On this week’s episode, Stacy and Sarah discuss the findings from the most recent research that has been done on the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). Dig deeper into these studies, learn about the updates that have been made to AIP as a result of this research, and check out the new resources are available to help you put these findings into practice.
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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 357: New AIP Science
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(0:41) Welcome
- Welcome back! Stacy and Sarah are now recording the show bi-coastal
- Stacy is in Seattle and well caffeinated for this week’s recording
- Matt and Stacy are on day 6 of their summer travel adventure
- Matt left Virginia and drove across the country to meet Stacy in Seattle, visiting a number of National Monuments with Cole along the way
- Finn and Stacy went to New York, and Wesley was with Stacy’s mom
- It was nice to all meetup and come together on the West coast
- Sarah hopes the rest of the trip is smooth sailing and filled with memorable adventures
- Sarah is still trying to settle into summer with her family
- It was off to a hectic start, and the kids are starting to settle into free time
- They are planning to have a low key summer this year
- The family is working on the next level of their citizenship, so that will be taking up a bit of time
- Sarah wanted to take this podcast to discuss the recent updates she made to the Autoimmune Protocol
- She wants to use every channel she has to communicate this latest science
- In the grand scheme of things, these are relatively small changes, but they are important tweaks
- The Paleo Approach was published in January 2014, so in those 5 1/2 years there has been a lot of science published that is very relevant to understanding how diet and lifestyle impact immune function
- Sarah has been procrastinating finishing The Gut Microbiome book
- She is in this last hard grind of that project and is happy to get distracted by any other project right now
- The research form the last three to five years has been where Sarah has spent most of her time, which will also feed into the Gut Microbiome book as well
- Since last fall Sarah has been spending time doing a really thorough review of this literature
- Looking for new studies that she may have missed
- Doing targeted searches for specific topics
- Working to understand what is preliminary research
- These new revisions to the autoimmune protocol reflect the new science that adds to our understanding of these gray area foods and ultimately shifts that category a little bit
- Since last fall Sarah has been spending time doing a really thorough review of this literature
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(11:15) The Latest Findings
- There are now two clinical trials published using the AIP where the participants are given The Paleo Approach and The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook
- They are taken through Angie’s SAD to AIP in 6 transition program and then they maintain AIP strictly for another 4 to 5 weeks depending on the study
- We are measuring improvements
- The first study was published in fall 2017
- It was done on patients with active inflammatory bowel disease
- They transitioned to the autoimmune protocol and over those 6 weeks with what was called a 5-week maintenance phase
- 73% of the patients were in full clinical remission by 6 weeks
- So by the time they finished transitioning to the AIP they were in full clinical remission
- 100% of participants saw improvements in those markers of disease activity and they still all saw continuous improvements in those markers throughout the five-week maintenance phase
- So a really compelling study right out of the gate
- Just published last month in 2019 there was a very similarly designed study on women with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- They did the same gradual transition over 6-weeks, followed by a 4-week maintenance phase
- This study was looking at a condition that is not as straightforward to measure how active the immune attack is
- They were able to measure a very substantial decrease in the clinical symptom burden
- The average at the beginning of the study was 92 points, and after four weeks on the full AIP was down to 29
- Which is basically going from this is impacting my everyday life to this is a minor nuisance
- This study again produced very compelling data
- There is a study getting off the ground right now on the impact that AIP plays on Psoriasis and Eczema, and if you are interested and able to support this kind of research, please visit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/medical-study-on-eczema-psoriasis-and-aip#/
- The more medical studies that we have that come out of PubMed and clinical trials that show improvements in health as a result of Paleo/AIP diet and lifestyle changes, the more doctors will be willing to try it with their patients or advise them on these options on how to approach their conditions
- This will only help others in all corners of the world gain access to the latest information on how to improve their quality of life and overall health and wellbeing
- The more science and research there is on these topics, the more compelling it becomes for medical professionals
- A study that shows 73% of participants in full clinical remission is astounding
- Such powerful data is coming out of these studies as we are able to now start answering the common question – “how long”
- There are now two clinical trials published using the AIP where the participants are given The Paleo Approach and The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook
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(23:04) Updates to AIP
- As a result of these new studies, Sarah has added a gut health superfoods focus
- This is through all of this new research on the gut microbiome
- Just in the last few years, we have learned that our gut bacteria control the structure of the tight junctions between our gut cells
- For a long time now there have been studies showing that gut dysbiosis is potentially a precondition for every autoimmune disease
- Adding in this extra piece of, “yo, you can’t heal your gut barrier if you don’t heal your gut microbiome”
- They have to go hand in hand because your gut bacteria is controlling your gut barrier
- It makes sense to really nurture our gut microbiome through AIP
- AIP (the Autoimmune Protocol) is a nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory diet that eliminates all foods that are potential drivers of immune activity in autoimmune disease while focusing on flooding the body with nutrients and providing both the resources and opportunities for the body to heal itself
- It’s basically a more specific version of Paleo, it’s a little bit stricter and a little bit more systematic
- It involves more eliminations, but also more of a what to eat focus
- There is a reintroduction protocol where you test your individual tolerance to the foods that are eliminated that have a gray area status
- You find your individual maintenance version of AIP, while also dialing in lifestyle factors that are important inputs to how the immune system is functioning
- Adding this focus on gut health superfoods really recognizes the importance of restoring the gut microbiome in healing
- Most of the foods that are gut microbiome superfoods are also nutrient-dense foods
- A wide variety of vegetables and some fruit
- Seafood
- Organ meat
- Different families of fruits and vegetables feed different species of bacteria and they are independently beneficial
- It is really about trying to hit as many of those different groups of vegetables every single day
- That is a different way of thinking about the high vegetable consumption on AIP
- Some other foods that are also really important on the gut microbiome:
- Green and black tea
- Fish and shellfish
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Honey and bee products
- Bone Broth
- Fermented foods
- Edible insects
- Most of the foods that are gut microbiome superfoods are also nutrient-dense foods
- Sarah shared feedback on how to slowly build up gut bacteria and how to slowly build up your fiber intake
- With gut dysbiosis, a large shift in diet can trigger symptoms
- The way we can get around that is by slowing down that part of the shift
- As a result of these new studies, Sarah has added a gut health superfoods focus
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(38:34) The Other Changes
- The other changes to the Autoimmune Protocol are all in the orders of reintroduction
- Coffee: Regular coffee consumption has been moved from Stage 3 to Stage 1 (occasional basis) and Stage 2 (daily basis)
- Cocoa: Cocoa and dark chocolate (dairy-free, soy-free) has been moved from Stage 2 to Stage 1
- Potatoes: These nightshade-family vegetables have been moved from Stage 4 to Stage 3 in peeled form, but remain in Stage 4 unpeeled
- Cashews and Pistachios: These nuts used to be in Stage 3, separated from other tree nuts and but have now moved to Stage 2 and included with other nuts and seeds
- Dairy: The highest-protein dairy products (like cheese, cottage cheese, milk, and isolates) have been moved from Stage 4 to Stage 3, with a clarification that these products be from grass-fed animals
- Legume Sprouts: Legume sprouts were not previously addressed in the reintroduction stages. They are now included in Stage 1
- Chia Seeds: Chia seeds from the other pseudo grains (which remain in Stage 4) and moved them to Stage 2 with tree nuts and seeds
- Split Peas, Lentils, and Garbanzo Beans: These have been separated from other dried-bean legumes (which remain in Stage 4) and moved them to Stage 3
- You can find all of these changes on Sarah’s website here:
- Sarah is working to make this information as widely available as possible, so she has created an eBook that is the most up to date version of the Autoimmune Protocol
- It has all of this information in it, but it is also a very comprehensive book
- It is over 300 pages and it is very practical focused
- The eBook also includes 4 weeks of meal plans and shopping lists, and all of the recipes that go with them
- This gives Sarah a way to directly communicate with the AIP community because she can upload an update to that eBook and those who own the eBook will have instant access to that update
- The other changes to the Autoimmune Protocol are all in the orders of reintroduction
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(44:29) Closing Thoughts
- Stacy loves that there is now science to show what AIP does to overall health
- It takes time for these results to come through, but we are seeing them now and are excited to share these details with listeners
- Even if you are an old veteran at this, maybe it will give you a reason to reach out to that person that could feel better with their own life and health if they were to make those changes too
- Thank you, listeners, for tuning in! Stacy and Sarah will be back again next week!
- Stacy has events planned in a number of locations along their journey
- Come meet Stacy and bring your cookbooks to get signed
- To get the information and RSVP, check Stacy’s highlight bubble on Instagram
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