At Manifest Health & Wellness, we utilize functional medicine to help you get to the root of what’s keeping you from optimal health. While our main focus is acupuncture, functional medicine testing, nutraceuticals, and coaching, we recognize that diet, sleep, and lifestyle are essential.
We take a holistic, personalized approach when working with our clients, creating a customized wellness plan to help restore the body’s natural state of health.
For patients dealing with gut imbalances, food sensitivities, and autoimmune disorders, the Autoimmune Protocol Diet is highly effective in reducing systemic inflammation, facilitating healing, and improving symptoms caused by autoimmune diseases and other chronic conditions.
Many Manifest Health & Wellness patients who have followed The Autoimmune Protocol Diet have experienced a significant improvement in how they feel and reductions in their symptoms, such as fatigue, gut imbalances, joint problems, sleep issues, brain fog, and more.
What is the Autoimmune Protocol Diet?
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is a diet that takes a functional medicine approach, aiming to heal the gut by focusing on clean eating and eliminating foods known to cause inflammation. The AIP diet starts by removing certain foods for a period of time and then reintroducing them slowly to see if they cause a reaction.
The elimination and reintroduction protocol helps determine which foods will help you thrive and which foods you should avoid.
While you can test for food sensitivities and allergens, nothing is more effective than an elimination diet in isolating how what you eat affects your body. While symptoms are often gut-related, they can also affect emotions, pain, energy levels, and cognitive function.
Who can benefit from the Autoimmune Protocol Diet?
The AIP diet is designed for those who suffer from autoimmune conditions, chronic health conditions, inflammatory conditions, and food sensitivities.
In people with autoimmune disorders, the immune system produces antibodies that attack healthy cells and tissues rather than fight infections.
This can result in abdominal pain, joint pain, fatigue, diarrhea, brain fog, tissue and nerve damage, and a variety of other symptoms.
Autoimmune conditions can cause damage to the intestinal lining in the small intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut”. When this occurs, some food and waste products can enter the bloodstream, resulting in inflammation. Some foods, such as gluten and dairy, can increase intestinal permeability which leads to a leaky gut. This is why the AIP diet focuses on eliminating certain foods and replacing them with nutrient-dense foods that work to heal the gut and reduce the symptoms that come with autoimmune diseases.
What can you eat on the Autoimmune Protocol Diet?
The AIP diet focuses on organic meats and fresh fruits and vegetables (except nightshades).
The foods included in the AIP Diet:
- Minimally processed meat: Organic grass-fed meats, organ meats, poultry, and seafood
- Vegetables: A wide variety of fresh, local vegetables, except for nightshades
- Fresh fruit: A variety of fresh, local fruit in moderation
- Coconut: Milk, oil, flour, and coconut aminos
- Fermented foods: Kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, and probiotic supplements
- Herbal teas
- Vinegar: Balsamic, apple cider, and red wine vinegar. *Choose a vinegar free of added sugars
- Oils and fats: Coconut oil, avocado oil, beef tallow, and olive oil
- Herbs and spices: As long as they don’t contain nightshades or seeds
- Gelatin
- Flour: Coconut, arrowroot, cassava, tapioca, and tiger nut
The foods that should be eliminated in the AIP Diet
- Grains: Rice, wheat, barley, oats, rye, etc.
- Dairy products: Cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk, as well as dairy-based products
- Nuts and seeds: All nuts and seeds and foods derived from them
- Beans and legumes: Peas, lentils, peanuts, etc.
- Dried fruits
- Highly processed vegetable oils: Soybean, canola, palm, and corn oil
- Eggs
- Refined or processed sugars: Sweets, soda, candy, frozen desserts, and chocolates
- Nightshade vegetables: Eggplants, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, etc.
How does the Autoimmune Protocol Diet work?
The AIP Diet consists of three phases.
The Elimination Phase
The Elimination Phase is the first and most important phase of the diet. In this phase, you remove all potential food triggers from your diet to reduce inflammation and the potential immune response.
During this phase, you will eliminate foods like grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, nightshade vegetables (peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, etc.), eggs, and dairy. You’ll also eliminate any tobacco products, alcohol, coffee, oils, food additives, refined and processed sugars, and some medications, such as NSAIDs (ibuprofen, aspirin, etc.)
It’s during this phase that you’ll learn to read food labels, become more aware of what you’re putting into your body, and increase your consumption of fresh, nutrient-dense foods such as minimally processed meat, fermented foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and bone broth.
This phase can last anywhere from a handful of weeks to several months, depending on your individual situation. You will remain in this phase until you feel a noticeable reduction in your symptoms. Working with a functional medicine doctor at Manifest Health & Wellness can help you identify how and when to begin the next phase of the protocol.
The Reintroduction Phase
The Reintroduction Phase is the phase when you begin to reintroduce some of the foods you previously eliminated. This comes after you’ve seen a measurable improvement in symptoms. You’ll start by introducing one food at a time, paying careful attention to how you react physically and emotionally to each food.
If after a few days, food is well tolerated, it can be added back into the diet. If a certain food causes the return of your symptoms, it should be avoided.
If a food fails the reintroduction test, you can try reintroducing it at a later time. Keep in mind that your food tolerance will likely change over time as your gut continues to heal and strengthen.
The Maintenance Phase
The Maintenance Phase is the continuation of the Reintroduction Phase. You will continue to eat the foods you reintroduced previously, allowing for continued healing of the gut while maintaining overall health and wellbeing.
Eating the AIP Diet in San Diego
Manifest Health & Wellness is located in sunny San Diego, where we have flourishing farmers’ markets and an abundance of local produce. While any diet or lifestyle change can present its obstacles, San Diego is the ideal location to begin the Autoimmune Protocol. From avocados to apricots, fresh citrus, and more. You can find plenty of local, in-season produce to enjoy while following the AIP diet.
When making any changes to your diet or lifestyle, it’s important to consult a physician who can assess your health as a whole.
Schedule an appointment today
Manifest Health & Wellness Manifest Health & Wellness is an acupuncture, functional medicine, and health and wellness clinic in San Diego, CA with a simple goal: Help you Experience True Health & Wellness with our personalized approach to Manifest Health.
If you’re struggling with an autoimmune disorder or unexplained symptoms and ready to find relief, we can help. We specialize in using acupuncture, functional medicine, coaching, herbal medicine & supplements, personalized diet guides, and lifestyle tips and support to help you get to the root of your symptoms and support your body’s ability to heal.
