Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu revealed news of her suffering from myositis an autoimmune disorder late last year. The Yashoda actor has recently updated her health status on her Instagram page, she shared a glance at her recuperation journey.” Being on the “strictest possible diet” (autoimmune diet), that has taught me that strength is not what you eat.. it’s how you think”.

Well, health experts claim that an autoimmune diet plays a significant role in helping people suffering from autoimmune diseases like thyroid, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and celiac disease. This diet basically eliminates food groups that may cause inflammation and flare-ups of autoimmune disorders.

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is a complementary diet approach that focuses on easing inflammation, pain and other symptoms caused due to autoimmune diseases like lupus, inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), celiac disease and rheumatoid arthritis to mention a few. This diet emphasises on supplementing the body with nutrition needed to boost the immune system, gut health, hormonal balance and tissue repairing even while eliminating inflammatory stressors from the diet and lifestyle.

Evidence revealed that people who adapted the AIP diet showed remarkable improvements in the way they feel and got relieved from common symptoms linked with this condition such as fatigue, joint pain and gut issues.

What Is Autoimmune Protocol Diet?

A robust immune system functions to make antibodies that attack harmful pathogens in the body. But, in people suffering from autoimmune disorders, the immune system tends to produce antibodies that instead of combatting infections, attack healthy cells and tissues. This can result in several symptoms such as joint pain, fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, brain, and tissue and nerve damage.

Some of the autoimmune disorders include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, IBD, type 1 diabetes, and psoriasis, the diseases are caused due to genetic tendency, infection, stress, inflammation and usage of certain medication. Apart from this, damage to the gut barrier can also lead to leaky gut which may also trigger the development of certain autoimmune diseases. Also Read: Autoimmune Disease: Learn What It Is About

The AIP diet aims at eliminating some foods and replacing them with health-stimulating nutrient-dense foods that are well-known to heal the gut, lessen inflammation and reduce symptoms of autoimmune diseases. It also encourages in refraining certain ingredients like gluten foods which may result in abnormal immune responses.

How Does the Diet Work?

Autoimmune diseases cause inflammation and fatigue, and an autoimmune diet (AIP diet) aids in suppressing the signs and symptoms of these disorders, including myositis. There is no way of eating an autoimmune diet. A person consumes a specific type of food on an AIP diet and then observes its impact on health, which mainly comprises vegetables, nuts, fruits, seeds, and lean protein. Also, foods laden with vitamins and other essential nutrients are a top priority on the AIP diet. It discourages eating sugar-laden foods, fried foods, fatty foods, and dairy, these take a lot of time to digest causing inflammation and autoimmune reactions. So, a person on this diet has to add anti-inflammatory foods and exclude foods that may cause inflammation.
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The Elimination Phase

The first phase is an elimination phase which includes the removal of foods and medications thought to cause gut inflammation, imbalances between good and bad bacteria levels in the gut, or immune response. In this phase, food like grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, nightshade veggies, eggs and diary are avoided.

It is also must to avoid using tobacco, alcohol, coffee, food additives, refined and processed sugars and certain medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

The elimination phase promotes the intake of fresh, nutrient –dense foods, minimally processed meat, fermented foods etc. Aside this, it also highlights the improvement of lifestyle factors like stress, sleep pattern and physical activity level. The duration of elimination phase is between 30-90 days, but in a few instances people may start showing improvements as early as within 3 weeks.

 The Reintroduction Phase

As the patient start showing remarkable improvements in symptoms and total well-being improves, the reintroduction phase begins. In this phase, whatever foods were avoided are slowly reintroduced into the diet, one at a time based on the tolerance level.

The main aim of this phase is to identify the potential food triggers that had led to the development of symptoms and reintroduce the ones that do not show any symptoms while continuing to refrain those foods that still cause symptoms. It also helps the person to choose from a spectrum of foods based on tolerance.

During this phase, one food at a time should be reintroduced allowing a gap of 5-7 days before restarting a different food. This gives a person ample time to identify if any of the symptoms reappear.

Foods To Avoid And Eat

The AIP diet has very stringent recommendations regarding which foods to eat or avoid during its elimination phase

Foods to avoid

Grains-rice, wheat, oats, barley, pasta, bread and breakfast cereals

Legumes-lentils, beans, peas peanuts, tofu or peanut butter

Nightshade Vegetables-eggplants, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes as well as the product made using these veggies like paprika powder.

Eggs or foods containing it

Dairy and dairy products

Nuts and seeds –all nuts and seeds and products derived from these butter, oil, cocoa and spices like coriander, cumin, anise, fennel, fenugreek, mustard and nutmeg

Coffee and alcohol

Processed vegetable oils- safflower, canola, corn, soybean or sunflower oils.

Refined or processed foods like cane, corn syrup, barley malt syrup and also sweets, candy, desserts and chocolate.

Foods containing additives, artificial sweeteners, trans fats etc.

Foods To Include

Vegetables –all variety of vegetables except for nightshade

Fresh fruit –a rich array of fresh fruit in a moderate amount

Tubers –sweet potatoes, yams, and artichokes are allowed

Organic or grass-fed meats like fish, seafood, poultry and meat.

Fermented foods and non-dairy bases probiotic-rich foods like kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles and probiotic supplements can also be consumed.

Cold-pressed vegetable oils: olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil

Herbs and spices which are not obtained from the seed.

Apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar

Natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey in moderate amounts.

Green and black tea about 3-4 cups /day.

A moderate amount of salt

Downside

The AIP diet might not be feasible for all as its elimination phase is very restrictive. This can make it difficult to follow and may also lead to the risk of nutrient deficiency if the reintroduction phase is avoided for a long duration.

Conclusion:

The AIP diet is an elimination diet formulated to remarkably lower the severity of symptoms linked with several autoimmune diseases. Though research on its effectiveness is limited, however the diet looks to be promising. It may be quite hard to implement on your own, hence it is strongly recommended to seek expert advice and guidance to make sure the person continues to meet nutritional demands throughout all phases of the diet.