Karen Talks About Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Paleo Diet

Hi Folks! I am Karen from Wellness Works NW and I am going to talk about the Paleo Diet. You’ve probably heard of it before. There are so many kinds of diets out there and it may make you confused. There is the Mediterranean Diet, Paleo, the Switch, the Military Diet…you are probably saying: which one works? The answer is they all do for somebody!

 

So we have to figure out what works for you and a lot of times when you are chronically ill, it is all about what you eat. When it comes to the Paleo Diet, I would rather refer to it as a meal plan, they have more than one type. Today we are going to talk about that AIP Paleo Eating Plan which is meant for people with autoimmune disease because you want an eating plan that works for you. You want to listen to your body. It will tell you different things as you start eating differently. We need to have a food diary so we can keep track of how your body is responding to different foods. This is very important.

 

The Paleo Diet was first started back in the 70’s by Dr Walter Voegtlin, he believed that we should go back to how we ate during the cave man time and eat the way they did. In the 80’s another man, Dr Boyd Eaton, wrote a book called the Paleolithic Prescription, because he had many clients with autoimmune disease were having success with this type of eating. Now we see that so many people have autoimmune diseases and we need to help you have success. 

 

We are talking about the AIP Paleo Diet today because that is one diet that is helping people with autoimmune issues. When my clients start something, they usually just want me to tell them what to eat. Do you want me to eat a bunch of peanut butter? I will eat peanut butter all day. But I really want you to think about a well-balanced diet. You want to think about your fats, carbs and proteins. I want to show you what I have on the board, here, that are foods that you can eat on the AIP Diet:

When we talk about Meat, we are mainly talking about chicken and turkey. When it comes to steak, if it is as big as my head, you cannot eat it by yourself, you can share it once a month. We want you to cut back on Pork and Beef because these meats cause inflammation. I love pork and beef, but when you have an autoimmune disease the trick is to avoid inflammation. So basically you can eat chicken and turkey.

 

I want to encourage you to try different kinds of fish, even if you haven’t liked it in the past, or haven’t had a lot experience with fish.

 

Veggies are so important. Seeds are very good for you. Nuts are good. If you have dentures, like I do, sometimes you can find nuts that are crushed that are easier for you to eat. All kinds of herbs and spices will help you avoid too much salt. Cumin is a great spice, it has a strong smell but when you get used to it, it tastes great. Turmeric is really good for inflammation. Healthy fats are really important. Avocados are a great fat. Bone Broth is great for inflammation and it even adds to your fluid intake. There are all kinds of Olives to try and they are all so good for you. Sweet Potatoes are really great and they are so good for you. I really want to encourage you to try foods that might be different than what you are used to.

 

I really love Coke, so I understand how hard that is to stop drinking soda, but we must stop. There are lots of gluten free options to help you avoid grains. You need to be mindful of most dairy. I know that we have been told that Legumes are good for you, but if you have autoimmune disease, they cause inflammation and we want to avoid them. Artificial Sweeteners are not good for you at all, for lots of reasons. Margarine is only 1 molecule away from plastic, so we really need to stop eating it. Most vegetable oils are not healthy because of the way they are processed. Trans Fats are terrible. Processed Food and Fast Food have tons of salt and fillers in it. What are Nightshades? They are fruits and vegetables that are related to each other that are known to cause inflammation. There are great vegetables that you can eat instead of these vegetables and fruits and remember our goal is to reduce inflammation.

 

If you are fighting with an autoimmune disease of any kind, I want you to look at this eating plan. Maybe it will work for you.

Now let’s do some exercising. Getting the metabolism to speed up will help you lose weight and feel better. Doing exercise is a great way to get your metabolism moving. We are watching what we are eating and now we are going to move. 

 

We are going to do a combination of Burpee and Squat. You start from a standing position and put your hands up in the air to stretch. Next you drop down and do  a push up. Then stand up and do a squat, bringing your arms up and out. I did that really quickly and if you need to you can do it a little slower. If you were to do about 5 of those and then practice your breathing, you will begin to feel better. I know you are busy and sometimes you need to do exercise on the fly. But I want you to do this.

 

Please head over to our Resources page. We have great writers, like my wife, Summer Clemenson, and my friend, Jamie Holloway. They write articles to help you learn about wellness and living a wellness lifestyle. I am sending you positive prayers and vibes!

 

If you have any questions please feel free to send me an email or you can call or text me at 360-447-8061!