Anti-Inflammatory Autoimmune Diet: Nutrition for Better Health and Well-Being

Understanding Autoimmune Conditions and Diet

What Are Autoimmune Diseases?

Autoimmune diseases can occur when your body mistakenly attacks itself instead of defending itself against harmful substances. 

If you have an autoimmune disease, you will more than likely have to manage its symptoms throughout your life.

Typically, your immune system works like a pre-existing security system; it’s already there, ready to fight against harm. Your immune system commonly detects objects that shouldn’t be there.

When it does, it sends out white blood cells, the attackers of any unknown substances that enter your body, to protect you. This process defends your body from anything that can damage or make you sick.

Several types of chronic autoimmune diseases can affect the following systems in your body:

• Skin and Blood Vessels
  • Sjogren’s Syndrome
  • Psoriatic Arthritis
  • Dermatomyositis
• Joints and Muscles
  • Lupus 
  • Myositis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Endocrine System
  • Type I Diabetes
  • Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
  • Graves’ Disease
  • Addison’s Disease
• Digestive System
  • Celiac Disease
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease
• Nervous System
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Myasthenia
  • Guillain-Barre Syndrome

How Does Diet Affect Autoimmune Disorders?

The foods you eat can trigger inflammation in your immune system, affecting components such as gut health and oxidative stress. 

Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is essential because an unbalanced microbiome increases the risk of developing leaky gut, which can be a cause of a chronic autoimmune disease. The connection between leaky gut and chronic autoimmune disease is the increased risk of inflammation in the digestive tract.

Continuous inflammation harms your tissues and organs. Oxidative stress and inflammation are triggers for autoimmune diseases.

Your digestive tract is dependent on healthy gut bacteria to regulate your immune system. Furthermore, deficiencies in specific vitamins raise your risk of developing an autoimmune disease.

Why Consider an Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

While there isn’t a cure for an autoimmune disease, an anti-inflammatory autoimmune diet can protect your cells from damage and support your overall well-being.

An anti-inflammatory diet brimming with nutrient-dense foods can reduce your risk of chronic diseases like:

• Type II Diabetes
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Certain Cancers

The symptoms of an autoimmune disease can be painful and disrupt your life. An anti-inflammatory autoimmune diet plan can boost your ability to manage existing chronic autoimmune diseases, such as asthma and arthritis.

The other compelling reasons you should consider an anti-inflammatory diet are its comprehensive health benefits.

Not only can it help with inflammation, but it can also:

• Support Brain Health: An anti-inflammatory diet can slow cognitive decline and protect against Alzheimer’s and dementia.
• Strengthen Immune System: A nutrient-dense diet filled with anti-inflammatory foods strengthens and protects your cells from damage.
• Control Chronic Conditions: Symptoms of conditions like arthritis and psoriasis can be managed. A nutrient-dense diet can also prevent a chronic condition from worsening.

An anti-inflammatory diet can lower the effects of autoimmune disease symptoms while positively altering your quality of life. Making small changes to your diet, such as replacing vegetable oils with olive oil, can improve your body’s immune response and manage the symptoms of an autoimmune disease.

The Basics of an Anti-Inflammatory Autoimmune Diet

What Is the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet?

An autoimmune protocol diet is a diet that eliminates specific foods that could cause inflammation and then slowly reintroduces those foods after symptoms improve. 

The diet is a personalized elimination diet designed to reduce inflammation and alleviate the painful symptoms of an autoimmune disease.

The popularity of the AIP is increasing because it promotes nutrient-rich, whole foods that support gut health. The diet also supplies essential vitamins and minerals to maintain, protect, or boost your immune system and gastrointestinal function. Overall, your body can benefit from an AIP diet.

For example, the following chronic autoimmune diseases can be helped by an AIP diet:

• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Lupus
• Celiac Disease
• Hashimoto’s Disease

LifeSpring Home Nutrition provides frozen, freshly prepared meals that support an autoimmune protocol diet. You can work with one of our registered dietitians to build a meal plan that can help lower pain and inflammation throughout your body.

People with chronic autoimmune diseases may begin to feel an improvement in their overall health. While further studies are necessary to determine the full potential of the AIP diet, there is an improvement and positive change in the symptoms. 

For example, you may feel:

• A positive increase in your gut health
• Lower levels of joint and muscle pain
• Increased energy

Beginning and maintaining an AIP diet may be challenging, but when you stick with it, you may feel the benefits. Following an AIP diet can be easier if you have someone you can talk with about your diet and how to handle the changes you’re making to improve your health. LifeSpring Home Nutrition has registered dieticians who you can contact to answer your questions.

How Is the AIP Diet Different from the Paleo Diet?

The AIP diet and a paleo diet are similar except that the AIP diet is usually stricter than a paleo diet. 

The AIP diet eliminates foods by not eating specific foods for several weeks at a time. Once those weeks have ended, you can start to reintroduce those foods you eliminated from your diet slowly. As you reintroduce these foods, you can track your symptoms to see if they worsen or remain the same. Any foods that aggravate your symptoms will be eliminated again.

A paleo diet is a diet plan designed to replicate the diet of prehistoric humans. The foods that are included in the diet are foods that hunter-gatherers in the Paleolithic era (Stone Age) ate. The foundational belief of the diet is that today’s human genes aren’t well enough adjusted for the diets that evolved after farming began.

The long-term effects of following a paleo diet are unclear. However, the lack of legumes and whole grains in a paleo diet raises concerns.

Whole grains and legumes are excellent sources of:

• Vitamins
• Proteins
• Fiber

Foods that are free from artificial sweeteners and additives, like canola oil, can be good for your health. However, if you do have an autoimmune disease, you should be cautious about eating legumes and lentils.

What Are the Phases of the AIP Diet?

There are three phases of the AIP diet:

• Elimination Phase: Remove foods that may cause inflammation (gluten, dairy products, nightshade vegetables, processed foods, refined sugars).
• Reintroduction Phase: Slowly reintroduce foods to test tolerance.
• Maintenance Phase: Build a balanced, personalized diet that supports long-term health.

The hardest part of the AIP diet can be the elimination phase because it’s restrictive. It removes many of the foods, some of which may contain unhealthy food additives, that you love, but eliminating these foods is a key part of discovering which foods increase and worsen your chronic autoimmune disease.

After several weeks of the elimination phase, you will begin reintroducing the foods eliminated from your diet. Pay attention to your symptoms and let your doctor or registered dietician know if you see an uptick in painful symptoms.

Once you reach the maintenance phase, you have built the foundation for long-term success.

Each of these phases is closely monitored to ensure you have the proper nutrition needed. Often, it can seem challenging to stick with the elimination part of the AIP diet, but give yourself credit for taking this step. You can achieve your goals of alleviating your symptoms and eating healthier.

Foods That Support Autoimmune Health

Which Anti-Inflammatory Foods Are Best?

The best anti-inflammatory foods are foods chock-full of antioxidants, healthy fats, protein, and high in fiber. 

Think of your meal as a color palette. The more naturally occurring colors you have on your plate, the healthier your meal is for you.

In case you wonder which foods and spices you can eat to support good autoimmune health, here are a few examples: 

• Turmeric
• Broccoli
• Salmon
• Berries
• Sauerkraut
• Kimchi

Food can be fun to prepare and eat. Use your meals as chances to explore how color can brighten your mental health while boosting your physical health.

Take, for example, a salad with leafy green vegetables, olives, strawberries, onions, and cucumbers, topped with lean protein (such as fish or chicken), which is a healthy choice for a meal. To make it more nutritious, you can top it off with a flavorful, healthy dressing, such as an olive oil and lemon juice blend.

The time spent preparing a salad may be hard on your body. It’s okay to listen to your body and find another way to eat healthily. You can depend on LifeSpring Home Nutrition to have freshly prepared meals that are colorful, tasty, and easy to make.

What Role Do Fermented Foods Play?

Fermented foods pack a lot of power in an autoimmune diet because they introduce beneficial probiotics, reduce inflammation, and support the development of a healthy gut microbiome. 

A diet rich in foods like yogurt, kimchi, and fermented drinks like kombucha increases your gut’s microbial diversity and can decrease inflammation. They can do this because of their multiple components, which combat the symptoms of autoimmune diseases.

Are Legumes and Lentils Good for Autoimmune Conditions?

Legumes and lentils are not recommended in a diet for a chronic autoimmune disease.

The AIP usually recommends that legumes and lentils be eliminated because some can trigger inflammation and harmful autoimmune responses.

The lectins found in legumes and lentils can bind to gut cells, altering gut flora. While some individuals are affected by the effects of lectins, others may not be. It’s best if you consult with your healthcare provider before you make legumes a part of your diet.

How Can Bone Broth and Organ Meats Help?

Bone breath is beneficial for people with autoimmune conditions because it is thought to support gut health by reducing inflammation and strengthening the lining of the gut. 

The key components to reducing inflammation are amino acids and gelatin. Grass-fed organ meats are packed with nutrients that have essential vitamins and minerals that support and manage healthy immune function.

However, they’re often excluded from diets like the AIP diet because they’re linked with inflammation or the potential to trigger an inflammation flare-up.

Foods to Limit or Avoid for Autoimmune Conditions

Which Foods Can Trigger Flare-Ups?

Autoimmune flare-ups are more likely to occur when you eat unhealthy foods. 

You can avoid the symptoms of an autoimmune disease if you avoid these foods and drinks:

• Refined grains
• Refined Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners
• Vegetable oils (canola)
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Legumes
• Dairy Eggs
• Nightshade Vegetables
• Alcohol
• Coffee

A few spices to avoid include:

• Paprika
• Garlic
• Mustard

Are Nightshade Vegetables Problematic?

Diets like the AIP diet recommend that individuals with autoimmune diseases avoid nightshade vegetables and spices.

However, there isn’t clear evidence that nightshade vegetables trigger the symptoms of an autoimmune disease.

If you are on an AIP diet, it is recommended that you avoid:

• Potatoes (except sweet potatoes)
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Bell Peppers
• Goji Berries
• Chili Peppers

Because there isn’t clear evidence about the effects of nightshade vegetables on autoimmune diseases, you should talk with your doctor or registered dietician to see if they’re safe for you to eat.

Why Avoid Gluten and Dairy Products?

Gluten may trigger an autoimmune response if you have celiac disease. 

Other autoimmune diseases that are affected by gluten include:

• Type I Diabetes
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Thyroid Disease

Gluten is found in wheat, rye, and barley.

Numerous studies have shown there is a link between dairy products and the symptoms of chronic autoimmune diseases. The substances casein and lactose, found in dairy products, may trigger or increase symptoms by activating immune responses.

An elimination diet may help you discover if dairy products worsen or trigger a flare-up. You don’t have to give up dairy altogether; you can replace your dairy products with low-fat or dairy-free alternatives.

For example, you can substitute butter with coconut oil. Coconut oil adds flavor to your food and has nutrients that can lower the risk of triggering a flare-up or worsening your symptoms.

What About Processed Meats and Fried Foods?

Processed meats and fried foods can increase your risk of triggering the symptoms of an autoimmune disease because of their high content of sodium and other substances that cause inflammation. 

Processed meats’ harmful effects include how they create an imbalance of bacteria in your gut. The ingredients in processed meats alter the levels of good and bad bacteria in your gastrointestinal system. They lower the level of good bacteria that support overall health, including immune function, while increasing the levels of harmful bacteria that cause inflammation.

Fried foods contain unhealthy fats called trans fats. These fats (omega-6 fatty acids found in vegetable oils) often raise inflammation levels. Fried foods are also more likely to be processed foods, which consist of preservatives and food additives that can trigger flare-ups or worsen symptoms.

Additionally, because fried foods are cooked at a high heat level, the cooking process produces oxidative products. Oxidative products can damage your body’s cells and trigger the symptoms of an autoimmune disease.

Lifestyle and Nutrition Tips for Autoimmune Health

How Can a Registered Dietitian Help?

A registered dietitian can work with you to build a personalized autoimmune diet.

With your input, you can create a meal plan that includes the foods you love with the foods you need to combat your autoimmune disorder.

What’s the Role of Supplements?

The role of supplements to help alleviate the symptoms of an autoimmune disorder is unclear.

While some herbal supplements may treat your symptoms, others, like vitamin D, may be a key component to reducing your risk of developing an autoimmune disease. Additionally,  probiotics and omega-3 fatty acids may have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects.

How Does Stress Impact Autoimmune Disorders?

Stress hurts your autoimmune disease because it releases stress hormones. 

Stress hormones like cortisol activate the immune system and often:

• Increase inflammation throughout your body
• Weaken the Immune System: If you have chronic stress, your immune system can become suppressed. A suppressed immune system increases your risk of developing autoimmune disorders and infections.
• Immune System Dysregulation: When you’re stressed, it’s easier for your immune cells to be unbalanced. Unbalanced immune cells increase your risk of having an autoimmune disease.

Why Are Frozen, Prepared Meals a Smart Choice?

LifeSpring Home Nutrition’s frozen prepared meals provide the nutrients you need to alleviate your autoimmune disease symptoms.

Some of the foods in our frozen, prepared meals may also protect and prevent against the development of an autoimmune disease. Frozen, prepared meals are a healthy, easy-to-cook option for ensuring you have a well-balanced diet.

FAQs About the Anti-Inflammatory Autoimmune Diet

Can this diet help all autoimmune conditions?

An anti-inflammatory diet can help manage symptoms of most autoimmune conditions, but it may not work the same for everyone.

This way of eating supports gut health, reduces inflammation, and balances immune responses, all key factors in many autoimmune disorders. Work with a registered dietitian or healthcare provider to tailor the diet to your specific condition and needs.

Is the autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet safe long-term?

Yes, the AIP diet can be safe long-term when properly balanced and monitored. 

Since the elimination phase is restrictive, it’s important to reintroduce foods systematically and ensure you meet your nutritional needs. Partnering with a dietitian helps prevent nutrient deficiencies and makes the diet sustainable over time.

Can I ever reintroduce favorite foods?

Yes, the goal of the AIP diet is to reintroduce foods slowly and safely. 

You’ll add foods back one at a time, tracking your symptoms to see what you tolerate. This process allows you to enjoy as many foods as possible while minimizing flare-ups and inflammation.

Do I have to follow a strict elimination diet forever?

No. The elimination phase is temporary and usually lasts several weeks. 

Once you know which foods trigger your symptoms, you can move into a maintenance phase focused on a more flexible, balanced eating pattern. This helps you sustain results and improve your quality of life without feeling overly restricted.

An autoimmune disorder can’t stop you from living a healthy lifestyle. With exercise, quality sleep, and meal plans from LifeSpring Home Nutrition, eating a well-balanced meal is simple. Contact one of our dieticians to discuss what foods are right for you. We’re here for you. Call (800) 798-5767.