Last Updated on November 21, 2023 by Cathy
AIP stands for Autoimmune Protocol. It’s a diet to help people suffering from an autoimmune disease. It started in 2011 after Loren Cordain came out with his book The Paleo Diet. The book was very popular but it wasn’t enough for those with an autoimmune disease.
Then people like Chris Kresser with his book The Paleo Cure and Robb Wolf with his book The Paleo Solution started the idea of eating an autoimmune-specific elimination diet. In 2012, Sarah Ballantyne, aka The Paleo Mom started blogging about her experience with the paleo diet and began to research and refine the elimination diet. She came up with the first extensive guide on eliminating and reintroducing foods. Her comprehensive book is The Paleo Approach.
People with an autoimmune disease have high amounts of inflammation and a leaky gut. A leaky gut happens when the gut lining weakens creating holes. Undigested food particles, bacteria, and toxins pass through into the bloodstream.
This creates many health issues even if the food item is healthy such as strawberries. The AIP follows the paleo diet but it’s more strict. It’s basically a paleo elimination diet. This helps people with autoimmune diseases lower inflammation allowing the body to heal. It also helps to bring the gut microbiota back into balance. Researchers discovered people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have more bad bacteria.
I was already following the Paleo diet when I discovered the AIP in 2013. My MS had already stopped progressing years earlier but my symptoms hadn’t reversed. I was very excited to try this I was hoping to see some results, so I immediately switched over to the AIP. I always knew I was sensitive to eggs but I had no idea I was sensitive to other foods. Thanks to the AIP I discovered I was sensitive to tomatoes and nightshades.
What is the AIP?
The Paleo diet removes grains, dairy, legumes, processed foods, and refined carbohydrates/sugar. The AIP takes it a bit further by eliminating foods known to create a leaky gut. Removing these foods allows the gut to heal which lowers inflammation. A person with an autoimmune disease should start to see improvements. Such as fatigue, more energy, better skin, and fewer symptoms.
The AIP diet also includes nutrient-dense foods. Foods that are rich in antioxidants, fiber, and anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Many people continue to follow an AIP even after their symptoms have reduced. This can sometimes take months and possibly years. This is not a long-term diet.
It’s meant to be temporary until the person is feeling better. However long you follow it, AIP is a short-term healing solution and not a long-term way of life. Eliminate these foods for the first 30-90 days then one at a time reintroduced them back. If there is no reaction like acne, bloating, headaches, etc. then it’s safe to try another food item.
It’s best to wait a few days before trying another food item because symptoms can show up 1-3 days later. If there is a reaction to that food, remove it from the diet until the gut is further healed. Then it should be safe to reintroduce it again. Reintroduce egg yolks first then the whites, this way you’ll know which one is harmful. Reintroduce nightshade individually such as tomatoes first then red bell peppers, etc.
What to Eat and What to Avoid
Since the AIP is a paleo-based diet you should start following the paleo diet guidelines. This can be hard for some people, especially if used to eating the standard American diet (SAD).
When I first changed my diet from SAD back in 2004 I went cold turkey, it was hard and depressing. Instead, it would be easier to go slower. For example, remove grains first then remove dairy. Pick whichever one would be easier first. For me, removing grains was the hardest.
Foods to avoid on the paleo diet:
- Gluten
- Grains including oats, rice, and wheat
- Dairy
- Legumes (beans, lentils, peanuts, soy)
- Processed foods
- Refined carbohydrates/sugar
- Refined vegetable oils
- Most stores buy condiments
- Artificial sweeteners
- Fast food restaurants
- Iodized salt
- Soda
Foods to eat on the paleo diet:
- Vegetables except for corn (it’s a grain)
- Fruit
- Fermented vegetables
- Healthy oils (avocado, coconut, flaxseed, nut oils, olive oil)
- Herbs
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Bone broth (gut healing)
- Grain-free baking flours (cassava, coconut, tapioca, tigernut, etc.)
- Wild-caught fish and seafood
- Pasture-raised chicken and eggs*
- Grass-fed meats and organ meats
- Grass-fed dairy
*It is best to avoid eggs while you are trying to heal. In the book The Wahls Protocol, Dr. Terry Wahls recommends people avoid eggs.
The paleo diet does allow grass-fed dairy. However, studies show MS patients have heightened T-cell responses to milk antigens. People who avoided dairy had less disease activity than those who consumed dairy.
This could be due to growth hormones, antibiotics, GMO grains, and soy. I’m assuming the study was using conventionally raised cows not grass-fed. You’ll need to decide if grass-fed milk is right for you.
“It’s not natural for humans to drink cow’s milk. Humans milk is for humans. Cow’s milk is for calves. You have no more need of cow’s milk than you do rats milk, horses milk or elephant’s milk. Cow’s milk is a high fat fluid exquisitely designed to turn a 65 lb baby calf into a 400 lb cow. That’s what cow’s milk is for!” – Dr. Michael Klaper MD
Starting the AIP
Once you’re comfortable on the paleo diet then it’s time to switch to the AIP. Below is a list of foods to eliminate from the paleo diet.
Foods to avoid for AIP:
- Alcohol
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Dried or canned fruits
- Eggs
- Nightshade vegetables and herbs
- Nuts and nut oils
- Peppercorns
- Seeds and seed oils
- Stevia
Food is Medicine
People have been using food as their medicine to stop MS for decades. Dr. Roy Swank discovered this in the 1940s. He has a book called The Multiple Sclerosis Diet Book: A Low-Fat Diet for the Treatment of M.S.
Roger MacDougall also promoted diet for MS after his diagnosis in 1953. He went from being unable to use his legs, arms, or fingers to running up and down the stairs. This was thanks to a hunter-gatherer diet (like the paleo diet) which reversed his MS.
As you can see eating a healthy diet for MS isn’t a new concept. Sadly, doctors aren’t trained in the ‘power of nutrition so they can tell their patients. Granted, not one diet is perfect for everyone this includes the AIP. Each person needs to find what works for them.
Hidden Food Triggers
Unfortunately, the AIP can be a long process and you may not find the foods you’re sensitive to. It took me a few years of trying to find what was causing my face to break out in a rash. I finally had a food sensitivity test and discovered many foods that weren’t part of the AIP elimination.
Thanks to the AIP diet I discovered bell peppers and tomatoes were a problem. Here’s what showed up on my food sensitivity test:
- Arugula
- Aspartame (an artificial sweetener)
- Avocado
- BHT (a food preservative)
- Cocoa bean (chocolate)
- Coconut
- Egg whites
- Egg yolk
- Grape
- Grapefruit
- Green #3 (food dye)
- Pear
- Pepper (Green/Red/Yellow)
- Red dye #40 (food dye)
- Sulfur dioxide (a food preservative)
- Sumac (a spice)
- Tomato
- Tuna
- Woodruff (an herb)
- Watermelon
Food sensitivities could also be a group of foods like nightshades. The rash on my face didn’t fully clear up until I started eating a low-histamine diet. If you continue to have problems look into other diets such as:
- AIP diet
- Candida diet
- FODMAP diet
- Low histamine diet
- Low mold diet
- Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
Everyone is different so there is no perfect diet. It’s about customizing the diet you choose to follow. Start with an anti-inflammatory diet like the AIP or basic paleo diet and adjust it to fit your needs.
I altered my paleo diet to reduce histamines, mycotoxins, and yeast overgrowth. I also had a higher level of mercury, I believe from living under fluorescent lights. Foods that help detox from mercury include cilantro, garlic, and spirulina.
Quick Links To Information In This Post:
Paleo Diet For Beginners
How To Start An Elimination Diet
Tips To Heal Your Leaky Gut
What is the AIP and how can it help with my MS?
The AIP diet helps remove foods that trigger gut issues or flares. By controlling what you eat you can stop the progression.
What you put in your mouth each day is important but it’s not everything when it comes to healing. Just as important you need to live a healthy lifestyle. That includes sleep, exercise, removing infections, balancing hormones, and lowering your stress.
Reversing MS is hard but you can do it!
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Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132382/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1291895/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1067488/
https://www.doctorklaper.com/dairy-free
Photos by: Shelley Pauls and Hannah Busing on Unsplash
What is the AIP and how can it help with my MS?
