6 diet tips for healing from autoimmune disease (2024)

February 26, 2017

Psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Hashimoto’s hypthyroidism – all these conditions seem at first glance to be unrelated. They affect entirely different parts of the body. But they all have something in common: They are autoimmune diseases.

When someone has an autoimmune disease, their immune system has begun to attack parts of their own body. An autoimmune disease can attack almost any part of the body, or several different parts. More than 80 types of autoimmune disease exist. Some more examples:

  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Lupus
  • Guillain-Barre syndrome (affects nerves in the legs, arms, and upper body)
  • Sjogren’s syndrome (affects the eyes and mouth)

The medical community has reached no agreement on what causes autoimmune disease. But these diseases all have a common thread: intestinal permeability. (Perhaps you’ve heard it called “leaky gut syndrome.”)

The walls of your intestines naturally allow nutrients from your food to pass through, so they can be absorbed by your body. But in people with increased intestinal permeability, the intestinal wall also allows more harmful things to escape into your body, causing an immune response.

The food you eat has a big effect on the health of your gut. So, if you have an autoimmune disease, changes to your diet could help improve your condition.

6 diet tips for healing from autoimmune disease (1)

Ways diet can help improve your condition

  1. Eliminate highly processed or refined foods.
    Stay away from packaged, processed foods, as well as foods with refined ingredients (white flour, syrups, colorings, refined oils).
  2. Eliminate added sugars.
    Most Americans eat too many added sugars (sugars added to foods during processing). Stick to sugar that occurs naturally in foods such as fruit. Avoid products with added sugar.
  3. Eat more plant-based foods.
    Your gut wants more plants: vegetables and fruit. Give it what it wants.
  4. Get an adequate amount of protein, plus healthy fats and oils.
    Supplement your plant-rich diet with some protein. And don’t shy away from healthy fats: nuts and seeds, avocados, coconut and extra virgin olive oils, and other non-refined oils.
  5. Sprinkle in some fermented foods.
    Good bacteria help keep your gut healthy, and they can be found in fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and yogurt (as long as you’re not sensitive to dairy).
  6. Address food sensitivities.
    Your body might be sensitive to certain foods, such as gluten-containing grains or dairy products. Those sensitivities can affect the health of your gut, so you should eliminate any food groups you’re sensitive to. The best way to determine for sure if you have any food sensitivities is with laboratory testing.

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6 diet tips for healing from autoimmune disease (2024)

FAQs

6 diet tips for healing from autoimmune disease? ›

Avoid eating junk and refined foods. Eliminate alcohol and coffee from your diet. Exercise regularly, stay hydrated, sleep well, practice stress management, eat nutritious anti-inflammatory foods, and join positive, healthy support groups.

What is the best diet to reverse autoimmune disease? ›

Avoid eating junk and refined foods. Eliminate alcohol and coffee from your diet. Exercise regularly, stay hydrated, sleep well, practice stress management, eat nutritious anti-inflammatory foods, and join positive, healthy support groups.

What is the best lifestyle for autoimmune disease? ›

Top 8 Lifestyle Changes to Help Your Autoimmune Disease
  • 1 - Eat Healthy. 3 - Manage Stress. ...
  • 2- Be Active. 3 - Manage Stress. ...
  • 3 - Manage Stress. 3 - Manage Stress. ...
  • 4 - Nurture Healthy Relationships and Social Connections. ...
  • 5 - Get Enough Quality Sleep. ...
  • 6- Intermittent Fasting. ...
  • 7- Manage Weight.

What are the top 5 worst autoimmune diseases? ›

What Are The Most Serious Autoimmune Diseases?
  • Giant Cell Myocarditis. Giant cell myocarditis is a very rare autoimmune disorder causing inflammation of the heart. ...
  • Vasculitis. ...
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS) ...
  • Lupus. ...
  • Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
Aug 5, 2022

How to calm an autoimmune flare? ›

If you are living with an autoimmune disease, there are things you can do each day to feel better:
  1. Eat healthy, well-balanced meals. Make sure to include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk products, and lean sources of protein. ...
  2. Get regular physical activity. ...
  3. Get enough rest. ...
  4. Reduce stress.
Feb 22, 2021

What is a super food for autoimmune? ›

Foods for Calming Autoimmune Disease Symptoms
  • Leafy Greens. Caffeine and stress deplete magnesium, so incorporating food sources that add these nutrients back into your diet is increasingly more important in our fast-paced world. ...
  • Turmeric. ...
  • Broccoli and Cauliflower. ...
  • Salmon. ...
  • Berries. ...
  • Sauerkraut.
Feb 20, 2020

What drink is good for autoimmune disease? ›

There's no perfect drink for people with autoimmune diseases. However, polyphenol-rich dry red wine and clear liquors mixed with soda waters or lower sugar swaps, like some green juices, are your friends. Hard kombuchas with no added sugar also go down easy and support your gut with probiotics.

What foods aggravate autoimmune disease? ›

Possible Foods to Avoid in AIP
  • Alcohol.
  • Coffee.
  • Dairy.
  • Eggs.
  • Food additives.
  • Grains.
  • Industrial seed oils.
  • Legumes.
Aug 17, 2023

What is the best exercise for autoimmune disease? ›

Consider exercises like walking on the treadmill, yoga, Pilates, weight training, low-impact circuit training and swimming. Add in cardio and aerobics which fit your ability levels such as rowing, stationary bike or outdoor cycling, step climbing, elliptical and dance.

How did I cured my autoimmune disease naturally? ›

Five Top Tips to Improve Autoimmune Disease Naturally
  • Nutrition. Adopt an anti-inflammatory diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, and healthy fats. ...
  • Heal the gut. ...
  • Optimising your environment. ...
  • Supplements. ...
  • Regular exercise.

What is the root cause of autoimmune disease? ›

On a basic level, autoimmune disease occurs because the body's natural defenses — the immune system — attack the body's own healthy tissue. Researchers have several ideas about why this happens. When the body senses danger from a virus or infection, the immune system kicks into gear and attacks it.

What vitamins should autoimmune patients avoid? ›

Avoid high doses of vitamin C, beta carotene, cat's claw, echinacea and ginseng, among others. Why add fuel to the fire? Doing so may cause you to slip out of remission and into more misery. I'll share some tips in the space provided, but there are so many other nutrients.

What autoimmune disease does Kelly Clarkson have? ›

Kelly Clarkson. Before she launched her popular talk show and became a judge on The Voice, American Idol winner and singer/songwriter Kelly Clarkson shared her Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism diagnosis in 2018.

What should you not do with autoimmune disease? ›

Tobacco, alcohol, coffee, oils, food additives, refined and processed sugars, and certain medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should also be avoided ( 1 ). Examples of NSAIDs include ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, and high dose aspirin.

What kind of doctor is best for autoimmune disease? ›

A rheumatologist treats arthritis and other rheumatic diseases, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases that can cause your immune system to attack its joints, muscles, bones, or organs. Rheumatologists treat the following autoimmune conditions: Rheumatoid arthritis. Gout.

How can I reset my autoimmune system? ›

5 Lifestyle Changes to Help Reverse Your Autoimmune Disease
  1. Stop Eating Junk Food! ...
  2. Fuel Your Mitochondria. ...
  3. Address Your Stress And Calm Your Nervous System. ...
  4. Sleep More. ...
  5. Exercise Often.

What is the autoimmune reset diet? ›

An AIP diet avoids all processed foods, alcohol, additives, refined sugars, coffee, tea, oils, and certain medications. In the elimination phase, a person will also avoid foods such as grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, and nightshade vegetables, but they may reintroduce these later.

How to reverse autoimmune disease naturally? ›

Five Top Tips to Improve Autoimmune Disease Naturally
  1. Adopt an anti-inflammatory diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, and healthy fats.
  2. Eliminate gluten and other trigger foods, such as corn, oats, and rice.
  3. Consume nutrient-dense foods that nurture your body but remember that there's no one- size-fits-all approach.

What are the worst foods for autoimmune disease? ›

Many lifestyle factors, including nutrition, can cause additional inflammation and trigger a flare-up of the disease. Eating particular types of foods can increase the symptoms of your autoimmune condition. These include greasy and deep-fried fast food, certain vegetables, and foods high in sugar, gluten, and dairy.

Can anything reverse autoimmune disease? ›

Although currently there are no cures for autoimmune diseases, researchers are still trying to find what causes them in hopes of developing new treatments.

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