The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast Episode #6: Step 3: Nourish – Our Stories

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Welcome to The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast Season 1! We’ve created this podcast as a free resource to accompany our upcoming book, The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook: A DIY Guide to Living Well with Chronic Illness.

Episode #6: Step 3: Nourish – Our Stories is all about what the real-life process of using the elimination and reintroduction format of the Autoimmune Protocol has looked like for us. Although we started the journey close to five years ago, the actual process, beginning with those first steps, is still very fresh in our minds. We share how we found AIP (at a time when the abundant resources and large support community did not exist), what we really ate before adopting AIP (one of us was a junk-food junky!), and what transitioning was like. We also discuss how we approached the reintroduction process, what has and has not worked, and how we were able to discern reactions that can seem confusing to spot. If you’ve ever wondered what we honestly eat and whether or not this was ever tough for us too, this episode is for you!

If you’ve already tried AIP and would like to go more in-depth on Step 3: Nourish, check out the “Troubleshooting” section in Chapter 3 for ideas on underlying issues that could be preventing progress. This section is packed with valuable details, including food guidance to help ease symptoms of common roadblocks.

How to listen:

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Show Notes:

  • 0:00 Intro
  • 1:51 The first concrete step toward wellness, Nourish
  • 2:48 How did Mickey find AIP?
  • 4:56 How did Angie find AIP?
  • 7:55 Mickey’s diet pre-AIP
  • 10:55 Angie’s diet pre-AIP
  • 13:41 Angie’s transition to AIP
    • The cold-turkey approach
  • 14:46 How long did the elimination phase last for Angie?
  • 15:15 Mickey’s transition and elimination phase length
    • The slow and steady approach
  • 17:36 A note of being aware of positive progress
  • 18:10 What changes made the biggest differences for Mickey?
    • The argument for nutrient density
  • 19:44 What changes made the biggest differences for Angie?
  • 20:32 Angie’s reintroduction experience and foods that produced reactions
    • Egg
    • White potato
    • Cumin
  • 23:18 Mickey’s reintroduction experience and foods that produced reactions
    • Nightshades
    • Eggs
    • Sesame Seed
    • Soy
  • 27:00 Balance with the AIP process
  • 28:14 Angie’s diet now
  • 29:40 Mickey’s diet now
  • 31:33 Noting the issue of “thresholds” with reintroduced foods overtime
  • 31:49 Bio-individuality in reintroduction (despite shared diagnosis)
  • 34:13 Your homework for Step 3, Nourish!
    • Take a look at the “Which Way Will Work for You” quiz in Chapter 3 of The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook to help you identify the transitioning style that is best for you if you want to take the plunge with AIP and use the handy guides after the quiz to show you how to get the ball rolling in a way best matched to your style.
  • 35:24 Outro

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Check out the previous episode, Episode #5: Titus Chiu, DC on Practitioner Collaboration, and the next episode, Episode #7: Aglaee Jacob, RD on Nourishing Diets. For the full podcast archive, click here.

About Angie Alt

Angie Alt is a co-founder here at Autoimmune Wellness. She helps others take charge of their health the same way she took charge of her own after suffering with celiac disease, endometriosis, and lichen sclerosis; one nutritious step at a time. Her special focus is on mixing “data with soul” by looking at the honest heart of the autoimmune journey (which sometimes includes curse words). She is a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy Consultant through The Nutritional Therapy Association and author of The Alternative Autoimmune Cookbook: Eating for All Phases of the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook. You can also find her on Instagram.

14 comments

  • Sab says

    Hey! Just listened to your podcast and i love that you talk about what foods you tolerate and the ones you don’t and also the symptoms that you get form eating them. I’ve been on and off AIP, also tried eating gluten-free vegan for the first 6 months last year. Did more research and found lots of information and i really try to implement this way of eating (AIP) . I do a great job staying away from legumes, seed based spices, dairy, nuts and seeds.. But I am having a really hard time with this way of eating and i want to reintroduce some nuts and seeds, i have been thinking about hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds. I noticed you didn’t say anything about nuts and seeds. Have you been able to reintroduce them? Do they cause any symptoms? and what would those be. Thank you so much for the podcast and everything that you are doing!! Lots of love from Europe! 🙂

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Hi Sab!
      Good news for you, according to Dr. Ballantyne’s research and protocol nuts and seeds are some of the first reintroductions you can make after following AIP. I would make sure you’ve satisfied the requirements of the elimination diet before moving on – feeling positive improvements, etc, and then follow the systematic reintroduction as outlined in either Angie and I or Sarah’s books. Personally, Angie and I have been able to reintroduce most nuts and seeds after an elimination period of 9 months to a year. Good luck!

  • Moira says

    Thank you so much. Unlike you both I don’t have a diagnosis yet … But have been dabbling with AIP for a few months … Sugar , eggs , dairy and cumin … Thanks to you two the penny dropped … Are a problem . I can’t thank you both enough for this podcast series . Very informative ????????????

    • Angie Alt says

      Thanks for listening Moira! We are so glad it’s been helpful!

  • Donna Allgaier-Lamberti says

    Will you please discuss at some point how you know that your Leaky Gut has been healed and your Hashi (for example) is in remission? I have (a non-classic type) Hashimotos, adrenal depletion and I am assuming Leaky Gut as well. I have been on strict AIP now for 11 months and I feel I am doing pretty well. I am working with a great FMP and on Nature-Thyroid and appropriate supplements for my situation. I read that we reintroduce foods when our symptoms are gone. For some reason I don’t have a lot of symptoms with the exception of (previous) chronic exhaustion, some anxiety and weight gain. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled with not having the typical joint pain/hairloss/coldness of many Hashi patients but I find it fairly hard to determine if I am in remission because I just don’t have that many “known” symptoms. Is there a lab test I should take? Or can you make another recommendation? I don’t want to rush things too quickly but on the other hand I don’t want to put reintros off unnecessarily either. I am age 65 and was sick for most of 20 years so I also think that this comes into play and my positive healing changes have been slow to happen. I had endometriosis in my 20’s & 30’s and have had HS (bacterial skin infections) since my teenage years and most recently my autoimmune Hashimotos’ diagnosis. I hope at some point you can discuss this topic. Thank you.

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Hi Donna! Personally, I never say my Hashimoto’s is in remission – I do have very low antibodies at this point, but I think the word remission gives a lot of folks false hope thinking the autoimmune protocol will fix everything. It is just one of the tools in my toolbox to living well with this disease!

      I do know how hard it can be with Hashi’s to see if your symptoms are improving. Now, if you are still experiencing anxiety and weight gain, those would be the things I’d look for improving before making reintroductions. They don’t need to be 100% gone – but you do need to have a good gauge of if things are moving in the right direction, to tell if a reintroduction is working for you or not. I’d also be on the lookout for “other” changes – this was huge for me! Better skin, digestion, improved focus, better sleep. Those are things you might not be on the look out for, but when they change for the better you will have yet another benchmark to judge your reintroductions on. An example – when I went AIP my skin cleared up. I already had pretty clear skin, but I would get small annoying breakouts 1-2 times per month. On AIP that totally went away. When I went to reintroduce chocolate, guess what, those breakouts came back. Even though that wasn’t a specific Hashimoto’s symptom for me, I used that information to find out I was not tolerating chocolate at that time.

      Another thing to look into is your lab work. You’ll need to work with your doctor on this, but generally, if your antibodies are stabilized (I don’t think they need to necessarily be “low”, but having gone down after diagnosis is a good sign), and your other lab work in good ranges, with medication adjusted appropriately, you may be able to consider reintroduction (assuming you feel well in other areas, like I talked about above). Say you reintroduce a bunch of foods and your next lab work is out of range… well, that tells you a lot about the success of those reintroductions!

      I hope it helps Donna!

      • Donna Allgaier-Lamberti says

        Micky, Thank you so much for your reply and concrete feedback. This was really quite helpful to me. Based on your criteria, I HAVE seen an improvement in my digesion (GERD is gone) sleep (I am sleeping 10 hours a night now), seing improved focus (no more brain fog) and weight loss instead of gain (down 21 lbs now). So I guess I am healing!!! If I am truthful I am “nervous” about reintros but because I am feeling stabilized and quite well now most days so of course I worry about going backwards again. But I have committed to starting reintros in January. We homestead 5-acres so fall is a hugely busy time for us and my husband is having surgery Dec. 7 so i want to wait until after his recovery period to begin my reintros so I can really focus on them and do them right. I did download the reintro booklet so have that handy to work from. Also I get the results of my latest adrenal 7000 lab work tomorrow and plan to compare it to my earliest labwork and discuss this with my FMP at the same time. I feel like I am on the write track. Many blessings!! P.S. I would love to hear a future podcast topic about Hashimoto’s patients taking bioTE hormones…(bio identical hormones) yes or no…?

        • Mickey Trescott says

          Hey Donna,
          So happy you found it helpful! It sounds like you are on the right track in waiting until a slower season to make those reintroductions. About the thyroid hormones, people are so individual and feel best on a variety of replacement… I take synthetic compounded T4, which is bioidentical to what the body makes. Hope ie helps!

  • JESSIE LEWIS says

    Do I really have to wait for the Handbook?!?! Is there no other way…

    Angie & Mickey,

    Thank you for everything ladies, the information you share and the inspiration you shine, has given me a renewed hope and drive. Though I made some major dietary and lifestyle changes several years ago, I feel as if it’s time to begin again. I have the cookbooks and the know-how, I’m accustomed to being very choosy about what I put in my mouth, and I am used to home-cooking all my meals, but I’m having a lot of trouble sticking with AIP. I cannot seem to get the elimination diet quite right. Words cannot express how anxious/excited I am about having your “assistance” at the turn of a page!

    Best in health, sweet regards,
    Jessie

    • Angie Alt says

      Thanks so much Jessie! We are so lucky that we get to inspire others. <3

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Jessie,
      Thank you so much for your comment, we sincerely hope you enjoy the book when it comes out!

  • Carla says

    Very insightful and encouraging, thank you.

  • […] out the previous episode, Episode #6: Step 3: Nourish – Our Stories, and the next episode, Episode #8: Step 4: Rest – Our Stories. For the full podcast archive, […]

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