On the AIP Paleo Diet.  My Summer “Adventure”

Well, I’m not vacationing this summer due to Covid-19, so I thought I’d undertake a new adventure—a restrictive, healing diet.  And I’m sure you’re thinking—has she lost her mind?  Maybe.  But probably not.  I’ll explain.

One of the great opportunities I had this summer was to finish a certification and become a Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner.  That probably doesn’t mean much to you, but I enjoyed learning more about how gluten affects all of us (sorry, you too) and how to look at systemic wheat sensitivities to help clients deal with their effects.

One stat just hit me in the gut.  (pun intended).  

Six to Seven out of 10 people have some sort of Wheat Related Disorder and are on a continuum for an Autoimmune Disease. 

So a majority of us are running around allergic to wheat to some degree?  Are you one of them?

I didn’t think I was…until last fall. 

I had been complaining of a drop in energy—perhaps it was my studies in Nutrition Therapy coupled with some recent life changes. A naturopathic doctor with whom I worked wanted me to take a test call the Wheat Zoomer.  The Wheat Zoomer tests for immune responses to wheat peptides (both gluten and non-gluten) as well as for intestinal permeability—otherwise known as “leaky gut”.   (More on leaky gut in a future blog post).   I was a bit skeptical as I hadn’t had reactions to gluten and/or wheat prior to the test—or so I thought. 

The test ranks your reactions based on an “in control” to “high risk” ranking.  It’s easy to read the green (in range), yellow (moderate range) and red (high risk) results.  Let’s just say that my test came back with a lot of RED.  I was in shock during the consult.  Are gluten and wheat just that sneaky in their affects?  I think so.

Fast forward to my Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner studies this spring.  As we continued studying the amazing negative effects of gluten and wheat on the human body, we also completed a lecture on….you guessed it... the Wheat Zoomer.  Digging deep within the report gave me a new appreciation for my situation and how to best manage it.   

The AIP Paleo Diet

Most of you have probably heard of the Paleo Diet, also known as the Caveman Diet.  It emphasizes the foods that our Paleolithic ancestors would have eaten.  Lots of people use this diet for weight loss or a clean eating reset.  But it can really be used as a “healing diet” because it eliminates most, if not all the foods in which one might have an allergic reaction.  There are plenty of foods that can cause an allergic reaction, but the most common ones are:  gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, beans, nuts, and nightshades. 

The AI part of the diet stands for Autoimmune.  And that’s where I found myself after taking the deep plunge into the results of my Wheat Zoomer test—on the Autoimmune spectrum.  And that means that I could be suffering from Celiac Disease.  In conventional medicine, Celiac is only diagnosed after an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. This procedure identifies inflammation/damage in your small intestines.  I could still undergo that procedure and learn a true diagnosis.  But what would change?  According to the Wheat Zoomer and my own symptoms, I need to be gluten and wheat free.  But perhaps there are other foods that are affecting me.  Ugh.

It was my test results and some nagging symptoms—I mean, YEARS of nagging symptoms—that convinced me to jump into a 30 day AIP diet to make sure what foods are truly giving me problems and how to reduce and (hopefully) eliminate the symptoms I had been experiencing.  While there are lots of healing diets and many of them are fantastic, for me, this was the best eating plan to undertake.

The First Twelve Days

I’m writing this blog post on Day 12 of my eating plan.  I’m not calling it a diet because weight loss is not a goal, and I think too many times we are “dieting” and not changing our eating for the betterment of our health.  (More on that in a future blog post, too).

I would say “so far, so good” about my experience.  I can have lots of vegetables, fruits, grass-fed/pasteurized meats, fish, mushrooms, and healthy fats (ok, some healthy fats…).  The list of NO foods is a bit daunting.  They include: 

  • Wheat and gluten

  • All dairy

  • Eggs

  •  All grains

  • Beans and legumes

  • Nuts

  • Coffee (it’s a nut, dang.)

  • Alcohol

  • Nightshades

Nightshades are a type of vegetable (including tomatoes, potatoes, tomatillos, peppers, and eggplant and pepper-based spices) that can cause a sensitivity or an allergic reaction, especially in people who are on an autoimmune spectrum.  Because they have lectins, we believe they can cause damage to the gut lining. Nightshades also contain glycoalkaloids, which have been shown to contribute to leaky gut (there’s that “leaky gut” again) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).1 So all of those foods are out. 

The most common reaction I’ve been getting from people is “why?” and “how long?”, and I have to admit that I thought those two things myself.  I am counting the days until I can grab a cup of coffee in the morning or scoop up a handful of almonds.  But I do feel better.  My symptoms have not returned.  I feel more rested and refreshed in the morning, I am sleeping much better and don’t feel anxious at all.  I do feel a bit weak on some days, but that comes and goes.  I do feel like I’m eating enough, but I have lost a few pounds. 

Are You Sensitive to Gluten and/or Wheat?

As I mentioned above, the symptoms of gluten and wheat sensitivity may be ones that you don’t notice at first or brush away.  Here are some of the symptoms, although we are all different and you may be experiencing some altogether different symptoms:

  • Bloating

  • Diarrhea or Constipation

  • Abdominal Pain

  • Lack of Energy

  • Headaches

  • Skin Problems

  • Unexpected weight loss or gain

  • Anxiety or depression

If you have that nagging feeling that you might be like me—someone who has had some strange symptoms and just doesn’t know what may be causing them, it may be time to understand more about gluten and wheat sensitivity.  The book Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD, is a great place to start.  And if you’d like to dig deeper, let’s chat about your situation.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to ask questions and find out more about how wheat and gluten may be affecting you.    

And stay tuned for Days 13-30 and the Reintroduction Phase. 

To a healthier you!

Bev

1.       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12479649

 

 

 

    

 

 

Previous
Previous

My Summer “Adventure” Part 2 and a Little More on Gluten Sensitivity

Next
Next

We are Live!