce foods back into your diet.
2. Reintroduction Phase
During the next phase, you will gradually reintroduce the foods you eliminated into your diet. Foods must be reintroduced one at a time, allowing you to assess your tolerance and identify the foods contributing to your inflammation symptoms.
You can reintroduce foods one of two ways:
- Reintroduce the foods, starting with the foods you miss the most
- Reintroduce foods that offer the most impactful health benefits
When you reintroduce a food, plan to sample it several times during the first day. Start with a small amount and wait 15 minutes to monitor any potential symptoms. If you have an immune response, stop eating that food and avoid it going forward.
However, if you don’t have a response, try a larger sample size next time and gradually increase your portion until you’ve consumed a standard serving size. If you don’t have any reactions, avoid eating that food or reintroducing any other foods for five to seven days. After that, you can fully introduce the food back into your diet.
3. Maintenance
During the last phase of the AIP diet, you will take everything you learned from the previous two stages and develop a long-term, sustainable plan that fits your needs. During the maintenance phase, your aim is to embrace diet flexibility and food diversity.4
If certain foods cause unwanted symptoms, you may need to avoid them altogether. Others may be tolerated in small portions. If you haven’t already, seeking guidance from a registered dietitian nutritionist may be beneficial to ensure you employ this last phase safely and effectively.
<p class="pro-tip"><strong>Learn More: </strong><a href="atkins-vs-keto">Keto vs. Atkins Diets: Differences, Similarities, and Which One Is Best</a>.</p>
