Phoenix Helix: Autoimmune Resilience

In support of my own autoimmune health, I'm taking a sabbatical for the month of December and releasing two of my favorite episodes from Season 1 that you might have missed. Today's episode originally aired 3 years ago, but it's a timeless topic. Sometimes, we make poor diet and lifestyle choices, even knowing that it will cause us pain. In today's episode we answer the question: "Why do we do this?" And we also offer a variety of ways to overcome this pattern. Dr. Judy Tsafrir is a psychiatrist who specializes in nutritional approaches to healing. She'll be teaching us what’s going on in our bodies and brains, when we sabotage our own health. Rory Linehan is the blogger behind The Paleo PI. He has personal experience overcoming self-sabotage and will be sharing his story with us today as well. Visit

Our homes can have a powerful effect on our lives. Not only do they reflect our interests and daily responsibilities, they also impact how we feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. Decluttering can be a cathartic experience with benefits that resonate beyond material things. We learn the practice of letting go. We reflect on what we value most. We make space for change. We let more light in. Autoimmune disease is often a wake-up call for this type of priority-setting, and decluttering can be a way to de-stress and support our health. My guest Courtney Carver has multiple sclerosis herself, which inspired her decade-long journey into simple living. Today, we share practical tips for decluttering everything from our homes, to our emails, to our hearts and minds.

There are literally thousands of anecdotal stories into the benefit of the paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) as a treatment for autoimmune disease. But until recently, there was no scientific research to back up these claims. That changed with the publication of this study. 15 patients with active IBD (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis) transitioned to the paleo autoimmune protocol. Result? 73% achieved remission. In this podcast, I interview Dr. Gauree Konijeti, gastroenterologist and lead researcher, and Angie Alt, the lead AIP coach for the group.

Mistakes: We’re human, and we all make them; it’s one of the ways we learn. But sometimes – if we’re lucky – we can learn from each other’s mistakes without having to make them ourselves. That’s our goal with this podcast. My guest, Chris Kresser, is one of the most respected voices in the paleo community. A functional medicine practitioner, world-class educator, and bestselling author, Chris highlights common autoimmune healing mistakes made by both patients and practitioners.

Why is anemia so common among people with autoimmune disease, and how does that impact our health and quality of life? What are the different types? How are they diagnosed? What are the common symptoms? And how are they treated? My guest, Dr. Amy Nett, will be answering these questions and more.

With autoimmune disease, we’ve been told that our body is literally attacking itself. It’s common to feel betrayed by our bodies, furious with our bodies, and at war with ourselves. That's not a healing state. However, making the shift to self-love doesn't always come easily, especially when we're suffering. The good news is that self-compassion can be learned, and it supports our health in multiple ways, not just mentally and emotionally but also physically. This podcast goes into all the details, including beginner steps and a guided self-compassion meditation. My guest is Dr. Kristin Neff. She has been teaching self-compassion and leading the research in this field for the past 15 years.

What does it mean to be a nutrient seeker? Sometimes when we're on a healing diet, we focus so much on the foods we avoid, that we forget to pay attention to the foods we're choosing to eat. While it is essential to avoid inflammatory foods, we also need to provide our bodies with the deep nutrition they need to heal. A steady diet of chicken breasts, broccoli, and paleo AIP desserts isn't going to get us there. So, which foods give us the biggest bang for our nutritional buck? What do our meals and menu look like when we are truly eating for health? That's what this podcast is all about.

Let’s be honest. The paleo autoimmune protocol is hard to do, and some people have a harder time than others. In this podcast, I invited 3 health & nutrition coaches onto the show, to share techniques that help their clients maintain a healthy lifestyle against all temptations and obstacles. All three of these ladies have personal experience following the autoimmune protocol for their own health as well. Let's help each other succeed!

Listeners have told me that while they love how information-packed my podcasts are, they would also love to know more about me personally. So, today my friend Joanna took the host chair and interviewed me! Note: this conversation isn’t about autoimmune disease at all – because we are so much more than our disease and sometimes it’s easy to forget that. Instead, we talked about everything from my childhood, to falling in love, to tattoos, to swimming with whales. Welcome to the Eileen Hour. :-)

Surgery can be a traumatic experience for the body - even more so for the autoimmune body - yet sometimes it’s necessary. So, how do we support our health: before, during, and afterward? There are no guarantees in life, but there are things we can do to stack the success odds in our favor. There are also ways to tap resilience when things don't go according to plan. Dr. Terry Wahls, Angie Alt, and myself, have all had surgery while maintaining our healing diet and lifestyle. In this podcast we share our experience and tips.