The Bottom Line. While most foods that are eliminated in the first phase of the AIP diet are already not Paleo, there are a few extra foods you'll want to avoid—like nightshades, eggs, and bananas.
When it comes to foods that can help you manage your autoimmune disease, all berries make the list. Adding blueberries to oatmeal or topping your next spinach salad with strawberries will provide your body with important prebiotic fiber and act as an antioxidant.
AIP approved fruits include: Apples. Apricots. Bananas.
Foods such as red meat, dairy, pastry, and beverages containing caffeine and alcohol trigger systemic inflammation, aggravating the autoimmune disease.
Other good whole-grain cereal choices include oatmeal and cream of wheat. Scientists believe that a low diversity of gut bacteria can contribute to some autoimmune diseases like Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis. Fortunately, we can improve our microbiome with better food choices.
Bananas are versatile fruits with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties that can help counteract inflammation and support the body's immune system. People may benefit from an anti-inflammatory diet and avoiding pro-inflammatory foods.
Abstain from Eggs
To a person with autoimmune, they can cause havoc that probably wouldn't happen in a healthy person. Eggs can allow proteins (usually lysozyme, from the egg white) to cross the gut barrier where they don't belong and contribute to molecular mimicry.
First off, fruit itself is not restricted on the Autoimmune Protocol. Different varieties of fruit (especially colorful ones) come loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which are a great compliment to a healing diet. While fruit can have a lot of sugar, that in itself is not reason enough to avoid it.
It's best to avoid nuts during the active phase of an autoimmune condition because they contain so many different proteins that can act as allergens. Over time, some people find they can reintroduce certain nuts back into their diets without experiencing any symptoms, but this varies from person to person.
The AIP Diet eliminates nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, food additives, nightshade family vegetables, and processed foods such as processed vegetable oils and processed sugars during the elimination phase of the diet.
Physical activity has been shown to help reduce inflammation, so regular exercise may help alleviate symptoms of autoimmune disease while boosting your physical and mental health. On the other hand, the body needs adequate rest to rejuvenate and repair itself, so make sure you're getting enough sleep.
To this end, these studies have found that coffee intake can reduce the risk of Rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, autoimmune liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Cow's milk alternatives
Coconut milk is the best non-dairy milk alternative. It is AIP-friendly. Oat, hemp seed, almond, flaxseed, and cashew milks are not AIP-compliant because they come from nuts and seeds. Still, they are a better option than cow's milk to heal your gut and reduce symptoms.
Dairy: People with autoimmune disease sometimes react negatively to lactose, a natural sugar in dairy, and have fewer symptoms when dairy is limited. Foods highest in lactose include cow's milk, cream and ice cream, and soft cheeses like spreadable cheese, Brie, Camembert, mozzarella and cottage cheese.
Avoid high doses of vitamin C, beta carotene, cat's claw, echinacea and ginseng, among others. Why add fuel to the fire? Doing so may cause you to slip out of remission and into more misery.
As far as controllable factors, it seems that cow's milk is, by far, the food most commonly linked to autoimmune disease. I suggest to my patients that they avoid cow's milk products in all their forms.
Are peanuts inflammatory? The short answer is no, and in fact, peanuts and some peanut products like peanut butter have been shown to be anti-inflammatory. Inflammation in the body is a mechanism thought to be at the center of the majority of chronic diseases.
Viruses, certain chemicals, and other things in the environment may trigger an autoimmune disease if you already have the genes for it.
Some of the foods to avoid that are known to affect the immune system in people with autoimmune diseases include: Nightshade vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants. Grains like wheat, rice, oats, rye, barley, and foods made from grains such as breakfast cereals, bread, pasta.