The Autoimmune Protocol, Autoimmune Paleo or simply known to most as AIP, is a type of elimination diet that helps heal the immune system, when it has gone rogue and started to damage our bodies. It can be helpful for all types of autoimmune (or inflammatory) issues.
Autoimmunity is essentially where your body does not know the difference between the good and bad cells in your body. Instead of being a pacifist and letting the good guys stay, your body decides to try and make everyone get out and starts attacking. This can be going on for a long time before developing into a full blow autoimmune disease. Shockingly enough, there are more than 80 (!) types of autoimmune diseases, many of them are conditions that we grew up thinking were somewhat ‘normal’ or ‘routine’. Any system of your body can be affected by autoimmunity, from your brain, to nervous system to glands and even skin.
The Autoimmune Protocol is a way of eating that helps to calm your body and helps the healing process begin. Sounds pretty good to me.
It does this by reducing inflammation around the body, and most importantly, the gut. Many foods that we have eaten over the years have been damaging to our Gastrointestinal (GI) system and have been inflammatory to our bodies. AIP is an elimination diet that targets these inflammatory foods, removing them from our daily lives and puts our GI tract on a path to healing itself. Although it cannot be completely cured, autoimmune disease can be put into remission.
This is not just an elimination diet however. Yes, many things are eliminated, at first. But one of the main points of AIP is to concentrate on adding IN the most nutrient dense foods available. Unfortunately the Standard American Diet (SAD), is fairly nutrient deficient, and nutrient deficiency is a key factor in developing autoimmunity. Adding in nutrient dense foods helps to jump start the autoimmunity healing process. Eating nutrient dense foods will help reduce inflammation, restore proper gut microorganisms and help heal the gut. It will also help balance hormones and regulate the immune system.
But the AIP lifestyle doesn’t stop there, it’s called a lifestyle for a reason! There are several other components of AIP that are equally as important to healing as the food we eat. Managing stress, prioritizing sleep, avoiding environmental toxins and getting plenty of movement are all essential components of AIP as well. If these other aspects are ignored, you may not see the results you are looking for with diet alone!
EAT ALL THE VEGGIES! (well, mostly)
Colorful veggies
Green veggies
Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnip, cauliflower, arugula, watercress, brussels sprouts etc)
Sea veggies (except chlorella and spirulina)
Organ meat and Offal (offal ain’t awful)
Liver, kidney, heart, etc.
Seafood
Wild caught is best, but if farmed is all you can do, that’s better than nothing!
Quality Meat
Grass fed, pasture- rasied is better, but again, if you can’t swing it, it’s ok!
Quality Fats
Olive, avocado, coconut and palm.
Fruit
Fruits are meant to be kept in moderation, lower than 20g of fructose daily.
Probiotic Foods
Fermented veggies/fruit, kombucha, kefir, coconut milk kefir, coconut milk yogurt. (however, if you react to yeast, as I do, these foods will be an issue for you!)
Glycine-rich Food
Foods that contain connective tissues, joints or skin, such as organ meat and bone broth.
On top of eliminating what the Paleo lifestyle does, AIP also eliminates:
Nuts
Seeds
Eggs
Nightshades:
Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, sweet/hot peppers (and their spices), cayenne, tomatillos, goji berries, hot peppers and all spices derived from peppers, like paprika etc.
Potential gluten-cross reactive foods
Alcohol
NSAIDS (this one is really hard for me with migraines) and Birth Control
Non-nutritive sweeteners
Emulsifiers, thickeners and food additives
This seems like a lot of things, at least it did to me when I first looked at the list, especially the nightshades! I lived off of tomatoes for the first 25 years of my life! But once I got into actually cooking AIP recipes, I found that it wasn’t that bad and it was actually quite good! I got excited to experiment and find new ways of making old tastes. Also, once I realized the reasons WHY these foods were eliminated, they became much easier to get rid of. There are many reasons to eliminate these foods at first. They all harm our bodies in some way most creating gut irritation or dysbiosis, creating gut permeability (leaky gut) or causing inflammation. That’s all reason enough for me!
Well, that’s a great question. The recommended amount of time is at least 30 days- 3 months, after that it’s up to you and your journey. Some people only need the beginning recommended time, then they can begin to re-introduce foods. Some people need much longer, which can be up to a year or more. So how do you know? It all depends on how you feel. Your initial symptoms should be (mostly) gone, you should be generally feeling better day to day. Listening to your body is key during this process. Keeping a journal of symptoms is a great way to go about this so you can look back and see the big things, but also the little things that you may forget. Once you are ready for re-introductions, there is a way to best go about those as well, which is another post! So keep on the look out for that as well 😉
As always, if you have any questions, or are interested in starting this journey for yourself and need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact me through the work with me page. We can jump on a call and figure out what would be best for you!
And if you’d like to receive my emails, where I send out additional bi-weekly insights, sign up here —> http://bit.ly/LissMS
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I think 90% of my clients have talked about already feeling the shift to Fall and Winter hardddd.
They are worried about seasonal depression coming back with a vengeance, feeling sad summer is gone and so many other things.
I know when so many feel the same way, you might too.
I know I feel this way too.
I’m working with them to put habits in place NOW that will support them through the winter months.
Here are 2 small shifts we talked about this week:
1. Get sunlight into your eyeballs as soon as you can in the morning.☀️☀️
Ideally this is outside, there will be many science bro’s out there telling you that anything else “doesn’t count” but I say that’s BS.
Yes, the sunlight will have a greater impact if you’re viewing outside, but even if you’re behind a window it will do something.
2. Move your body!! 💃🏃♀️
The change in seasons to colder weather makes it super easy to hibernate and move wayyy less than we were in the summer.
I know I’ve been guilty of that this week and it’s showing in my sleep.
But moving our bodies can be so helpful for regulating so many things in our bodies.
Ideally you’re moving in the morning, but again- any time of day will do.
These are 2 small shifts that can make it easier for your body to transition to, and live with the Winter months.
Let’s crowdsource… what else helps you in winter??
I know there are many other things that can!!
I think 90% of my clients have talked about already feeling the shift to Fall and Winter hardddd.
They are worried about seasonal depression coming back with a vengeance, feeling sad summer is gone and so many other things.
I know when so many feel the same way, you might too.
I know I feel this way too.
I’m working with them to put habits in place NOW that will support them through the winter months.
Here are 2 small shifts we talked about this week:
1. Get sunlight into your eyeballs as soon as you can in the morning.☀️☀️
Ideally this is outside, there will be many science bro’s out there telling you that anything else “doesn’t count” but I say that’s BS.
Yes, the sunlight will have a greater impact if you’re viewing outside, but even if you’re behind a window it will do something.
2. Move your body!! 💃🏃♀️
The change in seasons to colder weather makes it super easy to hibernate and move wayyy less than we were in the summer.
I know I’ve been guilty of that this week and it’s showing in my sleep.
But moving our bodies can be so helpful for regulating so many things in our bodies.
Ideally you’re moving in the morning, but again- any time of day will do.
These are 2 small shifts that can make it easier for your body to transition to, and live with the Winter months.
Let’s crowdsource… what else helps you in winter??
I know there are many other things that can!!
All the tools that are inside Holistically Healing MS I’ve used myself to decrease my MS symptoms and significantly feel better in my body.
Over the next 8 weeks, let me be your guide on how to make this a reality for yourself.
We start tomorrow at 5:30pm eastern, you coming?
All the tools that are inside Holistically Healing MS I’ve used myself to decrease my MS symptoms and significantly feel better in my body.
Over the next 8 weeks, let me be your guide on how to make this a reality for yourself.
We start tomorrow at 5:30pm eastern, you coming?
I don’t want you to spend the years I did in pain, feeling numb and tingly, being exhausted- and having to do all the research.
Let me make it easier for you.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you details.
We start next week!!
I don’t want you to spend the years I did in pain, feeling numb and tingly, being exhausted- and having to do all the research.
Let me make it easier for you.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you details.
We start next week!!
I think I’ve said this in every group I’ve run and with every client I meet with.
(A gross oversimplification disclaimer)
But this:
people pleasing, being all or nothing, perfectionist (I could go on)
Is (part of) why we got MS.
These patterns we play out each day are the hardest thing to change- and they also keep us with high stress, high MS symptoms and feeling like crap in our bodies.
Changing these patterns takes awareness, focus and support- all of which you get in Holistically Healing MS.
•If you want the ability to say NO when you’d usually just say yes.. (stop overriding yourself)
•If you want to be ok with putting your needs first (cause I know you’re not lol)
•If you want to finally feel like you’re good enough and doing enough (cause you are)
Join us in HHMS. Along with lifestyle strategies, we go process the emotional burden all those patterns have- which helps to move through them.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you the link.
I think I’ve said this in every group I’ve run and with every client I meet with.
(A gross oversimplification disclaimer)
But this:
people pleasing, being all or nothing, perfectionist (I could go on)
Is (part of) why we got MS.
These patterns we play out each day are the hardest thing to change- and they also keep us with high stress, high MS symptoms and feeling like crap in our bodies.
Changing these patterns takes awareness, focus and support- all of which you get in Holistically Healing MS.
•If you want the ability to say NO when you’d usually just say yes.. (stop overriding yourself)
•If you want to be ok with putting your needs first (cause I know you’re not lol)
•If you want to finally feel like you’re good enough and doing enough (cause you are)
Join us in HHMS. Along with lifestyle strategies, we go process the emotional burden all those patterns have- which helps to move through them.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you the link.
Everything I say is without judgment, cause I used to do all of this too.
Only sticking with something new for a week, getting so excited for it helping, then changing it up cause “it didn’t work” by the end of the week.
But in reality I never gave it a chance.
This roller coaster has to stop!!
Join me in HHMS to hop off the coaster 🎢
Everything I say is without judgment, cause I used to do all of this too.
Only sticking with something new for a week, getting so excited for it helping, then changing it up cause “it didn’t work” by the end of the week.
But in reality I never gave it a chance.
This roller coaster has to stop!!
Join me in HHMS to hop off the coaster 🎢
At some point you have to start trusting the things you’re doing will help and stop jumping to a new thing each week.
Giving up gluten one week?
Then dairy the next?
Maybe jumping into an exercise class a week later?
At some point you gotta pick 1-3 things and stick with them long enough to give them time to make changes in your body!!
Not just a day or week either.
Yes change can happen fast, but usually not that fast. You need to stick with things for long enough to see if they’ll help.
Often you give up before it has a chance to shift anything.
If you’ve been bouncing from thing to thing, throwing random things at the wall and hoping they stick, hoping something will move the needle an inch so you feel even a little bit better..
My course Holistically Healing MS is for you.
This is the place to find what works for you, to decrease your MS symptoms.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you details.
At some point you have to start trusting the things you’re doing will help and stop jumping to a new thing each week.
Giving up gluten one week?
Then dairy the next?
Maybe jumping into an exercise class a week later?
At some point you gotta pick 1-3 things and stick with them long enough to give them time to make changes in your body!!
Not just a day or week either.
Yes change can happen fast, but usually not that fast. You need to stick with things for long enough to see if they’ll help.
Often you give up before it has a chance to shift anything.
If you’ve been bouncing from thing to thing, throwing random things at the wall and hoping they stick, hoping something will move the needle an inch so you feel even a little bit better..
My course Holistically Healing MS is for you.
This is the place to find what works for you, to decrease your MS symptoms.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you details.
Don’t get me wrong, there are def days where I feel like a MS trash pile, but those days don’t outnumber my good days anymore.
This is what is possible for you, I know it.
Because I’ve been there too:
- feeling exhausted, in pain, brain foggy and all tingly
- feeling like I was stuck like this forever
- feeling completely out of control and lost
But now:
- my daily symptoms aren’t really daily anymore
- I know that sometimes I won’t feel great or even might have a relapse- but I know I have tools to care for myself so it’s not my forever
- feeling trust in myself and the future
It took me years to get here.
And I’ve put what I learned in those years into Holistically Healing MS.
This is an 8 week course to start your MS healing journey.
Join me and get your life back.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you a link to learn more
Don’t get me wrong, there are def days where I feel like a MS trash pile, but those days don’t outnumber my good days anymore.
This is what is possible for you, I know it.
Because I’ve been there too:
- feeling exhausted, in pain, brain foggy and all tingly
- feeling like I was stuck like this forever
- feeling completely out of control and lost
But now:
- my daily symptoms aren’t really daily anymore
- I know that sometimes I won’t feel great or even might have a relapse- but I know I have tools to care for myself so it’s not my forever
- feeling trust in myself and the future
It took me years to get here.
And I’ve put what I learned in those years into Holistically Healing MS.
This is an 8 week course to start your MS healing journey.
Join me and get your life back.
Comment HHMS below and I’ll send you a link to learn more
At one point I wanted:
•To be able to comfortably go on a walk again with my boyfriend (now husband)
•To not feel like an anxious mess every time I thought about the future (and potential disability)
• To not have waves of pain coursing throughout my body
I don’t want those things anymore,
because I have them all.
No, I’m not totally cured of feeling anxious about the future, and I still have days (like today tbh) where I feel like a load of 💩
The difference is:
I can manage all the symptoms
and anxiety
and feeling like 💩
better and differently than I did before, using all the tools I have accumulated over the 15(!!) years I’ve lived with MS as a patient and practitioner.
And these are the tools I share with my clients.
And the tools I share with you inside my Holistically Healing MS course.
This course is an 8 week journey into supporting your MS body so that it can begin to heal.
I know you have the same dreams as I did,
I know because you’ve told me we’ve talked about them 🤩
I want you to have those things too.
Holistically Healing MS waitlist is closing tomorrow, comment HEALING and I’ll add you to the list.
At one point I wanted:
•To be able to comfortably go on a walk again with my boyfriend (now husband)
•To not feel like an anxious mess every time I thought about the future (and potential disability)
• To not have waves of pain coursing throughout my body
I don’t want those things anymore,
because I have them all.
No, I’m not totally cured of feeling anxious about the future, and I still have days (like today tbh) where I feel like a load of 💩
The difference is:
I can manage all the symptoms
and anxiety
and feeling like 💩
better and differently than I did before, using all the tools I have accumulated over the 15(!!) years I’ve lived with MS as a patient and practitioner.
And these are the tools I share with my clients.
And the tools I share with you inside my Holistically Healing MS course.
This course is an 8 week journey into supporting your MS body so that it can begin to heal.
I know you have the same dreams as I did,
I know because you’ve told me we’ve talked about them 🤩
I want you to have those things too.
Holistically Healing MS waitlist is closing tomorrow, comment HEALING and I’ll add you to the list.
I was talking to a client this week and she talked about how mad she was that she has a chronic illness.
How frustrated she was that she has to “manage this dumb disease” and “has to pay attention to everything she does”.
She also went onto say that she really wants to do all the helpful things, but just can’t get out of these stuck and frustrated feelings.
I get it- I definitely remember feeling similar feelings years ago. And I’m sure you’ve been here as well and might still be there at times.
I wanted to share the reframe that really helped her:
I told her, instead of focusing on “managing your disease”,
what if you thought about how you can set your future self up for feeling better/success/health.
Take the disease totally out of it.
What is 1 thing you can do to help your future self today?
She paused for a moment and I could almost see the light bulb go off in real time (one of my fav moments lol).
She said: that feels so much better and more doable.
If you’ve also been struggling with frustrated feelings about “managing your disease” these are the types of conversations we’ll have in Holistically Healing MS.
Yes I’ll be sharing about diet strategies, movement to help symptoms and stress management techniques, but we’ll also dive deeper into your feelings about it all.
Over the many years I’ve been working with clients, I’ve discovered that these thoughts, feelings and beliefs you have about yourself and your health are the biggest thing to stand in your way.
And when you have support to work through these feelings, you’re able to feel so much better faster.
Only those on the HHMS waitlist will get the presale price, and the opportunity to join the waitlist is dwindling (waitlist gets access next weekend!).
Comment WAITLIST below and I’ll add you to the list!!
I was talking to a client this week and she talked about how mad she was that she has a chronic illness.
How frustrated she was that she has to “manage this dumb disease” and “has to pay attention to everything she does”.
She also went onto say that she really wants to do all the helpful things, but just can’t get out of these stuck and frustrated feelings.
I get it- I definitely remember feeling similar feelings years ago. And I’m sure you’ve been here as well and might still be there at times.
I wanted to share the reframe that really helped her:
I told her, instead of focusing on “managing your disease”,
what if you thought about how you can set your future self up for feeling better/success/health.
Take the disease totally out of it.
What is 1 thing you can do to help your future self today?
She paused for a moment and I could almost see the light bulb go off in real time (one of my fav moments lol).
She said: that feels so much better and more doable.
If you’ve also been struggling with frustrated feelings about “managing your disease” these are the types of conversations we’ll have in Holistically Healing MS.
Yes I’ll be sharing about diet strategies, movement to help symptoms and stress management techniques, but we’ll also dive deeper into your feelings about it all.
Over the many years I’ve been working with clients, I’ve discovered that these thoughts, feelings and beliefs you have about yourself and your health are the biggest thing to stand in your way.
And when you have support to work through these feelings, you’re able to feel so much better faster.
Only those on the HHMS waitlist will get the presale price, and the opportunity to join the waitlist is dwindling (waitlist gets access next weekend!).
Comment WAITLIST below and I’ll add you to the list!!
I’d love to support you over the 8 weeks together!!
Imagine how good you could feel by Thanksgiving.
Comment HEALING to join the waitlist
I’d love to support you over the 8 weeks together!!
Imagine how good you could feel by Thanksgiving.
Comment HEALING to join the waitlist
My reality has changed a whole bunch over the years.
I started out with only a few symptoms. But I could get through the day.
Until all of a sudden I couldn’t.
All within a few years I went from “fine” to:
Having horrible symptoms, had 3 relapses and found myself with “aggressive MS”
This was not ok with me.
Eventually, I took my life into my own hands and rethought how I did most things.
I realized I had to make some changes, or else idk what else was gonna happen to me.
So I did.
I changed my diet.
I changed how I worked out.
I changed my job in the name of stress management.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
If you want this transformation for you too (I know it’s possible) I’m launching my signature course: Holistically Healing MS in a few weeks.
This is the course you need to get started on this path for yourself.
Only the waitlist is gonna get the pre sale price…
Comment WAITLIST below and I’ll add you to it!!
My reality has changed a whole bunch over the years.
I started out with only a few symptoms. But I could get through the day.
Until all of a sudden I couldn’t.
All within a few years I went from “fine” to:
Having horrible symptoms, had 3 relapses and found myself with “aggressive MS”
This was not ok with me.
Eventually, I took my life into my own hands and rethought how I did most things.
I realized I had to make some changes, or else idk what else was gonna happen to me.
So I did.
I changed my diet.
I changed how I worked out.
I changed my job in the name of stress management.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
If you want this transformation for you too (I know it’s possible) I’m launching my signature course: Holistically Healing MS in a few weeks.
This is the course you need to get started on this path for yourself.
Only the waitlist is gonna get the pre sale price…
Comment WAITLIST below and I’ll add you to it!!
This is the reality I lived, I want you to experience it too.
No, this is not a quick fix.
No, these results wont happen overnight.
No, this won’t cure you.
BUT-
Yes, you can have your life back.
Yes, you can feel better than you do right now.
Yes, your current reality doesn’t have to be a forever reality.
My success years ago was all thanks to the diet changes and the work I put in to know exactly how to eat to support MY body and MS at the same time.
Yes it took a few months, but what it gave me back was my life- and that’s priceless.
I’m spilling all the beans on what this process looks like and how to do it in my upcoming Masterclass:
5 Secrets To Creating Your Own MS Diet.
Comment CLASS below and I’ll send you the link to sign up!!
This is the reality I lived, I want you to experience it too.
No, this is not a quick fix.
No, these results wont happen overnight.
No, this won’t cure you.
BUT-
Yes, you can have your life back.
Yes, you can feel better than you do right now.
Yes, your current reality doesn’t have to be a forever reality.
My success years ago was all thanks to the diet changes and the work I put in to know exactly how to eat to support MY body and MS at the same time.
Yes it took a few months, but what it gave me back was my life- and that’s priceless.
I’m spilling all the beans on what this process looks like and how to do it in my upcoming Masterclass:
5 Secrets To Creating Your Own MS Diet.
Comment CLASS below and I’ll send you the link to sign up!!
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