Did you know that your diet can have a significant impact on your autoimmune symptoms? Today, we're sharing some nutrition tips that can help you manage your condition and feel your best.
Top Nutrition Tips for Managing Autoimmune Symptoms:
Incorporate Anti-Inflammatory Foods: Foods like leafy greens, berries, fatty fish, and turmeric have powerful anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce symptoms.
Avoid Processed Foods: Processed foods often contain additives and preservatives that can trigger inflammation. Focus on whole, unprocessed foods instead.
Embrace Healthy Fats: Include sources of healthy fats such as avocados, and olive oil in your diet. These fats can help reduce inflammation. Additionally, ghee, lard, beef fat, duck fat may be sources your body likes. Avoid the highly processed seed oils and vegetable oils and especially corn oils due to GMO, glyphosate contamination and high mold content. Peanut oil is another to avoid due to mold.
Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water is essential for overall health and can help flush out toxins that may exacerbate symptoms. For many, absorption is an issue. Using a clean sugar-free, artificial sugar free, electrolyte powder or trace mineral drops does the trick to get hydration to take hold.
I once had a client who was drinking three to four liters of water a day and was chronically dehydrated. After he added trace mineral drops to his water his hydration levels became optional.
Consider Probiotics: Probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi can promote a healthy gut, which is crucial for immune function. Make sure to avoid sugary versions. Better yet make your own or take a good probiotic supplement. *sadly, it has been shown that many if not most store bought yogurt and kefir products actually do not contain any living probiotics once processed and on the shelf.
Don't forget Pre-Biotics: Potentially even more important than probiotics, prebiotics (fiber) give our good micro flora (gut bacteria) the food they require to thrive. When they thrive, you thrive. *Akkermansia is a profoundly helpful gut bacteria and like all good gut bacteria, it needs the availability of prebiotics/fiber. (more on this amazing bacteria strain in a future email/newsletter)
Limit Sugar Intake: High sugar intake can lead to increased inflammation. If you are struggling with symptoms avoid all sugars even "healthy sugars". Sugars also feed the strains of bacteria we would rather keep at bay. If you must ...then opt for natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup in moderation.
Experiment with Elimination Diets: Testing food sensitivities can show you a more direct route of what to avoid. I prefer testing vs guessing. However, you can try a good Autoimmune Protocol Diet or an Elimination Diet, or rotation diet. Identify and eliminate foods that may be triggering your symptoms. At a minimum, eliminate the known offenders gluten, dairy, corn, coffee, processed foods, sugar, alcohol for at least 30 days and observe how your body reacts. After 30 days add one food every week to determine if you have a sensitivity.
Personal Story:
A several years ago, I was struggling with my autoimmune symptoms and felt overwhelmed. After consulting with a colleague, I decided to really overhaul my diet. I started incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods and cut out all of the offenders. After a few weeks I was feeling better but this wasn't enough I was missing something so decided to do food sensitivity testing. I discovered new sensitivities including coffee (mold sources!), rice, apples and a few other surprises. I cut these out and within weeks, I noticed a significant improvement in my energy levels and a reduction in my symptoms. This experience showed me the power of nutrition in managing autoimmune conditions, and I hope it can help you too.
Small changes can make a big difference. Try incorporating these tips into your routine and see how you feel. We're always here to support you on this journey.
To your health,
Pam
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