If you have recently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, the first moments can be overwhelming. This blog post will give you valuable information about the autoimmune protocol as an effective tool to reverse the damages of autoimmune disease, how to find a holistic practitioner, as well as resources to help you create an autoimmune recovery plan.
It is normal for you to feel helpless at first when you learn about your autoimmune disorder. After all, you will have to deal with this for the rest of your life and there isn’t a lot of information floating around in the media and doctor’s office. You might be asking yourself what you are going to do, where to start, how you can heal yourself, where you can get help, and the most important question of all: will you get better? It is essential for you to know that with dietary changes and lifestyle adjustments, you can halt the progression of the disease, or even put it into complete remission!
The first reassurance I would like to give you is this:
if you have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease,
you CAN get better!
Healing will take TIME, DETERMINATION and COMMITMENT. You can’t do the autoimmune protocol half way and expect tremendous results. In fact, during the healing phase, if you follow the diet 95%, you can expect 50% of improvements. So it is really important that you stick to the diet – no cheating! You have to be single-minded about your health and recovery.
About holistic medicine and your health recovery plan:
I strongly recommend that you work with a functional medicine practitioner to have all your lab tests done and devise a comprehensive health recovery plan including dietary changes, supplements, stress management techniques, and other necessary lifestyle changes.
What is functional medicine? Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual. (Institute for Functional Medicine) Check out this blog post on How to Find an AIP doctor.Resources to get started with AIP:
- The Autoimmune Protocol Bootcamp: A 4-week step-by-step program to help beginners implement the Autoimmune Protocol and get results fast without feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.
- My ebook: 15 Manageable AIP Meal Plans for Busy Home Cooks – Ditch the daily 6 o’clock mayhem in the kitchen and become a ninja cook! Done-for-you AIP meal plans for busy home cooks to quickly and easily prepare nutritious meals (that everyone will love and eat) — without spending a lot of time in the kitchen!
- “The Paleo Approach – Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body” by Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D., aka The Paleo Mom.
This book will help you understand the mechanisms of autoimmune disease and give you the key to reverse it through diet and lifestyle changes. The book details how the foods we eat and the way we live our lives impacts the health of our gut and our immune systems.
- “Reintroducing Food on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol” by Eileen Laird. This guide will give you clear instructions on how to reintroduce foods on the autoimmune protocol and pointers to avoid common mistakes. You can find it here.
What can you do today to start on your healing journey?
Following the Autoimmune Protocol (also referred to as AIP) will be paramount in your healing process. (On this page, you will find a chart that will help you understand at a glance the differences between paleo and AIP).
Your first mission will be to clean up your diet and learn to cook the AIP way!
- KITCHEN CLEAN-UP (FRIDGE & PANTRY): Get rid of all the junk food (processed sugary food) and other ingredients not allowed on the autoimmune protocol. Only keep in your kitchen the food you can safely eat. If this is not possible for logistic reasons, create an area where you will keep your own food.
- HEALTHY FOOD SHOPPING: Stock up your pantry and your fridge with food that is compliant with the autoimmune protocol.
- PLAN YOUR MEALS: The best way to avoid getting back into your old eating habits is to be prepared! Plan your meals ahead before you go shopping and purchase all the ingredients you will need to prepare your dishes. Also, have healthy snacks on hand at all times.
- AIP COOKING: Start cooking simple meals that will nourish your body and promote the healing process. In this post, I give you 10 strategies to stay on the autoimmune protocol while cooking for the rest of the family.
Sophie, I absolutely love your combination of honesty, practical advice, and a few resources to get people started. I’ll be sharing on Facebook!
Thank you Eileen!
Hi Sophie,
Being a great fan of Sarah and Eileen, I like your recommendations. 😉
However you made a mistake in your AIP blog list, instead of linking to Mickey: http://autoimmune-paleo.com/ you link twice to Eileen; not that that’s a bad thing, her new podcast is great. 🙂
Hope you don’t mind me pointing this out. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. I fixed the link. I also love her new podcast; Eileen is always producing high quality content material. Her website was very helpful to me when I first started on the autoimmune protocol 🙂
Hi Sophie – awesome and timely post. Autoimmunity CAN feel overwhelming and breaking it down into bite sized, manageable pieces can make all the difference. I think knowing you are not alone is also a big part of starting the AIP journey.
I remember when starting the AIP journey, I was reading everything I could left and right, trying to find answers and advice to start and manage the protocol. It was indeed a great comfort knowing that others had been through this before and were able to manage their symptoms.
This is great Sophie, really helpful stuff. Am sharing this today 🙂
Thank you Kate 🙂
thank you so very very much just what I needed to read, this has been scary for me, much appreciation Sophie 🙂
You are welcome. Do not hesitate to ask questions 🙂
Very overwhelmed with all the info out there and figuring out how to eat right. Diagnosed a few months ago with hashimotos and so happy to have people like you sharing their stories and knowing I can heal my body. I initially thought “yeah, 30 days on aip and I’ll fix myself and be normal again.” As hard as it is to hear that it won’t be a quick fix and to stay committed and work at it for as long as it takes, it actually is a weird sort of comfort to allow me to settle into this and be patient with the process. Thank you….
Thank you so much for your information and walking the walk and showing the rest of us that it can be done.
Thank you for stopping by Christy 🙂
You are really a comfort to me since the idea of giving up so much worries me and unsure if I will be strong enough to do every thing I’am so tired of being sick all the time.
pamelajeanjamison@outlook.com.
Hello Pamela!
I am so glad you found comfort in this post 🙂 Hopefully, all the advice from people who have been in the trenches will help you get started on the AIP! If the idea of giving up everything at once seems overwhelming, try eliminating one problem food per week. For example, eliminate all grains the first week. Then the second week all the legumes. Do this until you reach your goal, little by little. Good luck <3
Hi there. Thanks for sharing this article. Being a mother to a 19 year old with Ulcerative Colitis, I can attest to the stress and worry that comes with this disease. My son had some crazy years, especially as he moved through his hormonal times. It did bad things to his disease. What we’ve found and believe completely is that eating real food, low carb and gluten free is the way. It has kept him in remission for more than 2 solid years. Best wishes to all that suffer from chronic illness.
Wow – Thank you for making AIP less daunting! Great work.
I like your post I’m trying to adopt this diet too.