The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is a powerful dietary tool that has the potential (when done properly) to reverse autoimmune disease by lowering systemic inflammation in the body and setting the stage for healing to happen.
To better understand the way the autoimmune protocol works, one can divide it into 3 phases: the initial elimination phase, the reintroduction phase, and the final stage where your find your specific food intolerances.
Elimination Phase
The initial elimination phase is temporary. During that time, you need to remove a series of foods that are potential triggers for an autoimmune response.
“The Autoimmune protocol is
a temporary elimination diet”
On the list of foods to eliminate are grains (including corn), legumes (including soy and peanuts), dairy products, eggs, nightshades (including spices derived from nightshades), seeds and nuts, alcohol, chocolate, coffee, refined sugars, refined oils, processed foods and food additives.
While this list may seem pretty long, there are still a wide variety of healthy foods you can enjoy like all meats, seafood, all vegetables, and fruits. Check out my recipe page for a gallery of mouthwatering dishes you can prepare for yourself and your family!
A nice tool to have on hand to help you navigate this elimination phase is this complete list of yes and no foods on AIP written by The Paleo Mom. And here is a list of all the herbs and spices allowed on the AIP as well.
Reintroduction Phase
After a certain period of time, which varies from people to people, you can start reintroducing foods you had to eliminate before.
But let me give you this piece of advice I learned the hard way: patience and method are the keywords for a successful reintroduction. You don’t want to rush things and reintroduce different foods at the same time! Why? Because you won’t be able to listen to the signals the body is sending you. It is crucial to reintroduce foods one at a time, following a specific step-by-step process, in order to detect potential symptoms of food intolerance.
“Slow and steady wins the race!”
I have made several mistakes trying to rush my reintroductions, and as a result I had to take a step back and wait even longer. It wasn’t until I followed the clear instructions in this Reintroduction Guide on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol that I was able to tackle my reintroductions with success. This guide has been written by the very knowledgeable Eileen Laird from Phoenix Helix.
In her Reintroduction Guide, Eileen explains in simple terms how to reintroduce foods on the autoimmune protocol, when to do it, and which foods you should reintroduce first.
She also shows you how to keep a symptom journal, how to deal with an autoimmune flare, and which mistakes to avoid.
As a bonus, the Reintroduction Guide contains a wide variety of delicious recipes designed to help you reintroduce one food or one ingredient at a time.
So far, I have been able to reintroduce chocolate in small amounts, seeds and nuts, some spices like mustard and paprika, and eggs. I have not been successful with coffee so far! Each time I try to drink coffee, I develop joint pain within 24 hours, as well as a swelling in my throat and mucus over-production. Talk about a food reaction! Hopefully, when my body has healed more, I will be able to tolerate coffee in small amounts.
Final phase: the best diet to help you heal!
At the end of the reintroduction process, you will have discovered your specific food intolerances and established which diet is the best for you to help you heal.
This phase is different for everyone, because we all react differently to foods. While I may never be able to tolerate coffee, others have reintroduced it successfully. This is why the Autoimmune Protocol is more a template than a one-size-fits-all approach. It is impossible to predict which foods you will tolerate well, and which foods will cause your symptoms to flare up.
“AIP is a template, not a one-size-fits-all diet!”
It is only through patient and careful experimentation that you will be able to pinpoint your own food intolerances.
Question: Have you been able to reintroduce foods yet on the paleo autoimmune protocol? If the reintroduction failed, which symptoms did you experience?
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I´m just 2 weeks in the AIP. Thank you for such a good summart
Hello Brigitta,
Thanks for stopping by 🙂 And good luck with the AIP!
I am on AIP diet diagnosed with, hashimoto’s they are checking for Orrante and sojhern’s syndrome. My pain in my joints and weakness and brain fog come and go., I a not noticing so much with the food elimination. It seems I react more to stress and over doing things like exercise. Walked too much at the mall and my legs collapsed out from under me yesterday. I wanted to go they didn’t. I have had Bariatric surgery sleeve and then realized I had Hashimoto’s. Thought the weight gain was from a Hysterectomy and menapase, now I realize what was going on . I didn’t to remove 80% need of my stomach.. I’m down to my goal weight now trying not to lose anymore. I really can’t give up certain foods because I need the protein .not quite at the point where I can eat all kinds of meat. I am still healing. I do eat eggs. And nuts but totally avoid grains, dairy, legumess, and nightshades.. funny thing is what I eat doesn’t seem to matter so much, Can’t tell a difference with my symptoms. What makes a difference is stress and exercise. Have you heard of this.?
Hello Clare,
From what you are telling me, it seems that your current primary source of autoimmune flare comes from stress and over exercising (which is a stress on the body as well). Stress is a well known trigger for many, many people. To the point that stress reduction is a priority in their lives. I would encourage you to work on that area, all the while adopting as clean a diet as you can in order to keep the inflammation down. Once your stress is under control, you might have to come back and examine your diet if you notice persistent symptoms. Also, check with your doctor to discuss this matter. Good luck.
I am on day 28 of the elimination diet and I don’t really feel all that different! Some days I feel a lot better, but today I hurt all over! Is this just the way it goes?
Hello Deb,
For me, the pain went slowly away when I started the AIP. But what I remember most vividly is feeling terribly sluggish and weak, like I had the flu or something. It does get better though! Give it more time. Some people heal slowly (like me), and others will feel better much faster. The important is that you keep at it; you are absolutely on the right track Deb 🙂
Hi Sophie,
I understand the need to use the AIP protocol diet and slowly reintroduce foods however, does having a food sensitivity test change anything? Say I was to have the test done and it shows that I do not have any issues with eggs, could I eat them sooner than laid out the reintroduction phase? I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s but I was diagnosed with an allergy to milk protein as a baby. Have you known anyone to have a similar diagnosis that was reversed once they started the AIP protocol diet?
Thanks,
Megan
Hello Megan,
The opinions a divided about food allergy tests. Some believe that they are not useful, and might even give false positives. Others, including myself, believe that these tests are an important part of the puzzle. For example, a food allergy test allowed me to find allergies to AIP approved foods. However, I still eliminated all the foods to avoid on the autoimmune protocol. Just like you, my allergy test didn’t show eggs as being a problem. I still eliminated them from my diet though in order to give my body a break.
Now on the subject of reversing your allergy to milk protein, discovered as a baby. It has been my experience that deep rooted allergies do not go away with AIP. Those allergies are the ones you have had for a long time, even maybe since birth. I believe those don’t go away. But this is just my opinion. Please always experiment and see what your own reactions are.
Hello Dear Sophie
Sorry for my English, it’s still very poor.
What tipes of pain have you had?
How long have you been on eliminating Paleo ( AIP)?
As soon as you start to feel an improvement?
Thanks,
Mila
Hello Mila,
I had severe joint and muscle pain for a while, but that went away with the AIP diet. I have been on this diet now since August 2012. I started to feel improvements right away, but it took some time for all my symptoms to go away. It was a slow progression, with some highs and lows. I would say the severe pain disappeared within 1 month though. Good luck!
Hi Sophie,
I am a breastfeeding vegetarian and just recently changed my diet to gluten-free. I believe I have Hashimoto’s, though I’ve not been diagnosed. Any advice on the elimination diet? I’m worried about not getting enough nutrients from a diet of just fruits and vegetables and some seafood (I eat fish maybe once a week due to cost).
Thanks,
Betsy
Hello Betsey,
I understand how you might be concerned about nutrient density on a vegetarian version of AIP and pregnancy! You want to make sure you are eating enough in order to feed yourself and the baby 🙂 From what I have seen from other AIP bloggers sharing their healing stories, they have had to come off their vegetarian diet in order to achieve true healing. Especially regarding the consumption of bone broth and organ meats (because they are packed with nutrients your body needs in order to heal). So, if you add a pregnancy on top of that, I would be concerned that you won’t have the level of nutrients required. Would you consider reintroducing meat into your diet?
I am just starting this as I have had horrible gut flares and dx. with microscopic colitis last 2 years. Honestly Im clueless as to where to begin. I with I just had a comprehensive list of simple meals to eat for each meal (brf.,lunch,dinner)
I am not sure if this is helpful. Naturopaths actually do have the ability to test for which foods cause allergic like reactions through a blood test with a ranking system of how strong the sensitivity will be. I am not certain of the test’s name, I can find my records for you if you like. My “sensitivities” included citrus and seafood and a whole host of others as the naturopath anticipated with my disease. Your blogs are interesting and have me more curious about the AIP lifestyle.
A bit hasty, lo siento. I see that this topic was already addressed….
As I’m reading the list of eliminations I’m wondering what is left to eat?!? What do some of your meals look like? Thanks for your help!
Hi Sophie,
I’ve spent the past 18 months (at least, though much longer to a lesser extent) experiencing symptoms that sound similar to yours. The worst of mine are joint pain and stiffness (especailly after waking up in the morning), extreme fatigue, bloating and upset stomach after eating (almost every time) , headaches, brain fog and generally just feeling down and unmotivated all the time (not ideal when you’re trying to finish a PhD!!). My Mum has found she is sensitive to nightshades, and in the past had similar symptoms to me, so I’ve tried eliminating them (for about 3 months so far) but haven’t noticed any difference. I’ve seen a doctor and had all sorts of blood tests, which all came back suggesting I’m perfectly healthy. I’m on a waiting list to see a rheumatologist but in the meantime have been searching for other solutions. A AIP diet seems like something I should try out, but the problem is that I am a vegetarian (for the last 2 years) and do not eat any meat (including seafood) for environmental and ethical reasons. This is something I really don’t want to have to compromise on, but I can’t see any way of following a strict AIP diet since this really only leaves me with fruit and vegetables!! Do you have any advice for me?
Thanks a lot for your blog – It’s nice to know there are others in the same boat as me, and that it can get better!!
Hello Bianca,
I don’t personally know someone who have been able to put their autoimmune disease into remission on a vegetarian – AIP diet. This post by Eileen Laird at Phoenix Helix might shed some light on the topic for you.
Try going gluten free. That’s a really big one for a lot of people.
I’ve been doing AIP diet a few months now,though I discovered I wasn’t doing it fully correct. I rebegan from scratch. I have multiple illness’s that affect my immune system plus creates lots of pain for me.and have found the AIP diet extremely helpful. I was coming down sick monthly sometimes weekly but it’s been 2 months since I last had to see Dr for such illnesses.( Like flu,sinus infections etc )
I haven’t been to the reinducing phase of diet yet but am excited to begin it. Im not rushing things though im comfortable doing diet at the 1st phase. Thank you for your input and helpful postings.
Thank you for your feedback Vickie and good luck for your reintroductions! Take it slow and one thing at a time 🙂
Thus AIP was recommended for me by my nutritionist. Do you have a book I can download? I have 2 conditions…neuropathy and lymphedema. So I have inflammation from hell. Thank you.
Sorry to read about your diagnostic 🙁 You can download my ebook here.
Thanks for this blog. I’ve been AIP for about 5 mo. and was doing good reintroducing foods – that is until the yellow tomatoes came in our garden. I ate them everyday for a week and I sue paid for it with joint pain, throat swelling, etc. People who don’t have autoimmune disease (my is Hashi’s) don’t understand and sometimes it’s a little hard for me to understand how food can do this. But I’ve learned my lesson and am learning discipline along the way. Thanks for the informative info.
Hi, I am planning on starting AIP for my connective tissue disease. I came intolerant to many food (exp. egg,wheat, casein etc.). One I am in reintroduction phase do I add the food I am intolerant to or I stay away from those? Thank you for your advice.
Hello Runia,
I just replied to this by email.
I saw that you cannot have coffee. I’ve not done AIP do not familiar with all the no
No’s.
But there is a coffee substitute called Dandy Blend . It’s dandelion root, roasted barley, rye, chicory and sugarbeet root.
Non GMO and no sugar.
It tastes like coffee and is so good.
I even add my collagen to it.
So not sure it fits the plan but just a recommendation
Hello Janet,
Barley does contain gluten, which is a big no-no on AIP! – Sophie
I wondered about this too but Dandy blend uses water extracts and is certified gluten free. Would it then be ok?
Hi. I had to do a partial thyroidectomy surgery because I had a nodule on my right side of the thyroid.. my antibodies are positive and i often suffer from bloated stomach and gas flux. I want to know if AIP will work for me.
Hi, I’m confused. The list of foods to eliminate completely includes grains. Then white rice and sprouted grains are included in phase four of reintroduction. So is it just unsprouted grains not including rice that are to be eliminated always? And what about brown rice? Thank you!
Hello Diane,
In my opinion, as long as you don’t reintroduce gluten into your diet, which is known to damage the gut lining and exacerbates autoimmune disease, you can try to reintroduce grains such as rice (brown or white). Be mindful of the reintroduction process and monitor yourself closely for symptoms. If you don’t react to rice, you are in the clear.
Hi! Thanks for the information! This helps a lot as i amtrying to reintroduce food again:) I have a question thoguh, about liquorice. I thought it was a seedbased spice and reintroduced it as such, but recently i heard that liquorice is actually a legume. If so, does it lassify as a legume with edible pods which can be reintroduced early on or should i wait until reintroducing lentils and bean way long in the future? I have tried googling this but came up with nothing.. Kind regards, Ebba
Hello Ebba,
yes, licorice is AIP-approved. – Sophie
Hey Sophie,
Thanks so much for sharing this. I am 2 weeks in to my AIP after 5 years of hearing all kinds of , it is food, it isn’t food , causing it from various doctors but no clear answers. “It” still has no defined diagnosis as of yet but I have had 2 random anaphylactic reactions that sent me to ER, 4th of July being most recent, multiple toxic food reactions but never the same foods, all kinds of rashes, hives, skin issues etc. Since starting AIP I feel better then I have felt in years. Thankfully I have a doctor that I saw this past week who is working diligently and testing me to help me figure out what is going on, which foods I may be allergic or sensitive too and if there’s any environmental factors we have already addressed stress , even good stress as a factor and she fully supports my AIP decision. I wasn’t sure on reintroduction so this is extremely helpful and valuable to this of us still adjusting and learning.