The AIP diet

The Auto Immune Protocol 'diet'

This is a protocol that is designed to eliminate known food antigens from your diet so you can then see if you can detect any improvements in your AI disease symptoms. The idea is that you should be on an anti-inflammatory diet, but first you need to find out which foods cause inflammation for you.

The AIP diet is in two steps or phases:

Step 1: Elimination phase (eat a pure food diet)

Step 2: Re-introduction phase (to identify the 'bad' foods)

The second step involves gradually re-introducing foods back into your diet, while always watching out for any gut or joint symptoms.

The AIP diet plan has been found to be effective in cases of AI diseases such as IBD and Hashimotos. See this Forbes page on AIP. It is currently also being tested on RA and other AI patients.

A 2017 Inflammatory Bowel Diseases study looked at the effects of the AIP diet in a small cohort of participants living with IBD with 50% of them on conventional IBD drug therapy. Clinical remission (when symptoms have lessened or abated) was achieved in 11 of the 15 participants by week six. Study authors note that “achieving clinical remission by week 6 rivals that of most drug therapies for IBD.” The results suggest that dietary intervention “can be used as an adjunct to conventional IBD therapy[2].”

The AIP Diet Plan 

Please Note: This diet plan is nothing to do with finding foods that are 'good' for you, it is about identifying foods (or substances added to foods) which are affecting your immune system and causing or exacerbating your AI symptoms. It is not about 'paleo - what our caveman ancestors used to eat' or 'gluten' or saturated fats or a ketogenic diet or chemicals in our food, or some other half-baked theory.

Celiac disease has been around for over 2000 years and they did not have modern wheat strains or modern chemicals 2000 years ago.

The objective here is to find out if your immune system is being triggered or made worse by something in your diet - whether that something is wheat, all grains, tomatoes, dairy, potatoes, coffee, tea, some nuts, apples or green M&Ms! It could even be a chemical which is added to food (but more likely to be a protein).

Step 2 gradually re-introduces the potentially 'bad' foods back into your diet. Because it can take up to a week or so before you may notice any bad reaction, during Step 2 you should only introduce back into your diet one new thing per week.

Please feel free to Google the internet and learn more about the AIP diet plan. I also recommend the book by Dr Steven Gundry called 'The Plant Paradox' (#amazon ad affiliate link). Beware however -  many diet books contain recipes which are not suitable for a proper AIP Phase 1 test and avoid any book that talks about 'paleo', etc. The true AIP diet plan is about excluding ALL potentially harmful substances, no matter how ancient or 'whole' it is!

Step 1 of the AIP diet focuses on eliminating all foods that are believed to trigger inflammation and immune responses in some individuals with autoimmune conditions. Do not eat these foods:

Potato is in this list but sensitivity is very rare, esp. if well cooked!

The eliminated foods typically include:

• Grains: Wheat, oats, barley, rice and other gluten-containing grains (most grains contain gluten, incl. rice and seeds)
• Legumes: Beans, lentils, peanuts and soy products.
• Dairy: All dairy products, including milk, cheese and yogurt.
• Nightshades: Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants.
• Eggs: All types of eggs.
• Nuts and Seeds: Including their oils and derivatives.
• Processed Foods: Artificial additives, preservatives and refined sugars.

The AIP diet emphasizes foods that are thought to be 'harmless' to most people. If your budget allows, I strongly recommend buying organic food, when available. Allowed foods include:

• Vegetables (except nightshades): A wide variety of colorful and non-starchy vegetables
• Fruits: Fresh or frozen fruits, excluding citrus fruits and apples.
• Meat: High-quality grass-fed or pasture-raised cuts of fresh meats (not grain fed)
• Fish: Wild-caught, unfarmed fish (these are not fed grain, antibiotics, etc.)
• Fats: Coconut oil, avocado oil and especially Extra Virgin unfiltered olive oil.

Step 1 of the AIP diet is meant to be followed for a specific period, usually around 30 to 60 days, to allow the body to heal and reduce inflammation. After the initial elimination phase, some foods may be gradually reintroduced to identify individual triggers and find a sustainable diet that supports the person's health while minimizing autoimmune symptoms.

Foods should be in their pure, fresh state. No additives or other chemicals added. Burgers (unless made from 100% pure ground beef) are out!

Following such a strict and restrictive diet is tough but you need to stick with it and if it does not work then it will only take a month at most to find out. It will involve preparing your own meals from pure fresh, tinned or frozen ingredients. Many people find that their symptoms will improve greatly in just the first few weeks and this then encourages them to continue with Phase 1 even though it is difficult.

Note: If you take supplements or medications, you should check carefully what ingredients they use as a 'filler' or bulking agent. Many contain flour, desiccants, maltodextrin (made from wheat in Europe), etc. If the supplements are not essential, then I suggest you don't take them during your diet, they could contain 'bad' substances which your immune system does not like.

Some AIP plans say to avoid citrus fruits. I would also say you should avoid any acidic fruit - just for the first phase. This includes all citrus fruits, apples, cider and rhubarb too. Also fermented foods and pickles often contain additional foodstuffs, so I would avoid these too unless you know exactly what is in them. Processed foods tend to contain multiple ingredients and are best avoided (at least in Phase 1).

It is important to note that dietary approaches can vary from person to person, and it is always recommended to consult with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian before starting any restrictive diet.

Click to enlarge (I would suggest you also avoid all citrus fruits and vinegar/yeast products)

Step 1: The Elimination Phase

Strictly speaking, you should eliminate all foods on the 'bad' list immediately (this includes dairy, eggs and potatoes) and if you can do this, it will be by far the best, scientific, approach. However this greatly reduces the choice of meals that you can make as you have to only eat certain meat and vegetables (no potatoes, no milk products, no eggs - it's not easy!). 

So I suggest you run some 2-week trial runs first, to see if you are affected by dairy, eggs or potatoes. If you experience any gut discomfort or other symptoms after eating these foods then it may be a warning that you have a sensitivity to that food. So you can try eliminating milk and dairy (for example) from your diet for a few weeks and then consume an excess of milk/dairy for the next two weeks. If you experience no change in symptoms over those 4 weeks then you can assume that dairy is not a trigger for your body. The same experiment can be done with eggs and potatoes.

With Step 1 of the AIP diet you must stop eating any and all processed foods because you cannot tell what is in them. For Phase 1 you will only eat food in its unprocessed, natural, fresh form - this means you may have to chop and cook your own food - sorry... Also no canteen or restaurant food - make your own lunches. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot eat your own home-prepared food, then skip breakfast and choose the 'purest' lunch that you can find (e.g. salad with no dressing, steak with no sauce, etc.) and simply don't eat anything which may contain the forbidden foodstuffs. You MUST know exactly what you are consuming, always!

I would suggest that you first start by eliminating all dairy from your diet for a few weeks to check for dairy/lactose intolerance. This means no animal milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, cream, baked goods and pastries (anything that contains milk), and check the labels of all packaged foods for dairy/milk! If you do not notice any improvement in your symptoms, then you are probably not lactose or dairy intolerant and it is safe to re-introduce dairy back into your diet (make sure it does not contain flour or other ingredients though!). Note that if you do feel better, it may be due to not eating the flour in the pastries, so your should still avoid all products containing flour. If you think you may be dairy intolerant then just drink loads of milk for a week - you will soon find out! Almond milk in limited quantities may be a suitable substitute if you really miss dairy milk.

Next, I suggest you eliminate eggs from your diet for a few weeks. If you see any improvement in your symptoms then you may have a sensitivity to eggs (or what the chickens have been fed with - e.g. grain fed).

If the eggs and dairy test went OK, you are now able to eat those things during the main Phase 1 part of your diet. This will make the elimination phase more bearable!

Strictly speaking potatoes should be excluded from your diet during Phase 1 too. So avoid any form of potato and starch for a week or two as another test. If there is no change in your symptoms then it should be safe to eat milk, dairy and fresh potatoes. This will help greatly in the next main exclusion phase because you can include these in your Phase 1 exclusion diet.

You can then continue with the main Phase 1 elimination diet and omit the following foods:

1. Processed/ready-made foods: Artificial additives, sweeteners, preservatives and refined sugars - incl. sugary drinks, ready-meals - anything with more than 1 ingredient!
2. Grains: Wheat, oats, barley, rice and all other grains or seeds and their products. No GF labelled foods either!
3. Legumes: Beans, lentils, peanuts and soy products.
4. Nightshades: Tomatoes, (potatoes), peppers and eggplants.
5. Nuts and Seeds: Including their oils and derivatives.

Note that No. 1 on the list is processed foods. This means you should only buy and eat fresh foods that have not been processed. You should also (strictly speaking) eat organic foods if at all possible and grass-fed beef (not grain fed) and wild-caught fish (not fed on fish food which may contain grains). It is only for a month or two and if it makes no difference to your symptoms you can buy the cheaper versions again.

No. 2 on the list is no grains. This, of course, includes grain flour but also any seeds of any kind (even cucumber seeds). Note that beer, yeast, marmite, cereals of any sort, soups and sauces, mayonnaises, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, malted beverages, ice cream, beer. wine, etc. are not allowed. Also avoid any food or drink containing maltodextrin (you should not be eating any processed food anyway - only fresh food at this stage)!

If you currently have any sort of stomach or gut symptoms - even mild discomfort (indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea, etc.) I would also recommend omitting all spices (including ground pepper) in this first test phase of your diet. Also avoid green tea, white wine, vinegar and coffee (at least for now). Also do not eat the peel of any fruit or veg.

You should not eat any food labelled as gluten-free. 'Gluten-free' labelled products are usually highly  processed and often contain seeds and grains which actually do contain gluten (just not wheat, oats, barley or rye). The 'gluten-free' label just means it is tolerated by 80% of celiacs - GF processed foods are usually NOT gluten-free because they contain grains/seeds (e.g. rice and oats contain small amounts of gluten)!

Allowed foods

• Vegetables (except nightshades): A wide variety of vegetables.
• Fruits: Fresh or frozen unprocessed fruits, excluding citrus fruits and rhubarb.
• Meat: High-quality grass-fed or pasture-raised meats.
• Fish: Wild-caught fish (not farmed)
• Fats: Coconut oil, avocado oil and Extra Virgin unfiltered olive oil.

You can make veggie oven bakes, soups and salads using the allowed ingredients but never buy any ready-made food. If you can't recognise what animal or plant it is then don't eat it!

Remember, no snack bars, sweets/candy, anything in a packet. Manufacturers add all sorts of things to packaged food that you may be sensitive to - even a small amount of something.

Here are some ideas for meals (assuming you have already tested yourself for potatoes/eggs/dairy/spices intolerances):

Example Breakfasts

• Greek Yoghurt and fruit and nuts (peaches, raspberries, etc.  tinned, fresh or frozen - not in fruit juice, syrup is ok)
• Avocado (with salad or prawns) - avocados are a great source of protein and fat
• Fried potatoes (if OK for you), bacon, mushrooms, poached, scrambled or fried egg (use olive oil), sweetcorn, sausages if pure meat and unprocessed, beans.
• Omelette with leafy herbs or Spanish omelette, etc. (if eggs OK for you)
• Scrambled eggs and mushrooms (no bread\toast!)
• Black tea (with milk) - if you must have sugar then use a small amount of raw, unrefined molasses or unrefined sugar (check carefully, some sugar is coloured to make it look unrefined!)
• mashed Avocado - spread onto lettuce leaves
• Banana, berry and yoghurt smoothie, kefir

Example Main meals

• Vegetable tray bake (cauliflower, onion, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, broccoli, courgettes, squash, swede, turnip, etc.) with fresh leafy herbs, olive oil and garlic - no tomatoes or peppers yet though. Potatoes are on the banned list, so avoid them if you suspect them.
• Fried steak/chicken/fish with salad or boiled new potatoes and fresh veg
• Tuna/Salmon/Feta cheese/anchovy salad (with boiled eggs if OK for you)
• Chips (air-fried fresh potatoes if OK) and salad (note that peppers and tomatoes are not allowed)
• Baked potato with (cheese and) salad
• Homemade stew - use cornflour (maize flour) for thickening - never use tinned products unless pure veg in brine with no additives, no grains (no pasta, barley, etc.)
• Roast (organic, grass fed) meat, roast potatoes, lots of seasonal fresh veg. Use olive oil and make a gravy from the meat juices (no stock cubes). Thicken with cornflour or arrowroot if desired.
• Baked stuffed marrow/courgette/zucchini (grass-fed ground mince).
• Chicken breast (foil wrapped in slices of lemon, red paprika, sliced mushrooms - 210°C, 20-30mins), root and green veg
• Grilled lamb with roasted veg
• *Lentil bake (if  OK for you)
• *Chilli-con-carne with rice (tip: use passata if tomatoes are OK for you) - only if red kidney beans are OK for you
• Cauliflower and butter bean curry

Note: Many tinned foods contain added flour, check the labels carefully.

Tip: As a special treat, buy an Air Fryer. It makes things taste much better, it is cheaper to run and uses less expensive olive oil than frying!

Human and most animal milk contains A2 casein (A1 and A2 casein), but most modern cow's milk contains a different mutant form of casein (A1) from Holstein cows. Therefore you may find that goat, buffalo and sheep milk/cheese is OK for you but modern cows milk (except for pure 'old breed' Jersey cows milk) is not OK.

Phase 1 results

This exclusion phase should run for at least two weeks (preferable 1-2 months). If you do not detect any improvement in your symptoms then you probably do not have any food intolerances and you can go back to your normal diet. At least you will  have eaten healthily for a few weeks! If your medical condition changes at a later date however (you reach 50+), remember to try the AIP diet again!

For the first few weeks avoid beans, rice, potatoes, eggs and milk. If you really must, then add in one of these during Phase 1, a week at a time. Strictly speaking these should not be eaten at all in Phase 1. I would think that potatoes and eggs would be the safest of these five foods to re-introduce however but watch out for any gut discomfort/problems and increased inflammation/pain.

Many people notice a marked improvement in their symptoms in Phase 1 (especially joint pain). Due to the placebo effect however, you should continue with your new exclusion diet for at least another two weeks before you start Phase 2.

Phase 2 (keep a diary!)

Now you need to start adding some of the 'forbidden' foods back into your exclusion diet so that you can eat a wider variety of foods and perhaps identify any 'bad' foods that might inflame your immune system.

Start with ONE FOODSTUFF for ONE WEEK at a time. If you introduce several new foods and you have a bad reaction, then due to the delayed effect, you will not know which of the new foods caused the problem and it will take you months to find out which of the three or four new foods that you added has caused the reaction! Aim to eat a lot of the new food group (100g+ every day) for a good test.

I would strongly suggest that the last item that you re-introduce is any processed/packaged food or drink. This is because you cannot tell what is in them and the manufacturer can change the ingredients at any time or they may source their ingredients from a different supplier a month later.

The second-last foodstuff that you should re-introduce is grains. This is because that is the most likely group to affect you (as celiac disease is genetically similar to RA/IBD etc.). Many people reach this stage and are so delighted by their improved symptoms that they are happy to stick to a grain-free and a processed food free diet because they don't want to go back to a pain-filled life, even for just a few weeks!

Most people are OK with rice (in small quantities only), potatoes, milk, eggs, beans and lentils (tins are usually OK if no added ingredients except salt and water), so you could start with these (one a week). If cooking dried beans and lentils, I strongly recommend pressure cooking them to destroy the lectins. Tree nuts may be better than other nuts such as peanuts or cashews (which are not true nuts).  You may want to then add in tomatoes or citrus fruits to your diet - the choice is yours, but avoid beer (made from grains) and white wine. I suggest you switch to red wine instead.

Always listen to your stomach! If you get any type of discomfort from your 'gut', even if mild and only for a short time, then record it in your diary and pay attention to what foodstuff may have triggered it.

Warning!

If you continue to try to exclude any 'bad' food from your diet, your body's immune system may be gradually hyper-stimulated by regular exposure to a small dose of that 'bad' food.

For instance, after being on a gluten-free diet for many years, I ate a nut bar for breakfast which had small amount of 'flour' in the ingredients list. I ate one of these bars every day and my RA symptoms did not get any worse (no pain or stiffness). However, my health started to deteriorate. I had strange gut pains (stomach and intestines), constipation, diarrhea, severe depression, loss of appetite, foul smelling faeces, etc, I even observed many sloughed-off villi in my stools! I became very ill and really thought I was dying. It took me 5 months to realise that my troubles started around the same time that I started to eat that nut bar every morning. I immediately stopped eating that nut bar for breakfast and within two days I started to feel better. Within a month I was 80% back to normal and within 2 months I was almost fully restored. The amount of flour in that nut bar must have been only a few grams at most, but ingesting it on an empty stomach every morning seemed to have caused celiac disease-like symptoms without having any effect on my joint pain.

So please avoid eating the same thing regularly every day (especially for breakfast on an empty stomach/gut) - e.g. eating gluten-free oats, any form of GF cereal or GF bread for breakfast every day is not a good idea. Try to vary your diet as much as possible, just in case!

It would not surprise me if, in fact, I and many others have been mis-diagnosed as having RA when they actually have a form of celiac disease or another AI food sensitivity.

Listen to your body

If you pay attention to your body, it will often tell you that it does not like something that you have ingested.

Here are the warning signs to look out for:

1. About 15-30 minutes after eating a meal you may have indigestion. It may only last 10 minutes and it may be quite mild - so make a note of what you had to eat (e.g. burger+bun/pasta/pizza/bread/soup) and what it contained (e.g. flour/grains/seeds) - it may be a warning
2. Joint pain the next morning (but not every morning)
3. Constipation or diarrhea (check stools look normal, not like shrapnel or cow pats!)
4. Stomach/gut discomfort or 'fluttering' in your guts
5. Any skin rash (small blisters/small pustules) - e.g.  dermatitis herpetiformis
6. Loss of appetite, depression, fatigue
7. Blocked sinuses or watery eyes/nose - some foods may be a trigger (e.g. white wine, honey, dairy, etc.)
8. Headaches

What do I eat now?

I have found through extensive testing on myself, that I feel much better when I avoid as much processed food as possible. Obviously I avoid all flour/grain products, but also I use butter instead of spreads, Extra Virgin olive oil instead of any other type of oil and I try to use only meat and veg in a fresh, raw and unprocessed state. I use fresh, tinned and frozen veg, fruit and meats. Tinned and frozen foods are usually very good because they do not need to contain additives and preservatives. Tinned legumes and lentils are precooked and so any lectin is destroyed.

I have no problems with potato, legumes, onions, fruit (except apple), fresh veg, whole milk, etc. I avoid processed foods and all grains. If you have Dermatitis Herpetiformis (itchy scabby spots) and it does not go away after 2 months on your new diet, then you are still eating something 'bad' for your immune system. This is the diet I followed which finally caused my DH to clear up after 6 years!

Breakfast: This is the most important meal to get clean and right! I eat Greek yoghurt, tinned/frozen fruit (peaches, mandarin segments, raspberries, etc.), sprinkle of dark GF chocolate, chopped nuts. Drink: Pure Orange juice (not from concentrate) or small cup of green tea (no sugar). Do not eat any form of GF cereal or processed food for breakfast (as your digestive tract is empty)!

Break: Small glass of OJ, nothing to eat.

Lunch: This is my main meal of the day. Potatoes (boiled, chips, baked), air fried meat (pork, chicken, lamb or beef), lots of fresh veg. Small amount of GF store-bought sauces or mustard. GF pasta made from vegetables (not grains). Small amount Extra Virgin olive oil.
Drink: Red wine. If I have a large lunch I find I can tolerate a small amount of processed food (such as mustard) but generally I avoid all processed food.

Break: Small cup of tea or glass OJ, nothing to eat.

Dinner/Tea: This is usually a light salad with olive oil, perhaps with potato (chips or boiled+butter or baked). Cheese, small amount of processed meat (e.g. salami) or preferably unprocessed meat. Olive oil or mayonnaise dressing. GF soup (lentil, chicken, pea and ham, etc.). Walkers plain crisps, avocado, salad veg., coleslaw.
Drink: small glass red wine or OJ or GF beer (San Miguel GF).

Supplements: Vitamins D, K2, B12, multivitamins+iron, Omega 3 fish oil kept in fridge (#Amazon Ad). Check ingredients carefully for bulking agents containing gluten/flour/maltodextrin, etc. Take after midday meal, never on an empty stomach.

I avoid ready-meals and foods with more than a few ingredients on the packet. I use my Air Fryer almost every day with wholefood ingredients, which is cheaper than using the oven.

For a snack/treat, a small Snickers bar seems OK. Green tea with no milk seems to be less diuretic for me at my age than black tea with milk, or hot water sweetened with a tsp of honey (less trips to the loo!).

Your children could be affected too!

RA, celiac disease, Type 1 diabetes and many other AI diseases are genetically linked. This means that your family members (especially siblings) will probably have similar genes. My brother is a Type 1 diabetic, so AI disease definitely runs in our family!

If you have an autoimmune disease and you have children, you may want to consult an expert on nutrition because giving them large quantities of some foods such as cows milk and dairy, wheat/gluten/bread/malt/etc., eggs, fruit, sugar, etc.  could trigger their immune system and they could develop a food sensitivity or it could even trigger an AI disease. This may be why you are not born with these diseases but develop them only in childhood or later in life! i.e. you are exposed to a large quantity of an antigen which triggers your immune system and the antibodies produced then attack your own cells/tissues. 

If one of your children has an AI disease, you should be particularly careful about the food you give to all your children, as they may develop food sensitivities if fed large amounts of a single food in one meal.

For instance, as a small boy I had a voracious appetite. I was really thin and always hungry. I can remember once eating about 6 large rosy-red apples from our garden in one hour. On another occasion I can remember eating almost a whole large white loaf of local bread and delicious homemade strawberry jam with clotted cream and my parents were laughing at me and wondering if I had hollow legs. Only years later did I discover that apples triggered my migraines but it took me 60 years to discover that flour triggers my RA pain. I also used to drink large amounts of fresh ground coffee in my late teens but later I found out that coffee also triggers my migraines. By not eating apples or coffee, I have avoided migraines for over 40 years (apart from the occasional slip up or the intentional test)! My brother used to drink lots of full-sugar Coke and several pints of whole milk a day - he developed Type 1 diabetes in his late teens (although the large amounts of Coke could have been a symptom rather than a cause? We will never know!).

So, I would suggest that you ensure that your children never ingest a large quantity of any single food or drink (e.g. only small quantities of gluten or orange juice or milk or sweet fizzy drinks) or they could develop celiac disease or Type 1 diabetes or a food sensitivity/allergy. Also, make sure any 'meal' consists of a mixture of lots of different food types and avoid excesses of any one thing. This is just a theory of mine, but forewarned is forearmed!

For young children who come from an AI family, I would avoid feeding them with large amounts of anything, especially malted drinks, dairy, fruit, sugary drinks (inc. OJ) and gluten/bread/flour/pasta/pizza/oats/barley/wheat/rye, etc. Ensure they have a variety of foods in every meal. If they do develop AI disease symptoms, take them to a doctor for food sensitivity tests, however, if my theory has any credibility, it is probably too late by then as their immune system will have been triggered and they will forever-more produce auto-antibodies and thus they will have an AI disease.

AI diseases cannot be cured (untrue!)

So AI diseases may work like this - you eat (or come into contact with) a (large?) quantity of 'something'. The T-cells of your immune system react to this specific antigen by producing antibodies. Once present, these T-cells are targeted for that one antigen and whenever you consume that antigen again, more auto-antibodies will be produced and attack your own tissues. i.e. once these T-cells are made, you will always have them.

So if your immune system is triggered by something (food or whatever) and it causes your permanent AI condition, it is likely that your T-cells are the cause of your condition. They have been triggered and programmed to produce antibodies which attack your own tissues and will continue to produce auto-antibodies whenever triggered by those specific antigens (perhaps by a certain protein or chemical?).

So it follows that, if we could remove all your T-cells by killing them and then performing a complete bone marrow transplant, perhaps your AI condition will be cured?

Well, apparently this has already been done and the answer is YES - you can 'cure' someone of an AI disease by removing all their T cells and adding another persons bone marrow - see here for a cure for celiac disease (which had lasted at least for 5 years).

Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) aka stem cells transplants have also been done in RA patients (and rats) and found to be effective in some cases too. 

Amazingly, similar successful  trials have been done to 'cure' patients with Type 1 diabetes too (with success dependent on the patients pancreas not being dead)! In some cases, no more insulin injections were required in the diabetic patients after they had a BMT!

Bone Marrow Transplants (BMTs) are, of course, very risky and have serious health and side effects.

However, these trials prove that T-cells are responsible for the symptoms of AI diseases and T-cells are always triggered by a certain specific antigen and so your AI symptoms must be triggered by an antigen. Is it not highly likely that one of these antigens could be something you ingest (and had triggered your immune system in the past)? This is certainly the case for celiac disease and a BMT seems to be effective in RA patients and Type I diabetic patients too, so why would there not a similar mechanism for many other AI diseases?

Type I diabetes could be triggered by consuming an excessive amount of sugars (e.g. lactose or fructose or glucose, etc.) which then stimulates a large amount of  insulin to be produced. The insulin, or a compound involved in the production of insulin or metabolism of sugars or its byproducts, may then trigger T-cells to produce an auto-antibody which then attacks the cells of the patients pancreas.

I suggest that families with AI genes should be told to control their diet carefully, never consume anything in excess and always eat a variety of foods in any one meal. This might lower the incidence of AI diseases worldwide and it might also explain why AI diseases are on the increase as we now eat more processed foods which have higher concentrations of certain substances (e.g. gluten, fructose, lactose, etc.).

Epilogue

So please don't just rely on your doctor to give you a magic pill (actually usually a cocktail of 6 different pills!), instead take control of your health by trying the AIP plan - it's free and it just might drastically improve the quality of your life - what have you got to lose?

Good luck!

Steve