Millions of people struggle for years with chronic health problems without any answers. In my telehealth functional medicine clinic, I often find these unexplained symptoms are related to autoimmunity, with many people on what I call “The Autoimmune-Inflammation Spectrum.”

When it comes to healing, the first thing I look at is a person’s diet. While there are many popular diets that address inflammation - keto, carnivore, paleo being a few - the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet is the most popular. (1)

The goal behind this diet is to eliminate every single possible food that could trigger inflammation for a minimum of 90 days to allow your body time to reset. Then, foods are reintroduced at a set schedule in order to determine what foods your body loves and what foods lead to inflammation.

My Personal Strategy

After walking countless patients through the AIP diet, I saw how to elevate this way of eating to work even better for people. In my book The Inflammation Spectrum, my plan Elimin8 eliminates the following foods for eight weeks, in conjunction with a specific anti-inflammatory lifestyle:

• Dairy products (yogurt, cheese, milk, ice cream, etc.)
• Grains (including gluten-free grains)
• Added sweeteners (including monk fruit and stevia)
• Inflammatory oils (canola, vegetable, corn, soy, etc.)
• Legumes
• Nightshades
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds

After the eight weeks, foods are reintroduced one by one and most people notice a drastic improvement in symptoms and are well on their way to better health. However, that’s not always the case for some people. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost! In fact, you might just have some less common sensitivities that we need to address.

FODMAPs

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols - aka, fermentable sugars. A FODMAP intolerance happens when the hydrogen gas that is released due to fermentation leads to IBS symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation, pain, and diarrhea. It can also be linked to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). If you think you might have a FODMAP intolerance, see if eliminating these high FODMAP foods help:

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Bananas
• Cabbage
• Garlic
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Sauerkraut
• Legumes

Histamines

Your body produces white blood cells known as mast cells that are responsible for releasing chemicals called histamines during the inflammatory-immune response to allergens. If you are deficient in the two enzymes that break down histamine - histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) and diamine oxidase (DAO) - you could experience an overflow of histamine or histamine intolerance.

Basically, this causes you to experience an allergic reaction without the actual allergen. (2) Symptoms of histamine intolerance can include rash, runny nose, and trouble breathing, in addition to joint pain and digestive distress. Foods high in histamine include:

• Cheese
• Chocolate
• Mushrooms
• Nuts
• Smoked meat
• Fermented foods (kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut)
• Bone broth
• Spinach

Mold

When you think of mold, you often think of the stuff growing on the food you left out on the counter too long, not in food you just bought. But certain foods are high in mycotoxins - toxins that are released by certain types of mold. (3) Some people with autoimmune problems are extra sensitive to mycotoxins or have genetic impairments that can exacerbate symptoms since they have trouble flushing them out of their body. Some foods high in mycotoxins include:

• Rice
• Coffee
• Nuts
• Dried fruit
• Processed meat
• Corn

In the end, there is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to health. Everyone is different, so if a traditional AIP diet or other elimination diet didn’t work for you, one of these sensitivities could be the reason. I always suggest working with a functional medicine practitioner who can walk this journey with you and cut out any guesswork in the process. You deserve thriving health and every amount of effort it takes to get there - it’s worth it!