The AIP Diet Guide: The Autoimmune Protocol For Beginners

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet is not designed as a weight loss diet, but rather as an eating plan that is supposed to help reduce inflammation and other symptoms experienced by people with autoimmune diseases.

But, what can you eat on the AIP Diet meal plan? Is the AIP Diet an elimination diet?

In this AIP diet guide, we will discuss what the AIP Diet plan involves, the principles behind it, how to follow it, and what you can and cannot eat on the AIP Diet meal plan.

Lets jump in!

A notebook that says autoimmune diseases.

What Is the AIP Diet Plan?

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet plan is designed to help regulate the immune system to help decrease inflammation and reduce symptoms of the autoimmune disease by helping to heal the leaky gut and remove potentially inflammatory or inciting foods from the diet that trigger flare-ups.¹

Autoimmune conditions are those in which the immune system attacks healthy cells of the body for one reason or another.

Examples of autoimmune diseases include lupus, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohns disease.

Depending on your autoimmune disease type, the symptoms or systems of your body that are attacked will vary.

However, in all autoimmune conditions, there is something that triggers the immune system to misidentify healthy cells as pathogens that need to be destroyed.

This can lead to a host of specific symptoms based on the types of cells or tissues affected, as well as generalized symptoms of autoimmune diseases such as inflammation, brain fog, fatigue, pain, headaches, and weakness.

How Do You Follow the AIP Diet Plan?

The AIP Diet meal plan is fairly similar to the Paleo diet in terms of the foods removed from the diet and the foods you can eat.

Due to the large crossover between the AIP Diet and the Paleo diet, the AIP Diet is usually seen as a stricter extension of the Paleo diet plan with some additional rules and guidelines.

One of the key differences between the AIP and Paleo diets is that the Paleo diet plan is pretty freeform, whereas the AIP Diet meal plan has two different phases.

Here is how to follow the AIP Diet plan phases:

Elimination Phase

During the first phase of the AIP protocol, you remove inflammatory foods and substances from your diet, which is considered the AIP Diet elimination phase.

What foods should you avoid on the AIP diet?

Examples of foods you remove from your diet include whole grains, gluten, legumes such as beans and lentils, nuts, seeds, eggs, dairy products, and all nightshade vegetables, including things like tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers.

All foods with added sugar, refined flour, refined grains, excess oil, food additives, artificial sweeteners, coffee, other forms of caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and OTC medication such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories like Advil must also be removed from your diet.

The purpose of the AIP Diet elimination phase is to help start removing problematic foods and substances from the body that may trigger inflammation, cause imbalances in the bacteria in your gut, or irritate the immune system.

Simultaneously, you are supposed to start introducing AIP Diet foods such as fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, lean proteins that are minimally processed, fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, and bone broth.

All foods should be nutrient-dense, as natural and unprocessed as possible.²

Lifestyle changes such as getting enough sleep, managing stress, and getting consistent moderate physical activity are also an integral part of the AIP Diet elimination phase.

There isnt a set duration for this elimination phase of the AIP Diet protocol. Rather, the guidelines suggest you continue following this phase until you see a noticeable difference in your symptoms.

According to AIP Diet information, most people are in the elimination phase of the AIP Diet plan for 1 to 3 months.

The AIP Diet book suggests that it will take this long for the gut to heal, the bacteria to restore proper balance, and for inflammation to subside so that the immune system is better regulated and in a healthy state.³

Reintroduction Phase

The second phase of the AIP Diet plan is known as the re-introduction phase because some of the foods removed during the elimination diet phase are gradually added back in.

However, it is important to note that you are not supposed to start the AIP Diet reintroduction process until you have little to no symptoms of inflammation, digestive issues, gut problems, or autoimmune symptoms.

The AIP Diet reintroduction phase involves adding back in foods one at a time based on your tolerance and symptoms.

You should give your body 5 to 7 days per food to ensure you are not experiencing any symptoms before adding something else into the mix.

If you add a particular food back into your diet and dont notice any symptoms after 5 to 7 days, you can keep it in your diet and then try adding another food.

However, if you re-introduce a food back into your AIP Diet meal plan and start noticing any type of symptom such as pain, fatigue, bloating, gas, indigestion, headaches, difficulty sleeping, joint pain, or other signs of inflammation, you have to remove the food from your diet permanently.

Then, give your body at least 5 to 7 days to restore health until you are not experiencing symptoms before trying to re-introduce a different food. If you still have symptoms, you must wait before testing another food.

Ensure that the second food you add back in is not in the same food group.

For example, if you try adding yogurt back and notice that you are very gassy and have joint pain, dont try cottage cheese next. Instead, try adding back something totally different, such as quinoa.

How Do You Reintroduce Foods After the Elimination Diet Phase?

There is a specific re-introduction protocol for the AIP Diet.⁴

Here are the steps for how to transition from the elimination phase to the re-introduction phase:

Step 1:

Choose a single food to reintroduce into your AIP Diet meal plan. It is best to choose a food that you believe you wont have a significant reaction to based on your previous history.

Similarly, choose the least likely culprit of the food group you are trying to re-introduce as your first foray back into that food group.

For example, with dairy food, choose a product that is low in lactose, such as clarified ghee or a sharp cheddar cheese. For grains, try soaked white rice or baby rice cereal.

Step 2:

Eat a small amount of the food, such as one teaspoon or a bite. Then, wait about 15 minutes to see if you have any immediate reactions. This could include itchiness, nausea, increased heart rate, headache, pain, stomachache, bloating, or dizziness.

Step 3:

If you experience any symptoms, immediately remove the food from the list and give yourself at least three days until you try something else unless symptoms are very mild, in which case, you may consider trying a different food in two days.

If you have no immediate symptoms and no symptoms develop over the next 2 to 3 hours, increase your portion of the food to 2 tablespoons or a quarter cup for your next meal.

Step 4:

Again, if you have any symptoms or start feeling unwell, end the test and give yourself at least 4-5 days to recover. If you continue to have no symptoms, eat a normal serving size of the food for your next meal.

Step 5:

Then, resume your normal diet the next day without including the new food, even if you experienced no symptoms. If you continue feeling well, add that food to your normal diet after 5 days.

Step 6:

If you have no symptoms after regularly consuming the new food in reasonable portions for 1 to 2 days, you can start a test with a new food while keeping the food you just successfully added to your diet into your new AIP Diet meal plan.

What Foods Can You Eat On the AIP Diet?

The AIP Diet elimination meal plan is very strict and removes a bunch of potentially inflammatory food groups such as grains, dairy, eggs, legumes, many nuts and seeds, nightshade vegetables, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed oils, processed foods, and more.⁵

Given the list of foods to avoid on the AIP Diet plan, it may seem like there arent any AIP Diet foods that are safe to eat. Thankfully, there are actually several food groups you can enjoy even during the elimination diet protocol:

AIP Diet Plan Foods

All vegetables except nightshade vegetables, legumes, and corn.
Fatty fruits such as avocado and coconut and low sugar fruits in moderation such as berries and melons.
Root vegetables and tubers such as sweet potatoes, taro root, yams, sunchokes, and rutabaga. However, you cannot have regular white potatoes because potatoes are nightshade vegetables.
Organic fresh or frozen meat that has not been processed. Examples include wild-caught fish, wild-caught seafood, grass-fed beef, wild game meat, and organ meat.
Organic fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, non-dairy kefir (such as coconut), kombucha, and pickled vegetables.
Organic bone broth, particularly if it is homemade.
Certain herbs and spices as long as they are not derived from seeds or nightshade vegetables. For example, you cannot have chili peppers, black pepper, etc.
Cold-pressed oils such as avocado oil, virgin coconut oil, and cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil.
Apple cider vinegar
Green tea or black tea in moderation
Natural sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup in small doses, prioritizing raw honey that is locally sourced because it may contain compounds that support the immune system and combat allergens.

Does the AIP Diet Work?

One of the benefits of the AIP Diet plan is reducing inflammation in the gut lining due to the fact that you are removing ultra-processed foods and foods that may cause inflammation, such as gluten and dairy.

This is why you might hear that the AIP Diet plan is good for leaky gut syndrome, which refers to a condition that naturopathic doctors describe as damage to the intestinal lining that allows pathogens and large molecules to diffuse into the bloodstream that should otherwise remain in the gut.

Some studies have found that people with autoimmune disorders do seem to respond well to the AIP Diet plan and note significant improvement and a subjective reduction in system severity as well as certain markers of inflammation.⁶

Overall, the AIP Diet plan is not designed for weight loss but to help heal the gut lining, decrease inflammation, and support the gut microbiome and immune system.⁷

However, people may inadvertently lose weight on the AIP Diet plan given how restrictive it is and the fact that the AIP Diet plan elimination food list includes almost entirely low-energy density foods.

This means that you might get full on fewer calories, putting yourself in a caloric deficit for weight loss.

If you are not trying to follow the AIP Diet for weight loss, it is important to work with your doctor and a registered dietitian to ensure that you find AIP Diet foods that will provide enough calories for your energy needs.

There is also a high risk of nutritional deficiencies if you are on any type of elimination diet for a prolonged period.

Therefore, it is imperative to speak with a knowledgeable nutritionist or registered dietitian to discuss any necessary supplements and/or obtain regular blood work to ensure you are not developing nutritional deficiencies.

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