multiple sclerosis here! holla!

i have played with the idea of doing it, but frankly on a primal diet im feeling better than i have in YEARS and have been asymptomatic for going on 7 months now so i dont see a reason to give it up. my last MRI came back clean, with one lesion on my brain actually having disappeared completely. im seriously a total freak for nightshades and capsicum, and i adore eggs, so frankly unless i have another flare of my disease, im not planning on giving anything else up. im comfortable where i am. if i DO have a flare, ill go for it, but probably only for a short period of time.

Yes, it is highly restrictive and it works very well.

Before it was Paleo it wa used to take out contributing factors to the inflammatory response and modulating immune function.

1) you must heal the leaky gut. this is often the point of origin. you are either in or you're out. each time you expose yourself to a reaction you almost have to start over. imagine a moderate cut or scrape...it begins to heal and once a week you rip the scab off. so a simple 15-30 day commitment makes a difference. the foods should nourish and repair the mucosal lining. once you are confident repair is done, you can re-introduce foods. alternatively you can use cyrex labs to see what cross reactive foods you may be having a response to. take the guesswork out.

you should also be using some target specific supplemental support for leaky gut healing. minimal is a) glutamine based support w/herbal soother mucous membrane healers b) probiotic not just to restore but to repopulate 3) microbial defense to clear yeast/fungus, bacteria or other critters of a parasitical nature. no leaking, no foreign invaders in the bloodstream for the immune system to have to 'fight'

2) keep immune response low. support the NOS pathways and glutithione cycle to and your body's ability to manage. again this can be done through diet, exercise and stress management. there is communication going on in the brain on many levels. the hypothamlamus pituitary axis is a stunning communication center for adrenal, thyroid, pancreas and reproductive organs. health here is key.

3) intermitten fasting. take a load off. look into very short periods. we all store residue and as the body clears out the gunk and metabolically begins to function at a higher level, the cells purge the goop. Short periods of no food, say...lunch, no dinner, breakfast post morning wod...can be helpful in restoring vitality.

4) yes, there are a thousand supplements and craziness going on out there. marketing is a candyland of crazy. if you are working with your doctor, check your biomarkers, know the score and listen to your body. maintenance supplementation should be simple, basic multi/vitamin mineral (whole food based), EFA and what you feel is optimal to support your lifestyle (ie. exercise, hydration, stress etc.)

hope this helps! lots of great info on the posts above ;-)

Spondyloarthropathy Girl here. (I really should start prefacing EVERY conversation with this, and possibly get a cape and a sweet leotard).

I tried it out for a bit to see if I experienced any gains, and it didn't seem to have any noticeable effect in my performance and wellbeing. I did, however, start fiddling with raw, grassfed dairy more than just butter a few months back, and that definitely led to a reverse in my progress. Whenever I eat a ton of nightshades/nuts/eggs I seem to feel achier, but starch is fine. Just my n=1 $0.02.

I'm thinking about trying it out again after I get a little more background on the mechanisms behind the autoimmune issues I deal with. (That is to say, I'm not sure about whether or not full autoimmune protocol is important for those of us who have the HLA-B27 antigen and some pain but haven't had a full-on inflammatory blowout).

in my experience there is no question that what robb and others say about the detrimental effects of gluten, dairy, nightshades, lectins, etc. is 100% true and proven in practice. robb has coached and counseled thousands of clients with and without AI or gut/digestive problems. EVERYTHING he recommends matches 100% with my personal experience. so, if you have a leaky gut and/or allergies, starting with a very strict form of paleo makes a lot of sense. adding back stuff later, after getting better, always remains an option..

Sero-Negative Spondylarthropathy Boy here. I think there's only one way to know, and that's to take all potential irritants out for a really long time and introduce back in one by one. I mean, I'm sure Superman had to do this with kryptonite ("Yeah there was kryptonite in that salad, but maybe it was the blue cheese...").

I've been working with paleo and no-starch for a few years now and feel like it's made a huge difference in my overall health and a "noticeable" difference in my AS...maybe. I've never been able to keep all irritants out for an extended period, so end up second guessing everything (probably the kryptonite). The other mind game I play is thinking that, even if I'm not in full remission, who knows how bad I'd be if I'd kept on the SAD path. Badder than bad, most likely.

Cynarin...not sure what you're into, but I've performed very well in both aerobic (endurance cycling) and anaerobic (ice hockey, lifting) sports with no starch in my diet. Depends on your level of performance / competition.

I completed Rob's 30 day autoimmune protocol. I tried bringing a few items back into the mix: corn gave me nightsweats, dairy and nightshades caused joint pain, nuts and eggs caused no problems. I will never eat gluten again.

I added nuts and eggs back into the rotation, but 2 months into trying to heal my gut, I have made no progress. Accidentally had a bit of butter the other day and the joint pain was back. So I guess its time to tighten up and drop the nuts and egg whites.

Chris Kessler suggests a combo of this and GAPS. I wonder how long you should try each stage before tightening up the diet again? Its an n=1 thing, but I guess I need to weigh the length of time it will take with a minimally restrictive diet (Robs Autoimmune protocol) compared to a very restrictive diet (GAPS and Robs Autoimmune protocol).

Rob, a few things come to mind:

sleep how is your sleep? Is there any indication that it is other than optimal?

1)are you getting sufficient sleep prior to midnight - every night or almost so?

2)does anyone say that you snore?

Lack of good quality sleep can keep levels of inflammation up.

Vitamin D How is your 25(OH)D? Which lab did the assay?

Nutrition What is your dietary Ω3:Ω6? Your PUFA:SaFA? Your macros - ie fat, carb, protein? Are you sure you're getting enough vitamin A and zinc? Any symptoms of poor digestion? (GERD can manifest with post nasal drip, throat clearing, chronic mild cough...digestive enzymes may be helpful)

While it's very unfashionable to 'track' micros in the paleosphere, there are those of us that are so sensitive to the dietary details. For us, tweaking ratios really can matter signficantly. I do have to watch Ω3:Ω6 very carefully which means moderate to low chicken and egg consumption always balanced by wild salmon or sardine intake. I keep both low focusing instead on ruminants, preferably grassfed.

Symptoms What are your autoimmune symptoms and/or diagnosis?

"Canary in the coalmine" is an apt descriptor for me. One or two nights of less than optimal sleep, the 'wrong' red wine, a little gluten or dairy (butter is fine) can, for me, mean achey joint inflammation, headaches, cloudy thinking.

For better or worse, some of us do have to be just that careful.

I'm only 5 weeks into paleo - w some serious gi issues and RA as well as osteo arthritis - at 64 I'm arriving late from the pescatarian scene- I haven't felt better in yrs - I don't take meds for my RA any more but have bearable aches in joints- a vast improvement! I've been eating eggs - no more than a dozen a wk - I'm contemplating going off them but like u, I'll wait because I really really like them, had to stop the cayenne and chili peppers and that's like quitting smoking to me! I cheat a little now and then - also have 1-2 tsps raw almond butter for dessert and a yam a wk 1/2 yam 2x's wk - no dairy - no nightshades w the exception of a small Amt. of tomato sauce on spaghetti squash 2 x's a wk - again I may cut some of these out as I go along I don't want to be so restrictive that I give up! Good luck! The egg panel is out -- some say ok others just eat whites others not at all! Most say yams don't fall in "potato" category.

i'm having trouble finding the link to his protocol...

It seems that there is strong anecdotal evidence against dairy for connective-tissue related autoimmune diseases (such as RA, AS, SLE, SSc, CREST, etc.). I get instant dry eyes / brain fog / and cloudy thinking symptoms with dairy. And I'm talking about all forms of dairy: not just conventional milk (including raw milk): sour cream, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, heavy whipping cream, half and half, butter, cream cheese. As soon as I bring any of these back, I react immediately. Ghee is the only form of dairy I've not experimented with yet (too hard to find and expensive).

As for gluten, I avoid it even though I don't seem to immediately react to it. I'm not so sure about nighshades but I do eat nightshade-free. It was unimaginable eliminating bell peppers, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and Tabasco hot sauce. But I've subbed in peppercorn (black pepper), garlic powder, ginger, Himalayan salt, and horseradish and I don't really seem to miss nightshades anymore. Those who love spicy additives should try horseradish made with beets.

Which brings me to eggs. I've kept the eggs. Will my remaining autoimmune symptoms go away if I go eggless? Definitely worth a try.

i've been trying the autoimmune protocol for a little while now- can't remember exactly how long but over a month and a half. i haven't noticed any benefits from eliminating any of these AI foods. i still have all the symptoms of my autoimmune disease- ulcerative colitis. not sure what to do now!