Is the Autoimmune Protocol an effective dietary intervention to manage Hashimoto’s disease? Is it an effective treatment in the long run? Those are valid questions and I’d like to give you an honest answer in this post based on my own experience with Hashimoto’s disease.
I find myself in a great place to answer these questions. Not as a doctor, but as a patient. I have been using the Autoimmune Protocol to manage my autoimmune disease (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis) since 2012 and I have been able to stay in remission since then.
Yes, you read that correctly. I have put my autoimmune disease into remission with the AIP diet. My antibodies are down within normal range and I live a symptom-free life.
In fact, I live better than just symptom-free. I live a great life! I have energy, mental clarity, I am pain-free, and I have a positive outlook on life. My hair has also stopped falling off in clumps!!! Those of you suffering from Hashimoto’s will understand how important this is. Hair loss may seem trivial compared to the rest, but let me tell you it is very crippling!
If you are interested to learn more about the beginning of my healing journey and how I started the Autoimmune Protocol, click here.
Now, before I go any further, I’d like to clarify three points.
1 – What does remission look like when you have an autoimmune disease?
Remission isn’t a cure. Remission means that your disease is inactive and you are asymptomatic. If you go back to eating the way you used to (before AIP), chances are your autoimmune disease will get reactivated and your symptoms will crop up again.
A cure means that your disease is gone for good and won’t come back, very much like you can cure a common cold. See the difference between remission and a cure? This is very important to keep in mind. This is the reason why I would invite you to consider the Autoimmune Protocol more like a lifelong change instead of a quick-fix diet. If I wanted to be dramatic, I would tell you that there is no going back to the way things used to be as far as food is concerned.
2 – Is AIP failing if you still have to take medication?
Goodness no! Even though my Hashimoto’s is in remission, I still have to take thyroid medication every day. The reason for this is because my thyroid was too damaged by the disease when I started AIP and it couldn’t repair itself. Some people are able to stop their medication, but it is not the case for everyone.
So I need a little bit of thyroid hormones on a daily basis to ensure that my thyroid works properly and accomplish its job.
3 – Thyroid medication doesn’t treat Hashimoto’s!
It would be easy to think that your thyroid medication would treat Hashimoto’s, but that would be a misconception. Thyroid medication treats the symptoms of a failing thyroid, but it DOES NOT heal your Hashimoto’s. That is where the Autoimmune Protocol comes in: the AIP diet addresses the root cause of autoimmune disease. The AIP diet is an elimination/reintroduction diet designed to help you heal your gut, restore a proper digestive function, balance your hormones, and ultimately regulate your immune system. The Autoimmune Protocol IS the treatment, medication isn’t.
Now that we are clear on those important concepts, let’s go back to the initial question.
Can AIP be an effective treatment for Hashimoto’s in the long run?
My answer, based on my own experience with Hashimoto’s, is an emphatic YES!
As I mentioned earlier I have successfully put my autoimmune disease into remission since 2012 thanks to the Autoimmune Protocol. After 7 years, I’m still going strong and reaping the benefits of this powerful healing diet.
I started the reintroductions after 1 year and have been following since then a customized version of AIP fitting my own food intolerances.
Did I encounter bumps in the road?
Of course, I did! Have you seen this meme floating around on the internet?
Well, it is true! Healing isn’t a linear path. Healing means that you may take two steps forward, one steps back, then another step forward. When you hit a speed bump in the road, it doesn’t mean that the Autoimmune Protocol isn’t working.
So what does it mean if your healing seems to have come to a stop, or if new symptoms appear?
Here is a checklist to help you troubleshot your healing journey. This list isn’t in any way exhaustive but it is a good place to start investigating with the help of your health care provider.
- are you eating still eating foods revving up your immune system?
- sugar-induced inflammation
- gut dysbiosis and SIBO
- hidden infections
- hormonal imbalance
- lifestyle factors such as stress, poor sleep, and lack of exercise
- heavy metals toxicity
- environmental toxins
Several medical studies have confirmed the efficacy of the Autoimmune Protocol as an intervention to manage and reverse autoimmune disease. To learn more, read this or this.
Conclusion:
If you have been wondering if the Autoimmune Protocol is the way to go for you to heal your Hashimoto’s and if it is an effective intervention in the long term, I hope this blog post provided you with some answers.
I have been able to put my autoimmune disease into remission since 2012 with the AIP diet and I have regained my life. I have encountered bumps in the road for sure, but I was able to uncover and address the underlying causes with the help of my functional doctor.
After a year on the strict elimination phase of AIP, I started the reintroduction process. My current diet ended up looking like a customized version of AIP including all the reintroductions I have been able to make.
Managing an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s is a lifelong journey well worth the efforts you have to put in!
I too have Hashi’s along with chronic autoimmune urticaria. I’ve been on AIP and I’ve done the MRT food sensitivity test. My question to you, have you been able to successfully reintroduce foods on AIP? Thanks!
Hello Nancy,
Yes, I have started the reintroduction process after 1 year on the strict elimination phase. My current diet looks like a customized version of AIP, including all the reintroductions I have been able to make. I didn’t go back to eating the way I used to before AIP! – Sophie
Hi Sophie, are you saying you have been on the restrictive AIP diet which is supposed to be for 3 months maximum as an elimination reintroduction protocol for 7 YEARS? And, you have no issues with oral tolerance at all? Can you please clarify, have you reintroduced foods if so what have you not reintroduced successfully? Surely you cannot be saying that you have continually stayed on the elimination phase for 7 years! Please clarify as what your saying here could easily be misinterpreted….
Hello Stephen,
The AIP diet isn’t supposed to be for 3 months maximum. It is supposed to be as long as it takes for your gut to heal and your immune system to heal, which will be different for everyone. I know that some sources will tell you that you can start the reintros after 1 to 3 months, but that isn’t a realistic view in my experience. I have started the reintroduction process after 1 year. My current diet look like a customized version of AIP, including all the reintroductions I have been able to make. I hope this helps clear up the confusion! – Sophie
Hi Sophie,
Your post is encouraging. Thank you so much for sharing!
I have Hashi’s too and little did I know that some 20 years later, I would be diagnosed with a second autoimmune disorder.
(1997 and 2017, respectively)
I had no idea that having one diagnosis meant I was “fair game” for more.
I wish I’d known then what I now know.
Thanks again.
Sophie,
Can you explain what you have successfully reintroduced and not? I started AIP about 1.5 years ago. I started reintroducing things and thought I was only gluten and dairy free. However after several months of eating 80% aip and 20% reintroduced foods except dairy and gluten, I felt awful. I have since cut back to AIP and feeling better.
It is hard to know which reintroduced cause problems.
hello Cindy,
I am experiencing the same as you: I feel better if I stay as close as possible to AIP. There’s just no other diet that makes me feel good (energy, mental clarity, good digestion, good sleep, etc) and helps me manage my weight as well (I’ve always had a tendency to put on weight easily).
That being said, I am now able to relax my diet when I am eating out or traveling without feeling bad.
My diet after 7 years on AIP looks like this:
1 – The bulk of my diet consists of proteins and vegetables. I build all my meals with the 1/4 protein – 3/4 vegetables ratio.
2 – I have reintroduced some foods that I eat on a regular basis such as nuts and seeds, goat cheese, white rice, tomatoes, bell peppers, coffee, chocolate, multiple spices, hummus.
3 – I have reintroduced some foods that I eat occasionally, usually when I am eating out or traveling. I don’t eat those foods at home but I may encounter them in dishes in restaurants and stuff. Think beans, cow dairy, peas, pop corn, corn chips, gluten free bread, etc.
4 – Gluten is out of my diet forever.
I hope this helps!
Sophie
Hi, I have many other health issues plus Hashimoto! Wonder if we have any local Hashimoto or Auto immune support group in Western of Massachusetts. That would be helpful to me in Person. I prefer in-person to listen to learn to talk to improve . A person may refer to for more information etc in the retinal area than just online because I use this on iPhone which is a difficulty. I prefer in person. Have you ever thought out there? Do you have any network AIP Support Group? I do t have the Facebook because it makes me sick with vertigo when it moved up too much Motion. Please let me know AIP networks here. Maybe some people prefer in their states too? Or technology.
Hi there!
I’d like to invite you to visit this page on Autoimmunewellness.com: https://autoimmunewellness.com/resources/
Scroll down the page all the way to local resources, and you will find a meetup group in your area.Hope this helps! – Sophie
Sophie, I have celiac disease, and thyroid disease (never diagnosed with Hashimoto’s,). I was diagnosed about 11 years ago on both. I have had to eliminate soy, corn, egg, and dairy. My question to you is this: If i go on a strict AIP diet to heal my gut, do you think that some of these things, i .e. eggs and dairy, I could reintroduce in time.? I’m also worried that being off of lot of various foods, that bringing them back with cause more issues.
Hello Tammy,
There is no way to answer your question for sure. In my experience, some ingredients to which you react now you’ll be able to reintroduce later, and others you won’t. I assimilate the later to “true, lifelong allergies” we may have, compared to temporary ones. – Sophie
Very encouraging article! I’m 74 days in and this helped clear up questions. Xo
I’m so impressed that you stayed on the strictest AIP diet for a year before reintroductions! I really like your recipes and your presentation of food is always beautiful! I also appreciate your french influences. C’est magnifique!
My questions:
1. How long did it take on the AIP diet before your hair stopped falling out?
2. With Hashimotos, did you lose the outer third of your eyebrows and did those grow back as well?
3. How did you know you were REALLY ready for reintros?
Thanks for a great website with great info.