The Autoimmune Protocol: Week One

Today I started something called the autoimmune protocol, which is a set of dietary protocols for people suffering from autoimmune symptoms. Since I have so many suspected autoimmune symptoms, I am going to give this a shot. Most of what I know about this approach comes from reading The Paleo Mom and Autoimmune Paleo, both of which I highly recommend. Basically the diet is similar to what I am already doing, except in addition to no grains, legumes, or processed sugars, I will also eliminate nuts, seeds, all dairy (even ghee!), eggs (which I barely eat now due to sensitivity) and members of the nightshade family. Fortunately since I am already accustomed to doing paleo, this won't be TOO difficult. I am going to do this for 30 days and see how my symptoms change, if at all. Slowly I will add back in each of these foods and see if there is any reaction. I am just really sick of these lingering symptoms and want to do everything I can to eliminate them and feel even better.

On my first day of this diet I had homemade applesauce with coconut oil and some bananas mixed in for breakfast. I don't usually eat this much fruit for breakfast, and definitely not without some protein or something less sweet, but that is what I was craving and it did not bother me. For lunch I had my homemade breakfast sausage patties (beef sausage with sage and AIP-compliant spices), sauerkraut, and some steamed cauliflower with peas, topped with garlic and olive oil. For dinner, some chicken veggie soup, apples wrapped with prosciutto, and throughout the day sipped chamomile lavender tea and water. My hormones are not treating me too well right now ;) so I am hoping to feel better tomorrow. Will report throughout the next 30 days on how this all goes!