pupietreatz

[gods-favorite-autistic]

Today I found out that some people genuinely believe artificial food dyes cause adhd and cancer??? How do you come to that conclusion. 99% of the junk food we eat has artificial food dyes and last I checked most people who eat a lot of junk food don’t have cancer??? Or adhd????

[themissinghippogriff]

| one lucky guy | imagine

young remus x reader

Description: reader has a crush on remus but thinks he and sirius are dating

W.C: 2k+

Requested: no warnings

0000

You picked at your food and sighed, today was Remus's birthday. You had gotten him a present but you weren't sure how to go about giving it to him. For over a year you had the biggest crush on him but decided not to say anything because he was dating Sirius, but you couldn't exactly be upset about that, they were a really cute couple.

Just as this thought crossed your mind Sirius stood atop the Gryffindor table, " May I have your attention!" he announced, gaining the attention of the student body. You glanced down near his feet where you saw Remus bury his red face in his hands, " Today is the smart, caring, and beautiful Remus Lupin's birthday!" he gushed with a shit-eating grin on his handsome face.

Down the table, Marlene McKinnon whooped and began clapping and many of her housemates and friends followed, laughing at Sirius's stupid antics. You found yourself clapping with them and laughing when McGonagall threatened to give Sirius detention if he didn't get down," Oh you know you don't care about me stating the obvious, Minnie!"

You watched McGonagall's lip twitch, " Mr. Black, get off the table,"

-

Potions, your last class of the day. You loved this class for the sole reason you were partnered with Remus, but lately being his partner was bittersweet. You had to get rid of this crush, but how?

You sat down beside the werewolf and smiled, " I haven't  had a chance to tell you today, but Happy Birthday,"

He returned the smile with rosy cheeks, " Thank you, are you coming to the party Sirius advertised during breakfast?" he asked, a twinge of hopefulness in his voice that went unnoticed by you.

" Wouldn't miss it for the world," you teased, allowing yourself to get lost in his light green eyes for a moment. He held your stare until you finally looked away," Has anyone given you any presents yet?" you asked taking out your book.

" O-Oh," he stuttered, following your lead, " Yeah, Sirius, James, and Peter gave me somethings this morning, but apparently Sirius has a big surprise for tonight, I'm almost too scared to find out what it is, to be honest," he chuckled.

You sent him an almost pained smile, " Sirius is one lucky guy," you replied, forcing a laugh.

Remus's eyebrows furrowed and before he could ask you what you meant Slughorn walked into the room.

-

" Lily, this is perfect I don't know why you're so worried," huffed Sirius as he hung balloons and streamers around the common room.

The redhead rolled her eyes, " I'm just not sure we should meddle, what if Remus doesn't like (Y/N)?"

Sirius snorted, " Lily, the man is practically in love with her, has been since fifth year, and it's so bloody obvious she likes him too. Trust me, we're doing those two a favor," he said before blowing up a balloon, only for it to shoot out of his hands and hit Peter in the face.

" Sorry about that mate!" laughed Sirius.

-

You walked to your dorm and decided you would dress up a little, you had to get over this crush. He seemed happy and you never want to interfere with his relationship with Sirius, so you might as well mingle tonight.

You grabbed a shimmery shadow and applied the mauve color to your lid, following it up with black mascara and eyeliner. You grabbed Lily's berry-colored lipgloss and put it on.

You then slid on your off-shoulder blouse and crotched bell bottoms. You looked at yourself in the mirror and decided you were happy with your appearance. Walking to your trunk you got down on your knees and rummaged through it looking for Remus's present, tonight was the night you'd get over him.

You'd have fun tonight. You told yourself you would dance and laugh with your friends, and even allow strangers with not so innocent intentions to approach you.

Even if that's not what you really wanted.

-

Remus lied on his bed and sighed, he needed to get over this crush, she'd never go for someone like him- for something like him.

He ran a hand through his sandy brown hair, making it fluffier than it already was. He stood, changing out of his school uniform into something more comfortable. He grabbed a beige sweater and pulled it over himself, he never wore short sleeves, no matter how hot it was.

Sirius came into the room, " James and Pete are getting the butterbeer and firewhiskey and should be back in a few minutes, so the party will be in full swing right about then," he grinned, but his friend's face made him pause, " You alright, Moony?" he asked.

Remus sighed through his nose and nodded, " Yeah, just feeling a little anti-social is all,"

The ebony-haired man frowned, " C'mon Remus," he began, putting a hand on the werewolf's shoulder, " It'll be fun, it's going to be us, our friends, drinking and talking,"

" And I need you to be there for my big surprise, remember?" he whined.

Green eyes rolled but a smile graced his scarred face all the same, " Fine, might as well get a drink or two,"

Sirius barked a laugh, " That's the spirit,"

-

You made your way down the steps to be greeted with the sound of music and laughter. Your (Y/E/C) eyes swept around the room before they landed on Lily, " Hey," you greeted.

The girl smiled before handing you a butterbeer, " It's about time you came down, I thought I was going to have to come up there and drag you down here," she teased, leading you over to where Dorcas and Marlene sat.

" (Y/N), " acknowledged Marlene, " You look hot,"

You felt your face heat up, " You don't look so bad yourself Marley," you laughed.

Dorcas took a swig of firewhiskey, pushing her blonde hair back, " Hey Marley let's go dance," she said before taking the other blonde's hand.

" Ah, Lily-flower," crooned a familiar voice.

You and Lily turned around to see James with his arms wide open. The redhead shook her head but hugged her boyfriend, " Are you ready to witness my amazing dance skills, Evans?" he flirted before kissing her nose.

You shook your head at your two friends and leaned against the stone wall, finding yourself looking for Remus. He was on the other side of the room, throwing his head back to some joke Sirius made.

You looked away quickly, not wanting to feel more lonely then you already did.

" Excuse me," you turned to see a Ravenclaw in your year, you recognized him as one of the chasers on the Quidditch team. His name was Benjy Fenwick, he was handsome with his copper-colored hair and cobalt blue eyes.

" Are you here with someone?" he questioned with a small smirk. You glanced over to Remus who was still talking to Sirius.

" No, I'm not,"

-

Sirius felt his heart drop in his stomach as he saw you talking to Benjy Fenwick, shit shit shit, this wasn't supposed to be happening. He looked over to Lily to see her dancing with James, but before he could get her attention Remus asked, " What are you-,"

Sirius could have died right there at the look on Remus's face, total and utter disappointment. He gritted his teeth as he watched Fenwick lead you over to where the others were dancing, spinning you as you laughed.

" I... I think I'm going to head upstairs,"

The pureblood blanched, " Moony mate I-,"

" Goodnight, Sirius," was all he said before walking up the stairs that led to the boy's dorm. Had he been wrong about how you felt? No, he couldn't have been, he needed to talk to Lily and tell her what was happening.

-

You were talking to Benjy when all of a sudden you felt someone grab your arm, " Hey (Y/N), don't you need to go give Remus his present?" Lily asked, not bothering to even glance at Benjy.

You looked to the Ravenclaw and then back to your friend, " Um, I'm kinda-,"

Lily cut you off, " Remus isn't feeling all that well and you should give it to him before he goes to bed," she pressed.

You sent Benjy and apologetic smile before nodding at Lily, " I suppose, I'll be back," you said over your shoulder before making your way up the steps.

- You knocked on the oak door before entering, you saw Remus sitting on his bed, " (Y/N), what are you doing here?" he asked.

You smiled, " I came to give you your present," you replied holding up the bag.

He placed his hands in his lap and sent you a strained smile, " You didn't have to get me anything," he said softly.

You sat down beside him, " Well I wanted to," you said, handing him the red bag.

He placed it on his lap before removing the tissue paper, he took out the book and sweater you had gotten him and smiled, " Thank you," he murmured, turning to you.

You felt your face begin to heat up, " You're welcome,"

He paused, running a finger over the spine of the book, " (Y/N)?" he asked.

" Hm?"

" What did you mean when you said Sirius was one lucky guy?" he asked, it had been bugging him all afternoon but had forgotten to ask you earlier.

You frowned, " Oh you know... because you two are dating," you said sheepishly.

Remus's eyes bugged out of his head, " Wh-What!?" he yelped.

You raised an eyebrow, " What?"

" You- You think Sirius and I are- what?!"

Your eyebrows shot to your hairline, " You're not?"

" No!" he squeaked, " I'm straight!"

You felt like the biggest idiot in the fucking world, so there you were blinking like a dumbass in front of the boy you had like for a year, " Ah," was all you had to offer as you mentally kicked your own ass.

Remus's face was beet red, " I...-,"

You couldn't help the laugh that escaped you, " I'm so sorry!"

Suddenly Remus's face broke into a grin as he joined you in your fit of laughter, " I'm going to bloody kill him," he groaned, running a hand over his now pink face, " This actually isn't the first time this happened,"

You giggled, " Well at least my competition has one less person-,"

You froze, as did Remus. You were back to mentally kicking your ass, this was a great night huh?

" What... what do you mean?" he asked.

You let out a nervous chuckle, " Oh um, nothing," you said standing up," I better leave you to-,"

He grabbed your hand, his mouth opening before closing as he tried to find the right words, " Do you have feelings for me?" he asked, that hopeful tone not going unnoticed by you this time.

You looked down at your feet before nodding, " I... do," you whispered, pulling your hand back, " Sorry,"

This time he stood, " For what," he smiled, " I actually feel the same way, so it kinda works out," he said thoughtfully, an amused look on his pretty face.  

Your mouth opened, " Really? You like me too? You're in like with me?" you asked in disbelief, hoping this wasn't some drunken dream.

He laughed slightly and nodded, " Yes, love, I'm in like with you,"

You felt your face break into a grin before meeting his lips with your own. The kiss was slow, with is hand on the small of your back and your fingers tangling in his feathery curls.

Outside the door, Sirius peeked through a crack and smiled before busting the door open with Lily in tow, " SURPRISE!"

[minnochu]

Lustrous (pt. 18)

Hybrid!Kook x Fem!Reader AU

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3 | Pt 4 | Pt 5 | Pt 6 | Pt 7 | Pt 8 | Pt 9 | Pt 10 | Pt 11 | Pt 12 | Pt 13 | Pt 14 | Pt 15 | Pt 16 | Pt 17 | Pt 18 | Pt 19 

Warning: A copious amount of dialogue :’) 

(A/n): Hope everyone’s doing well and staying safe and healthy! Just remember to stay humble and kind and take this time if you’re self-quarantining to practice self-love!! Hope you enjoy :’)

.

.

“Where’s (Y/n)?” Namjoon asks when the whole pack has taken their seats at the dinner table the next morning, and the others notice one seat has yet to be filled. They look towards the hybrid in question, who averts his eyes.

“She left,” he muttered, swirling his chopsticks around in his bowl of fried rice.

The others grow alarmed at this. Jimin piping up from beside him, “What do you mean, she left?” 

The younger grows irate in result, his eyes glaring a bright blue at the other wolf, “She. Left.”

“And why didn’t you stop her?” Yoongi calmly interjected as Seokjin whispers a small spell to pull the two wolves’ chairs apart, “You were with her last night, weren’t you?”

He flinches at that, eyes dimming in result. It was true. There was no denying that fact.

The elder’s eyes narrow at the youngest pack member, “Stop being a fucking prick and explain to us why exactly the one person we need to protect is running away from us.”

Namjoon clears his throat as tension continues to rise, opening his eyes to flash his golden irises dangerously in warning at the pensive pack members, “I think we should eat first before the food gets cold, we’ll discuss this later.” His eyes briefly meets the youngest and the whole table settles down into a heavy silence. Jungkook’s shoulders sag as a result, clamping his mouth and turning his attention to his meal. Angry Namjoon was not one to mess with. 

The warlock releases a relieved sigh at the temporary cease fire and makes work to levitate dishes and food from the kitchen. He quietly prays he won’t have to clean up too much of a mess if anything escalates to anything more than a peaceful explanation. The aura surrounding the boys is turbulent, no doubt insinuating a quarrel when the food has finally been devoured.

“Gods help me,” the warlock sighs.

.

“Want to explain to me why you’re suddenly phasing into my attic at such a god awful hour?” Yahiko smiles softly as she sets down a blanket and pillows on your old bed. You ran to the one place you could only think of, your old home with the kitsune. You had crash landed, phasing in mid air before dropping with a loud thud on the wooden floor. The elderly woman had come rushing with her orbs flashing fiery orange, only to calm down when you came running into her arms.

She didn’t question it at first, welcoming you back into your old room with a mug of warm milk and honey, but you knew she would ask eventually.

“Don’t forget that I’m a kitsune, child,” she quirks a smile, “I may be over thousands of years older than you, but I still have a keen sense of smell.”

“And you reek,” she cackles, causing you to blush and smile in embarrassment. Dainty fingers push the locks of your hair behind your ear, “What troubles you? I smell distress and conflict within you.”

You mull over what to say first, about Jungkook, about your apparent feelings for him, about the Blackwells. 

“Is it that wolf-boy?” She muses nonchalantly, only speaking hypothetically, not expecting you to flinch from beside her, nearly sputtering and choking on the contents of your mug. “Oh, I’m correct?”

“There’s a lot on my mind right now,” You defend helplessly, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand.

“Including that boy, no?”

Your shoulders sag in defeat, there was no denying it to her.

“It’s complicated…”

Yahiko makes a face, tapping the tip of your nose with her index finger, “You act like I had never dated a man before, (Y/n).”

“I, like many supernatural creatures, had a mate. He’s not here right now, but I assure you he’s watching over me,” She smiles softly, reminiscing her years with her fated, “He was a human, if you didn’t already connect the dots. I imprinted on him a long time ago, and the stupid man outgrew me.” The kitsune chuckled softly, glancing upward as if she could see his spirit watching her. 

“What was that like?” You ask tentatively, although it made you feel worse thinking about how this must be how Jungkook feels about Hyejin. The realization is a smack in the face, he must be hurting out of rejection from his fated.

Yahiko elbows you with a wry smile, “Your face is like an open book, child.”

“He was my world, to put it simply, losing him hurt. A lot. I wanted to die with him,” she says solemnly, “I wonder sometimes how I still do it when I still miss him very much.”

“How did you know he was yours? He was human right? He didn’t reject you for being a kitsune?” The elderly woman glances at you with amusement stretching her lips, causing you to clamp your mouth shut. As your cheeks burn from embarrassment, she can only laugh good naturedly at your curiosity. 

“You like that wolf very much, don’t you?” she sighs, “I must say, I have to apologize for rudely assuming that he’d hurt you based on the color of his true eyes. I hope he’s treating you well.”

Your silence proves her hypothesis correct, you like Jungkook, and that scares you. It hurts to know that he’ll only ever pine for Hyejin’s affection despite her obvious indifference towards him. 

“I was initially terrified, all the others in my family were mated to creatures of the same kind if not different types - such as the thunder kitsune - so then why was I different? We were taught to stay away from the humans… since at that time, the supernatural and the humans had not yet finalized the pact for peace and bounty hunters were much more prevalent than today. He was one of them.” She pauses to regard your gaping mouth, snickering when she taps your chin to shut it, “It felt like everything was just right when I met his gaze, but he didn’t know it then and tried to kill me. Of course, I overpowered him and let him go, but every time we encountered one another, we began to talk and understand the other and get to know one another as a living being. I told him about my family and showed off my powers” she emphasizes by holding out a dainty hand with her palm facing towards the ceiling and a spark of golden foxfire ignites abruptly from her fingertips, “In turn, he talked about his life, his fiance, his guilt for hunting my brethren when he realized we weren’t evil or to be feared of.”

“Fiance?!” You gasp as you watch the flames disperse and the light has died down from her hand.

“Yes, yes,” she frowns, “He had a fiance at the time, and it hurt, alot. Every time he brought her up, I wanted to change the subject, it filled me with envy and pain. Each time he said her name with that stupidly handsome smile on his face, it was like a sword twisting in my gut.”

“I thought I could’ve lived with the pain, or mate with a widow from another pack, but it wasn’t the same, and he saw that sadness in my eyes.”

“He confronted me about it, and I spilled. I told him about the imprinting, about my feelings. Gods that man was so infuriating, made me actually scared for my life if he were to be disgusted at my affections. Humans… they are quite fickle beings when it comes to love. Is this real? Is this your actual feelings, and not something forced upon you by the stars or your inner beast or what have you? I wondered those silly questions myself… but I wouldn’t have wanted any other man if suddenly the next day, I wasn’t bound by my imprintee.”

You wonder if that were the case with your friend. The idea of being imprinted on and its implications may have caused Hyejin to believe that Jungkook had no real affections for her. It wasn’t like she was chosen at random, you suppose, the stars saw it fit that the two were meant for each other, soulmates as you would put it. Fated for one another. So, why did she fear and hate him so much when he could be anything she wanted him to be. He would be at her every beck and call. 

Fuck. That hurt. 

You liked Jungkook. That revelation on the rooftop hurt. Finally you could put a name to the emotions you felt around the wolf-boy, but it didn’t lessen the pain of knowing he was meant for someone else, your closest and only friend made at school. At least… other than the boys. 

Yahiko saw it, she could feel the conflict dripping off of you in tangible waves. You didn’t know it, but she knew with the way Jungkook acted and looked at you the way he did. It reminded her of her own situation, she only hoped the whole ordeal would sort itself out quickly. Else you would spend years hurting each other. 

Children, she inwardly giggled at the coincidence of the predicament, if only they knew how to communicate properly. Although she couldn’t say much with the way she and her human mate had also suffered the same conflict. 

“Did he say so himself, that he imprinted on her?”

Um. Well. 

The way you hesitate speaks volumes. Now that she mentions it, he didn’t really deny it or confirm it.  The more he called you out for being nosy continually irritated you, why couldn’t he just give you a straight answer for once?

“Give the boy some time to sort out his feelings, my dear,” She sighs, “He’ll talk to you when he’s ready.”

“I’m not sure he’ll ever be,” you frown, “I don’t know what I’m waiting for, it seems like just last night I realized I… I like him… but who’s to say that he feels the same when he can barely open up to me, Hyejin pops up and he just stops functioning, and now!” You stammer your confession more lowly, barely above a whisper, with a beet red face. 

You freeze as the woman lays a gentle hand over yours. Then do you realize the way your lip had begun quivering.

“How am I supposed to face him?”

“You don’t,” Yahiko says after much silence, “Leave them alone long enough and he’ll sort out his feelings soon enough and give you a proper explanation.”

“Have some patience and get some sleep, you’re far too young to be looking so concerned like that.”

And that you do, finishing the rest of the milk she had brought up and shifting into your old bed. The kitsune leaves you with one last gentle caress of your head before she bids a good night. Morning comes and you have to force yourself to go to school, praying to whatever god there is that you don’t run into the boys. And you don’t, but Hyejin noticed the distance between you and the pack and has to put a stop to this nonsense.

“(Y/n), this needs to stop now, what’s going on?” 

Hyejin stops you from leaving school that day, dragging you to the nearest fast food chain for a much needed sit down and talk. It comes after first being bombarded by Jimin and Taehyung about your whereabouts and wellbeing, and finally when Jungkook confronts her. Nothing is ever that important for the subject of her hatred to talk to her himself. Perhaps there was more to the problem than just fixing your lost memories.

She sighs when you both get seated at a booth with your meals, pinching the bridge of her nose, “I think it’s badass that you’re a witch, but I’m really worried for you being away from the boys when you’ve got your whole family tree planning on killing you.”

You want to tell her, clamming up in the palms when your feelings for the wolf-boy are teetering on the tip of your tongue. Should you tell her? She was your friend. What was stopping you? Her past relationship with him? What if she still liked him? Was this going to ruin your friendship with her? 

“To be honest… I left to clear my head after finding out you and him dated before,” You blurt out, pursing your lips and expecting the worse. Silence is your answer, and when you peer over at your friend, she is blinking at you in evident surprise.

“How did you find out?” She starts off meekly, taking a generous swig from her soft drink, “I mean… Did he say anything?”

“Not really…” You wince, thinking about the time he forcibly shoved you from his head at the appearance of the girl in his memories, “It was only last night when he finally told me you both dated previously.”

The other exasperatedly exhales, her palm meeting her forehead, “That stupid dog.”

“You… You don’t like him still, do you?” You ask hesitantly, holding your breath in anticipation of her answer. Meanwhile, the other has to hold back her obnoxious cackle at that question, nearly spewing out her soda. Eyes softening, she cracks a small smile.

“You idiot.”

The reply astounds you, mouth opening and closing like a fish at the unexpected insult. 

“You know, you’re really dense you know that? Here I am, unable to believe the coincidence that you, my only friend at school, has fallen for Jeon Jungkook, and now you’re asking me if I still like him!”

“If you’re still wondering… No. I do not,” Hyejin snickers at your visible relief, “I think it’s really cute, your crush, but I still refuse to accept that it’s him.” 

The girl takes a french fry between her index and thumb, pointing the tip in your direction, “I probably do, deep down. Truth be told that I broke up with him out of fear. I knew he was a wolf, and kept that in mind, but I wasn’t expecting him to be a wolf and more. And like any other human, I ran.

“He was a cute boy in middle school, a grade above me, taller than most and very shy. He did everything and anything he could to catch my attention. The clumsy little idiot… we eventually dated, it continued into his first year in high school while I had one more year in middle school when I had come over to their cabin to hang with the pack. I had been helping out Seokjin with dinner when I dropped a plate, it shattered on the floor and over my bare foot, and my dumb self had attempted to pick up the larger pieces and nicked myself. Jungkook must’ve been hungry and went on a rampage... 

“He charged at me, eyes blue and gold, like I’d never seen them before. He was snapping at me, growling and breathing heavily… Couldn’t even speak coherently. The boys tried to tear him off me, but there really wasn’t a known way to calm him down… According to the boys, it was the first time he’d done something like that around them.”

Hyejin pauses, closing her eyes as the memories come rushing back of the terrible day, “I left that day with a disgusting scar, Seokjin wasn’t as proficient at healing at the time and could only close the wound long enough to get me to the hospital, but even the doctors could not get rid of the remnants of it.” Her hand grips at the hem of her uniform top before carefully pulling it up just enough to catch the sight of the fleshy tissue that runs jagged on her right abdomen. “I could not look him in the eye without seeing the deranged beast I saw that day, I left him soon after, crying and heartbroken, not because of relationship problems, but because I was scared… that he would someday kill me if he could just as easily lose control the way he did that day. I guess we just grew hateful of each other over time...”

Her eyes catch yours staring down at where her scar had been recovered by the top, and she quirks a small curl of her lips. Reaching over the table, she offers an open hand, to which you take gratefully with a meek smile in response, “You know… I’m surprised to hear you managed to calm him down…”

It makes sense, she thinks, after all, you didn’t know it yet who the hybrid truly imprinted on. 

“I think I’ve calmed down quite a bit… but seeing Jungkook full hybrid again at the cabin brought me back to middle school. It still haunts me, not as much as before… I used to get nightmares almost every other night. It’s at least once in a while now, I suppose.

“Which is why I always urged you to stay away from them. I didn’t want what happened that day, to eventually happen to you. You’re my only closest friend at school, I don’t want anything bad happening to you… I want to protect you (Y/n), but there’s only so much a human like me can do… Which is why I’m just a little grateful that you have Jungkook to protect you.”

The questions gnaws away at you. 

There was no harm in asking right? 

“You think Jeon Jungkook imprinted on me?” Hyejin nearly bursts into laughter, hopelessly trying to stifle the giggles with the back of her hand. Thankfully, she wasn’t too hung over having to remember and retell her relationship with Jungkook, but that didn’t warrant her nearly doubling over with tears in her eyes at your abrupt question. Your cheeks puff with a bright rosy hue at her reaction, suddenly feeling embarrassed for even asking. 

If only you knew, the girl thinks with a shake of her head.

“Dear God no, he did not, he’d have died by now just from me breaking up with him,” she muses with a wave of her hand, “That stupid dog just has a funny way of letting girls know his feelings.”

“So he does have an imprintee?” You ask expectantly, your heart in your throat at this point.

The look of determination and anticipation on your face is adorable, Hyejin thinks as she replies with a subtle shrug. 

“I think that’s something you need to wait for him to talk to you about.”

“For now, you both need to fucking make up before I do something about it.”

And that you do. 

You return to the cabin that night. Hyejin leaves you at the door with a comforting hug before she bids you good luck. Good luck and more is much needed when you sense the overwhelming bundle of aura sitting right on top of the roof. No one else but Jungkook had that much unrestrained magical aura, and you knew right away as soon as you came closer and closer to the house. Surely, he must’ve picked up on your scent as you phased onto the roof where the hybrid sat. 

He didn’t turn, nor did he make any indication in regard to your entrance. You knew he had been expecting you. So you take a seat beside him, pulling your knees close to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. 

“I’m still a little mad at you,” You whisper, your two index fingers twirling around one another. Glaring down at your feet, your hair falls down, casting a curtain on both sides and obscuring your vision of the hybrid beside you. “But… I should probably apologize for running away like a child… and that I shouldn’t be forcing you or expecting you to tell me anything like there’s any reason for me to know…”

Its silent between you both, and you wonder if he’s resorted to ignoring you or is just sleeping. When you turn slightly, you catch a glimpse of his side profile glaring up at the sky. His doe-like eyes are wide and reflect the colors of a galaxy. Dazzling azure with dozens of golden droplets like the stars. You have to fight the urge to reach over and touch him. You want to hug him, and tell him how you feel about him. But now wasn’t the time when you were so sure he only had eyes for Hyejin. 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” He finally speaks, voice barely above a whisper that you have to lean towards him and strain your ears, “I’m afraid. And I don’t even trust myself. I’m just not ready yet.” 

He catches your eyes before you can look away, the corners of his lips stretching into a taut smile, the ends just barely curling upwards. 

“I’m sorry… just give me some time.”

“N-No, I understand and I’ll wait until you feel comfortable enough to open up to me,” You stammer, quite flustered with the sudden eye contact. His irises are glowing, shimmering under the moonlight so beautifully that it catches you off guard.

Despite your reply, you didn’t really understand. Was it not simple for him to just out right tell you that he had imprinted on someone else, or just straight up didn’t like you. You inwardly gasped, what if he knew of your feelings and was trying to prepare himself to reject you?

“If it makes you feel better,” he swallows, turning his head to look away, “I uh, I never imprinted on Hyejin.”

In contrast to your worrying thoughts, the relief that washes over you is massive. Your whole body physically relaxes and sags. Cheeks flushing, you thank any god out there that he was looking away.

“I-I see… I don’t think this is gonna make you feel better though…”

His neck cranes, glancing at you curiously.

“I talked to Hyejin,” you shrink in your spot, suddenly embarrassed and ashamed for going to her for information he wasn’t ready to spill.

“What did she say?”

“About what broke you two up.”

Silence. You wonder if maybe you spoke too much or should’ve waited for him to tell you. It feels like he’s growing increasingly distant from you. 

“I see…”

Should you apologize? The growing discomfort in your chest became unbearable. You shifted on the roof till, unsure of what to say to soothe the atmosphere between you both. He hates you, you conclude. 

“...So you know then?” He finally asks, “That I went berserk on her. Seokjin had me locked in my room with his perfect cube spell... In the whole chaos, other than Hyejin, I really hurt Yoongi bad. Jimin and Taehyung managed to get away with scratches, but Yoongi could only heal so much on his own with Seokjin-hyung’s help that we had to turn to admitting him to the hospital.

“You don’t understand how much I hated myself for that. I hurt my family, I hurt Hyejin too. Fast forward today, I ended up attacking you. I can’t forgive myself for hurting people I care about. 

“Why did I have to survive the transition? Why me and not Junghyun? Why did I have to be made into this hybrid that can barely control himself when he goes on a rampage?”

You interject at that, “But you did control yourself, Jungkook, you were able to come back to us after that fight with Minerva. You were able to handle yourself when we fought with those bounty hunters. I’ve seen you many times trying to keep yourself at bay, and you’re doing your best at figuring out how to take control of your genes. No one could ask for any more than you already do. It’s not your fault for going through such a cruel transition, and it’s also not your fault that as a result you couldn’t control yourself, but you’re making progress and that’s all that matters.

“I trust you Jungkook, I hope that makes you feel better. It doesn’t matter to me that you had to drink from my blood. It doesn’t matter to me that you attacked me that night. I’ve forgiven you. You just keep blaming yourself and I hate it.

“You don’t think I hate myself for having to be protected by you guys? We’ve had to fight off my reanimated mother, a vampire, and bounty hunters. You guys wouldn’t have to go through this if it wasn’t for me. I just barely regained my memories, sure I remember spells and skills I learned with my mother, but that shies in comparison to the little training I have in utilizing them in an actual situation, moreover the fact that I have zero self defense experience.

“Don’t you dare tell me that I don’t understand. You said it yourself! You and I… we’re the same. Outcasts. Mutants. I thought you cared for me…” Your voice trails off and silence settles between you both, not as pensive as it was before, but still awkward with more questions swirling between you. Shoulders slumping, you didn’t mean to mope, but you were still at a loss.

“I do care for you (Y/n), did you not just hear me say how much I hated myself for hurting you and everyone?” Jungkook sighs after much thought, reaching a hand towards you before regretfully retracting it. He knows he’ll want to do more than just hold your shoulder. “I cared for you from the very beginning, there would have been no reason for me to keep letting you hang around me or saving you from those wendigos, no matter how hard I tried to keep you from sticking close to me.”

The realization of his words clicks in his mind and he hissed, turning away with his hand covering his dreaded mouth. Darn him for succumbing to you, if you were able to connect the dots, that would have been him smacking you in the face with a sign that read “I LIKE YOU, MY DUMBASS IMPRINTED ON YOU” in large bold characters. Thankfully, you turn and smile softly at him. 

“Sorry, I… I just don’t want you to hate on yourself for hurting me when I’m fine really.”

Despite himself, he leans over and taps your forehead with his index finger, the force just enough to move your head backwards just slightly. 

“Then don’t hate yourself for being a burden to the pack, you’re not just a guest in our house now, you’re pretty much a pack member. The boys don’t treat you any differently than they would each other.”

Your cheeks burn, hand rising to brush over the spot on your forehead, the gesture was slight but it did well to make your heart beat wildly. With a pout, you mull over his words before scrunching your eyebrows and raising you head to glare at him, “What do you mean burden? I’m a burden?”

The corner of his mouth twitches slightly, an action you catch as he turns his head away.

“Hey you! Answer me!”

.

.

LOL tell me why I totally forgot to put the tags.

Tags:

@twilight-loveer​ @reinyrei​  @mistytail​ @mygukandonlyficrecs​ @xanny91​ @unpocodesoledadywisky​ @xxqueenwxtchxx​ @lildemonangele​ @gukworld​ @sunnyoongles​ @serendipity-secrets​ @ilaria-np​ @jules-park​ @treetops68​ @mischiefmakerliesmith5​ @jeonkooksgirl​ @coffeeismylife28​ @nshitae​ @bookoffracturedescapes​ @ellsbells72​ @zamirayinyue13​ @hannahdearr​ @tiredjedi @sushibunn​ @perrshian​ @lovinggalaxies​ @ditttiii​ @cookies-are-done @mintyrae​

When like two of you I can’t tag for some reason asjfhksdjhg... anywho~ thank you thank you so much for all the replies on the last part!

[paleorecipecookbook]

Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know

Fortunately, a root-cause approach and the right nutritional strategy can help to slow or even reverse the progression of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn what the research says, the connection between diet and autoimmune disease, and how to determine the most effective dietary approach for you.

What’s the Connection between Diet and Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease—when the body essentially attacks itself—is one of the top 10 causes of death in women and the elderly and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. This trend does not appear to be slowing down; in fact, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing at an alarming pace. (1)

Conventional medicine usually focuses on the symptoms of autoimmunity instead of trying to find the root cause of the problem. Find out more about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease and learn how to personalize your diet. #paleo #nutrition #chriskresser

Conventional treatment of autoimmune disease usually involves steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs do nothing to fix the underlying autoimmunity and are accompanied by a long list of potential adverse effects, including: (2, 3)

Weight gain

Acne

Mood changes

Muscle weakness

Osteoporosis

Diabetes

High blood pressure

An increased risk of infection

A Functional Medicine approach to autoimmune disease, on the other hand, seeks to identify why autoimmunity is occurring in the first place and address these underlying causes. A crucial piece of this treatment approach is finding the right diet.

In this article, I’ll lay out six different nutritional approaches for autoimmune disease and then provide an easy step-by-step guide to figuring out which works best for you.

Six Diet Plans for Autoimmune Disease

Basic Paleo Diet

Wahls Protocol

Low-Starch Diet

Low-Carb or Ketogenic Diet

Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

Fasting Mimicking Diet

Option #1: Adopt a Basic Paleo Diet

Take Out Inflammatory and Gut-Damaging Foods

A great starting place for many patients with autoimmune disease is simply a basic Paleo diet. This approach removes foods that have the most potential to be inflammatory and cause damage to the gut. Food sensitivities are common among those with autoimmune disease, and pioneering researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano believes that intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is a prerequisite to developing autoimmune disease. (4) Healing the gut and supporting a healthy gut microbiota is, therefore, a crucial part of treating autoimmune disease.

Nourish Your Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods

We replace these highly inflammatory foods with foods that will nourish the body. The term “nutrient density” refers to the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in a given food.

The most nutrient-dense foods for humans are:

Organ meats

Shellfish

Fish

Eggs

Poultry

Red meat

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts and seeds

Despite being high in calories, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is extremely nutrient poor. Vegetable oils and sugar, which together comprise 36 percent of the SAD, are virtually devoid of nutrients, and most Americans eat few organ meats, shellfish, and vegetables. In contrast, the Paleo diet encompasses all of these nutrient-dense foods.

Follow the Example of Hunter–Gatherers (They Don’t Have Autoimmune Disease)

While autoimmune disease has become commonplace in the industrialized world, anthropological evidence suggests that it’s rare or nonexistent in contemporary hunter–gatherers living a traditional lifestyle. (5) This, along with the dramatic rise in autoimmune disease over the past half century, suggests that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle play a major role in autoimmunity. (6)

By consuming a diet that is more aligned with our biology and contains fewer inflammatory foods, we can often see remarkable improvements in slowing the progression of or even reversing autoimmune disease.

Here’s How to Try a Paleo Diet

I recommend a 30-day Paleo reset, which involves eliminating grains, legumes, industrial seed oils, refined sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. Instead, you’ll consume meat and organ meats, fish, shellfish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with some fruits, nuts, and seeds. This is outlined in detail in my book The Paleo Cure.

While a basic Paleo diet is a great starting place, many people with autoimmune disease will need to take their diet a step further after their 30-day reset. The next few sections include more advanced strategies to tweak your Paleo template.

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Pioneering Researcher Alessio Fasano, MD, on Gluten, Autoimmunity & Leaky Gut

Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease?

Pills or Paleo? Preventing and Reversing Autoimmune Disease

The Paleo Cure

Back to Top

Option #2: Improve Your Mitochondrial Health with the Wahls Protocol

Who Is Dr. Wahls, and What Is the Wahls Protocol?

The next option is the Wahls protocol. This is a modified version of the Paleo diet created by Dr. Terry Wahls, a physician who has made remarkable progress with her MS using a Functional Medicine approach. When Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with MS in 2000, she was told by the very best conventional doctors that there was no cure and that she should start pharmaceutical treatment. Unfortunately, her disease progressed to the point where she needed a tilt and recline wheelchair to get around.

Dr. Wahls started reading the research literature and zeroed in on mitochondrial health as a key player in conditions like MS. She identified a long list of nutrients that she believed were the key to optimal mitochondrial and neurological health. She ultimately realized that she didn’t have to get these in supplement form and reorganized her diet using Paleo principles, specifically targeting these 31 nutrients:

It occurred to me that I should get my long list of nutrients from food [rather than supplements]. That if I did that, I would probably get hundreds and maybe thousands of other compounds that science had yet to name and identify, but that would be helpful to my brain and my mitochondria. – Dr. Terry Wahls, MD

In addition to changing her diet, Dr. Wahls also optimized other aspects of her lifestyle and saw a dramatic improvement in her health. Within three months, Dr. Wahls was walking with a cane, and within the year, she was able to bike again for the first time in five years.

Why Mitochondrial Health Is So Important

Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, converting carbohydrates and fats that we consume into the energy our cells need (ATP) to perform all of their jobs. Every cell in the body contains mitochondria, and some cells contain thousands of them. Altogether, a healthy person’s mitochondria will produce their body weight in cellular ATP every day. (7)

Mitochondria are much more than just the “powerhouse” of the cell though. These critical organelles also participate in cell signaling, produce certain steroid hormones, participate in the synthesis of heme for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and even regulate programmed cell death. (8)

When mitochondria become dysfunctional, our cells have trouble carrying out these important functions. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction can result in fatigue and brain fog, while severe mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a wide range of chronic conditions, including several autoimmune diseases. (9) Mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.

How to Try the Wahls Protocol

To maximize nutrient intake and mitochondrial function, the Wahls protocol features nine cups of vegetables and fruits daily, including:

Three cups of leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, collards, spinach, or lettuce, to provide vitamins A, B, C, and K

Three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to support detoxification. (Note that two garlic cloves are equivalent to one cup of sulfur-rich vegetables.)

Three cups of colorful fruits and vegetables (ideally three different colors per day), such as beets, carrots, berries, peaches, and citrus for their antioxidants and flavonoids.

Even if you can’t get the full nine cups, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will likely significantly increase your intake of crucial micronutrients.

For maximum nutrient retention, Dr. Wahls recommends consuming the vegetables either raw or cooked at a low temperature. Depending on which level of the Wahls diet you choose, the nutrient density of this protocol can exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) two- to tenfold!

Along with all those fruits and veggies, Dr. Wahls recommends grass-fed meat or wild-caught fish and healthy fats with every meal, as well as bone broth and fermented foods daily. Seaweed and organ meats should be included once per week. The Wahls protocol also includes meditation, self-massage, exercise, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

What the Research Says about the Wahls Protocol

The Wahls Foundation has performed several studies to provide evidence for this approach. In one pilot study of 20 patients with progressive MS, the Wahls protocol (including the Wahls diet, nutritional supplements, stretching and strengthening exercises, and stress management) was shown to improve gait function for those with mild-to-moderate gait impairment. Subjects with severe gait impairment did not respond to the intervention. (10)

In another pilot study of 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, the Wahls protocol reduced perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function. (11) Dr. Wahls and her research team are currently working on a 36-week randomized controlled trial to test the Wahls diet against a low-saturated-fat diet in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. (12)

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Treating MS and Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls’s book: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Wahls’s TEDx Talk: “Minding Your Mitochondria”

Back to Top

Option #3: Try Eating a Low-Starch Diet

What Is Starch, Anyway?

Starch is how plants store excess energy, in the form of a long chain of sugars. The basic Paleo diet outlined in Option #1 removes some forms of starch, including grains and legumes. However, starch is also found in certain vegetables, including:

Sweet potatoes

Yuca (cassava)

Parsnips

Arrowroot

Tapioca

Taro

Plantains

Unripe bananas

While starch can be perfectly healthy, and starchy vegetables can help beneficial gut bacteria, some individuals may experience issues with starch.

These individuals may do best on a low-starch diet, which eliminates these complex carbohydrates while still allowing non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus, and greens.

Why Low-Starch Might Work: HLA-B27 and Klebsiella

One subset of people with autoimmune disease who might particularly benefit from a low-starch diet are those who have a particular set of genes known as HLA-B27. HLA-B27 can predispose an individual to certain autoimmune diseases, like: (13, 14)

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Psoriasis

Reactive arthritis

Uveitis

Studies have shown that patients with AS seem to have an increased abundance of the bacterium Klebsiella in their guts and elevated anti-Klebsiella antibodies in the blood. (15, 16) Interestingly, biochemical studies of Klebsiella have shown that this bacterium does not grow on cellulose but can grow readily on starch. (17, 18)

Several studies have applied this information in humans. One randomized control trial split people into two groups: one on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and the other on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then compared the abundance of Klebsiella in fecal samples. The average number of Klebsiella was 30,000/gram in the high-carb group, compared to 700/gram in the low-carb group. (19) Another study found that a low-starch diet reduced total serum IgA in AS patients. (20) The majority of these patients also reported a decline in symptom severity and in some cases complete remission.

How to Try a Low-Starch Diet

If you’re already on a Paleo diet template, going low starch is pretty simple. Remove starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, yuca, arrowroot, tapioca, parsnips, taro, and plantains, and replace them with more fruits and non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions.

I recommend a three-to-four-week low-starch period to see if you notice any improvement in symptoms. After this period, try reintroducing starchy foods one by one and note any reactions. Eileen Laird of Phoenix Helix has written an excellent post in which she shares the results of her own and several other Paleo autoimmune bloggers’ starch experiments. Many found that they can tolerate some forms of starch but not others.

It’s worth noting here that the popularized GAPS Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are both low-starch diets. Many people have used these diets with great success for gut health and autoimmune disease.

Further Reading and Resources

HLA-B27 and Autoimmune Disease: Is a Low-Starch Diet the Solution?

Is Starch a Beneficial Nutrient or a Toxin? You Be the Judge.

SCD lifestyle website

GAPS Diet website

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Option #4: Go Low Carb, or Ketogenic

The Keto Diet and Autoimmune Disease

Some individuals may benefit from an approach that limits carbohydrates in general. Unfortunately, few studies have looked at very-low-carb, or ketogenic, diets as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disease.

However, one case report found that a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet induced clinical remission in a young boy suffering from severe Crohn’s disease. (21) Another case report details a 19-year-old male with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes who was able to discontinue insulin therapy after just three weeks on a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet. (22) One woman with psoriasis reportedly restored response to drug therapy after a four-week ketogenic diet. (23)

Why a Ketogenic Diet Might Work for You

Ketogenic diets tend to reduce oxidative stress and boost antioxidant activity, resulting in a net decrease in inflammation. The ketogenic diet has also been shown to increase the formation of new mitochondria, spurring new cell growth. (24)

Low-carb, high-fat diets also have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microbiota. (25) One recent study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet are actually mediated by changes in gut bacteria. (26) In particular, the ketogenic diet increases bacterial production of amino acids that act as a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter GABA.

If You Have a Thyroid Condition, Steer Clear of Keto

It’s important to note that not everyone with autoimmune disease will benefit from a ketogenic approach, and it may even be detrimental in some individuals. Based on what we know from the research, a ketogenic diet is most likely to be helpful in those with autoimmune neurological conditions like MS and metabolic conditions like type 1 diabetes. On the other hand, those with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease would likely respond better to a more moderate carbohydrate intake.

Further Reading and Resources

The Three-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

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Option #5: Try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

What Is the AIP Diet?

The Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a Paleo-type diet which removes grains, legumes, dairy, refined seed oils, and refined sugar but also recommends initial removal of eggs, nightshades, coffee, alcohol, nuts, and seeds.

While these foods are perfectly healthy in most people, those with autoimmune disease can be particularly sensitive, and these foods may exacerbate gut inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Like Paleo, AIP encourages consumption of nutrient-dense, healing foods, including bone broth, organ meats, and fermented foods. The elimination phase is typically followed by a maintenance phase until sufficient improvement in symptoms is achieved. At that point, select food groups can be carefully reintroduced. The goal is to diversify the diet as much as possible while identifying potential food intolerances.

AIP May Help if You Have IBD

One pilot study recently demonstrated the incredible potential of the AIP diet for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (27) Fifteen patients with IBD were coached through a six-week phased elimination program to transition from their current diet to AIP and then maintained on the full AIP diet for five weeks. The authors summarized their results as follows:

Clinical remission was achieved by week 6 by 11/15 (73%) of study participants, and all 11 maintained clinical remission during the maintenance phase of the study.

This is remarkable and rivals most drug therapies for IBD. Moreover, the AIP diet is treating the root cause of disease and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects of conventional treatments.

Angie Alt and Mickey Trescott, who were involved with this study, are currently working on another study to assess the efficacy of AIP in individuals with Hashimoto’s.

How to Try the AIP Diet

After a 30-day Paleo reset, remove eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, etc.), nuts, and seeds for an additional five or six weeks. Notice any reduction in symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

After the five or six weeks, you can slowly reintroduce these foods one at a time and note any adverse reactions. If you identify a food sensitivity, remove this food from your diet for at least a few months before trying to reintroduce it again.

Further Reading and Resources

AIP for IBD: The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mickey Trescott’s website: autoimmunewellness.com

Sarah Ballantyne’s article: “What Is AIP?”

Angie Alt’s SAD to AIP in 6 program

Back to Top

Option #6: Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Benefits of Fasting

Water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including blood glucose regulation, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance. (28) But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

This type of diet is called a fasting mimicking diet. It is a very-low-calorie, low-protein, high-fat diet that causes changes in glucose, ketone bodies, and specific growth factors similar to those seen during prolonged water-only fasting.

The fasting mimicking diet is characterized by cycles of caloric restriction and refeeding. For example, in mouse models of fasting mimicking diets, researchers restrict the amount of food the mouse has access to for four days, followed by three days of unrestricted feeding every week. In humans, one diet cycle consists of five days of restriction, and eating resumes as usual for the rest of the month. This is typically repeated for three months. (29)

How This Type of Diet Impacts Autoimmunity

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers showed that in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, a fasting mimicking diet reawakens embryonic development genes and triggers regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. (30) While they weren’t able to measure pancreatic regeneration in living humans, bathing human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetics in serum collected from humans on the fifth day of a fasting mimicking diet also resulted in an upregulation of embryonic genes. Upon stimulating the diabetic pancreatic islets with glucose, insulin secretion was restored!

In a mouse model of MS, a fasting mimicking diet reduced clinical severity in all mice and completely reversed symptoms in 20 percent of animals. (31) At the molecular level, the diet increased corticosterone levels and regulatory T cells and promoted the regrowth of nerve cell sheaths. Fasting mimicking diets also reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cells involved in promoting inflammation. In a small feasibility study, relapsing-remitting MS patients had improved quality of life and a mild reduction in disability status after a single cycle of this diet. (32)

Will You Benefit from a Fasting Mimicking Diet?

Those who have tried other dietary approaches without success may find the most benefit from trying a fasting mimicking diet. The diet, as studied, is currently available from Prolon as a specific package of prepared foods and micronutrients intended to be administered under a doctor’s supervision. It’s likely that a “homemade” version with similar macronutrient ratios and foods would have the same effects, but this hasn’t yet been studied in a clinical trial.

Not everyone is a good candidate for a fasting mimicking diet, however. Patients who should avoid this type of diet include those who are pregnant or have HPA axis dysregulation (“adrenal fatigue”), an eating disorder, or thyroid problems. Fasting is also not usually recommended for children or teens.

Further Reading and Resources

Could Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversible After All?

Rebooting the System: The Benefits of a Fasting Mimicking Diet

Back to Top

Here’s How to Personalize Your Autoimmune Diet

In this article, I presented six different dietary strategies to manage or even reverse autoimmune disease. You might have noticed that there is quite a bit of overlap in these approaches. In fact, the best autoimmune diet for you might be a combination of these strategies.

The only way to figure out what diet is optimal for you is to experiment and observe. Even two people with the same autoimmune disease diagnosis may respond differently to the various dietary approaches outlined here.

Below, I’ve provided the eight basic steps to work through the options outlined above and find your personal optimal autoimmune diet.

1. Start with a 30-Day Paleo Reset

Remove grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and refined seed oils for 30 days. Many people experience a significant improvement in their autoimmune symptoms with a standard Paleo diet and don’t need any additional restrictions.

2. Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

Include plenty of organ meats, shellfish, meat, fish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.

3. Feed Your Mitochondria

Consider trying the Wahls protocol. Aim for nine cups of fruits and vegetables per day from the three different categories to support mitochondrial health.

4. Eat Foods That Nourish Your Gut

Feed your gut microbiota with starchy or non-starchy vegetables and support a healthy gut lining by consuming bone broth regularly. Be sure to consume fermented foods and/or take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

5. Make Sure You’re Getting the Nutrients Your Immune System Needs

Support the immune system with nutrients like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A, and EPA and DHA. These are well represented in a Paleo-type diet, but you can also supplement wisely if necessary.

6. Experiment with Your Starch and Carb Intake

Try a few weeks on a low-starch diet and introduce various starchy vegetables one by one, noting how you feel. Similarly, experiment with different carb intakes and notice how they impact your symptoms.

7. Try the 30-Day AIP Reset

Try a 30-day AIP reset and notice how your symptoms are affected. After 30 days, reintroduce the foods you took out, like eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, and diversify the diet as much as possible. Your diet should only be as restrictive as necessary to control symptoms.

8. Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you’re still not satisfied with where you’re at after these first seven steps, consider trying a fasting mimicking diet. I recommend seeking the guidance of a Functional Medicine practitioner before you begin.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease? What have you found to work best for you? Will you try this step-by-step approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The post Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com December 04, 2018 at 01:33AM

[jojotier]

Wifey Kak vs Fuckboi dub Kak gone overboard, go

(welp. One year, and writing over 100k words in total, and this is how I’m ending off 2017- not with the finale of the first part of my super intensive plot fic where I made 56 original stand user characters just to create an intermediate Kakyoin Lives au part between SDC and DiU to try and explain why hamon is never used again and try to tie parts 2 and 3 more cohesively together. Not with more myth au where muse Rohan finds the grisly truth of Reimi’s murder and begins his trek down to the underwater underworld to demand her soul back from death god Jotaro. Not even with the bits I’ve been working on with dead inside retail worker Kakyoin having to deal with the only supernatural 7-11 in Japan and haughty water witch Jotaro trying to scare him.

But with some fanon mischaracterizations of Kakyoin. With these awful, awful characterizations. I hope to God you know just what you’ve wrought, with this drabble- and to anyone who’s just finding out about my fanon clone au, I am so, so sorry. Happy New Year!!!)

“Hey- what’re you doing in here?”

Nori started, nearly fumbling with the cute rose decorated porcelain knife in his hands but thankfully not managing to nick anything. Which was lucky! Usually he was way more clumsy than this, constantly getting little bumps and cuts from even mundane activities… Though it didn’t really bother him much! He always had Jotaro right there to take care of him and kiss any injury better, like the attentive, romantic gentleman he was. Sometimes, Nori wondered how he was able to find a real life Prince Charming.

Gently setting the knife down, he brushed his starchy hands off on the pastel pink apron- cute, frilly, and printed with a cherry pattern of course!- and Nori looked up to find- another version of himself, standing right there! He was much taller than Nori’s own five foot tall frame, and he had a pair of shades resting on his face, with their signature curly bang (colored neon orange, for some reason) pinned up underneath a backwards ballcap… In short, he looked to be the exact opposite of everything Nori was!

This should have come as shock to Nori, but honestly, after the first three or so other clones of himself, it got to be a little tiring, acting all surprised… No matter how many of them claimed that Nori was a clone and that they were the real Kakyoin!

“Hey, didn’tcha hear me?” The other Kakyoin leaned down, waving a hand in front of Nori’s face rather rudely. At least ten neon glow bracelets shook on his wrist. “What’re you doing in here? You don’t look like the type to be holed up in a kitchen in a dumb apron- and you’re me, so I know you’re definitely not the type.”

Nori frowned, eyebrows furrowing. “I’m cooking- my hungry guys out there are practically starving!” He worried his bottom lip in his teeth, thinking to himself how awfully sad it was that all of this was happening, with this investigation and those other versions of them melting in that awful, awful display of blood and viscera, with their faces peeling- God, he shuddered just thinking about such a grisly thing. Those poor clones weren’t around anymore, suffice to say… “You’d think that someone around here would have remembered that we all need food.”

“You know we could’ve just ordered out, right blondie?” The other version of Nori loomed over him, leaning down even more until his face was inches away. That was when Nori smelled the alcohol and… was that the smell of MARIJUANA? Where was this other version of himself getting DRUGS, of all things?! Maybe in the same place he got those awful khaki boyshorts that he was wearing under his gakuran for some reason. “Then again, you sound just as empty headed as you look.”

“Hey- that’s mean!” Nori told him, frowning even harder despite the fact that it probably wasn’t effective with the ten inch height difference. And the fact that he himself didn’t have a dorito chin that looked like it could gouge someone’s eye out. “I’m not the one reeking!”

“Hey hey hey,” His clone slurred, trying to flip his bright orange hair and failing, since it was under the hat still, “blame weedeater and his dolphin fucker Jotaro over there, they’re the ones who’re handing out the good shit.”

He jerked his thumb back towards them and Nori leaned to the side for a moment, looking at the green haired clone of himself, red eyed and trying to tell his version of Jotaro how hot his mother was, a strange amount of airhorn sound effects overlayed from some invisible plane of existence that made it almost impossible to make out what the Jotaro clone (holding a dolphin plush with mysterious stains) was saying. Nori and the fuckboy version of himself stared for a moment before they both gave a simultaneous shudder, looking back towards each other again.

Yeah, no one would ever be worse than those guys.

“Besides, it doesn’t negate the whole look you have going on in here- I mean, the blonde hair, the cute apron, the way you’re just standing there like that…” The fuckboy version of Nori leaned a bit more towards him, until their noses were brushing together… “Makes you seem like some brainless ditz to me.”

“Am not!” Nori frowned as hard as he possibly could, bordering on the point of pouting with his cute lips, trying to give a look of stern disappointment even though his darling Jotaro had told him many times that when he tried to do that he looked more like a wet kitten than anything. “What do you even want here-?”

“I never said I didn’t like it. It’s cute.” He pulled back a bit as Nori stumbled back, face going beet red. How dare he! Nori was a taken man- and this was his own clone! The audacity! Then he kept going, saying something so salacious that it nearly gave Nori a heart attack right then and there. “Is it true what they say? Blondes have more fun, right? Well, why don’t you show me…?” Nori’s eyes widened as his clone advanced, leaning until Nori was pressed against him. “I’m always up for a good time…” He leaned down to whisper in Nori’s ear. “… Baby.”

“KYAH!” Nori shrieked, pushing his clone back. His clone stumbled a bit, before catching himself and pretending like it never happened. “Why would you-?! I just- the nerve!!! The NERVE of you coming in here, when I’ve got so many hungry guys out there- there to feed, and you come up out of NOWHERE and just–!”

“C’mon, babes,” His clone whined, pouting at him. “You can forget your hungry guys for a second, can’t you? What do you wanna do?”

“I-! I just… I.” Nori paused, taken aback. He blinked. “I don’t think… I’ve ever been asked that before…”

“What- if you wanna do something?” His clone asked, eyebrows shooting up. “Dude, what are you, someone’s bitch?”

“Hey-! It’s not like that at all…” Nori said, tears suddenly welling up in his eyes. “I’m the wife in mine and Jotaro’s relationship-”

“YOU’RE A HUSBAND!” The redheaded Kakyoin clone (who seemed oddly exasperated when Nori saw him) yelled distantly from the other room.

“Uh. Husband, I guess.” Nori amended, not really wanting to be a bother. “Well… He does so much for me, and he’s so sweet, and loves me lots, and he decides a lot of things for me so I don’t have to think too hard and-”

“What, Kujo? Sweet?” The frat Kakyoin sneered, staring Nori down. Nori shrank a little more in on himself. “That guy’s like the biggest asshole on the face of the planet! Can’t take a hint. I swear, the dude’s still stuck in his emo phase- shitty eyeliner and bullshit MCR fetish and all. All he’s good for is a good angry fuck every once in a while…” Which didn’t sound like Nori’s Jotaro at all, though he supposed that he would be, if this was how his own clone was. “Even then- you gotta make your own decisions man.”

“I- but my hungry guys…” Nori weakly offered, feeling like he was in vertigo.

“Well how’s about you choose this hungry guy over here?” The clone in front of him said. Their faces were both gravitating towards each other.

“What… what are you in the mood for?” Nori breathed. His heart was hammering in his chest.

“You.” And like that, the kitchen and the rest of the world faded as their lips crashed together.

While the two Kakyoin clones were liplocked, the real Noriaki slowly raised the metal pipe in his hands, tempted, oh so tempted, to step over the threshold and into the kitchen. Behind him, the real Jotaro took notice, and immediately rushed over to slowly lower the pipe. “No.”

“But-”

“No. No. Apparently the old man needs all of their activities recorded.”

“They’re going to melt anyway! It really is more humane to-”

“Kakyoin holy shit.”

“Right, right- we still have to find the user.” Noriaki dragged one long suffering hand down his face, slowly lowering the pipe. “Sorry, this entire thing is just… taking far too much of a toll on me. Where did these two even come from? Did they even come with their own Jotaros? Christ, what’s with them all multiplying…”

Jotaro pried the pipe away from Noriaki’s hold, holding it away from him just in case. “Who knows. The only thing we can do is keep going. Minori and Jojiro are saying that they found the CLAMP clones, at least- we can start there and see where the hell they went before.”

“Yeah… yeah, just what we need. To deal with them.” Noriaki winced, and Jotaro patted his shoulder somewhat sympathetically. They both turned away, leaving the kitchen alone.

In the corner, a milfhunter watched, shades gleaming and fedora tipped. In front of him, the makeout session between both Kakyoin clones continued, but he planned to-

Fuck this is stupid. I can’t do this anymore. In a nondescript room in the liminal space in the direct center of America, I pack up my bags. Not even a bee movie fic written long ago could match up to the shame I have inflicted upon myself, seeping into every single pore with the ferocity of deadly nightshade, etching its poison kiss into my skin. I take a small, framed portrait of Hirohiko Araki from my pocket. A dusty tear rolls down my cheek.

Oh well. This isn’t canon to the AU anyway, so I guess I can do whatever the hell I want.

[marvelousbirthdays]

Happy Birthday, ureeber!

September 25 - Bruce/Darcy, Smutty or fluffy, author's choice, and any prompt you want, for @ureeber

Written by @iamartemisday

A/N: Going with: You’re really sexy when you’re angry.

 Bruce Banner was not a stupid man. Given his degrees and experience, that should go without saying, but what some might not know was that he was intelligent not just in books. He had a pretty good grasp of people as well.

This was how he knew, weeks after first being introduced to Darcy Lewis, that the younger girl had a crush on him. She was kind of incredibly obvious about it.

“Hey Bruce, brought you some coffee,” she said one day as she placed a steaming mug of decaf in front of his face. It was one of those ‘Hulk is Love’ mugs his online fan club sold. He didn’t own one mostly because he still didn’t completely believe he had fans.

“Thanks,” he said, pushing it to the side away from his laptop. “You didn’t have to.”

“Oh, but of course I did. It’s my job as an assistant,” she said grinning a little too wide.

“But you’re Jane’s assistant,” Bruce said, nodding at the woman in question who, along with Tony, watched them from their lab stations. “I didn’t see you get them coffee.”

“They have legs. Anyway, whatcha working on?”

It went on like that for a few months. Darcy would slide into the lab with Chinese take out or freshly baked cookies (“Grandma’s special recipe,” she boasted.), She’d toss whatever Jane needed her way and spend the rest of the afternoon ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over Bruce’s work. If he were a little less aware, he might not have noticed anything wrong. Except Jane was building a wormhole generator while Tony created new upgrades for his suits. Bruce mostly just took up space. Since the whole gamma ray incident, progress with his research had been pretty stagnant.

And yet, he was the coolest guy around in Darcy Lewis’s eyes. Go figure.

After a while, she grew bolder. She came at him with tight midriff tops and short skirts, and if Bruce said his eyes never strayed appreciatively over her curvaceous form, he’d be a bigger liar than Loki. At the same time, conversation veered in a more… M rated direction.

“So…” she leaned over his desk, her cleavage covering his notes, “anyone ever tell you you’re sexy when you’re angry?”

Bruce blinked. “I uh… I turn into a green giant when I’m angry.”

Darcy’s elbow slid off the table, and she barely caught herself before her chin hit the metal. “Well, you know, green is my favorite color so…”

Tony and Jane snickered in the background, though Jane at least had the decency to hide behind a monitor. Tony looked ready to break out the popcorn.

The next day, the three of them went out to eat, bored with the same old five star cuisine from the in house restaurant. They found a mostly empty sandwich shop in the center of the nearest town.

“So, Bruce, when are you and Lewis hooking up?” Tony asked this difficult question like he was asking for the time of day.

“Ah…” Bruce stumbled for a proper response.

“Not gonna lie, I’ve been wondering the same thing,” said Jane. “You know she’s been dropping hints, right?”

Bruce nodded. “She’s kind of obvious.”

Tony grinned. “So, when are you going for it?”

“When I de-age twenty years and the Other Guy stops existing. Around then.”

“Ah, don’t be like that.” Tony clapped Bruce on the shoulder. “She’s a beautiful woman who knows what she wants, and she wants you. Jane, back me up on this!”

“I did mention the age difference to Darcy,” said Jane. “She told me she’s always preferred older men.”

“See? She likes older men,” Tony said excitedly. “Age isn’t an obstacle, it’s a selling point. Go get her!”

“Why are we even talking about this?” Bruce asked as his sandwich continued to get cold. “Do you care that much about me getting a date?”

“I care about you being happy,” Tony said. “We both do, and one of the happiest things in the world is having great sex. Now go for it before we make you.”

Exactly what constituted at ‘making him’, Bruce didn’t discover until a week later, when he walked into the lab to find the emergency lockdown alarm blaring. Reinforced metal cages descended from the ceiling, trapping him in a twenty by twenty enclosed space. It would’ve been bad enough without Darcy in front of his desk, holding a pan of fresh brownies and also trapped in the cage.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Emergency protocol in case of an attack,” Bruce said. “But I don’t think there are any bad guys around today.”

“That’s because this is a different kind of emergency,” Tony’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “This is a love emergency! The two of you are staying in there until you confess your feelings and share your big damn kiss. I have musical accompaniment set up for the big moment so take your time. Not too much time, though.”

“Sorry Bruce,” Jane interjected. “It was Tony’s idea and well, I’m getting tired of all the sappy love poetry Darcy writes about you.”

Bruce looked at Darcy. “You write poetry about me?”

Darcy turned beet red. “No… maybe…”

“Okay, you two crazy kids have fun and we’ll send Vision in an hour with some food. Take care!”

The audio clicked off, leaving them in silence. Bruce flopped down in his desk chair. Darcy sat on an empty table behind him, her brownies cooling next to her as she awkwardly picked at her nails. “So… you can’t just break out of here or…”

“I probably could,” he admitted. “Tony knows I won’t though. He’s counting on it.”

“That’s okay,” Darcy said. “I mean, it’s not okay, but… I mean, we can wait this out. He can’t really keep us locked in here forever. That’s illegal and I could sue him. We’ll just hang out and chat and… whatever else you might want to do. I’m game…”

While she probably didn’t intend for that suggestion to be dirty, Bruce couldn’t help taking it that way. Maybe it was just because he knew what she truly thought of him. Maybe it was because something deep down, he felt the same way. Maybe he wanted a beautiful woman’s touch after so many long years starved for affection.

Or maybe he just had indigestion.

“Darcy, look, I know why you’ve been coming around, and I’m flattered. I really am, but it’s not a good idea for me to be in a relationship. I’m not the kind of guy you want to stick your neck out for, and you’re an amazing, talented, intelligent woman who could have anyone you wanted. You don’t need someone like me when you could have-”

She kissed him, and he was glad she did. He was even gladder when she didn’t stop. He was less glad when You Shook Me All Night Long blasted over the speakers, followed by fumbling and a curse from Tony.  

“Dammit! That was supposed to be Whitney. What happened? Jane, did I cross the wires? Help me!”

“Don’t mind us,” Jane shouted. “We’re good up here. Go back to what you were doing.”

They hadn’t stopped to begin with. Bruce didn’t know if they ever would. Deep in his chest, the Other Guy purred with contentment. Maybe this could work after all.

[readbookywooks]

17 Blindsided. That's how I feel when Haymitch tells me in the hospital. I fly down the steps to Command, mind racing a mile a minute, and burst right into a war meeting. "What do you mean, I'm not going to the Capitol? I have to go! I'm the Mockingjay!" I say. Coin barely looks up from her screen. "And as the Mockingjay, your primary goal of unifying the districts against the Capitol has been achieved. Don't worry - if it goes well, we'll fly you in for the surrender." The surrender? "That'll be too late! I'll miss all the fighting. You need me - I'm the best shot you've got!" I shout. I don't usually brag about this, but it's got to be at least close to true. "Gale's going." "Gale has shown up for training every day unless occupied with other approved duties. We feel confident he can manage himself in the field," says Coin. "How many training sessions do you estimate you've attended?" None. That's how many. "Well, sometimes I was hunting. And...I trained with Beetee down in Special Weaponry." "It's not the same, Katniss," says Boggs. "We all know you're smart and brave and a good shot. But we need soldiers in the field. You don't know the first thing about executing orders, and you're not exactly at your physical peak." "That didn't bother you when I was in Eight. Or Two, for that matter," I counter. "You weren't originally authorized for combat in either case," says Plutarch, shooting me a look that signals I'm about to reveal too much. No, the bomber battle in 8 and my intervention in 2 were spontaneous, rash, and definitely unauthorized. "And both resulted in your injury," Boggs reminds me. Suddenly, I see myself through his eyes. A smallish seventeen-year-old girl who can't quite catch her breath since her ribs haven't fully healed. Disheveled. Undisciplined. Recuperating. Not a soldier, but someone who needs to be looked after. "But I have to go," I say. "Why?" asks Coin. I can't very well say it's so I can carry out my own personal vendetta against Snow. Or that the idea of remaining here in 13 with the latest version of Peeta while Gale goes off to fight is unbearable. But I have no shortage of reasons to want to fight in the Capitol. "Because of Twelve. Because they destroyed my district." The president thinks about this a moment. Considers me. "Well, you have three weeks. It's not long, but you can begin training. If the Assignment Board deems you fit, possibly your case will be reviewed." That's it. That's the most I can hope for. I guess it's my own fault. I did blow off my schedule every single day unless something suited me. It didn't seem like much of a priority, jogging around a field with a gun with so many other things going on. And now I'm paying for my negligence. Back in the hospital, I find Johanna in the same circumstance and spitting mad. I tell her about what Coin said. "Maybe you can train, too." "Fine. I'll train. But I'm going to the stinking Capitol if I have to kill a crew and fly there myself," says Johanna. "Probably best not to bring that up in training," I say. "But it's nice to know I'll have a ride." Johanna grins, and I feel a slight but significant shift in our relationship. I don't know that we're actually friends, but possibly the wordallies would be accurate. That's good. I'm going to need an ally. The next morning, when we report for training at 7:30, reality slaps me in the face. We've been funneled into a class of relative beginners, fourteen- or fifteen-year-olds, which seems a little insulting until it's obvious that they're in far better condition than we are. Gale and the other people already chosen to go to the Capitol are in a different, accelerated phase of training. After we stretch - which hurts - there's a couple of hours of strengthening exercises - which hurt - and a five-mile run - which kills. Even with Johanna's motivational insults driving me on, I have to drop out after a mile. "It's my ribs," I explain to the trainer, a no-nonsense middle-aged woman we're supposed to address as Soldier York. "They're still bruised." "Well, I'll tell you, Soldier Everdeen, those are going to take at least another month to heal up on their own," she says. I shake my head. "I don't have a month." She looks me up and down. "The doctors haven't offered you any treatment?" "Is there a treatment?" I ask. "They said they had to mend naturally." "That's what they say. But they could speed up the process if I recommend it. I warn you, though, it isn't any fun," she tells me. "Please. I've got to get to the Capitol," I say. Soldier York doesn't question this. She scribbles something on a pad and sends me directly back to the hospital. I hesitate. I don't want to miss any more training. "I'll be back for the afternoon session," I promise. She just purses her lips. Twenty-four needle jabs to my rib cage later, I'm flattened out on my hospital bed, gritting my teeth to keep from begging them to bring back my morphling drip. It's been by my bed so I can take a hit as needed. I haven't used it lately, but I kept it for Johanna's sake. Today they tested my blood to make sure it was clean of the painkiller, as the mixture of the two drugs - the morphling and whatever's set my ribs on fire - has dangerous side effects. They made it clear I would have a difficult couple of days. But I told them to go ahead. It's a bad night in our room. Sleep's out of the question. I think I can actually smell the ring of flesh around my chest burning, and Johanna's fighting off withdrawal symptoms. Early on, when I apologize about cutting off her morphling supply, she waves it off, saying it had to happen anyway. But by three in the morning, I'm the target of every colorful bit of profanity District 7 has to offer. At dawn, she drags me out of bed, determined to get to training. "I don't think I can do it," I confess. "You can do it. We both can. We're victors, remember? We're the ones who can survive anything they throw at us," she snarls at me. She's a sick greenish color, shaking like a leaf. I get dressed. We must be victors to make it through the morning. I think I'm going to lose Johanna when we realize it's pouring outside. Her face turns ashen and she seems to have ceased breathing. "It's just water. It won't kill us," I say. She clenches her jaw and stomps out into the mud. Rain drenches us as we work our bodies and then slog around the running course. I bail after a mile again, and I have to resist the temptation to take off my shirt so the cold water can sizzle off my ribs. I force down my field lunch of soggy fish and beet stew. Johanna gets halfway through her bowl before it comes back up. In the afternoon, we learn to assemble our guns. I manage it, but Johanna can't hold her hands steady enough to fit the parts together. When York's back is turned, I help her out. Even though the rain continues, the afternoon's an improvement because we're on the shooting range. At last, something I'm good at. It takes some adjusting from a bow to a gun, but by the end of the day, I've got the best score in my class. We're just inside the hospital doors when Johanna declares, "This has to stop. Us living in the hospital. Everyone views us as patients." It's not a problem for me. I can move into our family compartment, but Johanna's never been assigned one. When she tries to get discharged from the hospital, they won't agree to let her live alone, even if she comes in for daily talks with the head doctor. I think they may have put two and two together about the morphling and this only adds to their view that she's unstable. "She won't be alone. I'm going to room with her," I announce. There's some dissent, but Haymitch takes our part, and by bedtime, we have a compartment across from Prim and my mother, who agrees to keep an eye on us. After I take a shower, and Johanna sort of wipes herself down with a damp cloth, she makes a cursory inspection of the place. When she opens the drawer that holds my few possessions, she shuts it quickly. "Sorry." I think how there's nothing in Johanna's drawer but her government-issued clothes. That she doesn't have one thing in the world to call her own. "It's okay. You can look at my stuff if you want." Johanna unlatches my locket, studying the pictures of Gale, Prim, and my mother. She opens the silver parachute and pulls out the spile and slips it onto her pinkie. "Makes me thirsty just looking at it." Then she finds the pearl Peeta gave me. "Is this - ?" "Yeah," I say. "Made it through somehow." I don't want to talk about Peeta. One of the best things about training is, it keeps me from thinking of him. "Haymitch says he's getting better," she says. "Maybe. But he's changed," I say. "So have you. So have I. And Finnick and Haymitch and Beetee. Don't get me started on Annie Cresta. The arena messed us all up pretty good, don't you think? Or do you still feel like the girl who volunteered for your sister?" she asks me. "No," I answer. "That's the one thing I think my head doctor might be right about. There's no going back. So we might as well get on with things." She neatly returns my keepsakes to the drawer and climbs into the bed across from me just as the lights go out. "You're not afraid I'll kill you tonight?" "Like I couldn't take you," I answer. Then we laugh, since both our bodies are so wrecked, it will be a miracle if we can get up the next day. But we do. Each morning, we do. And by the end of the week, my ribs feel almost like new, and Johanna can assemble her rifle without help. Soldier York gives the pair of us an approving nod as we knock off for the day. "Fine job, Soldiers." When we move out of hearing, Johanna mutters, "I think winning the Games was easier." But the look on her face says she's pleased. In fact, we're almost in good spirits when we go to the dining hall, where Gale's waiting to eat with me. Receiving a giant serving of beef stew doesn't hurt my mood either. "First shipments of food arrived this morning," Greasy Sae tells me. "That's real beef, from District Ten. Not any of your wild dog." "Don't remember you turning it down," Gale tosses back. We join a group that includes Delly, Annie, and Finnick. It's something to see Finnick's transformation since his marriage. His earlier incarnations - the decadent Capitol heartthrob I met before the Quell, the enigmatic ally in the arena, the broken young man who tried to help me hold it together - these have been replaced by someone who radiates life. Finnick's real charms of self-effacing humor and an easygoing nature are on display for the first time. He never lets go of Annie's hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. I doubt he ever plans to. She's lost in some daze of happiness. There are still moments when you can tell something slips in her brain and another world blinds her to us. But a few words from Finnick call her back. Delly, who I've known since I was little but never gave much thought to, has grown in my estimation. She was told what Peeta said to me that night after the wedding, but she's not a gossip. Haymitch says she's the best defender I have when Peeta goes off on some kind of tear about me. Always taking my side, blaming his negative perceptions on the Capitol's torture. She has more influence on him than any of the others do, because he really does know her. Anyway, even if she's sugarcoating my good points, I appreciate it. Frankly, I could use a little sugarcoating. I'm starving and the stew is so delicious - beef, potatoes, turnips, and onions in a thick gravy - that I have to force myself to slow down. All around the dining hall, you can feel the rejuvenating effect that a good meal can bring on. The way it can make people kinder, funnier, more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to go on living. It's better than any medicine. So I try to make it last and join in the conversation. Sop up the gravy on my bread and nibble on it as I listen to Finnick telling some ridiculous story about a sea turtle swimming off with his hat. Laugh before I realize he's standing there. Directly across the table, behind the empty seat next to Johanna. Watching me. I choke momentarily as the gravy bread sticks in my throat. "Peeta!" says Delly. "It's so nice to see you out...and about." Two large guards stand behind him. He holds his tray awkwardly, balanced on his fingertips since his wrists are shackled with a short chain between them. "What's with the fancy bracelets?" asks Johanna. "I'm not quite trustworthy yet," says Peeta. "I can't even sit here without your permission." He indicates the guards with his head. "Sure he can sit here. We're old friends," says Johanna, patting the space beside her. The guards nod and Peeta takes a seat. "Peeta and I had adjoining cells in the Capitol. We're very familiar with each other's screams." Annie, who's on Johanna's other side, does that thing where she covers her ears and exits reality. Finnick shoots Johanna an angry look as his arm encircles Annie. "What? My head doctor says I'm not supposed to censor my thoughts. It's part of my therapy," replies Johanna. The life has gone out of our little party. Finnick murmurs things to Annie until she slowly removes her hands. Then there's a long silence while people pretend to eat. "Annie," says Delly brightly, "did you know it was Peeta who decorated your wedding cake? Back home, his family ran the bakery and he did all the icing." Annie cautiously looks across Johanna. "Thank you, Peeta. It was beautiful." "My pleasure, Annie," says Peeta, and I hear that old note of gentleness in his voice that I thought was gone forever. Not that it's directed at me. But still. "If we're going to fit in that walk, we better go," Finnick tells her. He arranges both of their trays so he can carry them in one hand while holding tightly to her with the other. "Good seeing you, Peeta." "You be nice to her, Finnick. Or I might try and take her away from you." It could be a joke, if the tone wasn't so cold. Everything it conveys is wrong. The open distrust of Finnick, the implication that Peeta has his eye on Annie, that Annie could desert Finnick, that I do not even exist. "Oh, Peeta," says Finnick lightly. "Don't make me sorry I restarted your heart." He leads Annie away after giving me a concerned glance. When they're gone, Delly says in a reproachful voice, "He did save your life, Peeta. More than once." "For her." He gives me a brief nod. "For the rebellion. Not for me. I don't owe him anything." I shouldn't rise to the bait, but I do. "Maybe not. But Mags is dead and you're still here. That should count for something." "Yeah, a lot of things should count for something that don't seem to, Katniss. I've got some memories I can't make sense of, and I don't think the Capitol touched them. A lot of nights on the train, for instance," he says. Again the implications. That more happened on the train than did. That what did happen - those nights I only kept my sanity because his arms were around me - no longer matters. Everything a lie, everything a way of misusing him. Peeta makes a little gesture with his spoon, connecting Gale and me. "So, are you two officially a couple now, or are they still dragging out the star-crossed lover thing?" "Still dragging," says Johanna. Spasms cause Peeta's hands to tighten into fists, then splay out in a bizarre fashion. Is it all he can do to keep them from my neck? I can feel the tension in Gale's muscles next to me, fear an altercation. But Gale simply says, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself." "What's that?" asks Peeta. "You," Gale answers. "You'll have to be a little more specific," says Peeta. "What about me?" "That they've replaced you with the evil-mutt version of yourself," says Johanna. Gale finishes his milk. "You done?" he asks me. I rise and we cross to drop off our trays. At the door, an old man stops me because I'm still clutching the rest of my gravy bread in my hand. Something in my expression, or maybe the fact that I've made no attempt to conceal it, makes him go easy on me. He lets me stuff the bread in my mouth and move on. Gale and I are almost to my compartment when he speaks again. "I didn't expect that." "I told you he hated me," I say. "It's the way he hates you. It's so...familiar. I used to feel like that," he admits. "When I'd watch you kissing him on the screen. Only I knew I wasn't being entirely fair. He can't see that." We reach my door. "Maybe he just sees me as I really am. I have to get some sleep." Gale catches my arm before I can disappear. "So that's what you're thinking now?" I shrug. "Katniss, as your oldest friend, believe me when I say he's not seeing you as you really are." He kisses my cheek and goes. I sit on my bed, trying to stuff information from my Military Tactics books into my head while memories of my nights with Peeta on the train distract me. After about twenty minutes, Johanna comes in and throws herself across the foot of my bed. "You missed the best part. Delly lost her temper at Peeta over how he treated you. She got very squeaky. It was like someone stabbing a mouse with a fork repeatedly. The whole dining hall was riveted." "What'd Peeta do?" I ask. "He started arguing with himself like he was two people. The guards had to take him away. On the good side, no one seemed to notice I finished his stew." Johanna rubs her hand over her protruding belly. I look at the layer of grime under her fingernails. Wonder if the people in 7 ever bathe. We spend a couple of hours quizzing each other on military terms. I visit my mother and Prim for a while. When I'm back in my compartment, showered, staring into the darkness, I finally ask, "Johanna, could you really hear him screaming?" "That was part of it," she says. "Like the jabberjays in the arena. Only it was real. And it didn't stop after an hour. Tick, tock." "Tick, tock," I whisper back. Roses. Wolf mutts. Tributes. Frosted dolphins. Friends. Mockingjays. Stylists. Me. Everything screams in my dreams tonight.

[clamjumper5-blog]

A Healthy Hedonist’s Guide to Paris: Gluten-Free Eats + Sights in the City of Love

Paris has been a gluten-free beacon of love and carbs for us over the last two years.

I’m usually not that into Hallmark holidays, but last year, for whatever reason, when Charlie told me he’d be traveling on Valentine’s Day, I got a little diva-like pit in my stomach.

I pictured myself sitting alone watching Sandra Bullock reruns with a 3-course meal of matcha truffles, modestly-priced steak, and salted caramel pudding. Then I immediately moved on to a superior alternative that made me a lot less sad: having dinner with my OG Valentine, my dad.

I don’t know why I cared so much about doing something special last year, when on most other Valentine’s Days my preference is to avoid prefix menus like the plague and do nothing at all. But I’m sure it had something to do with all the book-related work that left me craving an evening of being coddled and pampered. Other sugar daddy to the rescue!

The biggest reason I can’t give Charlie a hard time is because for my birthday this year, he already showered me with the most romantic gift a girl could ask for: a long weekend trip to Paris. Had he pulled that super Romeo move on me on February 14th, I probably would have rolled my eyes and barfed a little in my mouth (diva!). But in November it was the perfect gift. And come December, when we finally woke up on the tarmac of Charles de Gaulle airport, it was the beginning of the most make-out and food-filled trip I’ve taken in adult life.

(see?)

Paris is the city of love, yes. But for me it’s always held memories of a different type of romance. Back when I was three years old, my OG Valentine (along with my mom) moved our small nuclear family across the Atlantic for a few years. We lived a stone’s throw from Les Invalides on the Right Bank, which I used to call the Emerald City because of its gold dome and sprawling Oz-like greenery.

So my favorite moments of our trip were not the pounds of steak frites or kisses shared under the Eiffel Tower, it was getting to share all those childhood fragments with Charlie as we covered the city on foot from end to end, having him humor me as we played the game my mother and I always used to play of guessing what color the seats would be at the following metro stop, and humoring me even further when I wanted to take us another mile out of the way to relive what a chocolate eclair tasted like in gluten-free form.

Speaking of being gluten-free in Paris, it’s a lot easier than it used to be. I’ve included some of the recommendations below, but just know that like in the States, not every loaf of GF bread is created equal. Take a detour to Chambelland early in your trip and buy a loaf and carry it in your purse for the rest of your stay. I tried the ones at Eric Kayser, No Glu and Helmet Newcake and they weren’t as good. This is key, because you’re going to need something to soak up all that restaurant butter.

If that’s recommendation 1.a. for the GF folks. 1.b. for the rest of you is to balance your trip with a mix of old and new. You’ll see in the itinerary I laid out below that I didn’t give you a back-to-back bistro highlight reel. There’s some incredibly inventive cuisine happening in Paris right now that is worth taking a break from cassoulet and soupe l’oignon for. Plus, if you eat on the healthier end at home, you will burn out from this particular French brand of hedonism very quickly. Pace yourself, folks.

My last recommendation is to walk as much as you can. It’s truly the best way to see the city. We managed to log 10 miles a day! Pack your shoes accordingly, and bring a second pair, since you will inevitably get blistered from your first. We loved the little AirBNB we stayed in on the 5th floor of a immeuble in the 9th, even if it meant many more blisters walking up all those stairs!

This time around, it was definitely a sobering experience for us bourgeois lovers of Parisian oat milk to experience the Gilet Jaunes lighting the city on fire literally and figuratively with their anger. You can see some of the scenes below, juxtaposed of course with my favorite 3 euro macarons. Needless to say, I couldn’t feel more grateful for the life I was born into that allows me to see the world, and savor every morsel.

Just being able to reminisce about this trip feels like a gift. And let me just say for all my Galentine’s: you don’t need a date to have the most glorious time in Paris. My last two trips 7 years ago and in college were both solo, and I had an equally magical weekend reading, wandering and day drinking in cafes.

Read on for my favorite gluten-free finds and ways to spend a long weekend in the city of luuuuurve.

From one healthy, Francophile hedonist, to another,

Xoxo Phoebe

THE BEST PARIS FOOD DESTINATIONS (& WHAT TO EAT IF YOU’RE GLUTEN-FREE)

Afternoon

*Breizh Cafe, The Marais.

This was our first food stop in Paris, after fighting our jetlag to make it through two floors of the Pompidou Center on an empty stomach. Needless to say, I was extremely hangry by the time we arrived at this little gem in the Marais, and almost had a meltdown when we were told there was no table available. Luckily, the maître d’ took pity on us silly Americans and found us two seats next door at the small to-go shop. We actually got the better experience, I think. As we waited for our gluten-free buckwheat crepes to arrive, we sipped a carafe of their in-house hard cider and drooled over all the delicate tins of sardines, cases of smoked meats, rich butters and countless products made from the restaurant’s signature buckwheat. Just make sure to read the back of the packages, as many of the pastas and crisps also include wheat flour. As for my order, I went with the special, which included cured duck, mushrooms and comte. But you can’t go wrong with the complet.

L’As du Falafel, The Marais.

Back when I could eat gluten, this was a very necessary stop when visiting the old Jewish quarter of the Marais. The streets are worth visiting anyway, as the trendy boutiques suddenly tapper off into a jam-packed block of Judaica. The falafel is the best in the city, but they also have schwarma for the GF folk.

Miznon, The Marais

Down the street from all the falafel shops in the Jewish corner, is this Israeli outpost with creative spins on classic sandwiches. The lamb pita is excellent, but they will also do any of their sandwiches as a plate for the GF folk. I got the beef bourgingnon, which is not something I would think to try at an Israeli restaurant, but their take on it was incredibly light and flavorful, especially with a dousing of green sauce on top. The highlight for healthy-minded folks is the whole charred cauliflower, which emerges still attached to its leaves and roots. New Yorkers: you can also find a stand in Chelsea Market, but it’s not the same as the original.

Chambelland, 10th.

This gluten-free bakery was the only place I found that did French bread the right way. It had the same crispy exterior and tangy sourdough flavor that characterizes the best of the table baskets. Get a loaf to-go, or simply enjoy a tuna sandwich or square of focaccia (tomato-olive is amazing) as a mid-afternoon snack. Also, get a bag of the mini financiers.

Helmut Newcake, 1st.

In addition to being the best-named patisserie in all the land, Helmut Newcake has the type of highfalutin pastries that make you think you’re staring at a jewelry case—and they’re all gluten-free! It was such a treat to get to have a chocolate eclair after all these years. The chocolate chip cookie is also insanely buttery and decadent.

Claus, 1st.

Breakfast isn’t as much of a “thing” in France as it is in the states. Usually, people just grab a croissant and cafe on the go. One morning when we were craving eggs, we ended up at this cute spot near our hotel. Honestly, the breakfast was pretty underwhelming. But it’s worth a visit for the gluten-free green tea financiers, which were the most delicious treat of the trip. Had we done it over, I would have saved my breakfast for when we visited Canal St. Martin (see below).

Holybelly, Canal St. Martin.

We didn’t manage to squeeze in some eggs or black rice porridge from Holybelly, but walked around the cool and quaint surrounding area of Canal St. Martin, where there are a bunch of up-and-coming juice bars (Bob’s) and gluten-free cafes (Ten Belles) popping up. This is definitely the neighborhood to go to if you want a break from butter. And I loved capturing the heart-shaped lock picture above.

Hotel L’Amour, 10th.

This hotel restaurant has a quaint fashionable interior with a beautiful garden to sit outside in warmer months. It’s an excellent spot for brunch, with a whole array of vegetarian options. The vegan butternut squash soup was delicious, as was the poulet roti and plate of scrambled eggs.

Ellsworth, 1st.

This brunch spot has all the usual Southern fixtures—French toast, fried chicken, duck hash—but they’re prepared in a distinctly French way. The hash was a gluten-free favorite of mine, and I also loved the beet salad with homemade light-as-air Greek yogurt.

Au Petit Tonneau, 7th.

We wandered into this little neighborhood gem during our day of exploring the right bank, as we made our way from Musee D’Orsay to go make-out under the Eiffel tower. It was everything we wanted in a bistrot: small tables, chalkboard menus, old ladies ordering whole bottles of wine at 2pm, and husband and wife waiters, who took breaks in between busing our tables to enjoy a bite of lunch with their family at the back table. The most notable dish here is the veal stew, which is served over cardamom scented rice. Unfortunately, it’s thickened with flour (hey-ho France), but I snuck a small taste of the sauce and it was mind-blowing. Equally good (and gluten-free): the escargot, salad Paysenne with thick lardons, and the sautéed scallops.

Le Comptoir de la Mer, 6th

The two small bars next to one another, one dedicated to seafood, the other to meats, are a fun concept based on basque-style pintxos, where you order small plate after small plate, standing up, before heading to the next joint and doing the same. I love that they serve butter in a giant ball on the counter that you can scrape off to your heart’s content.

Pierre Herme, 6th

Perhaps the most famous macaron purveyor in Paris, Pierre lives up to all the hype. The cookies are light and tender, while the filling isn’t too sweet. More importantly, they offer a variety of surprising and creative combinations. My favorite was the half raspberry, half pistachio, and the pomegranate and cream.

NoGlu, 6th

As I mentioned above, I was not overly blown away by the bread at this gluten-free cafe. Still, it’s a nice place to grab a sandwich, and if you’re craving a croque monsieur, theirs certainly hits the spot. I’ve also heard good things about their quiche and madeleine’s, but generally prefer chambelland and helmet newcake for GF goodies.

Evening

Le Grand Bain, 9th

The menu changes daily at this veg-centric small plates joint. The chef is young and inventive, but also can turn out French classics like moules with aioli that rival the best bistros in town. They were willing to adapt almost the whole menu to be gluten-free and also had plenty of vegan options. Besides the moules, my favorite dish was the broccoletti with caviar. Charlie could not resist the fois gras stuffed quail.

Balagan, 1st

We went for lunch at this upscale Israeli restaurant near The Louvre, but it’s chic design and cool lounge in back would make it even better as a nighttime destination. The kale salad with turmeric aioli and Mediterranean take on steak frites (both GF!) were fabulous. The waitstaff was also very knowledgable about my allergy.

Le Villaret, 10th

Right down the street from Chambelland, is this classic bistrot that serves up impeccably cooked steak and other French fare. It’s been renovated to be slightly more modern on the interior, but still feels homey and cozy. It’s a great option for a casual, yet refined meal that’s unfussy and worth the price tag.

Bistrot Paul Bert, 11th.

Though a bigger operation than Tonneau, it doesn’t get more classic than this French institution. It’s a little off the beaten path, but worth a visit for a traditional meal of all the things you came to France for: sole meuniere, steak frites and soufflés. Gluten-free folk are good to go on the steak and fries and simple butter-soaked scallops in their shell, but sadly have to sit out dessert. My favorite part of our meal is that they decanted our wine into a giant wine glass, which made for some wonderful photo opps. I’m pretty sure they stuck us in the front room with all the other English speakers for this very reason.

Le Clown Bar, 10th.

This was both Charlie and my favorite meal in Paris. I was skeptical at first, as I’m not one to opt for trends or novelty over the classics (in Paris, no less). But this meal was truly the most inventive and delicious one I’ve had in any city in recent memory. Much to my surprise, the highlight of the night—in addition to the whole pigeon that arrived talons-on, and still smoking on a plate—was the bowl of brains. As you can see above, they did very little to distract or disguise the main ingredient, which I suppose is what good French cooking is all about. The texture was similar to tofu, and combined with a delicate dashi broth, each spoonful melted in your mouth. It’s best to get a reservation in advance, but there’s a great little hipster cocktail bar around the corner called Bespoke if you have to wait.

Le Relais de Entrecote, 6th

An institution with locations in New York and London, this steak and frites chain never disappoints. And somehow, there’s nothing like the real thing in Paris. It’s also a perfect venue for celiacs, since the famous secret sauce is gluten-free and there’s nothing else on the menu but salad, steak and fries, so the fryer is also fair game. Save room for dessert, as their sundaes are legendary!

Le Servan, 12th.

I loved the neighborhood vibe of this place, which made me feel like we were back in Brooklyn. The food was simple, elegant and if I’m being honest, slightly underwhelming. We ended up here because of this Eater list, which said that the clams were one of the best dishes in Paris. Unfortunately, said clams had soy sauce in them (wah wah). Add it to your list if you want to check out a new neighborhood that’s more residential and bohemian. The one dish that really stood out and was worth returning for was the scallop with butterscotch. The menu changes daily, though, so perhaps we just ordered wrong.

Cocktail Hour

Le Mary Celeste, The Marais

If you’re looking for a great spot to grab oysters or deviled eggs before or after dinner, this divey spot in the Marais is it. Compared to most cocktail bars in Paris, this one is a nice mix of tourists and locals.

Le Syndicat, 9th

Another small cocktail bar with creative drinks, including one with kombucha and cucumber that I enjoyed.

The Hemingway Bar, 1st

If you like 30 euro cocktails in a lavish setting, nothing gets more classic than this hideaway in the back of The Ritz. Go early and put your name down. Be prepared to take out a second mortgage to cover your martini.

Le Meurice, 1st

Slightly easier to get into than Hemingway, and equally expensive drinks in ornate surroundings. Charlie swears by a lunch time burger here as well.

ITINERARY: AN IDEAL LONG WEEKEND IN PARIS

If you have an extra day, the Louvre is an obvious must. It’s so ginormous though that we chose to cross many of the smaller museums off our list and spend more time walking between neighborhoods. Another favorite that we didn’t fit into this itinerary is Sacre Coeur, which has an unparalleled view of the city at sunset and is a fun neighborhood to grab a pre-dinner glass of wine. Definitely go if you have one more night. Also, it should be noted that we went to Paris in December. If it’s warm out, a meat and cheese picnic in the Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg is also a must. But the gardens around the Louis Vuitton Foundation are also beautiful for a picnic or romp.

Friday, the Marais + Left Bank >>Start the day at the Pompidou center and explore the contemporary and modern collections >>Spend the afternoon exploring the Marais neighborhood; stop into Merci for home goods and decor, and wander the shops and boutiques. >>Have an early lunch of gluten-free buckwheat crepes at Breizh, along wtih a cup of one of their hard ciders (you’re in Europe, after all!). >> Pop into Musee National Picasso >> Grab a mid-afternoon snack at L’As du Fallafel or Miznon >> GF folks should make a detour to the 10th to grab a midafternoon snack at Chambelland, along with a loaf of gluten-free bread for the rest of the trip >>Head to dinner at Bistrot Paul Bert or Le Villaret for an authentic Parisian experience with all the typical fixings. You’ll be too buttered out by day 3 to handle this.

Saturday, the Right Bank >>Start the day at Musee D’Orsay to take in the vast impressionist collection and early work of Manet and Van Gogh. >>Wander through Napoleon’s old stomping grounds, Les Invalides (with optional detour to either the Musee De L’Armee or the Rodin Museum around the corner) >>Stop for lunch at Au Petit Tonneau for a classic red gingham tablecloth meal of escargot, salad Paysenne and veal stew. >>Continue walking off your meal to the Eiffel Tower for your requisite photo opp. >> Either pop in for more contemporary art at Palais de Tokyo, or metro back to the St. Germain-des-Pres area and enjoy a cafe at a one of the old literary haunts – Les Deux Maggot or Cafe de Flore (touristy, but fun!).

>> Check out Musee de L’Arme for French firearms and battle garb or to say hey to Napoleon in his tomb >> You can also make a pit stop at Bon Marche for some foodie keepsakes >> Take a break from all the butter with some nouveau French cuisine at Le Clown Bar or Le Grand Bain. Get past the ick factor and order the brains—it’s a must. >>Have a nightcap at the Hemingway bar at the Ritz.

Sunday, Further Afield >>Start the day with a Franco-American brunch at Hotel L’Amour or Ellsworth (make a reservation in advance), or if you’re feeling overwhelmed by 48 hours of French food, a healthy bite at Holybelly, where you can also stroll by the water in Canal St. Martin. >>Venture further afield to check out the new Louis Vuitton foundation near jardin d’acclimatation, i.e. the coolest kid’s park that ever was. You can also swap this for a day at the Louvre. >>Enjoy a mid-day cafe and pastry at Helmut Newcakes, which has the best GF eclairs in Paris! >> Head home to wherever you came from, carrying all the shoes and baguettes you can fit in your carry-on.

READER RECS

I got a lot of recommendations from readers on gluten-free and healthy restaurants in Paris. Especially in the Marais and the 9th, there are a ton of Brooklyn-esque smoothie and avocado toast spots cropping up. I didn’t find many of them to be worth it, including Wild & The Moon, which is now a chain. Their GF scone and acai bowl were sub-par, if I’m being honest. The produce in France is better across the board, and I’d personally, much rather enjoy veggies in the context of butter, cooked simply and traditionally, doing what Paris does best, than another culture’s attempt at avocado toast. That said, I’m including the full list below in case you want to try any of them, along with some more restaurants that I’ve been dying to try but haven’t been able to get to!

Gluten-free restaurants and healthy cafes:

Sitron (GF bakery) Echo Deli Cafe Woodies Le Coulauncourt Maisie Cafe The Broken Arm Republique of Coffee Cuppa Cafe BigLove (GF pizza) Cafe Berry Cafe Mareva Cafe Mericourt (shakshouka) Jay and Joy (vegan cheeses!)

Nouveau French restaurants and wine bars: 

Vivant CAM Brutos Frenchie Clamato

***

Have any of you recently been to Paris? Any new or old haunts or must-see’s that I should add to my list for next time? I’m dying to go back! Let me know in the comments section

Source: https://feedmephoebe.com/healthy-hedonists-guide-paris-gluten-free-long-weekend-city-love/

[jesseneufeld]

Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know

Fortunately, a root-cause approach and the right nutritional strategy can help to slow or even reverse the progression of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn what the research says, the connection between diet and autoimmune disease, and how to determine the most effective dietary approach for you.

What’s the Connection between Diet and Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease—when the body essentially attacks itself—is one of the top 10 causes of death in women and the elderly and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. This trend does not appear to be slowing down; in fact, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing at an alarming pace. (1)

Conventional medicine usually focuses on the symptoms of autoimmunity instead of trying to find the root cause of the problem. Find out more about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease and learn how to personalize your diet. #paleo #nutrition #chriskresser

Conventional treatment of autoimmune disease usually involves steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs do nothing to fix the underlying autoimmunity and are accompanied by a long list of potential adverse effects, including: (2, 3)

Weight gain

Acne

Mood changes

Muscle weakness

Osteoporosis

Diabetes

High blood pressure

An increased risk of infection

A Functional Medicine approach to autoimmune disease, on the other hand, seeks to identify why autoimmunity is occurring in the first place and address these underlying causes. A crucial piece of this treatment approach is finding the right diet.

In this article, I’ll lay out six different nutritional approaches for autoimmune disease and then provide an easy step-by-step guide to figuring out which works best for you.

Six Diet Plans for Autoimmune Disease

Basic Paleo Diet

Wahls Protocol

Low-Starch Diet

Low-Carb or Ketogenic Diet

Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

Fasting Mimicking Diet

Option #1: Adopt a Basic Paleo Diet

Take Out Inflammatory and Gut-Damaging Foods

A great starting place for many patients with autoimmune disease is simply a basic Paleo diet. This approach removes foods that have the most potential to be inflammatory and cause damage to the gut. Food sensitivities are common among those with autoimmune disease, and pioneering researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano believes that intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is a prerequisite to developing autoimmune disease. (4) Healing the gut and supporting a healthy gut microbiota is, therefore, a crucial part of treating autoimmune disease.

Nourish Your Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods

We replace these highly inflammatory foods with foods that will nourish the body. The term “nutrient density” refers to the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in a given food.

The most nutrient-dense foods for humans are:

Organ meats

Shellfish

Fish

Eggs

Poultry

Red meat

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts and seeds

Despite being high in calories, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is extremely nutrient poor. Vegetable oils and sugar, which together comprise 36 percent of the SAD, are virtually devoid of nutrients, and most Americans eat few organ meats, shellfish, and vegetables. In contrast, the Paleo diet encompasses all of these nutrient-dense foods.

Follow the Example of Hunter–Gatherers (They Don’t Have Autoimmune Disease)

While autoimmune disease has become commonplace in the industrialized world, anthropological evidence suggests that it’s rare or nonexistent in contemporary hunter–gatherers living a traditional lifestyle. (5) This, along with the dramatic rise in autoimmune disease over the past half century, suggests that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle play a major role in autoimmunity. (6)

By consuming a diet that is more aligned with our biology and contains fewer inflammatory foods, we can often see remarkable improvements in slowing the progression of or even reversing autoimmune disease.

Here’s How to Try a Paleo Diet

I recommend a 30-day Paleo reset, which involves eliminating grains, legumes, industrial seed oils, refined sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. Instead, you’ll consume meat and organ meats, fish, shellfish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with some fruits, nuts, and seeds. This is outlined in detail in my book The Paleo Cure.

While a basic Paleo diet is a great starting place, many people with autoimmune disease will need to take their diet a step further after their 30-day reset. The next few sections include more advanced strategies to tweak your Paleo template.

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Pioneering Researcher Alessio Fasano, MD, on Gluten, Autoimmunity & Leaky Gut

Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease?

Pills or Paleo? Preventing and Reversing Autoimmune Disease

The Paleo Cure

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Option #2: Improve Your Mitochondrial Health with the Wahls Protocol

Who Is Dr. Wahls, and What Is the Wahls Protocol?

The next option is the Wahls protocol. This is a modified version of the Paleo diet created by Dr. Terry Wahls, a physician who has made remarkable progress with her MS using a Functional Medicine approach. When Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with MS in 2000, she was told by the very best conventional doctors that there was no cure and that she should start pharmaceutical treatment. Unfortunately, her disease progressed to the point where she needed a tilt and recline wheelchair to get around.

Dr. Wahls started reading the research literature and zeroed in on mitochondrial health as a key player in conditions like MS. She identified a long list of nutrients that she believed were the key to optimal mitochondrial and neurological health. She ultimately realized that she didn’t have to get these in supplement form and reorganized her diet using Paleo principles, specifically targeting these 31 nutrients:

It occurred to me that I should get my long list of nutrients from food [rather than supplements]. That if I did that, I would probably get hundreds and maybe thousands of other compounds that science had yet to name and identify, but that would be helpful to my brain and my mitochondria. – Dr. Terry Wahls, MD

In addition to changing her diet, Dr. Wahls also optimized other aspects of her lifestyle and saw a dramatic improvement in her health. Within three months, Dr. Wahls was walking with a cane, and within the year, she was able to bike again for the first time in five years.

Why Mitochondrial Health Is So Important

Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, converting carbohydrates and fats that we consume into the energy our cells need (ATP) to perform all of their jobs. Every cell in the body contains mitochondria, and some cells contain thousands of them. Altogether, a healthy person’s mitochondria will produce their body weight in cellular ATP every day. (7)

Mitochondria are much more than just the “powerhouse” of the cell though. These critical organelles also participate in cell signaling, produce certain steroid hormones, participate in the synthesis of heme for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and even regulate programmed cell death. (8)

When mitochondria become dysfunctional, our cells have trouble carrying out these important functions. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction can result in fatigue and brain fog, while severe mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a wide range of chronic conditions, including several autoimmune diseases. (9) Mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.

How to Try the Wahls Protocol

To maximize nutrient intake and mitochondrial function, the Wahls protocol features nine cups of vegetables and fruits daily, including:

Three cups of leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, collards, spinach, or lettuce, to provide vitamins A, B, C, and K

Three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to support detoxification. (Note that two garlic cloves are equivalent to one cup of sulfur-rich vegetables.)

Three cups of colorful fruits and vegetables (ideally three different colors per day), such as beets, carrots, berries, peaches, and citrus for their antioxidants and flavonoids.

Even if you can’t get the full nine cups, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will likely significantly increase your intake of crucial micronutrients.

For maximum nutrient retention, Dr. Wahls recommends consuming the vegetables either raw or cooked at a low temperature. Depending on which level of the Wahls diet you choose, the nutrient density of this protocol can exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) two- to tenfold!

Along with all those fruits and veggies, Dr. Wahls recommends grass-fed meat or wild-caught fish and healthy fats with every meal, as well as bone broth and fermented foods daily. Seaweed and organ meats should be included once per week. The Wahls protocol also includes meditation, self-massage, exercise, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

What the Research Says about the Wahls Protocol

The Wahls Foundation has performed several studies to provide evidence for this approach. In one pilot study of 20 patients with progressive MS, the Wahls protocol (including the Wahls diet, nutritional supplements, stretching and strengthening exercises, and stress management) was shown to improve gait function for those with mild-to-moderate gait impairment. Subjects with severe gait impairment did not respond to the intervention. (10)

In another pilot study of 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, the Wahls protocol reduced perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function. (11) Dr. Wahls and her research team are currently working on a 36-week randomized controlled trial to test the Wahls diet against a low-saturated-fat diet in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. (12)

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Treating MS and Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls’s book: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Wahls’s TEDx Talk: “Minding Your Mitochondria”

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Option #3: Try Eating a Low-Starch Diet

What Is Starch, Anyway?

Starch is how plants store excess energy, in the form of a long chain of sugars. The basic Paleo diet outlined in Option #1 removes some forms of starch, including grains and legumes. However, starch is also found in certain vegetables, including:

Sweet potatoes

Yuca (cassava)

Parsnips

Arrowroot

Tapioca

Taro

Plantains

Unripe bananas

While starch can be perfectly healthy, and starchy vegetables can help beneficial gut bacteria, some individuals may experience issues with starch.

These individuals may do best on a low-starch diet, which eliminates these complex carbohydrates while still allowing non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus, and greens.

Why Low-Starch Might Work: HLA-B27 and Klebsiella

One subset of people with autoimmune disease who might particularly benefit from a low-starch diet are those who have a particular set of genes known as HLA-B27. HLA-B27 can predispose an individual to certain autoimmune diseases, like: (13, 14)

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Psoriasis

Reactive arthritis

Uveitis

Studies have shown that patients with AS seem to have an increased abundance of the bacterium Klebsiella in their guts and elevated anti-Klebsiella antibodies in the blood. (15, 16) Interestingly, biochemical studies of Klebsiella have shown that this bacterium does not grow on cellulose but can grow readily on starch. (17, 18)

Several studies have applied this information in humans. One randomized control trial split people into two groups: one on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and the other on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then compared the abundance of Klebsiella in fecal samples. The average number of Klebsiella was 30,000/gram in the high-carb group, compared to 700/gram in the low-carb group. (19) Another study found that a low-starch diet reduced total serum IgA in AS patients. (20) The majority of these patients also reported a decline in symptom severity and in some cases complete remission.

How to Try a Low-Starch Diet

If you’re already on a Paleo diet template, going low starch is pretty simple. Remove starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, yuca, arrowroot, tapioca, parsnips, taro, and plantains, and replace them with more fruits and non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions.

I recommend a three-to-four-week low-starch period to see if you notice any improvement in symptoms. After this period, try reintroducing starchy foods one by one and note any reactions. Eileen Laird of Phoenix Helix has written an excellent post in which she shares the results of her own and several other Paleo autoimmune bloggers’ starch experiments. Many found that they can tolerate some forms of starch but not others.

It’s worth noting here that the popularized GAPS Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are both low-starch diets. Many people have used these diets with great success for gut health and autoimmune disease.

Further Reading and Resources

HLA-B27 and Autoimmune Disease: Is a Low-Starch Diet the Solution?

Is Starch a Beneficial Nutrient or a Toxin? You Be the Judge.

SCD lifestyle website

GAPS Diet website

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Option #4: Go Low Carb, or Ketogenic

The Keto Diet and Autoimmune Disease

Some individuals may benefit from an approach that limits carbohydrates in general. Unfortunately, few studies have looked at very-low-carb, or ketogenic, diets as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disease.

However, one case report found that a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet induced clinical remission in a young boy suffering from severe Crohn’s disease. (21) Another case report details a 19-year-old male with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes who was able to discontinue insulin therapy after just three weeks on a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet. (22) One woman with psoriasis reportedly restored response to drug therapy after a four-week ketogenic diet. (23)

Why a Ketogenic Diet Might Work for You

Ketogenic diets tend to reduce oxidative stress and boost antioxidant activity, resulting in a net decrease in inflammation. The ketogenic diet has also been shown to increase the formation of new mitochondria, spurring new cell growth. (24)

Low-carb, high-fat diets also have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microbiota. (25) One recent study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet are actually mediated by changes in gut bacteria. (26) In particular, the ketogenic diet increases bacterial production of amino acids that act as a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter GABA.

If You Have a Thyroid Condition, Steer Clear of Keto

It’s important to note that not everyone with autoimmune disease will benefit from a ketogenic approach, and it may even be detrimental in some individuals. Based on what we know from the research, a ketogenic diet is most likely to be helpful in those with autoimmune neurological conditions like MS and metabolic conditions like type 1 diabetes. On the other hand, those with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease would likely respond better to a more moderate carbohydrate intake.

Further Reading and Resources

The Three-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

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Option #5: Try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

What Is the AIP Diet?

The Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a Paleo-type diet which removes grains, legumes, dairy, refined seed oils, and refined sugar but also recommends initial removal of eggs, nightshades, coffee, alcohol, nuts, and seeds.

While these foods are perfectly healthy in most people, those with autoimmune disease can be particularly sensitive, and these foods may exacerbate gut inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Like Paleo, AIP encourages consumption of nutrient-dense, healing foods, including bone broth, organ meats, and fermented foods. The elimination phase is typically followed by a maintenance phase until sufficient improvement in symptoms is achieved. At that point, select food groups can be carefully reintroduced. The goal is to diversify the diet as much as possible while identifying potential food intolerances.

AIP May Help if You Have IBD

One pilot study recently demonstrated the incredible potential of the AIP diet for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (27) Fifteen patients with IBD were coached through a six-week phased elimination program to transition from their current diet to AIP and then maintained on the full AIP diet for five weeks. The authors summarized their results as follows:

Clinical remission was achieved by week 6 by 11/15 (73%) of study participants, and all 11 maintained clinical remission during the maintenance phase of the study.

This is remarkable and rivals most drug therapies for IBD. Moreover, the AIP diet is treating the root cause of disease and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects of conventional treatments.

Angie Alt and Mickey Trescott, who were involved with this study, are currently working on another study to assess the efficacy of AIP in individuals with Hashimoto’s.

How to Try the AIP Diet

After a 30-day Paleo reset, remove eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, etc.), nuts, and seeds for an additional five or six weeks. Notice any reduction in symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

After the five or six weeks, you can slowly reintroduce these foods one at a time and note any adverse reactions. If you identify a food sensitivity, remove this food from your diet for at least a few months before trying to reintroduce it again.

Further Reading and Resources

AIP for IBD: The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mickey Trescott’s website: autoimmunewellness.com

Sarah Ballantyne’s article: “What Is AIP?”

Angie Alt’s SAD to AIP in 6 program

Back to Top

Option #6: Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Benefits of Fasting

Water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including blood glucose regulation, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance. (28) But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

This type of diet is called a fasting mimicking diet. It is a very-low-calorie, low-protein, high-fat diet that causes changes in glucose, ketone bodies, and specific growth factors similar to those seen during prolonged water-only fasting.

The fasting mimicking diet is characterized by cycles of caloric restriction and refeeding. For example, in mouse models of fasting mimicking diets, researchers restrict the amount of food the mouse has access to for four days, followed by three days of unrestricted feeding every week. In humans, one diet cycle consists of five days of restriction, and eating resumes as usual for the rest of the month. This is typically repeated for three months. (29)

How This Type of Diet Impacts Autoimmunity

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers showed that in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, a fasting mimicking diet reawakens embryonic development genes and triggers regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. (30) While they weren’t able to measure pancreatic regeneration in living humans, bathing human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetics in serum collected from humans on the fifth day of a fasting mimicking diet also resulted in an upregulation of embryonic genes. Upon stimulating the diabetic pancreatic islets with glucose, insulin secretion was restored!

In a mouse model of MS, a fasting mimicking diet reduced clinical severity in all mice and completely reversed symptoms in 20 percent of animals. (31) At the molecular level, the diet increased corticosterone levels and regulatory T cells and promoted the regrowth of nerve cell sheaths. Fasting mimicking diets also reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cells involved in promoting inflammation. In a small feasibility study, relapsing-remitting MS patients had improved quality of life and a mild reduction in disability status after a single cycle of this diet. (32)

Will You Benefit from a Fasting Mimicking Diet?

Those who have tried other dietary approaches without success may find the most benefit from trying a fasting mimicking diet. The diet, as studied, is currently available from Prolon as a specific package of prepared foods and micronutrients intended to be administered under a doctor’s supervision. It’s likely that a “homemade” version with similar macronutrient ratios and foods would have the same effects, but this hasn’t yet been studied in a clinical trial.

Not everyone is a good candidate for a fasting mimicking diet, however. Patients who should avoid this type of diet include those who are pregnant or have HPA axis dysregulation (“adrenal fatigue”), an eating disorder, or thyroid problems. Fasting is also not usually recommended for children or teens.

Further Reading and Resources

Could Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversible After All?

Rebooting the System: The Benefits of a Fasting Mimicking Diet

Back to Top

Here’s How to Personalize Your Autoimmune Diet

In this article, I presented six different dietary strategies to manage or even reverse autoimmune disease. You might have noticed that there is quite a bit of overlap in these approaches. In fact, the best autoimmune diet for you might be a combination of these strategies.

The only way to figure out what diet is optimal for you is to experiment and observe. Even two people with the same autoimmune disease diagnosis may respond differently to the various dietary approaches outlined here.

Below, I’ve provided the eight basic steps to work through the options outlined above and find your personal optimal autoimmune diet.

1. Start with a 30-Day Paleo Reset

Remove grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and refined seed oils for 30 days. Many people experience a significant improvement in their autoimmune symptoms with a standard Paleo diet and don’t need any additional restrictions.

2. Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

Include plenty of organ meats, shellfish, meat, fish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.

3. Feed Your Mitochondria

Consider trying the Wahls protocol. Aim for nine cups of fruits and vegetables per day from the three different categories to support mitochondrial health.

4. Eat Foods That Nourish Your Gut

Feed your gut microbiota with starchy or non-starchy vegetables and support a healthy gut lining by consuming bone broth regularly. Be sure to consume fermented foods and/or take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

5. Make Sure You’re Getting the Nutrients Your Immune System Needs

Support the immune system with nutrients like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A, and EPA and DHA. These are well represented in a Paleo-type diet, but you can also supplement wisely if necessary.

6. Experiment with Your Starch and Carb Intake

Try a few weeks on a low-starch diet and introduce various starchy vegetables one by one, noting how you feel. Similarly, experiment with different carb intakes and notice how they impact your symptoms.

7. Try the 30-Day AIP Reset

Try a 30-day AIP reset and notice how your symptoms are affected. After 30 days, reintroduce the foods you took out, like eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, and diversify the diet as much as possible. Your diet should only be as restrictive as necessary to control symptoms.

8. Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you’re still not satisfied with where you’re at after these first seven steps, consider trying a fasting mimicking diet. I recommend seeking the guidance of a Functional Medicine practitioner before you begin.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease? What have you found to work best for you? Will you try this step-by-step approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The post Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know published first on https://drugaddictionsrehab.tumblr.com/

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Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know

Fortunately, a root-cause approach and the right nutritional strategy can help to slow or even reverse the progression of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn what the research says, the connection between diet and autoimmune disease, and how to determine the most effective dietary approach for you.

What’s the Connection between Diet and Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease—when the body essentially attacks itself—is one of the top 10 causes of death in women and the elderly and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. This trend does not appear to be slowing down; in fact, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing at an alarming pace. (1)

Conventional medicine usually focuses on the symptoms of autoimmunity instead of trying to find the root cause of the problem. Find out more about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease and learn how to personalize your diet. #paleo #nutrition #chriskresser

Conventional treatment of autoimmune disease usually involves steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs do nothing to fix the underlying autoimmunity and are accompanied by a long list of potential adverse effects, including: (2, 3)

Weight gain

Acne

Mood changes

Muscle weakness

Osteoporosis

Diabetes

High blood pressure

An increased risk of infection

A Functional Medicine approach to autoimmune disease, on the other hand, seeks to identify why autoimmunity is occurring in the first place and address these underlying causes. A crucial piece of this treatment approach is finding the right diet.

In this article, I’ll lay out six different nutritional approaches for autoimmune disease and then provide an easy step-by-step guide to figuring out which works best for you.

Six Diet Plans for Autoimmune Disease

Basic Paleo Diet

Wahls Protocol

Low-Starch Diet

Low-Carb or Ketogenic Diet

Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

Fasting Mimicking Diet

Option #1: Adopt a Basic Paleo Diet

Take Out Inflammatory and Gut-Damaging Foods

A great starting place for many patients with autoimmune disease is simply a basic Paleo diet. This approach removes foods that have the most potential to be inflammatory and cause damage to the gut. Food sensitivities are common among those with autoimmune disease, and pioneering researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano believes that intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is a prerequisite to developing autoimmune disease. (4) Healing the gut and supporting a healthy gut microbiota is, therefore, a crucial part of treating autoimmune disease.

Nourish Your Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods

We replace these highly inflammatory foods with foods that will nourish the body. The term “nutrient density” refers to the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in a given food.

The most nutrient-dense foods for humans are:

Organ meats

Shellfish

Fish

Eggs

Poultry

Red meat

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts and seeds

Despite being high in calories, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is extremely nutrient poor. Vegetable oils and sugar, which together comprise 36 percent of the SAD, are virtually devoid of nutrients, and most Americans eat few organ meats, shellfish, and vegetables. In contrast, the Paleo diet encompasses all of these nutrient-dense foods.

Follow the Example of Hunter–Gatherers (They Don’t Have Autoimmune Disease)

While autoimmune disease has become commonplace in the industrialized world, anthropological evidence suggests that it’s rare or nonexistent in contemporary hunter–gatherers living a traditional lifestyle. (5) This, along with the dramatic rise in autoimmune disease over the past half century, suggests that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle play a major role in autoimmunity. (6)

By consuming a diet that is more aligned with our biology and contains fewer inflammatory foods, we can often see remarkable improvements in slowing the progression of or even reversing autoimmune disease.

Here’s How to Try a Paleo Diet

I recommend a 30-day Paleo reset, which involves eliminating grains, legumes, industrial seed oils, refined sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. Instead, you’ll consume meat and organ meats, fish, shellfish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with some fruits, nuts, and seeds. This is outlined in detail in my book The Paleo Cure.

While a basic Paleo diet is a great starting place, many people with autoimmune disease will need to take their diet a step further after their 30-day reset. The next few sections include more advanced strategies to tweak your Paleo template.

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Pioneering Researcher Alessio Fasano, MD, on Gluten, Autoimmunity & Leaky Gut

Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease?

Pills or Paleo? Preventing and Reversing Autoimmune Disease

The Paleo Cure

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Option #2: Improve Your Mitochondrial Health with the Wahls Protocol

Who Is Dr. Wahls, and What Is the Wahls Protocol?

The next option is the Wahls protocol. This is a modified version of the Paleo diet created by Dr. Terry Wahls, a physician who has made remarkable progress with her MS using a Functional Medicine approach. When Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with MS in 2000, she was told by the very best conventional doctors that there was no cure and that she should start pharmaceutical treatment. Unfortunately, her disease progressed to the point where she needed a tilt and recline wheelchair to get around.

Dr. Wahls started reading the research literature and zeroed in on mitochondrial health as a key player in conditions like MS. She identified a long list of nutrients that she believed were the key to optimal mitochondrial and neurological health. She ultimately realized that she didn’t have to get these in supplement form and reorganized her diet using Paleo principles, specifically targeting these 31 nutrients:

It occurred to me that I should get my long list of nutrients from food [rather than supplements]. That if I did that, I would probably get hundreds and maybe thousands of other compounds that science had yet to name and identify, but that would be helpful to my brain and my mitochondria. – Dr. Terry Wahls, MD

In addition to changing her diet, Dr. Wahls also optimized other aspects of her lifestyle and saw a dramatic improvement in her health. Within three months, Dr. Wahls was walking with a cane, and within the year, she was able to bike again for the first time in five years.

Why Mitochondrial Health Is So Important

Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, converting carbohydrates and fats that we consume into the energy our cells need (ATP) to perform all of their jobs. Every cell in the body contains mitochondria, and some cells contain thousands of them. Altogether, a healthy person’s mitochondria will produce their body weight in cellular ATP every day. (7)

Mitochondria are much more than just the “powerhouse” of the cell though. These critical organelles also participate in cell signaling, produce certain steroid hormones, participate in the synthesis of heme for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and even regulate programmed cell death. (8)

When mitochondria become dysfunctional, our cells have trouble carrying out these important functions. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction can result in fatigue and brain fog, while severe mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a wide range of chronic conditions, including several autoimmune diseases. (9) Mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.

How to Try the Wahls Protocol

To maximize nutrient intake and mitochondrial function, the Wahls protocol features nine cups of vegetables and fruits daily, including:

Three cups of leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, collards, spinach, or lettuce, to provide vitamins A, B, C, and K

Three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to support detoxification. (Note that two garlic cloves are equivalent to one cup of sulfur-rich vegetables.)

Three cups of colorful fruits and vegetables (ideally three different colors per day), such as beets, carrots, berries, peaches, and citrus for their antioxidants and flavonoids.

Even if you can’t get the full nine cups, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will likely significantly increase your intake of crucial micronutrients.

For maximum nutrient retention, Dr. Wahls recommends consuming the vegetables either raw or cooked at a low temperature. Depending on which level of the Wahls diet you choose, the nutrient density of this protocol can exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) two- to tenfold!

Along with all those fruits and veggies, Dr. Wahls recommends grass-fed meat or wild-caught fish and healthy fats with every meal, as well as bone broth and fermented foods daily. Seaweed and organ meats should be included once per week. The Wahls protocol also includes meditation, self-massage, exercise, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

What the Research Says about the Wahls Protocol

The Wahls Foundation has performed several studies to provide evidence for this approach. In one pilot study of 20 patients with progressive MS, the Wahls protocol (including the Wahls diet, nutritional supplements, stretching and strengthening exercises, and stress management) was shown to improve gait function for those with mild-to-moderate gait impairment. Subjects with severe gait impairment did not respond to the intervention. (10)

In another pilot study of 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, the Wahls protocol reduced perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function. (11) Dr. Wahls and her research team are currently working on a 36-week randomized controlled trial to test the Wahls diet against a low-saturated-fat diet in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. (12)

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Treating MS and Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls’s book: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Wahls’s TEDx Talk: “Minding Your Mitochondria”

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Option #3: Try Eating a Low-Starch Diet

What Is Starch, Anyway?

Starch is how plants store excess energy, in the form of a long chain of sugars. The basic Paleo diet outlined in Option #1 removes some forms of starch, including grains and legumes. However, starch is also found in certain vegetables, including:

Sweet potatoes

Yuca (cassava)

Parsnips

Arrowroot

Tapioca

Taro

Plantains

Unripe bananas

While starch can be perfectly healthy, and starchy vegetables can help beneficial gut bacteria, some individuals may experience issues with starch.

These individuals may do best on a low-starch diet, which eliminates these complex carbohydrates while still allowing non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus, and greens.

Why Low-Starch Might Work: HLA-B27 and Klebsiella

One subset of people with autoimmune disease who might particularly benefit from a low-starch diet are those who have a particular set of genes known as HLA-B27. HLA-B27 can predispose an individual to certain autoimmune diseases, like: (13, 14)

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Psoriasis

Reactive arthritis

Uveitis

Studies have shown that patients with AS seem to have an increased abundance of the bacterium Klebsiella in their guts and elevated anti-Klebsiella antibodies in the blood. (15, 16) Interestingly, biochemical studies of Klebsiella have shown that this bacterium does not grow on cellulose but can grow readily on starch. (17, 18)

Several studies have applied this information in humans. One randomized control trial split people into two groups: one on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and the other on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then compared the abundance of Klebsiella in fecal samples. The average number of Klebsiella was 30,000/gram in the high-carb group, compared to 700/gram in the low-carb group. (19) Another study found that a low-starch diet reduced total serum IgA in AS patients. (20) The majority of these patients also reported a decline in symptom severity and in some cases complete remission.

How to Try a Low-Starch Diet

If you’re already on a Paleo diet template, going low starch is pretty simple. Remove starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, yuca, arrowroot, tapioca, parsnips, taro, and plantains, and replace them with more fruits and non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions.

I recommend a three-to-four-week low-starch period to see if you notice any improvement in symptoms. After this period, try reintroducing starchy foods one by one and note any reactions. Eileen Laird of Phoenix Helix has written an excellent post in which she shares the results of her own and several other Paleo autoimmune bloggers’ starch experiments. Many found that they can tolerate some forms of starch but not others.

It’s worth noting here that the popularized GAPS Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are both low-starch diets. Many people have used these diets with great success for gut health and autoimmune disease.

Further Reading and Resources

HLA-B27 and Autoimmune Disease: Is a Low-Starch Diet the Solution?

Is Starch a Beneficial Nutrient or a Toxin? You Be the Judge.

SCD lifestyle website

GAPS Diet website

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Option #4: Go Low Carb, or Ketogenic

The Keto Diet and Autoimmune Disease

Some individuals may benefit from an approach that limits carbohydrates in general. Unfortunately, few studies have looked at very-low-carb, or ketogenic, diets as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disease.

However, one case report found that a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet induced clinical remission in a young boy suffering from severe Crohn’s disease. (21) Another case report details a 19-year-old male with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes who was able to discontinue insulin therapy after just three weeks on a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet. (22) One woman with psoriasis reportedly restored response to drug therapy after a four-week ketogenic diet. (23)

Why a Ketogenic Diet Might Work for You

Ketogenic diets tend to reduce oxidative stress and boost antioxidant activity, resulting in a net decrease in inflammation. The ketogenic diet has also been shown to increase the formation of new mitochondria, spurring new cell growth. (24)

Low-carb, high-fat diets also have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microbiota. (25) One recent study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet are actually mediated by changes in gut bacteria. (26) In particular, the ketogenic diet increases bacterial production of amino acids that act as a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter GABA.

If You Have a Thyroid Condition, Steer Clear of Keto

It’s important to note that not everyone with autoimmune disease will benefit from a ketogenic approach, and it may even be detrimental in some individuals. Based on what we know from the research, a ketogenic diet is most likely to be helpful in those with autoimmune neurological conditions like MS and metabolic conditions like type 1 diabetes. On the other hand, those with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease would likely respond better to a more moderate carbohydrate intake.

Further Reading and Resources

The Three-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

Back to Top

Option #5: Try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

What Is the AIP Diet?

The Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a Paleo-type diet which removes grains, legumes, dairy, refined seed oils, and refined sugar but also recommends initial removal of eggs, nightshades, coffee, alcohol, nuts, and seeds.

While these foods are perfectly healthy in most people, those with autoimmune disease can be particularly sensitive, and these foods may exacerbate gut inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Like Paleo, AIP encourages consumption of nutrient-dense, healing foods, including bone broth, organ meats, and fermented foods. The elimination phase is typically followed by a maintenance phase until sufficient improvement in symptoms is achieved. At that point, select food groups can be carefully reintroduced. The goal is to diversify the diet as much as possible while identifying potential food intolerances.

AIP May Help if You Have IBD

One pilot study recently demonstrated the incredible potential of the AIP diet for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (27) Fifteen patients with IBD were coached through a six-week phased elimination program to transition from their current diet to AIP and then maintained on the full AIP diet for five weeks. The authors summarized their results as follows:

Clinical remission was achieved by week 6 by 11/15 (73%) of study participants, and all 11 maintained clinical remission during the maintenance phase of the study.

This is remarkable and rivals most drug therapies for IBD. Moreover, the AIP diet is treating the root cause of disease and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects of conventional treatments.

Angie Alt and Mickey Trescott, who were involved with this study, are currently working on another study to assess the efficacy of AIP in individuals with Hashimoto’s.

How to Try the AIP Diet

After a 30-day Paleo reset, remove eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, etc.), nuts, and seeds for an additional five or six weeks. Notice any reduction in symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

After the five or six weeks, you can slowly reintroduce these foods one at a time and note any adverse reactions. If you identify a food sensitivity, remove this food from your diet for at least a few months before trying to reintroduce it again.

Further Reading and Resources

AIP for IBD: The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mickey Trescott’s website: autoimmunewellness.com

Sarah Ballantyne’s article: “What Is AIP?”

Angie Alt’s SAD to AIP in 6 program

Back to Top

Option #6: Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Benefits of Fasting

Water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including blood glucose regulation, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance. (28) But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

This type of diet is called a fasting mimicking diet. It is a very-low-calorie, low-protein, high-fat diet that causes changes in glucose, ketone bodies, and specific growth factors similar to those seen during prolonged water-only fasting.

The fasting mimicking diet is characterized by cycles of caloric restriction and refeeding. For example, in mouse models of fasting mimicking diets, researchers restrict the amount of food the mouse has access to for four days, followed by three days of unrestricted feeding every week. In humans, one diet cycle consists of five days of restriction, and eating resumes as usual for the rest of the month. This is typically repeated for three months. (29)

How This Type of Diet Impacts Autoimmunity

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers showed that in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, a fasting mimicking diet reawakens embryonic development genes and triggers regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. (30) While they weren’t able to measure pancreatic regeneration in living humans, bathing human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetics in serum collected from humans on the fifth day of a fasting mimicking diet also resulted in an upregulation of embryonic genes. Upon stimulating the diabetic pancreatic islets with glucose, insulin secretion was restored!

In a mouse model of MS, a fasting mimicking diet reduced clinical severity in all mice and completely reversed symptoms in 20 percent of animals. (31) At the molecular level, the diet increased corticosterone levels and regulatory T cells and promoted the regrowth of nerve cell sheaths. Fasting mimicking diets also reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cells involved in promoting inflammation. In a small feasibility study, relapsing-remitting MS patients had improved quality of life and a mild reduction in disability status after a single cycle of this diet. (32)

Will You Benefit from a Fasting Mimicking Diet?

Those who have tried other dietary approaches without success may find the most benefit from trying a fasting mimicking diet. The diet, as studied, is currently available from Prolon as a specific package of prepared foods and micronutrients intended to be administered under a doctor’s supervision. It’s likely that a “homemade” version with similar macronutrient ratios and foods would have the same effects, but this hasn’t yet been studied in a clinical trial.

Not everyone is a good candidate for a fasting mimicking diet, however. Patients who should avoid this type of diet include those who are pregnant or have HPA axis dysregulation (“adrenal fatigue”), an eating disorder, or thyroid problems. Fasting is also not usually recommended for children or teens.

Further Reading and Resources

Could Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversible After All?

Rebooting the System: The Benefits of a Fasting Mimicking Diet

Back to Top

Here’s How to Personalize Your Autoimmune Diet

In this article, I presented six different dietary strategies to manage or even reverse autoimmune disease. You might have noticed that there is quite a bit of overlap in these approaches. In fact, the best autoimmune diet for you might be a combination of these strategies.

The only way to figure out what diet is optimal for you is to experiment and observe. Even two people with the same autoimmune disease diagnosis may respond differently to the various dietary approaches outlined here.

Below, I’ve provided the eight basic steps to work through the options outlined above and find your personal optimal autoimmune diet.

1. Start with a 30-Day Paleo Reset

Remove grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and refined seed oils for 30 days. Many people experience a significant improvement in their autoimmune symptoms with a standard Paleo diet and don’t need any additional restrictions.

2. Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

Include plenty of organ meats, shellfish, meat, fish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.

3. Feed Your Mitochondria

Consider trying the Wahls protocol. Aim for nine cups of fruits and vegetables per day from the three different categories to support mitochondrial health.

4. Eat Foods That Nourish Your Gut

Feed your gut microbiota with starchy or non-starchy vegetables and support a healthy gut lining by consuming bone broth regularly. Be sure to consume fermented foods and/or take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

5. Make Sure You’re Getting the Nutrients Your Immune System Needs

Support the immune system with nutrients like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A, and EPA and DHA. These are well represented in a Paleo-type diet, but you can also supplement wisely if necessary.

6. Experiment with Your Starch and Carb Intake

Try a few weeks on a low-starch diet and introduce various starchy vegetables one by one, noting how you feel. Similarly, experiment with different carb intakes and notice how they impact your symptoms.

7. Try the 30-Day AIP Reset

Try a 30-day AIP reset and notice how your symptoms are affected. After 30 days, reintroduce the foods you took out, like eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, and diversify the diet as much as possible. Your diet should only be as restrictive as necessary to control symptoms.

8. Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you’re still not satisfied with where you’re at after these first seven steps, consider trying a fasting mimicking diet. I recommend seeking the guidance of a Functional Medicine practitioner before you begin.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease? What have you found to work best for you? Will you try this step-by-step approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The post Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know published first on https://brightendentalhouston.weebly.com/

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Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know

Fortunately, a root-cause approach and the right nutritional strategy can help to slow or even reverse the progression of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn what the research says, the connection between diet and autoimmune disease, and how to determine the most effective dietary approach for you.

What’s the Connection between Diet and Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease—when the body essentially attacks itself—is one of the top 10 causes of death in women and the elderly and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. This trend does not appear to be slowing down; in fact, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing at an alarming pace. (1)

Conventional medicine usually focuses on the symptoms of autoimmunity instead of trying to find the root cause of the problem. Find out more about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease and learn how to personalize your diet. #paleo #nutrition #chriskresser

Conventional treatment of autoimmune disease usually involves steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs do nothing to fix the underlying autoimmunity and are accompanied by a long list of potential adverse effects, including: (2, 3)

Weight gain

Acne

Mood changes

Muscle weakness

Osteoporosis

Diabetes

High blood pressure

An increased risk of infection

A Functional Medicine approach to autoimmune disease, on the other hand, seeks to identify why autoimmunity is occurring in the first place and address these underlying causes. A crucial piece of this treatment approach is finding the right diet.

In this article, I’ll lay out six different nutritional approaches for autoimmune disease and then provide an easy step-by-step guide to figuring out which works best for you.

Six Diet Plans for Autoimmune Disease

Basic Paleo Diet

Wahls Protocol

Low-Starch Diet

Low-Carb or Ketogenic Diet

Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

Fasting Mimicking Diet

Option #1: Adopt a Basic Paleo Diet

Take Out Inflammatory and Gut-Damaging Foods

A great starting place for many patients with autoimmune disease is simply a basic Paleo diet. This approach removes foods that have the most potential to be inflammatory and cause damage to the gut. Food sensitivities are common among those with autoimmune disease, and pioneering researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano believes that intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is a prerequisite to developing autoimmune disease. (4) Healing the gut and supporting a healthy gut microbiota is, therefore, a crucial part of treating autoimmune disease.

Nourish Your Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods

We replace these highly inflammatory foods with foods that will nourish the body. The term “nutrient density” refers to the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in a given food.

The most nutrient-dense foods for humans are:

Organ meats

Shellfish

Fish

Eggs

Poultry

Red meat

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts and seeds

Despite being high in calories, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is extremely nutrient poor. Vegetable oils and sugar, which together comprise 36 percent of the SAD, are virtually devoid of nutrients, and most Americans eat few organ meats, shellfish, and vegetables. In contrast, the Paleo diet encompasses all of these nutrient-dense foods.

Follow the Example of Hunter–Gatherers (They Don’t Have Autoimmune Disease)

While autoimmune disease has become commonplace in the industrialized world, anthropological evidence suggests that it’s rare or nonexistent in contemporary hunter–gatherers living a traditional lifestyle. (5) This, along with the dramatic rise in autoimmune disease over the past half century, suggests that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle play a major role in autoimmunity. (6)

By consuming a diet that is more aligned with our biology and contains fewer inflammatory foods, we can often see remarkable improvements in slowing the progression of or even reversing autoimmune disease.

Here’s How to Try a Paleo Diet

I recommend a 30-day Paleo reset, which involves eliminating grains, legumes, industrial seed oils, refined sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. Instead, you’ll consume meat and organ meats, fish, shellfish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with some fruits, nuts, and seeds. This is outlined in detail in my book The Paleo Cure.

While a basic Paleo diet is a great starting place, many people with autoimmune disease will need to take their diet a step further after their 30-day reset. The next few sections include more advanced strategies to tweak your Paleo template.

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Pioneering Researcher Alessio Fasano, MD, on Gluten, Autoimmunity & Leaky Gut

Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease?

Pills or Paleo? Preventing and Reversing Autoimmune Disease

The Paleo Cure

Back to Top

Option #2: Improve Your Mitochondrial Health with the Wahls Protocol

Who Is Dr. Wahls, and What Is the Wahls Protocol?

The next option is the Wahls protocol. This is a modified version of the Paleo diet created by Dr. Terry Wahls, a physician who has made remarkable progress with her MS using a Functional Medicine approach. When Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with MS in 2000, she was told by the very best conventional doctors that there was no cure and that she should start pharmaceutical treatment. Unfortunately, her disease progressed to the point where she needed a tilt and recline wheelchair to get around.

Dr. Wahls started reading the research literature and zeroed in on mitochondrial health as a key player in conditions like MS. She identified a long list of nutrients that she believed were the key to optimal mitochondrial and neurological health. She ultimately realized that she didn’t have to get these in supplement form and reorganized her diet using Paleo principles, specifically targeting these 31 nutrients:

It occurred to me that I should get my long list of nutrients from food [rather than supplements]. That if I did that, I would probably get hundreds and maybe thousands of other compounds that science had yet to name and identify, but that would be helpful to my brain and my mitochondria. – Dr. Terry Wahls, MD

In addition to changing her diet, Dr. Wahls also optimized other aspects of her lifestyle and saw a dramatic improvement in her health. Within three months, Dr. Wahls was walking with a cane, and within the year, she was able to bike again for the first time in five years.

Why Mitochondrial Health Is So Important

Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, converting carbohydrates and fats that we consume into the energy our cells need (ATP) to perform all of their jobs. Every cell in the body contains mitochondria, and some cells contain thousands of them. Altogether, a healthy person’s mitochondria will produce their body weight in cellular ATP every day. (7)

Mitochondria are much more than just the “powerhouse” of the cell though. These critical organelles also participate in cell signaling, produce certain steroid hormones, participate in the synthesis of heme for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and even regulate programmed cell death. (8)

When mitochondria become dysfunctional, our cells have trouble carrying out these important functions. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction can result in fatigue and brain fog, while severe mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a wide range of chronic conditions, including several autoimmune diseases. (9) Mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.

How to Try the Wahls Protocol

To maximize nutrient intake and mitochondrial function, the Wahls protocol features nine cups of vegetables and fruits daily, including:

Three cups of leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, collards, spinach, or lettuce, to provide vitamins A, B, C, and K

Three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to support detoxification. (Note that two garlic cloves are equivalent to one cup of sulfur-rich vegetables.)

Three cups of colorful fruits and vegetables (ideally three different colors per day), such as beets, carrots, berries, peaches, and citrus for their antioxidants and flavonoids.

Even if you can’t get the full nine cups, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will likely significantly increase your intake of crucial micronutrients.

For maximum nutrient retention, Dr. Wahls recommends consuming the vegetables either raw or cooked at a low temperature. Depending on which level of the Wahls diet you choose, the nutrient density of this protocol can exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) two- to tenfold!

Along with all those fruits and veggies, Dr. Wahls recommends grass-fed meat or wild-caught fish and healthy fats with every meal, as well as bone broth and fermented foods daily. Seaweed and organ meats should be included once per week. The Wahls protocol also includes meditation, self-massage, exercise, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

What the Research Says about the Wahls Protocol

The Wahls Foundation has performed several studies to provide evidence for this approach. In one pilot study of 20 patients with progressive MS, the Wahls protocol (including the Wahls diet, nutritional supplements, stretching and strengthening exercises, and stress management) was shown to improve gait function for those with mild-to-moderate gait impairment. Subjects with severe gait impairment did not respond to the intervention. (10)

In another pilot study of 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, the Wahls protocol reduced perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function. (11) Dr. Wahls and her research team are currently working on a 36-week randomized controlled trial to test the Wahls diet against a low-saturated-fat diet in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. (12)

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Treating MS and Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls’s book: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Wahls’s TEDx Talk: “Minding Your Mitochondria”

Back to Top

Option #3: Try Eating a Low-Starch Diet

What Is Starch, Anyway?

Starch is how plants store excess energy, in the form of a long chain of sugars. The basic Paleo diet outlined in Option #1 removes some forms of starch, including grains and legumes. However, starch is also found in certain vegetables, including:

Sweet potatoes

Yuca (cassava)

Parsnips

Arrowroot

Tapioca

Taro

Plantains

Unripe bananas

While starch can be perfectly healthy, and starchy vegetables can help beneficial gut bacteria, some individuals may experience issues with starch.

These individuals may do best on a low-starch diet, which eliminates these complex carbohydrates while still allowing non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus, and greens.

Why Low-Starch Might Work: HLA-B27 and Klebsiella

One subset of people with autoimmune disease who might particularly benefit from a low-starch diet are those who have a particular set of genes known as HLA-B27. HLA-B27 can predispose an individual to certain autoimmune diseases, like: (13, 14)

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Psoriasis

Reactive arthritis

Uveitis

Studies have shown that patients with AS seem to have an increased abundance of the bacterium Klebsiella in their guts and elevated anti-Klebsiella antibodies in the blood. (15, 16) Interestingly, biochemical studies of Klebsiella have shown that this bacterium does not grow on cellulose but can grow readily on starch. (17, 18)

Several studies have applied this information in humans. One randomized control trial split people into two groups: one on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and the other on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then compared the abundance of Klebsiella in fecal samples. The average number of Klebsiella was 30,000/gram in the high-carb group, compared to 700/gram in the low-carb group. (19) Another study found that a low-starch diet reduced total serum IgA in AS patients. (20) The majority of these patients also reported a decline in symptom severity and in some cases complete remission.

How to Try a Low-Starch Diet

If you’re already on a Paleo diet template, going low starch is pretty simple. Remove starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, yuca, arrowroot, tapioca, parsnips, taro, and plantains, and replace them with more fruits and non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions.

I recommend a three-to-four-week low-starch period to see if you notice any improvement in symptoms. After this period, try reintroducing starchy foods one by one and note any reactions. Eileen Laird of Phoenix Helix has written an excellent post in which she shares the results of her own and several other Paleo autoimmune bloggers’ starch experiments. Many found that they can tolerate some forms of starch but not others.

It’s worth noting here that the popularized GAPS Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are both low-starch diets. Many people have used these diets with great success for gut health and autoimmune disease.

Further Reading and Resources

HLA-B27 and Autoimmune Disease: Is a Low-Starch Diet the Solution?

Is Starch a Beneficial Nutrient or a Toxin? You Be the Judge.

SCD lifestyle website

GAPS Diet website

Back to Top

Option #4: Go Low Carb, or Ketogenic

The Keto Diet and Autoimmune Disease

Some individuals may benefit from an approach that limits carbohydrates in general. Unfortunately, few studies have looked at very-low-carb, or ketogenic, diets as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disease.

However, one case report found that a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet induced clinical remission in a young boy suffering from severe Crohn’s disease. (21) Another case report details a 19-year-old male with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes who was able to discontinue insulin therapy after just three weeks on a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet. (22) One woman with psoriasis reportedly restored response to drug therapy after a four-week ketogenic diet. (23)

Why a Ketogenic Diet Might Work for You

Ketogenic diets tend to reduce oxidative stress and boost antioxidant activity, resulting in a net decrease in inflammation. The ketogenic diet has also been shown to increase the formation of new mitochondria, spurring new cell growth. (24)

Low-carb, high-fat diets also have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microbiota. (25) One recent study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet are actually mediated by changes in gut bacteria. (26) In particular, the ketogenic diet increases bacterial production of amino acids that act as a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter GABA.

If You Have a Thyroid Condition, Steer Clear of Keto

It’s important to note that not everyone with autoimmune disease will benefit from a ketogenic approach, and it may even be detrimental in some individuals. Based on what we know from the research, a ketogenic diet is most likely to be helpful in those with autoimmune neurological conditions like MS and metabolic conditions like type 1 diabetes. On the other hand, those with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease would likely respond better to a more moderate carbohydrate intake.

Further Reading and Resources

The Three-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

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Option #5: Try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

What Is the AIP Diet?

The Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a Paleo-type diet which removes grains, legumes, dairy, refined seed oils, and refined sugar but also recommends initial removal of eggs, nightshades, coffee, alcohol, nuts, and seeds.

While these foods are perfectly healthy in most people, those with autoimmune disease can be particularly sensitive, and these foods may exacerbate gut inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Like Paleo, AIP encourages consumption of nutrient-dense, healing foods, including bone broth, organ meats, and fermented foods. The elimination phase is typically followed by a maintenance phase until sufficient improvement in symptoms is achieved. At that point, select food groups can be carefully reintroduced. The goal is to diversify the diet as much as possible while identifying potential food intolerances.

AIP May Help if You Have IBD

One pilot study recently demonstrated the incredible potential of the AIP diet for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (27) Fifteen patients with IBD were coached through a six-week phased elimination program to transition from their current diet to AIP and then maintained on the full AIP diet for five weeks. The authors summarized their results as follows:

Clinical remission was achieved by week 6 by 11/15 (73%) of study participants, and all 11 maintained clinical remission during the maintenance phase of the study.

This is remarkable and rivals most drug therapies for IBD. Moreover, the AIP diet is treating the root cause of disease and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects of conventional treatments.

Angie Alt and Mickey Trescott, who were involved with this study, are currently working on another study to assess the efficacy of AIP in individuals with Hashimoto’s.

How to Try the AIP Diet

After a 30-day Paleo reset, remove eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, etc.), nuts, and seeds for an additional five or six weeks. Notice any reduction in symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

After the five or six weeks, you can slowly reintroduce these foods one at a time and note any adverse reactions. If you identify a food sensitivity, remove this food from your diet for at least a few months before trying to reintroduce it again.

Further Reading and Resources

AIP for IBD: The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mickey Trescott’s website: autoimmunewellness.com

Sarah Ballantyne’s article: “What Is AIP?”

Angie Alt’s SAD to AIP in 6 program

Back to Top

Option #6: Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Benefits of Fasting

Water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including blood glucose regulation, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance. (28) But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

This type of diet is called a fasting mimicking diet. It is a very-low-calorie, low-protein, high-fat diet that causes changes in glucose, ketone bodies, and specific growth factors similar to those seen during prolonged water-only fasting.

The fasting mimicking diet is characterized by cycles of caloric restriction and refeeding. For example, in mouse models of fasting mimicking diets, researchers restrict the amount of food the mouse has access to for four days, followed by three days of unrestricted feeding every week. In humans, one diet cycle consists of five days of restriction, and eating resumes as usual for the rest of the month. This is typically repeated for three months. (29)

How This Type of Diet Impacts Autoimmunity

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers showed that in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, a fasting mimicking diet reawakens embryonic development genes and triggers regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. (30) While they weren’t able to measure pancreatic regeneration in living humans, bathing human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetics in serum collected from humans on the fifth day of a fasting mimicking diet also resulted in an upregulation of embryonic genes. Upon stimulating the diabetic pancreatic islets with glucose, insulin secretion was restored!

In a mouse model of MS, a fasting mimicking diet reduced clinical severity in all mice and completely reversed symptoms in 20 percent of animals. (31) At the molecular level, the diet increased corticosterone levels and regulatory T cells and promoted the regrowth of nerve cell sheaths. Fasting mimicking diets also reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cells involved in promoting inflammation. In a small feasibility study, relapsing-remitting MS patients had improved quality of life and a mild reduction in disability status after a single cycle of this diet. (32)

Will You Benefit from a Fasting Mimicking Diet?

Those who have tried other dietary approaches without success may find the most benefit from trying a fasting mimicking diet. The diet, as studied, is currently available from Prolon as a specific package of prepared foods and micronutrients intended to be administered under a doctor’s supervision. It’s likely that a “homemade” version with similar macronutrient ratios and foods would have the same effects, but this hasn’t yet been studied in a clinical trial.

Not everyone is a good candidate for a fasting mimicking diet, however. Patients who should avoid this type of diet include those who are pregnant or have HPA axis dysregulation (“adrenal fatigue”), an eating disorder, or thyroid problems. Fasting is also not usually recommended for children or teens.

Further Reading and Resources

Could Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversible After All?

Rebooting the System: The Benefits of a Fasting Mimicking Diet

Back to Top

Here’s How to Personalize Your Autoimmune Diet

In this article, I presented six different dietary strategies to manage or even reverse autoimmune disease. You might have noticed that there is quite a bit of overlap in these approaches. In fact, the best autoimmune diet for you might be a combination of these strategies.

The only way to figure out what diet is optimal for you is to experiment and observe. Even two people with the same autoimmune disease diagnosis may respond differently to the various dietary approaches outlined here.

Below, I’ve provided the eight basic steps to work through the options outlined above and find your personal optimal autoimmune diet.

1. Start with a 30-Day Paleo Reset

Remove grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and refined seed oils for 30 days. Many people experience a significant improvement in their autoimmune symptoms with a standard Paleo diet and don’t need any additional restrictions.

2. Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

Include plenty of organ meats, shellfish, meat, fish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.

3. Feed Your Mitochondria

Consider trying the Wahls protocol. Aim for nine cups of fruits and vegetables per day from the three different categories to support mitochondrial health.

4. Eat Foods That Nourish Your Gut

Feed your gut microbiota with starchy or non-starchy vegetables and support a healthy gut lining by consuming bone broth regularly. Be sure to consume fermented foods and/or take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

5. Make Sure You’re Getting the Nutrients Your Immune System Needs

Support the immune system with nutrients like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A, and EPA and DHA. These are well represented in a Paleo-type diet, but you can also supplement wisely if necessary.

6. Experiment with Your Starch and Carb Intake

Try a few weeks on a low-starch diet and introduce various starchy vegetables one by one, noting how you feel. Similarly, experiment with different carb intakes and notice how they impact your symptoms.

7. Try the 30-Day AIP Reset

Try a 30-day AIP reset and notice how your symptoms are affected. After 30 days, reintroduce the foods you took out, like eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, and diversify the diet as much as possible. Your diet should only be as restrictive as necessary to control symptoms.

8. Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you’re still not satisfied with where you’re at after these first seven steps, consider trying a fasting mimicking diet. I recommend seeking the guidance of a Functional Medicine practitioner before you begin.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease? What have you found to work best for you? Will you try this step-by-step approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The post Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know appeared first on Chris Kresser.

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Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know

Fortunately, a root-cause approach and the right nutritional strategy can help to slow or even reverse the progression of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn what the research says, the connection between diet and autoimmune disease, and how to determine the most effective dietary approach for you.

What’s the Connection between Diet and Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease—when the body essentially attacks itself—is one of the top 10 causes of death in women and the elderly and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. This trend does not appear to be slowing down; in fact, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing at an alarming pace. (1)

Conventional medicine usually focuses on the symptoms of autoimmunity instead of trying to find the root cause of the problem. Find out more about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease and learn how to personalize your diet. #paleo #nutrition #chriskresser

Conventional treatment of autoimmune disease usually involves steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs do nothing to fix the underlying autoimmunity and are accompanied by a long list of potential adverse effects, including: (2, 3)

Weight gain

Acne

Mood changes

Muscle weakness

Osteoporosis

Diabetes

High blood pressure

An increased risk of infection

A Functional Medicine approach to autoimmune disease, on the other hand, seeks to identify why autoimmunity is occurring in the first place and address these underlying causes. A crucial piece of this treatment approach is finding the right diet.

In this article, I’ll lay out six different nutritional approaches for autoimmune disease and then provide an easy step-by-step guide to figuring out which works best for you.

Six Diet Plans for Autoimmune Disease

Basic Paleo Diet

Wahls Protocol

Low-Starch Diet

Low-Carb or Ketogenic Diet

Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

Fasting Mimicking Diet

Option #1: Adopt a Basic Paleo Diet

Take Out Inflammatory and Gut-Damaging Foods

A great starting place for many patients with autoimmune disease is simply a basic Paleo diet. This approach removes foods that have the most potential to be inflammatory and cause damage to the gut. Food sensitivities are common among those with autoimmune disease, and pioneering researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano believes that intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is a prerequisite to developing autoimmune disease. (4) Healing the gut and supporting a healthy gut microbiota is, therefore, a crucial part of treating autoimmune disease.

Nourish Your Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods

We replace these highly inflammatory foods with foods that will nourish the body. The term “nutrient density” refers to the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in a given food.

The most nutrient-dense foods for humans are:

Organ meats

Shellfish

Fish

Eggs

Poultry

Red meat

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts and seeds

Despite being high in calories, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is extremely nutrient poor. Vegetable oils and sugar, which together comprise 36 percent of the SAD, are virtually devoid of nutrients, and most Americans eat few organ meats, shellfish, and vegetables. In contrast, the Paleo diet encompasses all of these nutrient-dense foods.

Follow the Example of Hunter–Gatherers (They Don’t Have Autoimmune Disease)

While autoimmune disease has become commonplace in the industrialized world, anthropological evidence suggests that it’s rare or nonexistent in contemporary hunter–gatherers living a traditional lifestyle. (5) This, along with the dramatic rise in autoimmune disease over the past half century, suggests that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle play a major role in autoimmunity. (6)

By consuming a diet that is more aligned with our biology and contains fewer inflammatory foods, we can often see remarkable improvements in slowing the progression of or even reversing autoimmune disease.

Here’s How to Try a Paleo Diet

I recommend a 30-day Paleo reset, which involves eliminating grains, legumes, industrial seed oils, refined sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. Instead, you’ll consume meat and organ meats, fish, shellfish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with some fruits, nuts, and seeds. This is outlined in detail in my book The Paleo Cure.

While a basic Paleo diet is a great starting place, many people with autoimmune disease will need to take their diet a step further after their 30-day reset. The next few sections include more advanced strategies to tweak your Paleo template.

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Pioneering Researcher Alessio Fasano, MD, on Gluten, Autoimmunity & Leaky Gut

Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease?

Pills or Paleo? Preventing and Reversing Autoimmune Disease

The Paleo Cure

Back to Top

Option #2: Improve Your Mitochondrial Health with the Wahls Protocol

Who Is Dr. Wahls, and What Is the Wahls Protocol?

The next option is the Wahls protocol. This is a modified version of the Paleo diet created by Dr. Terry Wahls, a physician who has made remarkable progress with her MS using a Functional Medicine approach. When Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with MS in 2000, she was told by the very best conventional doctors that there was no cure and that she should start pharmaceutical treatment. Unfortunately, her disease progressed to the point where she needed a tilt and recline wheelchair to get around.

Dr. Wahls started reading the research literature and zeroed in on mitochondrial health as a key player in conditions like MS. She identified a long list of nutrients that she believed were the key to optimal mitochondrial and neurological health. She ultimately realized that she didn’t have to get these in supplement form and reorganized her diet using Paleo principles, specifically targeting these 31 nutrients:

It occurred to me that I should get my long list of nutrients from food [rather than supplements]. That if I did that, I would probably get hundreds and maybe thousands of other compounds that science had yet to name and identify, but that would be helpful to my brain and my mitochondria. – Dr. Terry Wahls, MD

In addition to changing her diet, Dr. Wahls also optimized other aspects of her lifestyle and saw a dramatic improvement in her health. Within three months, Dr. Wahls was walking with a cane, and within the year, she was able to bike again for the first time in five years.

Why Mitochondrial Health Is So Important

Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, converting carbohydrates and fats that we consume into the energy our cells need (ATP) to perform all of their jobs. Every cell in the body contains mitochondria, and some cells contain thousands of them. Altogether, a healthy person’s mitochondria will produce their body weight in cellular ATP every day. (7)

Mitochondria are much more than just the “powerhouse” of the cell though. These critical organelles also participate in cell signaling, produce certain steroid hormones, participate in the synthesis of heme for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and even regulate programmed cell death. (8)

When mitochondria become dysfunctional, our cells have trouble carrying out these important functions. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction can result in fatigue and brain fog, while severe mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a wide range of chronic conditions, including several autoimmune diseases. (9) Mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.

How to Try the Wahls Protocol

To maximize nutrient intake and mitochondrial function, the Wahls protocol features nine cups of vegetables and fruits daily, including:

Three cups of leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, collards, spinach, or lettuce, to provide vitamins A, B, C, and K

Three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to support detoxification. (Note that two garlic cloves are equivalent to one cup of sulfur-rich vegetables.)

Three cups of colorful fruits and vegetables (ideally three different colors per day), such as beets, carrots, berries, peaches, and citrus for their antioxidants and flavonoids.

Even if you can’t get the full nine cups, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will likely significantly increase your intake of crucial micronutrients.

For maximum nutrient retention, Dr. Wahls recommends consuming the vegetables either raw or cooked at a low temperature. Depending on which level of the Wahls diet you choose, the nutrient density of this protocol can exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) two- to tenfold!

Along with all those fruits and veggies, Dr. Wahls recommends grass-fed meat or wild-caught fish and healthy fats with every meal, as well as bone broth and fermented foods daily. Seaweed and organ meats should be included once per week. The Wahls protocol also includes meditation, self-massage, exercise, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

What the Research Says about the Wahls Protocol

The Wahls Foundation has performed several studies to provide evidence for this approach. In one pilot study of 20 patients with progressive MS, the Wahls protocol (including the Wahls diet, nutritional supplements, stretching and strengthening exercises, and stress management) was shown to improve gait function for those with mild-to-moderate gait impairment. Subjects with severe gait impairment did not respond to the intervention. (10)

In another pilot study of 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, the Wahls protocol reduced perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function. (11) Dr. Wahls and her research team are currently working on a 36-week randomized controlled trial to test the Wahls diet against a low-saturated-fat diet in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. (12)

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Treating MS and Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls’s book: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Wahls’s TEDx Talk: “Minding Your Mitochondria”

Back to Top

Option #3: Try Eating a Low-Starch Diet

What Is Starch, Anyway?

Starch is how plants store excess energy, in the form of a long chain of sugars. The basic Paleo diet outlined in Option #1 removes some forms of starch, including grains and legumes. However, starch is also found in certain vegetables, including:

Sweet potatoes

Yuca (cassava)

Parsnips

Arrowroot

Tapioca

Taro

Plantains

Unripe bananas

While starch can be perfectly healthy, and starchy vegetables can help beneficial gut bacteria, some individuals may experience issues with starch.

These individuals may do best on a low-starch diet, which eliminates these complex carbohydrates while still allowing non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus, and greens.

Why Low-Starch Might Work: HLA-B27 and Klebsiella

One subset of people with autoimmune disease who might particularly benefit from a low-starch diet are those who have a particular set of genes known as HLA-B27. HLA-B27 can predispose an individual to certain autoimmune diseases, like: (13, 14)

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Psoriasis

Reactive arthritis

Uveitis

Studies have shown that patients with AS seem to have an increased abundance of the bacterium Klebsiella in their guts and elevated anti-Klebsiella antibodies in the blood. (15, 16) Interestingly, biochemical studies of Klebsiella have shown that this bacterium does not grow on cellulose but can grow readily on starch. (17, 18)

Several studies have applied this information in humans. One randomized control trial split people into two groups: one on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and the other on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then compared the abundance of Klebsiella in fecal samples. The average number of Klebsiella was 30,000/gram in the high-carb group, compared to 700/gram in the low-carb group. (19) Another study found that a low-starch diet reduced total serum IgA in AS patients. (20) The majority of these patients also reported a decline in symptom severity and in some cases complete remission.

How to Try a Low-Starch Diet

If you’re already on a Paleo diet template, going low starch is pretty simple. Remove starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, yuca, arrowroot, tapioca, parsnips, taro, and plantains, and replace them with more fruits and non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions.

I recommend a three-to-four-week low-starch period to see if you notice any improvement in symptoms. After this period, try reintroducing starchy foods one by one and note any reactions. Eileen Laird of Phoenix Helix has written an excellent post in which she shares the results of her own and several other Paleo autoimmune bloggers’ starch experiments. Many found that they can tolerate some forms of starch but not others.

It’s worth noting here that the popularized GAPS Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are both low-starch diets. Many people have used these diets with great success for gut health and autoimmune disease.

Further Reading and Resources

HLA-B27 and Autoimmune Disease: Is a Low-Starch Diet the Solution?

Is Starch a Beneficial Nutrient or a Toxin? You Be the Judge.

SCD lifestyle website

GAPS Diet website

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Option #4: Go Low Carb, or Ketogenic

The Keto Diet and Autoimmune Disease

Some individuals may benefit from an approach that limits carbohydrates in general. Unfortunately, few studies have looked at very-low-carb, or ketogenic, diets as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disease.

However, one case report found that a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet induced clinical remission in a young boy suffering from severe Crohn’s disease. (21) Another case report details a 19-year-old male with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes who was able to discontinue insulin therapy after just three weeks on a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet. (22) One woman with psoriasis reportedly restored response to drug therapy after a four-week ketogenic diet. (23)

Why a Ketogenic Diet Might Work for You

Ketogenic diets tend to reduce oxidative stress and boost antioxidant activity, resulting in a net decrease in inflammation. The ketogenic diet has also been shown to increase the formation of new mitochondria, spurring new cell growth. (24)

Low-carb, high-fat diets also have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microbiota. (25) One recent study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet are actually mediated by changes in gut bacteria. (26) In particular, the ketogenic diet increases bacterial production of amino acids that act as a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter GABA.

If You Have a Thyroid Condition, Steer Clear of Keto

It’s important to note that not everyone with autoimmune disease will benefit from a ketogenic approach, and it may even be detrimental in some individuals. Based on what we know from the research, a ketogenic diet is most likely to be helpful in those with autoimmune neurological conditions like MS and metabolic conditions like type 1 diabetes. On the other hand, those with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease would likely respond better to a more moderate carbohydrate intake.

Further Reading and Resources

The Three-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

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Option #5: Try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

What Is the AIP Diet?

The Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a Paleo-type diet which removes grains, legumes, dairy, refined seed oils, and refined sugar but also recommends initial removal of eggs, nightshades, coffee, alcohol, nuts, and seeds.

While these foods are perfectly healthy in most people, those with autoimmune disease can be particularly sensitive, and these foods may exacerbate gut inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Like Paleo, AIP encourages consumption of nutrient-dense, healing foods, including bone broth, organ meats, and fermented foods. The elimination phase is typically followed by a maintenance phase until sufficient improvement in symptoms is achieved. At that point, select food groups can be carefully reintroduced. The goal is to diversify the diet as much as possible while identifying potential food intolerances.

AIP May Help if You Have IBD

One pilot study recently demonstrated the incredible potential of the AIP diet for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (27) Fifteen patients with IBD were coached through a six-week phased elimination program to transition from their current diet to AIP and then maintained on the full AIP diet for five weeks. The authors summarized their results as follows:

Clinical remission was achieved by week 6 by 11/15 (73%) of study participants, and all 11 maintained clinical remission during the maintenance phase of the study.

This is remarkable and rivals most drug therapies for IBD. Moreover, the AIP diet is treating the root cause of disease and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects of conventional treatments.

Angie Alt and Mickey Trescott, who were involved with this study, are currently working on another study to assess the efficacy of AIP in individuals with Hashimoto’s.

How to Try the AIP Diet

After a 30-day Paleo reset, remove eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, etc.), nuts, and seeds for an additional five or six weeks. Notice any reduction in symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

After the five or six weeks, you can slowly reintroduce these foods one at a time and note any adverse reactions. If you identify a food sensitivity, remove this food from your diet for at least a few months before trying to reintroduce it again.

Further Reading and Resources

AIP for IBD: The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mickey Trescott’s website: autoimmunewellness.com

Sarah Ballantyne’s article: “What Is AIP?”

Angie Alt’s SAD to AIP in 6 program

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Option #6: Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Benefits of Fasting

Water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including blood glucose regulation, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance. (28) But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

This type of diet is called a fasting mimicking diet. It is a very-low-calorie, low-protein, high-fat diet that causes changes in glucose, ketone bodies, and specific growth factors similar to those seen during prolonged water-only fasting.

The fasting mimicking diet is characterized by cycles of caloric restriction and refeeding. For example, in mouse models of fasting mimicking diets, researchers restrict the amount of food the mouse has access to for four days, followed by three days of unrestricted feeding every week. In humans, one diet cycle consists of five days of restriction, and eating resumes as usual for the rest of the month. This is typically repeated for three months. (29)

How This Type of Diet Impacts Autoimmunity

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers showed that in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, a fasting mimicking diet reawakens embryonic development genes and triggers regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. (30) While they weren’t able to measure pancreatic regeneration in living humans, bathing human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetics in serum collected from humans on the fifth day of a fasting mimicking diet also resulted in an upregulation of embryonic genes. Upon stimulating the diabetic pancreatic islets with glucose, insulin secretion was restored!

In a mouse model of MS, a fasting mimicking diet reduced clinical severity in all mice and completely reversed symptoms in 20 percent of animals. (31) At the molecular level, the diet increased corticosterone levels and regulatory T cells and promoted the regrowth of nerve cell sheaths. Fasting mimicking diets also reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cells involved in promoting inflammation. In a small feasibility study, relapsing-remitting MS patients had improved quality of life and a mild reduction in disability status after a single cycle of this diet. (32)

Will You Benefit from a Fasting Mimicking Diet?

Those who have tried other dietary approaches without success may find the most benefit from trying a fasting mimicking diet. The diet, as studied, is currently available from Prolon as a specific package of prepared foods and micronutrients intended to be administered under a doctor’s supervision. It’s likely that a “homemade” version with similar macronutrient ratios and foods would have the same effects, but this hasn’t yet been studied in a clinical trial.

Not everyone is a good candidate for a fasting mimicking diet, however. Patients who should avoid this type of diet include those who are pregnant or have HPA axis dysregulation (“adrenal fatigue”), an eating disorder, or thyroid problems. Fasting is also not usually recommended for children or teens.

Further Reading and Resources

Could Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversible After All?

Rebooting the System: The Benefits of a Fasting Mimicking Diet

Back to Top

Here’s How to Personalize Your Autoimmune Diet

In this article, I presented six different dietary strategies to manage or even reverse autoimmune disease. You might have noticed that there is quite a bit of overlap in these approaches. In fact, the best autoimmune diet for you might be a combination of these strategies.

The only way to figure out what diet is optimal for you is to experiment and observe. Even two people with the same autoimmune disease diagnosis may respond differently to the various dietary approaches outlined here.

Below, I’ve provided the eight basic steps to work through the options outlined above and find your personal optimal autoimmune diet.

1. Start with a 30-Day Paleo Reset

Remove grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and refined seed oils for 30 days. Many people experience a significant improvement in their autoimmune symptoms with a standard Paleo diet and don’t need any additional restrictions.

2. Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

Include plenty of organ meats, shellfish, meat, fish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.

3. Feed Your Mitochondria

Consider trying the Wahls protocol. Aim for nine cups of fruits and vegetables per day from the three different categories to support mitochondrial health.

4. Eat Foods That Nourish Your Gut

Feed your gut microbiota with starchy or non-starchy vegetables and support a healthy gut lining by consuming bone broth regularly. Be sure to consume fermented foods and/or take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

5. Make Sure You’re Getting the Nutrients Your Immune System Needs

Support the immune system with nutrients like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A, and EPA and DHA. These are well represented in a Paleo-type diet, but you can also supplement wisely if necessary.

6. Experiment with Your Starch and Carb Intake

Try a few weeks on a low-starch diet and introduce various starchy vegetables one by one, noting how you feel. Similarly, experiment with different carb intakes and notice how they impact your symptoms.

7. Try the 30-Day AIP Reset

Try a 30-day AIP reset and notice how your symptoms are affected. After 30 days, reintroduce the foods you took out, like eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, and diversify the diet as much as possible. Your diet should only be as restrictive as necessary to control symptoms.

8. Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you’re still not satisfied with where you’re at after these first seven steps, consider trying a fasting mimicking diet. I recommend seeking the guidance of a Functional Medicine practitioner before you begin.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease? What have you found to work best for you? Will you try this step-by-step approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The post Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know published first on https://chriskresser.com

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Diet and Autoimmune Disease: What You Need to Know

Fortunately, a root-cause approach and the right nutritional strategy can help to slow or even reverse the progression of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn what the research says, the connection between diet and autoimmune disease, and how to determine the most effective dietary approach for you.

What’s the Connection between Diet and Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease—when the body essentially attacks itself—is one of the top 10 causes of death in women and the elderly and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. This trend does not appear to be slowing down; in fact, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing at an alarming pace. (1)

Conventional medicine usually focuses on the symptoms of autoimmunity instead of trying to find the root cause of the problem. Find out more about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease and learn how to personalize your diet. #paleo #nutrition #chriskresser

Conventional treatment of autoimmune disease usually involves steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs do nothing to fix the underlying autoimmunity and are accompanied by a long list of potential adverse effects, including: (2, 3)

Weight gain

Acne

Mood changes

Muscle weakness

Osteoporosis

Diabetes

High blood pressure

An increased risk of infection

A Functional Medicine approach to autoimmune disease, on the other hand, seeks to identify why autoimmunity is occurring in the first place and address these underlying causes. A crucial piece of this treatment approach is finding the right diet.

In this article, I’ll lay out six different nutritional approaches for autoimmune disease and then provide an easy step-by-step guide to figuring out which works best for you.

Six Diet Plans for Autoimmune Disease

Basic Paleo Diet

Wahls Protocol

Low-Starch Diet

Low-Carb or Ketogenic Diet

Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

Fasting Mimicking Diet

Option #1: Adopt a Basic Paleo Diet

Take Out Inflammatory and Gut-Damaging Foods

A great starting place for many patients with autoimmune disease is simply a basic Paleo diet. This approach removes foods that have the most potential to be inflammatory and cause damage to the gut. Food sensitivities are common among those with autoimmune disease, and pioneering researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano believes that intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is a prerequisite to developing autoimmune disease. (4) Healing the gut and supporting a healthy gut microbiota is, therefore, a crucial part of treating autoimmune disease.

Nourish Your Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods

We replace these highly inflammatory foods with foods that will nourish the body. The term “nutrient density” refers to the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in a given food.

The most nutrient-dense foods for humans are:

Organ meats

Shellfish

Fish

Eggs

Poultry

Red meat

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts and seeds

Despite being high in calories, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is extremely nutrient poor. Vegetable oils and sugar, which together comprise 36 percent of the SAD, are virtually devoid of nutrients, and most Americans eat few organ meats, shellfish, and vegetables. In contrast, the Paleo diet encompasses all of these nutrient-dense foods.

Follow the Example of Hunter–Gatherers (They Don’t Have Autoimmune Disease)

While autoimmune disease has become commonplace in the industrialized world, anthropological evidence suggests that it’s rare or nonexistent in contemporary hunter–gatherers living a traditional lifestyle. (5) This, along with the dramatic rise in autoimmune disease over the past half century, suggests that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle play a major role in autoimmunity. (6)

By consuming a diet that is more aligned with our biology and contains fewer inflammatory foods, we can often see remarkable improvements in slowing the progression of or even reversing autoimmune disease.

Here’s How to Try a Paleo Diet

I recommend a 30-day Paleo reset, which involves eliminating grains, legumes, industrial seed oils, refined sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. Instead, you’ll consume meat and organ meats, fish, shellfish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with some fruits, nuts, and seeds. This is outlined in detail in my book The Paleo Cure.

While a basic Paleo diet is a great starting place, many people with autoimmune disease will need to take their diet a step further after their 30-day reset. The next few sections include more advanced strategies to tweak your Paleo template.

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Pioneering Researcher Alessio Fasano, MD, on Gluten, Autoimmunity & Leaky Gut

Does the Gut Microbiome Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease?

Pills or Paleo? Preventing and Reversing Autoimmune Disease

The Paleo Cure

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Option #2: Improve Your Mitochondrial Health with the Wahls Protocol

Who Is Dr. Wahls, and What Is the Wahls Protocol?

The next option is the Wahls protocol. This is a modified version of the Paleo diet created by Dr. Terry Wahls, a physician who has made remarkable progress with her MS using a Functional Medicine approach. When Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with MS in 2000, she was told by the very best conventional doctors that there was no cure and that she should start pharmaceutical treatment. Unfortunately, her disease progressed to the point where she needed a tilt and recline wheelchair to get around.

Dr. Wahls started reading the research literature and zeroed in on mitochondrial health as a key player in conditions like MS. She identified a long list of nutrients that she believed were the key to optimal mitochondrial and neurological health. She ultimately realized that she didn’t have to get these in supplement form and reorganized her diet using Paleo principles, specifically targeting these 31 nutrients:

It occurred to me that I should get my long list of nutrients from food [rather than supplements]. That if I did that, I would probably get hundreds and maybe thousands of other compounds that science had yet to name and identify, but that would be helpful to my brain and my mitochondria. – Dr. Terry Wahls, MD

In addition to changing her diet, Dr. Wahls also optimized other aspects of her lifestyle and saw a dramatic improvement in her health. Within three months, Dr. Wahls was walking with a cane, and within the year, she was able to bike again for the first time in five years.

Why Mitochondrial Health Is So Important

Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, converting carbohydrates and fats that we consume into the energy our cells need (ATP) to perform all of their jobs. Every cell in the body contains mitochondria, and some cells contain thousands of them. Altogether, a healthy person’s mitochondria will produce their body weight in cellular ATP every day. (7)

Mitochondria are much more than just the “powerhouse” of the cell though. These critical organelles also participate in cell signaling, produce certain steroid hormones, participate in the synthesis of heme for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and even regulate programmed cell death. (8)

When mitochondria become dysfunctional, our cells have trouble carrying out these important functions. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction can result in fatigue and brain fog, while severe mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a wide range of chronic conditions, including several autoimmune diseases. (9) Mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies.

How to Try the Wahls Protocol

To maximize nutrient intake and mitochondrial function, the Wahls protocol features nine cups of vegetables and fruits daily, including:

Three cups of leafy green vegetables, such as chard, kale, collards, spinach, or lettuce, to provide vitamins A, B, C, and K

Three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to support detoxification. (Note that two garlic cloves are equivalent to one cup of sulfur-rich vegetables.)

Three cups of colorful fruits and vegetables (ideally three different colors per day), such as beets, carrots, berries, peaches, and citrus for their antioxidants and flavonoids.

Even if you can’t get the full nine cups, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will likely significantly increase your intake of crucial micronutrients.

For maximum nutrient retention, Dr. Wahls recommends consuming the vegetables either raw or cooked at a low temperature. Depending on which level of the Wahls diet you choose, the nutrient density of this protocol can exceed the recommended daily allowance (RDA) two- to tenfold!

Along with all those fruits and veggies, Dr. Wahls recommends grass-fed meat or wild-caught fish and healthy fats with every meal, as well as bone broth and fermented foods daily. Seaweed and organ meats should be included once per week. The Wahls protocol also includes meditation, self-massage, exercise, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

What the Research Says about the Wahls Protocol

The Wahls Foundation has performed several studies to provide evidence for this approach. In one pilot study of 20 patients with progressive MS, the Wahls protocol (including the Wahls diet, nutritional supplements, stretching and strengthening exercises, and stress management) was shown to improve gait function for those with mild-to-moderate gait impairment. Subjects with severe gait impairment did not respond to the intervention. (10)

In another pilot study of 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, the Wahls protocol reduced perceived fatigue, increased mental and physical quality of life, increased exercise capacity, and improved hand and leg function. (11) Dr. Wahls and her research team are currently working on a 36-week randomized controlled trial to test the Wahls diet against a low-saturated-fat diet in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. (12)

Further Reading and Resources

RHR: Treating MS and Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls’s book: The Wahls Protocol

Dr. Wahls’s TEDx Talk: “Minding Your Mitochondria”

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Option #3: Try Eating a Low-Starch Diet

What Is Starch, Anyway?

Starch is how plants store excess energy, in the form of a long chain of sugars. The basic Paleo diet outlined in Option #1 removes some forms of starch, including grains and legumes. However, starch is also found in certain vegetables, including:

Sweet potatoes

Yuca (cassava)

Parsnips

Arrowroot

Tapioca

Taro

Plantains

Unripe bananas

While starch can be perfectly healthy, and starchy vegetables can help beneficial gut bacteria, some individuals may experience issues with starch.

These individuals may do best on a low-starch diet, which eliminates these complex carbohydrates while still allowing non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus, and greens.

Why Low-Starch Might Work: HLA-B27 and Klebsiella

One subset of people with autoimmune disease who might particularly benefit from a low-starch diet are those who have a particular set of genes known as HLA-B27. HLA-B27 can predispose an individual to certain autoimmune diseases, like: (13, 14)

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Psoriasis

Reactive arthritis

Uveitis

Studies have shown that patients with AS seem to have an increased abundance of the bacterium Klebsiella in their guts and elevated anti-Klebsiella antibodies in the blood. (15, 16) Interestingly, biochemical studies of Klebsiella have shown that this bacterium does not grow on cellulose but can grow readily on starch. (17, 18)

Several studies have applied this information in humans. One randomized control trial split people into two groups: one on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and the other on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then compared the abundance of Klebsiella in fecal samples. The average number of Klebsiella was 30,000/gram in the high-carb group, compared to 700/gram in the low-carb group. (19) Another study found that a low-starch diet reduced total serum IgA in AS patients. (20) The majority of these patients also reported a decline in symptom severity and in some cases complete remission.

How to Try a Low-Starch Diet

If you’re already on a Paleo diet template, going low starch is pretty simple. Remove starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, yuca, arrowroot, tapioca, parsnips, taro, and plantains, and replace them with more fruits and non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions.

I recommend a three-to-four-week low-starch period to see if you notice any improvement in symptoms. After this period, try reintroducing starchy foods one by one and note any reactions. Eileen Laird of Phoenix Helix has written an excellent post in which she shares the results of her own and several other Paleo autoimmune bloggers’ starch experiments. Many found that they can tolerate some forms of starch but not others.

It’s worth noting here that the popularized GAPS Diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are both low-starch diets. Many people have used these diets with great success for gut health and autoimmune disease.

Further Reading and Resources

HLA-B27 and Autoimmune Disease: Is a Low-Starch Diet the Solution?

Is Starch a Beneficial Nutrient or a Toxin? You Be the Judge.

SCD lifestyle website

GAPS Diet website

Back to Top

Option #4: Go Low Carb, or Ketogenic

The Keto Diet and Autoimmune Disease

Some individuals may benefit from an approach that limits carbohydrates in general. Unfortunately, few studies have looked at very-low-carb, or ketogenic, diets as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disease.

However, one case report found that a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet induced clinical remission in a young boy suffering from severe Crohn’s disease. (21) Another case report details a 19-year-old male with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes who was able to discontinue insulin therapy after just three weeks on a Paleolithic, ketogenic diet. (22) One woman with psoriasis reportedly restored response to drug therapy after a four-week ketogenic diet. (23)

Why a Ketogenic Diet Might Work for You

Ketogenic diets tend to reduce oxidative stress and boost antioxidant activity, resulting in a net decrease in inflammation. The ketogenic diet has also been shown to increase the formation of new mitochondria, spurring new cell growth. (24)

Low-carb, high-fat diets also have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microbiota. (25) One recent study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet are actually mediated by changes in gut bacteria. (26) In particular, the ketogenic diet increases bacterial production of amino acids that act as a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter GABA.

If You Have a Thyroid Condition, Steer Clear of Keto

It’s important to note that not everyone with autoimmune disease will benefit from a ketogenic approach, and it may even be detrimental in some individuals. Based on what we know from the research, a ketogenic diet is most likely to be helpful in those with autoimmune neurological conditions like MS and metabolic conditions like type 1 diabetes. On the other hand, those with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease would likely respond better to a more moderate carbohydrate intake.

Further Reading and Resources

The Three-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

Back to Top

Option #5: Try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet

What Is the AIP Diet?

The Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a Paleo-type diet which removes grains, legumes, dairy, refined seed oils, and refined sugar but also recommends initial removal of eggs, nightshades, coffee, alcohol, nuts, and seeds.

While these foods are perfectly healthy in most people, those with autoimmune disease can be particularly sensitive, and these foods may exacerbate gut inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Like Paleo, AIP encourages consumption of nutrient-dense, healing foods, including bone broth, organ meats, and fermented foods. The elimination phase is typically followed by a maintenance phase until sufficient improvement in symptoms is achieved. At that point, select food groups can be carefully reintroduced. The goal is to diversify the diet as much as possible while identifying potential food intolerances.

AIP May Help if You Have IBD

One pilot study recently demonstrated the incredible potential of the AIP diet for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (27) Fifteen patients with IBD were coached through a six-week phased elimination program to transition from their current diet to AIP and then maintained on the full AIP diet for five weeks. The authors summarized their results as follows:

Clinical remission was achieved by week 6 by 11/15 (73%) of study participants, and all 11 maintained clinical remission during the maintenance phase of the study.

This is remarkable and rivals most drug therapies for IBD. Moreover, the AIP diet is treating the root cause of disease and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects of conventional treatments.

Angie Alt and Mickey Trescott, who were involved with this study, are currently working on another study to assess the efficacy of AIP in individuals with Hashimoto’s.

How to Try the AIP Diet

After a 30-day Paleo reset, remove eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, etc.), nuts, and seeds for an additional five or six weeks. Notice any reduction in symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

After the five or six weeks, you can slowly reintroduce these foods one at a time and note any adverse reactions. If you identify a food sensitivity, remove this food from your diet for at least a few months before trying to reintroduce it again.

Further Reading and Resources

AIP for IBD: The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mickey Trescott’s website: autoimmunewellness.com

Sarah Ballantyne’s article: “What Is AIP?”

Angie Alt’s SAD to AIP in 6 program

Back to Top

Option #6: Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Benefits of Fasting

Water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including blood glucose regulation, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance. (28) But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

This type of diet is called a fasting mimicking diet. It is a very-low-calorie, low-protein, high-fat diet that causes changes in glucose, ketone bodies, and specific growth factors similar to those seen during prolonged water-only fasting.

The fasting mimicking diet is characterized by cycles of caloric restriction and refeeding. For example, in mouse models of fasting mimicking diets, researchers restrict the amount of food the mouse has access to for four days, followed by three days of unrestricted feeding every week. In humans, one diet cycle consists of five days of restriction, and eating resumes as usual for the rest of the month. This is typically repeated for three months. (29)

How This Type of Diet Impacts Autoimmunity

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers showed that in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, a fasting mimicking diet reawakens embryonic development genes and triggers regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. (30) While they weren’t able to measure pancreatic regeneration in living humans, bathing human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetics in serum collected from humans on the fifth day of a fasting mimicking diet also resulted in an upregulation of embryonic genes. Upon stimulating the diabetic pancreatic islets with glucose, insulin secretion was restored!

In a mouse model of MS, a fasting mimicking diet reduced clinical severity in all mice and completely reversed symptoms in 20 percent of animals. (31) At the molecular level, the diet increased corticosterone levels and regulatory T cells and promoted the regrowth of nerve cell sheaths. Fasting mimicking diets also reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cells involved in promoting inflammation. In a small feasibility study, relapsing-remitting MS patients had improved quality of life and a mild reduction in disability status after a single cycle of this diet. (32)

Will You Benefit from a Fasting Mimicking Diet?

Those who have tried other dietary approaches without success may find the most benefit from trying a fasting mimicking diet. The diet, as studied, is currently available from Prolon as a specific package of prepared foods and micronutrients intended to be administered under a doctor’s supervision. It’s likely that a “homemade” version with similar macronutrient ratios and foods would have the same effects, but this hasn’t yet been studied in a clinical trial.

Not everyone is a good candidate for a fasting mimicking diet, however. Patients who should avoid this type of diet include those who are pregnant or have HPA axis dysregulation (“adrenal fatigue”), an eating disorder, or thyroid problems. Fasting is also not usually recommended for children or teens.

Further Reading and Resources

Could Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversible After All?

Rebooting the System: The Benefits of a Fasting Mimicking Diet

Back to Top

Here’s How to Personalize Your Autoimmune Diet

In this article, I presented six different dietary strategies to manage or even reverse autoimmune disease. You might have noticed that there is quite a bit of overlap in these approaches. In fact, the best autoimmune diet for you might be a combination of these strategies.

The only way to figure out what diet is optimal for you is to experiment and observe. Even two people with the same autoimmune disease diagnosis may respond differently to the various dietary approaches outlined here.

Below, I’ve provided the eight basic steps to work through the options outlined above and find your personal optimal autoimmune diet.

1. Start with a 30-Day Paleo Reset

Remove grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and refined seed oils for 30 days. Many people experience a significant improvement in their autoimmune symptoms with a standard Paleo diet and don’t need any additional restrictions.

2. Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

Include plenty of organ meats, shellfish, meat, fish, healthy fats, and vegetables, along with a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.

3. Feed Your Mitochondria

Consider trying the Wahls protocol. Aim for nine cups of fruits and vegetables per day from the three different categories to support mitochondrial health.

4. Eat Foods That Nourish Your Gut

Feed your gut microbiota with starchy or non-starchy vegetables and support a healthy gut lining by consuming bone broth regularly. Be sure to consume fermented foods and/or take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

5. Make Sure You’re Getting the Nutrients Your Immune System Needs

Support the immune system with nutrients like glutathione, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A, and EPA and DHA. These are well represented in a Paleo-type diet, but you can also supplement wisely if necessary.

6. Experiment with Your Starch and Carb Intake

Try a few weeks on a low-starch diet and introduce various starchy vegetables one by one, noting how you feel. Similarly, experiment with different carb intakes and notice how they impact your symptoms.

7. Try the 30-Day AIP Reset

Try a 30-day AIP reset and notice how your symptoms are affected. After 30 days, reintroduce the foods you took out, like eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, and diversify the diet as much as possible. Your diet should only be as restrictive as necessary to control symptoms.

8. Try a Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you’re still not satisfied with where you’re at after these first seven steps, consider trying a fasting mimicking diet. I recommend seeking the guidance of a Functional Medicine practitioner before you begin.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know about the connection between diet and autoimmune disease? What have you found to work best for you? Will you try this step-by-step approach? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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