2852: Q&A - What's the Best Autoimmune Disease Diet Plan and AIP Diet Advice

[00:00:00] Sichere dir das neue Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra mit der nächsten Generation Galaxy AI. Bei O2 mit doppelten Speicher und Galaxy Watch Ultra. Jetzt vorbestellen. O2 can do. Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:30] And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep. So, press play on Good Sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:54] It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily and I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, a very happy Friday to you and welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition and lots more. You send in the questions and I answer them for you. And like I always say, I want this to be a place where I kind of bust any of those myths that are out there. I want you to be able to come here, listen to this podcast and hear the truth.

[00:01:22] And what do I base the truth on? I look at the data. I try and look at research because really that's what's most important. It's what do good studies say about your particular question. That's how we can bust through some of these myths and really get to the heart of what's going on. So with that, let's hear today's question as we optimize your life.

[00:02:11] I think that's a lot of, it seems to me, meat, protein, high fat, good for your facts and there are a lot of good advantages to it. In fact, I've studied a little bit further into ketosis and the benefits of it for burning fat instead of sugar or glucose. However, I think that eating a lot of meat products is really tough on your system. Hard to digest. You have to break it down for the amino acids that your body needs.

[00:02:39] And I was raised plant-based and really kind of have a belief system around it as to why it's healthier. I was raised on the seventh day of an established, not in a blue zone. So I go back and forth as to which is a better approach for treating my autoimmunity, which happens to be Hashimoto's. If you have anything for me or any direction I can go, any tips, any information to search out, thank you. I love you, Shell.

[00:03:07] Thank you for your question, Shell. And thank you for listening every day and for your kind words. I'm so glad that you found us and I'm so glad that what we're doing is helping you. So in regards to your question, I agree that it does seem as though more folks are suffering from autoimmune-related diseases or conditions nowadays. But for some of these conditions, it's not always clear whether the actual numbers of those suffering has increased

[00:03:32] or whether the improvements in medical technology have allowed doctors to more accurately diagnose these conditions. So when we think about how far we've come with simple things like blood tests, there's so much more we can interpret now thanks to newer technologies. But regardless of all of this, you're right that diet can play a critical role when it comes to managing autoimmune conditions. Now I have to mention my disclaimer here. Whatever I'm about to suggest will not work for everyone.

[00:04:00] As always, I encourage you to discuss any changes you plan on making with your doctor before attempting any of this. So Shell, you mentioned the paleo diet as a potential way to help with autoimmune disease. And just as you mentioned, the paleo diet is a lower carbohydrate, higher protein, and kind of a medium to high fat diet. What's happened is someone modified the paleo diet and made it even more restrictive to hopefully help those with autoimmune conditions.

[00:04:28] But here's the problem. There are many versions of this new, more restrictive paleo diet. And each of those claim to help with autoimmune diseases. So some versions of this protocol will say you need to remove grains, beans, soy, peanuts, dairy, and vegetable oils from your diet. Whereas other versions will say you also need to remove fruits. Or yet other versions will say avoid eggs. But again, not all say the same thing. So it's difficult to know which one you're supposed to follow.

[00:04:59] Now Shell, you mentioned a key phrase in your question. You called the paleo diet a kind of elimination diet. And you're right that paleo is a type of elimination diet. Because like I said, it requires you to eliminate certain foods from your diet. Now, I'm going to blow your mind here. Stick with me. Since paleo is an elimination diet, maybe it's not following paleo that is going to prove to be helpful.

[00:05:24] But merely the fact that paleo forces you to remove only those one or two foods that are causing your condition to flare up. Okay, let me give you an example. Let's say, for the sake of argument, eggs cause your condition to flare up. But, follow me, you just don't know that yet. Your body doesn't like eggs, but you don't know that yet. So, you're still not sure which food or foods is actually causing you to feel worse. So, to help you figure this out,

[00:05:54] you happen to start a version of the paleo diet that requires you remove all eggs and egg products completely. But at the same time, you start increasing your intake of red meats, decreasing your intake of grains, including whole grains, and beans, because that's what the protocol requires. So, because this version forced you to remove eggs, you do start to feel better. The food that was triggering your symptoms, eggs, has been removed.

[00:06:20] But, you've been increasing your intake of other foods that may not be so great to eat over the long term, like red meat, and decreasing your consumption of foods that may help you in the long term, like whole grains and beans. So, think about this for a second. It's not the paleo diet itself that's helping you. It was you not eating eggs. So, meanwhile, by increasing your consumption of red meat, and decreasing your consumption of whole grains and beans,

[00:06:47] you might be raising your risk for developing other chronic conditions, like heart disease or even cancer. So, in the short term, you might be feeling better, but the long term risk might change. So, really, it was a coincidence that the paleo diet helped you feel better. It wasn't because of paleo. It was because you removed the one food that caused you to feel worse. Shell, you also mentioned that you suffer from Hashimoto's, which is short for Hashimoto's thyroiditis. For those of you that don't know,

[00:07:15] what happens to people with this condition is their immune cells, their body's defense, for some reason start attacking the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is found in your neck. It's right in front of your windpipe. And its main function is to help with metabolism. So, if the body starts attacking this gland, it can lead to problems with metabolism, or basically how many calories you burn each day. So, for someone with Hashimoto's, they may find their metabolism slows down, and they begin to feel tired,

[00:07:44] and they may start to gain weight. Now, here's what's really interesting about diet as it relates to Hashimoto's specifically. When we look at the research, are you ready for this? Both paleo and a vegan diet have been shown to help. Those are like two complete opposites, and yet both can be helpful. Doesn't that just prove my point? It's not following paleo or Atkins or South Beach or vegan or anything else that's particularly helpful.

[00:08:12] It's the fact that by coincidence, those diets might just force you to remove the one or two foods that trigger your symptoms. But the other restrictions, again, might actually negatively affect your health in other ways over the long term. A side note, what we do know about Hashimoto's is that it's good to avoid these foods specifically. Cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, and cabbage. That's because these foods can aggravate the thyroid for those with this specific condition.

[00:08:41] If you're otherwise healthy, no need to avoid those. Okay, so what should you do? The first thing I would recommend is, before even changing your diet, keep a food diary along with a record of your symptoms. So anytime you eat or drink something, write down the date, the time, and what you ate or drank. If you could also include a guesstimate of how much you consumed, that would be helpful too. So keep this food diary with you at all times. Whenever you begin experiencing a flare-up of your symptoms,

[00:09:10] write that down in the diary. Describe the symptoms in as much detail as you can. Were you feeling any pain? Where? Was it cramping you were experiencing? Where? Did you have a skin reaction? What did that look like? For those kinds of reactions, if you can use your phone to take a quick photo, that'd be even better. You get the idea. So by doing this, it will allow you to find any patterns between the foods you ate and the appearance of symptoms. That way, you can focus on just eliminating those one or two foods

[00:09:38] instead of following a really restrictive diet for no reason. Also, don't forget about other lifestyle factors that can contribute to a flare-up of autoimmune conditions. Stress, for example, is one of the most common reasons people tend to flare-up. Getting adequate sleep is also important. This allows your body's healthy cells to rejuvenate and keep that autoimmune condition in check. So again, yes, diet is important, but don't forget about those other lifestyle factors too.

[00:10:08] Thank you again for the question, Shell. All right, now, if you want your question answered right here on the show and get a copy of our Optimal Living Daily Workbook, you can email your question to health at oldpodcast.com. Or if you want your voice played and heard in an episode, come by oldpodcast.com slash ask. Right on that page, you can record straight from your computer's microphone. It's really easy. You can even play back your message and do retakes before sending it in.

[00:10:37] Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and call in your question. The number is 161-ILOVE-OHD. That's 1-614-568-3643. Thank you so much for sending in your questions. Answering them is my favorite part of the show. All right, that'll do it for another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you for listening every day and all the way through. I hope you have a great start to your weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow

[00:11:07] where your optimal life awaits. Thank you.