Anyone gone through AIP (auto immune protocol)?

I did it years ago. I'd done GaPS Diet extensively before that so I had already done a lot of healing and had a pretty good idea of some problem foods before I started it. I don't really have any advice for you except to take it slowly and don't assume your problem foods are the same as everyone else's. I can eat eggs and nightshades all day long with no issues. A tiny bit of black pepper or anything made from coconut and I'm a wreck.

I do remember enjoying some recipes from hewon'tknowitspaleo and phoenixhelix. I'm not sure if either blog is still active.

Hi! Just getting started with AIP. I’m new to it, so I am also looking for tips and encouragement!

You might like listening to Dr. Sarah Ballantyne's The Whole View podcast

https://www.thepaleomom.com/about/about-sarah/

Just for some background, my wife had Fibromyalgia for years. We changed everything -- exposure to chemicals, diet, supplements. She had it so bad that one day she looked at me and said she just wanted to die. I spent nearly a year researching to see what we could do. Conventional docs, back then, told her to take opioids and gabapentin, which we knew would be horrible for her health, so she refused.

We green juiced for a year (celery, cucs, cabbage along with cilantro, ginger and pineapple), eliminated most sugar, all fried foods, cow dairy and gluten. We also really, really watched chemical exposure. As it turns out, many with Fibro also have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity). My wife got better and better over time. Omega 3s, astaxanthin, magnesium and full spectrum methyl Bs helped a ton. So did making sure she got lots of cruciferous veggies and polyphenols.

She now works out 4 days a week (for nearly 2 hours!). She's 60 and looks amazing.

She, for a while, had a Fibro support group on Facebook. It got up to 3K members and got too much for her (and people wanted medical advice and she's obviously not a doc), so she shut it down. But before she shut it down, she noticed a very obvious trend among those that had recovered. And the people that did Paleo or keto didn't get better that often (at all to be quite honest). It was those that went gluten free/dairy free (or at least cow dairy free) and went to either a Mediterranean Diet or Dash diet that did the best (or GF/DF Vegan or the GF "Hallelujah Diet"). Very little meat and practically no red meat. Most that did that also recovered as well. I honestly think gluten is the most important, but cow dairy is close behind. I also think that those that did Paleo relied, too often, on meat. True Paleo is supposed to be all "grass fed" meat. The issue is that most can't afford all grass fed meat. I have known very few that actually do Paleo that way -- they buy the cheaper meat loaded with crap. Also, meat -- especially red meat -- creates an inflammatory microbiome. That's why all the docs are now saying that the Mediterranean Diet is the healthiest. They are seeing patterns in the microbiome that back that up. More scientific proof every day. I learned so much helping my wife that I now recruit (I'm a headhunter) in drug/microbiome therapeutics with some of the leaders in the field.

We eat limited sheep and goat cheese now. You really can eat well using those. P'tit Basque and Pecorino are both sheep cheese and P'tit Basque (you can get it cheap at Trader Joes) is a great sub for mozzarella. Pecorino is sheep parm. Manchego is also great and really cheap at Costco. If you look hard, you can find Sheep Feta (I just found some at Fry's).

Best of luck to you!

moonangel12 wrote: »

MikePfirrman wrote: »

Just for some background, my wife had Fibromyalgia for years. We changed everything -- exposure to chemicals, diet, supplements. She had it so bad that one day she looked at me and said she just wanted to die. I spent nearly a year researching to see what we could do. Conventional docs, back then, told her to take opioids and gabapentin, which we knew would be horrible for her health, so she refused.

We green juiced for a year (celery, cucs, cabbage along with cilantro, ginger and pineapple), eliminated most sugar, all fried foods, cow dairy and gluten. We also really, really watched chemical exposure. As it turns out, many with Fibro also have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity). My wife got better and better over time. Omega 3s, astaxanthin, magnesium and full spectrum methyl Bs helped a ton. So did making sure she got lots of cruciferous veggies and polyphenols.

She now works out 4 days a week (for nearly 2 hours!). She's 60 and looks amazing.

She, for a while, had a Fibro support group on Facebook. It got up to 3K members and got too much for her (and people wanted medical advice and she's obviously not a doc), so she shut it down. But before she shut it down, she noticed a very obvious trend among those that had recovered. And the people that did Paleo or keto didn't get better that often (at all to be quite honest). It was those that went gluten free/dairy free (or at least cow dairy free) and went to either a Mediterranean Diet or Dash diet that did the best (or GF/DF Vegan or the GF "Hallelujah Diet"). Very little meat and practically no red meat. Most that did that also recovered as well. I honestly think gluten is the most important, but cow dairy is close behind. I also think that those that did Paleo relied, too often, on meat. True Paleo is supposed to be all "grass fed" meat. The issue is that most can't afford all grass fed meat. I have known very few that actually do Paleo that way -- they buy the cheaper meat loaded with crap. Also, meat -- especially red meat -- creates an inflammatory microbiome. That's why all the docs are now saying that the Mediterranean Diet is the healthiest. They are seeing patterns in the microbiome that back that up. More scientific proof every day. I learned so much helping my wife that I now recruit (I'm a headhunter) in drug/microbiome therapeutics with some of the leaders in the field.

We eat limited sheep and goat cheese now. You really can eat well using those. P'tit Basque and Pecorino are both sheep cheese and P'tit Basque (you can get it cheap at Trader Joes) is a great sub for mozzarella. Pecorino is sheep parm. Manchego is also great and really cheap at Costco. If you look hard, you can find Sheep Feta (I just found some at Fry's).

Best of luck to you!

Very good info, thank you! I know I have read many many different experiences as to what works and what doesn’t... hopefully with trial and error I will be able to sort out what works for me. I know my dad has had the Mediterranean diet recommended for him but his addictive personality just can’t get away from his bread/beer heavy diet. I am definitely not a fan of the meat heavy aspect of AIP 👎 our local grass fed beef stock in our freezer is dwindling (bought half a cow) and who we got it from isn’t doing it this year. I do have some roosters I am growing out for the freezer.
I am torn because with my thyroid issues, and family thyroid history, I have always been told to stay away from soy which eliminates a good chunk of protein options (need to research that some more I guess). I also get hives from several nuts (not a true allergy, but Oral Allergy Syndrome... but it’s enough of a reaction my allergist prescribed an epipen just in case). It’s so frustrating trying to muddle through what May or may not be best with so many different options and opinions. Definitely going to look into Mediterranean a bit more and see what exactly that entails.

Gluten, dairy, and sugar are for sure things I need to eliminate for the long haul...

It's a lot to go through. Look into heavy metals as well -- cilantro, chlorella and spirulina (assuming the latter are from good sources) are great too for heavy metal detox.

Hormones also with women, in particular, are a major issue. Healthy hormones start with rest and putting down the devices at night, which is particularly hard when you're in pain at night. It's a vicious cycle. If you don't use Blue Blockers at night (or screen blue light app filters), you should.

Many women have success with HRT. We stayed away from that with the added cancer risks but my wife knew a lot of women that had great success with Pregnenolone/DHEA in combination. In short, they are precursor sex hormones -- they basically turn into whatever your body needs, whether it's estrogen, progesterone or testosterone. That might also be worth looking into as well.

moonangel12 wrote: »

MikePfirrman wrote: »

moonangel12 wrote: »

MikePfirrman wrote: »

Just for some background, my wife had Fibromyalgia for years. We changed everything -- exposure to chemicals, diet, supplements. She had it so bad that one day she looked at me and said she just wanted to die. I spent nearly a year researching to see what we could do. Conventional docs, back then, told her to take opioids and gabapentin, which we knew would be horrible for her health, so she refused.

We green juiced for a year (celery, cucs, cabbage along with cilantro, ginger and pineapple), eliminated most sugar, all fried foods, cow dairy and gluten. We also really, really watched chemical exposure. As it turns out, many with Fibro also have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity). My wife got better and better over time. Omega 3s, astaxanthin, magnesium and full spectrum methyl Bs helped a ton. So did making sure she got lots of cruciferous veggies and polyphenols.

She now works out 4 days a week (for nearly 2 hours!). She's 60 and looks amazing.

She, for a while, had a Fibro support group on Facebook. It got up to 3K members and got too much for her (and people wanted medical advice and she's obviously not a doc), so she shut it down. But before she shut it down, she noticed a very obvious trend among those that had recovered. And the people that did Paleo or keto didn't get better that often (at all to be quite honest). It was those that went gluten free/dairy free (or at least cow dairy free) and went to either a Mediterranean Diet or Dash diet that did the best (or GF/DF Vegan or the GF "Hallelujah Diet"). Very little meat and practically no red meat. Most that did that also recovered as well. I honestly think gluten is the most important, but cow dairy is close behind. I also think that those that did Paleo relied, too often, on meat. True Paleo is supposed to be all "grass fed" meat. The issue is that most can't afford all grass fed meat. I have known very few that actually do Paleo that way -- they buy the cheaper meat loaded with crap. Also, meat -- especially red meat -- creates an inflammatory microbiome. That's why all the docs are now saying that the Mediterranean Diet is the healthiest. They are seeing patterns in the microbiome that back that up. More scientific proof every day. I learned so much helping my wife that I now recruit (I'm a headhunter) in drug/microbiome therapeutics with some of the leaders in the field.

We eat limited sheep and goat cheese now. You really can eat well using those. P'tit Basque and Pecorino are both sheep cheese and P'tit Basque (you can get it cheap at Trader Joes) is a great sub for mozzarella. Pecorino is sheep parm. Manchego is also great and really cheap at Costco. If you look hard, you can find Sheep Feta (I just found some at Fry's).

Best of luck to you!

Very good info, thank you! I know I have read many many different experiences as to what works and what doesn’t... hopefully with trial and error I will be able to sort out what works for me. I know my dad has had the Mediterranean diet recommended for him but his addictive personality just can’t get away from his bread/beer heavy diet. I am definitely not a fan of the meat heavy aspect of AIP 👎 our local grass fed beef stock in our freezer is dwindling (bought half a cow) and who we got it from isn’t doing it this year. I do have some roosters I am growing out for the freezer.
I am torn because with my thyroid issues, and family thyroid history, I have always been told to stay away from soy which eliminates a good chunk of protein options (need to research that some more I guess). I also get hives from several nuts (not a true allergy, but Oral Allergy Syndrome... but it’s enough of a reaction my allergist prescribed an epipen just in case). It’s so frustrating trying to muddle through what May or may not be best with so many different options and opinions. Definitely going to look into Mediterranean a bit more and see what exactly that entails.

Gluten, dairy, and sugar are for sure things I need to eliminate for the long haul...

It's a lot to go through. Look into heavy metals as well -- cilantro, chlorella and spirulina (assuming the latter are from good sources) are great too for heavy metal detox.

Hormones also with women, in particular, are a major issue. Healthy hormones start with rest and putting down the devices at night, which is particularly hard when you're in pain at night. It's a vicious cycle. If you don't use Blue Blockers at night (or screen blue light app filters), you should.

Many women have success with HRT. We stayed away from that with the added cancer risks but my wife knew a lot of women that had great success with Pregnenolone/DHEA in combination. In short, they are precursor sex hormones -- they basically turn into whatever your body needs, whether it's estrogen, progesterone or testosterone. That might also be worth looking into as well.

I feel a bit better about eating cilantro on nearly everything

Working on screen time before bed, a lot of times it’s me and my other homeschooling friend catching up via text so it’s hard to put it down. I do have the night screen mode tint on it so it cuts down on the blue light (was very obvious last night - I was working on our budget with my phone and iPad side by side, one with and one without the filter).

Hormonally I am probably a mess. Hysterectomy at 34, lost an ovary too. I am leery of HRT (and thankfully up until recently my lone ovary seemed to be holding down the fort, but I am wondering if it is starting to have issues as well. I had the longest hot flash yesterday and it was not fun! Plus the hair loss, skin changes, etc.) but have talked to a lady that does these creams that she rubs into her forearms that is supposed to be more natural (not sure the name of it, might be what you referenced?).

Hotflashes are normally when your estrogen levels drop. Early in menopause, when breasts are tender and you can have endometriosis, it's usually too much estrogen.

What your friend is likely talking about is progesterone cream, which might help. For hot flashes, Black Cohosh supplements seemed to work better for her.

Pregnenolone/DHEA are supplements. They are taken orally and are precursor building blocks of hormones. So your body takes them and produces whatever you need. HRT is (somewhat) guesswork, based on testing levels, and trial and error with "natural" hormones, trying to imitate what your body should do on its own. Pregnenolone/DHEA actually use your body's own signals to produce exactly what you actually need (whether it's estrogen, testosterone or progesterone). The reason you don't hear about them more is that docs used to use them around 80 years ago, but then found out they could make more money off of synthetic hormones and continually bring women into to "monitor" their levels. Sorry, but it's all about money these days. DHEA is even illegal in Canada. Probably because it takes money away from big pharma and docs.

Still, always best to consult with a Naturopath or Functional Doc (Naturopath with an MD).

Here's a good article and some warnings on it (not for premenopause for some).

https://drsarahbrewer.com/dhea-and-pregnenolone-supplements#:~:text=DHEA and pregnenolone are both hormones that are,and is then converted into DHEA as necessary.

There are supplement blends that have both in them. Best to start very, very low with them and see if they even work for you.