Diets we support › Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)
A strict, temporary elimination reset for autoimmune conditions.
AIP is the most demanding plan we build, and it is also the one people are most relieved to have decided for them. The autoimmune protocol, or AIP, is a stricter cousin of paleo designed for people with autoimmune conditions. For a few weeks you remove the foods most likely to provoke the immune system, grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds, to see if your symptoms settle. Then, like other elimination diets, you reintroduce foods one at a time to learn your personal triggers. It's demanding, and it's meant to be temporary.
Start your Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) plan →During the elimination phase you eat meat, fish, and seafood, non-nightshade vegetables, fruit in moderation, and healthy fats like olive, avocado, and coconut oil, with bone broth and fermented foods. You leave out grains, beans, dairy, eggs, nightshade vegetables (tomato, pepper, potato, eggplant), nuts, seeds, coffee, alcohol, and processed foods. After symptoms improve, you reintroduce foods one by one to find what you tolerate.
People with an autoimmune condition, like Hashimoto's or inflammatory bowel disease, who want to try a structured elimination to identify food triggers, ideally with a dietitian.
AIP grew out of the paleo diet, refined for people with autoimmune conditions, where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissue. The idea is that certain foods may aggravate an irritated gut and feed that immune response, so you pull them out for a while to let things calm down. The evidence is genuinely promising but still early: small studies in inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and ulcerative colitis) and in Hashimoto's thyroiditis have shown improved symptoms and quality of life. What we don't have yet are large, long-term trials, so this sits in the "worth a careful, structured try" category rather than the "proven" one.
Like low-FODMAP, AIP is really a diagnostic tool, not a permanent diet. The whole point is the two-part structure: a strict elimination stretch of a few weeks to a couple of months until symptoms ease, then a careful reintroduction where you add foods back one at a time to learn which ones actually bother you. Most people end up able to eat far more than the strict phase suggests. Staying in full elimination forever isn't the goal, and it isn't healthy.
You don't have to start with the full elimination. A modified approach, where you take foods out in stages, or leave the nuts, seeds, and eggs in at first, has become common in practice and in the research, particularly for people with inflammatory bowel disease. The reasoning is simple: the strict version is hard to sustain, and a protocol you actually finish tells you more than one you abandon in week two. If the full list feels like too much, that's a conversation worth having with your dietitian rather than a reason to skip it entirely.
This is one of the most restrictive plans we offer, and that cuts both ways. Removing grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, nightshades, nuts, and seeds all at once takes out a lot of nutrition, so there's a real risk of coming up short on vitamins and minerals, and for anyone with a history of disordered eating, a diet this restrictive isn't the right move. It's genuinely a plan to do with a doctor and a registered dietitian guiding you, not solo. And it doesn't replace the medication or care your autoimmune condition needs. It works alongside them, as a way to find your personal food triggers.
I'll be straight with you: AIP is one of the most restrictive plans we offer, and it's meant to be a short-term experiment, not a way of life. The evidence is early but promising for autoimmune conditions, mostly small studies showing better symptoms and quality of life. Because it cuts out so many foods at once, it carries a real risk of missing nutrients and of tipping into overly restrictive eating, so please do it with your doctor and a dietitian, and don't skip the reintroduction. That's where the answers are. Your plan comes with a step-by-step guide through all three phases so you're not doing it from memory.
The full step-by-step guide through all three phases is on this site, open to anyone. Read it →
Answer a few quick questions and we'll build four weeks of Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) meals, with recipes customized to you and a smart grocery list.
Start your Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) plan →Not sure yet? Compare all the diets we support →
