The Autoimmune Paleo Diet for Beginners (2024)

The Autoimmune Paleo Diet for beginners doesn’t have to be complicated.

Are you tired of dealing with autoimmune symptoms?

So many people, dealing with autoimmune disease, allergies, and migraines.

Autoimmune problems occur when your body starts attacking itself.

It’s an overreaction of the immune system which is often caused by a leaky gut.

When your gut is permeable, food particles can leak into the bloodstream triggering the immune system to attack them.

When this happens on a daily basis, the immune system ramps up to attack the foreign particles and proteins and ends up attacking your own tissue.

The average American diet is full of sugars and processed foods which leads to chronic inflammation triggering the immune system.

In order to reduce inflammation and immune system stimulation, it’s importantto cut out any foods that would cause a reaction.

By eliminating trigger foods you can begin healing the gut and greatly reducing autoimmune disease symptoms. This article may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you.

Free Guide: 6 Steps every Autoimmune sufferer should take

The Autoimmune Paleo Diet for Beginners

Autoimmune Paleo Diet works to remove trigger foods that would stimulate the immune system and leak through the gut causing a reaction.

By reducing these triggers the body can begin to repair the gut and decrease inflammation.

The AIP Diet reduces symptomsassociated with:

• Psoriasis
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Lupus
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Crohn’s Disease
• Addison’s Disease
• Graves Disease
• Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Hashimoto’sThyroiditis
• Celiac Disease

Common Symptoms Associated with Auto Immune Disease

• Fatigue
• Achy Muscles
• Low-Grade Fever
• Rashes
• Digestive Issues
• Constipation
• Migraines
• Hair Loss
• Numbness in hands and feet

Beginning the AIP (Autoimmune Paleo) Diet

In order to stop the immune system from overreacting it’s important to eliminate the following foods:

• Gluten
• Eggs
• Nuts and Seeds
• Graines
• Legumes
• Dairy
• Sugar
• Alcohol
• Night Shades

By cutting out these foods the body and digestive system can begin to relax.

You may not have to remove these foods forever but it is important at first so you can learn what foods are triggers for you and which ones don’t cause problems.

So what can you eat?

• Coconut milk
• Fresh or frozen fruits
• Meats fresh or frozen that are free of additives, chemicals, and nitrates.
• All vegetables except for nightshades (eggplant, tomato, white potatoes, goji berries, and peppers)
• Fats and oils such as avocadooil, coconut oil, lard, fat, olive oil.

Eventually,you can start to reintroduce foods one at a time.

It may seem dramatic but the AIP diet has been shown to reduce autoimmune symptoms inthis study.

So I cut out dairy, grains, eggs, nuts, legumes, sugar, and nightshades from my meals.

You can never go wrong with reducing inflammation, which will always improve your health.

I am underweight so I try to find foods full of healthy fats such as coconut oil, avocado, bacon, and olives.

Keep an eye on your symptoms to see if any of the newly added foods trigger any old symptoms.

Some foods you may be able to add back in permanently and some foods your body will just not agree with.

This AIP diet will help you to learn what your body likes and doesn’t like so you can begin to create a unique plan for you.

AIP Diet Meal Plan – What I Eat in a Day

Mornings

My normal old breakfast routine was coffee and more coffee. I was really worried that I would feel the effects of cutting out the coffee and be tired and crabby all day long.

That wasn’t the case. I actually feel better without the coffee, it was tearing up my stomach and I didn’t realize it.

Plus the coffee protein is so close to gluten sometimes your body can’t tell the difference.

Now, my morning routine is filled with a smoothie packed full of healthy coconut fat and nutritiouskale.

Recipe:Coconut Autoimmune Paleo Smoothie

The canned coconut milk helps me get healthy fats in my mornings and the smoothie is a tasty way to get kale in my system.

You could easily swap out the ingredients in the smoothie for different frozen fruit and greens to get some variety.

Other breakfast ideas

• Bacon on a salad
• Turkey sausage with steamed vegetables
• Ground beef with sauteed vegetables

Lunch Time

My lunch used to be frozen chicken tenders with the kids or a different frozen dinner or boxed rice. Those definitely are not good choices for someone wanting to lower inflammation.

Now, I focus on getting in as many vegetables as I can in my AIP Diet Meal Plan. My goal is 6-9 cups of vegetables a day to fill in the missing nutritional gaps and deficienciesI may have.

I often fry up a few pieces of bacon and put it over a huge plate of greens or actually put the greens in the skillet and sautee them up.

The hardier vegetables are easier to add in the skillet like cabbage, kale, or mustard greens.

Other lunch ideas

• Bacon with sauteed greens
• Ground turkey over salad with avocado
• A piece of chicken over a salad
• Ground beef, cauliflower rice and avocadowith cilantro

You can get the idea of how I build a meal with a little meat and lots of vegetables. I try to make sure my salad has nutritious toppings such as broccoli, olives, avocado, cauliflower, bok choy, and fresh herbs like thyme.

There isn’t a lot of nutritionin iceberg lettuce so try to have some darker mixed greens in your salads.

What about salad dressing?

It’s easy to throw together some dressing with a healthy fat like avocado oil or olive oil, apple cider vinegar and some herbs.

If you’re not into making your own dressing, I also lovePrimal Kitchen Greek Dressingbecause it’s free of all the junk and Autoimmune Paleo friendly.

Dinner

For supper or dinner, our whole family eats the same thing so I’m not stuck making separate things for everyone.

I normally roast meat such as chicken thighs, pork roast or beef roast. Other days I make ground turkey and we eat it in a bowl with avocado, cilantro, lime, and onion.

We always have a vegetable side with our meals such as Brussel sprouts, a large salad, steamed broccoli, or sweet potatoes.

Recipe:Cast Iron Chicken Thighs

See Also

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Dinner ideas

• Roasted chicken with Brussel sprouts
• Ground turkey bowl with avocado, lime, cilantro
• Chicken breast and sweet potatoes with fresh rosemary
• Pork roast and a large salad

You can see that I normally cook clean fresh meat and prepare a vegetable side with it. My kids have no problem eating these foods and it’s fast to prepare.

Many types of meat can be made in theInstant Potas well including a whole chicken with vegetables for homemade chicken soup. It’s a good way to get in a bone broth that has many healing properties.

Bone Broth Chicken soupcan be made in the Instant Pot in about an hour and a half instead of it simmering all day long.

I don’t eat any sauces or ketchup with my food because it’s so hard to find these sauces without sugar, eggs, grains, and nightshades.

Bone brothis a staple of any AIP Diet Meal Plan and has so many benefits.

I do find that including garlic, onion and fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary gives the food so much flavor I don’t miss the sauces.

Snacks

My snacks vary daily and it depends on how full I am feeling. Sometimes just a hot cup of tea will do the trick, other times I eat a banana or other piece of fruit.

If I’m really hungry in the evening I make a small smoothie to fill me up.

Here are some snack ideas

• Autoimmune Tea
• Fresh Fruit like citrus or banana
• Grass-fed beef jerky
• Coconut Yogurt

I don’t have a snack every day because the meals are pretty filling and I don’t feel hungry all day but these are good choices if you are needing something.

If you are new to the AIP Diet Meal Plan and could use some support, The Autoimmune Subscription Box is a nice way to help you get started.

How to get started on the AIP Diet

Beginning any new diet can seem intimidating and scary.

The Autoimmune Paleo diet for beginners doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

I remember when I cut out gluten years ago, I looked around and all I could see was whatI couldn’t eat.

The first few weeks is the biggest adjustment because you will be trying new foods and recipes while you miss your old default way of eating.

The good news is…it doesn’t take long to start feeling better.

Because living with an autoimmune disease is hard, Autoimmune Elimination Program is the perfect guide to get you started into the autoimmune paleo diet.

By eliminating these trigger foods you can relax the immune system.

The Autoimmune Elimination Program contains:

• Weeks of gradual diet changes
• Weekly meal planning, shopping, and batch cooking
• Stress management
• Sleep guide
• Email support from Dr. Jockers

Finding convenience foods is the hardest hurdle in eating autoimmune paleo so these recipes are so helpful in understanding what you can and can’t eat.

The testimonies of people in this program are so encouraging.

“My headaches have gone down considerably! I am tearing up just thinking about going from almost daily migraines to none. I feel more energized . . . and I have lost a few pounds. Overall, I’m feeling capable. I’ve been a broken record on how hard it was for me to try to transition to AIP on my own. It was miserable. Feeling like it *can* be done and knowing that I was able to lay a strong foundation for my future eating habits has been a critical adjustment.” –Jeannette,Group50

The Autoimmune Elimination Program has proven it’self to be effective in reducing symptoms of autoimmune disease and clean up a leaky gut.

It’s a smart way to stop the body from reacting to everything you eat, smell, and experience. Calming the immune system reduces inflammation in every aspect and can greatly reduce anxiety.

This program gives you weekly emails to keep you moving forward with your AIP diet.

Having a doctor who understands autoimmune conditions with a focus on gut health is vital for repairing your body.

The Autoimmune Paleo Diet for beginners doesn’t have to be complicated. You will be more successful if you make gradual changes.

The Autoimmune Elimination Program is perfect for those needing low start-up cost and only need to know what to eat and step by step instructions.

I’d love to know in the comments below what you love about the program so we can help other people decide how to start the autoimmune diet for themselves.

Sources:https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/11/04-0367_article