For a while now I've wanted to blog about different diets. I decided the best way to do that was to immerse myself in them first and write about them after. This is diet #7.

I want to start by saying that I'm not doing any diet to lose weight. So you won't see any dramatic before and after pics here. My goal for these analysis is how they make me feel, physically and mentally. My body goal is to feel healthy and strong. I do not weigh myself regularly nor do I take my body measurements. Any weight loss I experience is not a good indicator of how much you may lose on each diet. Weight loss is extremely individual, based on your own metabolism, nutritional needs, lifestyle and activity level.

The Auto Immune Protocol removes foods that could be irritating the digestive system in order to promote healing. It uses food as the first line of defense and as a healing tool in cases of auto immune disease, chronic illness and allergies.

This is a Therapeutic diet. This is not intended for a long term diet plan. The intention of this diet is to remove any and all inflammatory triggers to allow the digestive system to heal, then slowly reintroduce foods until you can follow a Paleo style diet.

The Diet: Very Restricted. All meats are allowed, preferably grassfed organically raised, all leafy greens (organic), as are most vegetables excluding white potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and any other nightshades. Fruits are allowed but limited to two servings per day. Healthy fats like avocado, olive and coconut are encouraged. No grains, no corn, no dairy, no nuts, legumes or beans, no soy, no eggs, no nightshades, no seeds including chocolate and coffee and a lot of spices including pepper. No alcohol, no anti inflammatory drugs (asprin, tylenol, advil, etc).

What I ate: Lots of veggies (soups and salads daily), coconut products (flour, sugar, oil) and lots of meat. I don't usually eat a lot of meat, but I do like to have quite a bit of protein daily. Since I couldn't have any of my usual plant based proteins (nuts, seeds, beans) I ate more meat. I also ate a lot of sweet potatoes, carrots and squashes to get the carbs I needed. I added some baked squares and biscuits made with coconut or arrowroot flour and some gelatin squares for snacks.

Duration: 28 days

Pros: This diet really challenged me to find rethink this grain obsession our society seems to have. I found I could easily have a variety of vegetables and rarely miss the grains (pasta, rice etc) that the rest of my family would have. After 2 months (including previous diets) of grain free eating, I found I really don't crave grains the way I did before. I've continued to eat grains very rarely after quitting this diet, so that was a big positive for me.

I found a couple good recipes that I will keep, including the AIP biscuits, homemade sausage patties and AIP "cheese" sauce.

Bonus: I noticed a lot of new hair growth shortly after starting this diet, my hair grew faster and thicker. The growth probably started after doing the Parasite cleanse, but it just wasn't noticeable until later.

Cons: I was surprised at how much my skin broke out during the first 2 weeks! Homeopathically we see skin eruptions as the body's way of removing toxins or inflammation. So having acne wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I was just surprised there was more to get rid of after the previous cleanses.

It was hard to cook for myself and my family without making two completely separate meals. Luckily my family has been amazing through this process and willing to try new things. Most of the time for supper I would cook our meat with my spices, remove my portion then add more spices for them. I would just omit any starch or grain they were having and would add more veggies.

Breakfasts were tricky at first. I'm used to having eggs or a homemade nut bar for breakfast, neither of those were an option. The first week I tried various AIP bars made with coconut flour, collagen (for protein) and fruit. By the end of the second week I figured out that sweet potatoes, avocado and some meat seemed to fuel me better.

Modifications: Some variations of the AIP diet also exclude thickening agents such as agar agar and xanthan gum, algae and non nutritive sweeteners like stevia. I did not exclude those in this diet.

Energy level: low to moderate. I felt "heavy" during this diet. I instinctively wanted to rest more during this diet so I honoured that. Mentally I had some "brain fog" so I had to take a break from some of my writing and regular posts. It was definetely a detoxification process.

Weight loss: interesting. I felt I retained fluid for the first week, and then in the second week, weight loss was noticeable. By the end of the 4 weeks my body had evened out again.

Cost: Higher. Add a bit extra cost for high quality organic meats and vegetables if you weren't already eating them. Special flours (cassava, plantain) and supplements like grassfed gelatin, collagen and supplements will add up quickly. I also opted for good quality matcha green tea to replace my coffee each day. There is also a lot of time needed for prep work and shopping around to find the less common ingredients needed for some of the recipes.

Recommended for: People with auto immune diseases, multiple allergies and chronic illness who are committed to feeling the best that they can.

Not recommended for most other people. I found this diet to be too restrictive for the average person. There are many better options, like an anti inflammatory diet, paleo diet or Mediterranean diet that would work well. If you are looking for a comprehensive gut healing, immune support program, I recommend Lisa’s Gut Healing Protocol.

Bottom line: Sometimes removing food triggers just isn't enough. When researching this diet I found it is often used long term (6 months to 2 years!) for many people. That is just too long on such a restricted diet in my opinion. When you add proper supplements and homeopathic remedies to promote healing, you will see results much faster. Not only that, but homeopathic remedies are the best way to truly repair the intestinal lining, eliminate deep seated inflammation and encourage the body to heal completely.

This diet is incredible for it's potential to remove foods that are irritating the gut, I do believe that homeopathic remedies are necessary to complete the healing and allow the person to eat a healthy, less restricted diet.

I'm not good at following rules, I'd rather make my own. So here's the Changes I would make: I found some of the eliminations incomplete. If you are allergic or sensitive to gluten, casein (dairy), latex, or opiates, you should also remove bananas and kiwis from your diet. While this adds to the restrictiveness of the diet, I do believe it is necessary.

Supplements: I include medicinal foods like grassfed gelatin and collagen to my diet, as well as nutritive yeast, increased turmeric, and kombucha. I took omega 3s, a vitamin B complex, amino acids and extra fibre. I also took several homeopathic mineral salts and other remedies to promote gut healing and remove inflammation.

In the spirit of full disclosure I want to include my constants: For this diet I gave up my coffee, but had matcha green tea instead. I drank lots herbal teas. I did light cardio and some weight training on this diet. My body felt "off" so I didn't push it. I did lots of walking and gentle stretching. I did not weigh myself regularly nor did I take measurements. Any weight loss I experienced is not a good indicator of how much you may lose on each diet. Weight loss is extremely individual, based on your own metabolism, nutritional needs, lifestyle and activity level.

I hope you have found this information helpful. My goal is to share information to educate and empower people to take control of their own health. Please contact Lisa for more information. I would love to help you experience Better Health Naturally!

The information provided here is for educational purposes only. For treatment please seek a qualified health care provider.