(0:41) Welcome
Welcome back! Stacy and Sarah are now recording the show bi-coastalStacy is in Seattle and well caffeinated for this week's recordingMatt and Stacy are on day 6 of their summer travel adventureMatt left Virginia and drove across the country to meet Stacy in Seattle, visiting a number of National Monuments with Cole along the wayFinn and Stacy went to New York, and Wesley was with Stacy's momIt was nice to all meetup and come together on the West coastSarah hopes the rest of the trip is smooth sailing and filled with memorable adventuresSarah is still trying to settle into summer with her familyIt was off to a hectic start, and the kids are starting to settle into free timeThey are planning to have a low key summer this yearThe family is working on the next level of their citizenship, so that will be taking up a bit of timeSarah wanted to take this podcast to discuss the recent updates she made to the Autoimmune ProtocolShe wants to use every channel she has to communicate this latest scienceIn the grand scheme of things, these are relatively small changes, but they are important tweaksThe Paleo Approach was published in January 2014, so in those 5 1/2 years there has been a lot of science published that is very relevant to understanding how diet and lifestyle impact immune functionSarah has been procrastinating finishing The Gut Microbiome bookShe is in this last hard grind of that project and is happy to get distracted by any other project right nowThe research form the last three to five years has been where Sarah has spent most of her time, which will also feed into the Gut Microbiome book as wellSince last fall Sarah has been spending time doing a really thorough review of this literatureLooking for new studies that she may have missedDoing targeted searches for specific topicsWorking to understand what is preliminary researchThese new revisions to the autoimmune protocol reflect the new science that adds to our understanding of these gray area foods and ultimately shifts that category a little bit(11:15) The Latest Findings
There are now two clinical trials published using the AIP where the participants are given The Paleo Approach and The Autoimmune Wellness HandbookThey are taken through Angie's SAD to AIP in 6 transition program and then they maintain AIP strictly for another 4 to 5 weeks depending on the studyWe are measuring improvementsThe first study was published in fall 2017It was done on patients with active inflammatory bowel diseaseThey transitioned to the autoimmune protocol and over those 6 weeks with what was called a 5-week maintenance phase73% of the patients were in full clinical remission by 6 weeksSo by the time they finished transitioning to the AIP they were in full clinical remission100% of participants saw improvements in those markers of disease activity and they still all saw continuous improvements in those markers throughout the five-week maintenance phaseSo a really compelling study right out of the gateJust published last month in 2019 there was a very similarly designed study on women with Hashimoto’s thyroiditisThey did the same gradual transition over 6-weeks, followed by a 4-week maintenance phaseThis study was looking at a condition that is not as straightforward to measure how active the immune attack isThey were able to measure a very substantial decrease in the clinical symptom burdenThe average at the beginning of the study was 92 points, and after four weeks on the full AIP was down to 29Which is basically going from this is impacting my everyday life to this is a minor nuisanceThis study again produced very compelling dataThere is a study getting off the ground right now on the impact that AIP plays on Psoriasis and Eczema, and if you are interested and able to support this kind of research, please visit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/medical-study-on-eczema-psoriasis-and-aip#/The more medical studies that we have that come out of PubMed and clinical trials that show improvements in health as a result of Paleo/AIP diet and lifestyle changes, the more doctors will be willing to try it with their patients or advise them on these options on how to approach their conditionsThis will only help others in all corners of the world gain access to the latest information on how to improve their quality of life and overall health and wellbeingThe more science and research there is on these topics, the more compelling it becomes for medical professionalsA study that shows 73% of participants in full clinical remission is astoundingSuch powerful data is coming out of these studies as we are able to now start answering the common question - "how long"(23:04) Updates to AIP
As a result of these new studies, Sarah has added a gut health superfoods focusThis is through all of this new research on the gut microbiomeJust in the last few years, we have learned that our gut bacteria control the structure of the tight junctions between our gut cellsFor a long time now there have been studies showing that gut dysbiosis is potentially a precondition for every autoimmune diseaseAdding in this extra piece of, "yo, you can't heal your gut barrier if you don't heal your gut microbiome"They have to go hand in hand because your gut bacteria is controlling your gut barrierIt makes sense to really nurture our gut microbiome through AIPAIP (the Autoimmune Protocol) is a nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory diet that eliminates all foods that are potential drivers of immune activity in autoimmune disease while focusing on flooding the body with nutrients and providing both the resources and opportunities for the body to heal itselfIt's basically a more specific version of Paleo, it's a little bit stricter and a little bit more systematicIt involves more eliminations, but also more of a what to eat focusThere is a reintroduction protocol where you test your individual tolerance to the foods that are eliminated that have a gray area statusYou find your individual maintenance version of AIP, while also dialing in lifestyle factors that are important inputs to how the immune system is functioningAdding this focus on gut health superfoods really recognizes the importance of restoring the gut microbiome in healingMost of the foods that are gut microbiome superfoods are also nutrient-dense foodsA wide variety of vegetables and some fruitSeafoodOrgan meatDifferent families of fruits and vegetables feed different species of bacteria and they are independently beneficialIt is really about trying to hit as many of those different groups of vegetables every single dayThat is a different way of thinking about the high vegetable consumption on AIPSome other foods that are also really important on the gut microbiome:Green and black teaFish and shellfishExtra virgin olive oilHoney and bee productsBone BrothFermented foodsEdible insectsSarah shared feedback on how to slowly build up gut bacteria and how to slowly build up your fiber intakeWith gut dysbiosis, a large shift in diet can trigger symptomsThe way we can get around that is by slowing down that part of the shift(38:34) The Other Changes
The other changes to the Autoimmune Protocol are all in the orders of reintroductionCoffee: Regular coffee consumption has been moved from Stage 3 to Stage 1 (occasional basis) and Stage 2 (daily basis)Cocoa: Cocoa and dark chocolate (dairy-free, soy-free) has been moved from Stage 2 to Stage 1Potatoes: These nightshade-family vegetables have been moved from Stage 4 to Stage 3 in peeled form, but remain in Stage 4 unpeeledCashews and Pistachios: These nuts used to be in Stage 3, separated from other tree nuts and but have now moved to Stage 2 and included with other nuts and seedsDairy: The highest-protein dairy products (like cheese, cottage cheese, milk, and isolates) have been moved from Stage 4 to Stage 3, with a clarification that these products be from grass-fed animalsLegume Sprouts: Legume sprouts were not previously addressed in the reintroduction stages. They are now included in Stage 1Chia Seeds: Chia seeds from the other pseudo grains (which remain in Stage 4) and moved them to Stage 2 with tree nuts and seedsSplit Peas, Lentils, and Garbanzo Beans: These have been separated from other dried-bean legumes (which remain in Stage 4) and moved them to Stage 3You can find all of these changes on Sarah's website here:https://www.thepaleomom.com/updates-to-the-autoimmune-protocol/https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-here/the-autoimmune-protocol/Sarah is working to make this information as widely available as possible, so she has created an eBookthat is the most up to date version of the Autoimmune ProtocolIt has all of this information in it, but it is also a very comprehensive bookIt is over 300 pages and it is very practical focused The eBook also includes 4 weeks of meal plans and shopping lists, and all of the recipes that go with themThis gives Sarah a way to directly communicate with the AIP community because she can upload an update to that eBook and those who own the eBook will have instant access to that update(44:29) Closing Thoughts
Stacy loves that there is now science to show what AIP does to overall healthIt takes time for these results to come through, but we are seeing them now and are excited to share these details with listenersEven if you are an old veteran at this, maybe it will give you a reason to reach out to that person that could feel better with their own life and health if they were to make those changes tooThank you, listeners, for tuning in! Stacy and Sarah will be back again next week!Stacy has events planned in a number of locations along their journeyCome meet Stacy and bring your cookbooks to get signedTo get the information and RSVP, check Stacy's highlight bubble on Instagram
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