S2E21 - Elimination Diets & Autoimmune Diseases with Dr. Donna Mazzola

Show Summary: "Healing is a marathon, not a sprint."

Do you know someone who has autoimmune diseases? There are about 110 types of autoimmune diseases, and most people who have them are not aware that they have them. Checking your food intake and what foods you should avoid eating can help you heal these diseases.

We have Dr. Donna Mazolla, a.k.a Dr. Autoimmune Girl, to discuss elimination diets and autoimmune diseases with us for this episode. For someone who has had Hashimotos for several years, Donna is the perfect person who can tell us what works and what does not work with the food we eat. Plus, she is a doctor of pharmacology! She shares all she knows through her book "Immunity Food Fix." 

Donna teaches people what she has been practicing. Like us, she realized that there is a gap in health care that other medical professionals do not address that much - nutrition and lifestyle. Instead, they prescribe medication and let their patients go about their way without being adequately advised or educated about what they should eat or avoid. 

So please tune in to this episode and share it with as many people as possible to be your healing champion by simply addressing your nutrition and making the necessary lifestyle changes. If we could do it, you can do it, too! We are here for you. 

Exceptional Highlights: 

No wonder people are so traumatized by food because all these quote-unquote experts are all yelling at each other, saying each other is wrong.There is a science to back up that food will make or break you.We need to figure out which buttons to push and which foods to eat to help our bodies heal themselves.

Show Highlights: 

Can you add something about the effects of antibiotics on our microbiome?

Donna 13:33It's impacted our immune system; it's decreased our oral tolerance. We see a rise in allergies as a result.

Suppose people are starting to incorporate food after an elimination diet. What are the effects that they should look out for?

Donna 18:38It could be fatigue, something you're not even thinking about. But like your typical bloating, diarrhea, or gas, these let you know something is going on with the gut. 

What about these people that can't even handle vegetables?

Donna 21:10For those people, the question is, have you removed all inflammatory foods first? And now you're eating vegetables and can't tolerate it. We have to give it time. 

Can we get your opinions on the different types of elimination diets?

Donna 32:50I am a pro vegetable and not vegan or vegetarian. I'm not anti-animal protein. But I recognize the need, like the phytochemicals present in plants. Looking at Keto and being a carnivore, I'm against these diets because of the disruption and the gut microbiome. 

Important Links: The Gutsy Health Podcast IG Dr. Donna Mazzola’s IG Spore-based Probiotics Episode with Dr. Kiran Krishnan Headaches and Migraines Episode with Dr. Meg Mill Dr. Donna Mazzola’s Website Immunity Food Fix Book