disease. At one point, doctors thought it was multiple sclerosis (MS); she was dizzy, numb, falling over and slurring her speech. Eventually, she was diagnosed with both Hashimoto’s and celiac diseases, affecting the thyroid and small intestine, respective- ly. Trescott, a nutritionist, chef and author of Te Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, had been vegan for 10 years, but had a feeling that her body needed something different. She found an early version of what
would become known as the autoim- mune protocol (AIP), and in following its guidelines, began to find relief. Trescott connected with other women and started a private Facebook group to share in- formation on what was improving their condition from which the AIP community sprung. AIP, an elimination diet that seeks to reset the immune system by cutting out inflammation-causing foods and treat- ing leaky gut, has much in common with the paleo diet and promotes vitamin- and nutrient-rich foods. However, every indi- vidual comes out of the AIP process with a customized diet. For Trescott, “Gluten is a forever-no,
and I am also allergic to dairy and sensi- tive to a lot of nightshade vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers.” It took three years to recover most of her functioning, and although she had been a personal chef, it was still challenging to determine a new approach to eating that didn’t include the grains and legumes that had been staples of her diet. Trescott is still on medications,
including the same thyroid support she’s relied on from the start. “Tere is a misconception that the AIP is an alterna- tive to conventional medicine. We really pride ourselves on using all the tools in our toolbox, including surgery, medication and lifestyle changes,” she says. Anecdotal successes like Trescott’s
have led researchers to pursue funding to test the AIP’s efficacy. In a pilot study of 18 individuals with an average sick time of 19 years that didn’t respond to tradi- tional medication, 73 percent were in clinical remission at the end of the trial, having followed the AIP. “It was a small sample size, but the results are promis- ing,” says Trescott.
sulfuric vegetables like cabbage, mush- rooms and onions; and three cups of deeply pigmented vegetables, plus sources of protein for meat eaters and vegetarians. While her work was initially not
accepted, today she has funding from the National MS Society and her research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. “Basic science is now showing that the microbiome has a huge impact on the immune system activity and the brain; the food we eat can turn gene expression on and off,” says Wahls, who hasn’t taken any drugs for her autoimmune condition since 2008. Buckner cautions against patients try-
Physician, Healed Tyself Like many physicians, Terry Wahls focused on treating her patients with drugs or surgical procedures—until the Iowa City doctor was diagnosed with MS in 2000. Within three years, despite conventional medical treat- ments, her back and stomach muscles had weakened to the point where she needed a tilt-recline wheelchair, and by the summer of 2007, she could no longer sit up. Tough Wahls had been a vegetarian
on a low-fat diet for 20 years, she went back to eating meat and gave up all dairy, wheat and grains, but still wasn’t improv- ing. Delving back into the science of her condition, Wahls realized that mitochon- drial support was key, and the speed of her decline slowed while taking a cocktail of vitamins to support its functioning. It wasn’t until she took a compre-
hensive approach to optimize everything she could take in through her food rather than relying on supplements that she saw radical results: Her brain fog, fatigue and pain went away and she biked around the block for the first time in six years. “Taking in nutrients in the form of food rather than supplements, you get related compounds and thousands of others in biologically anticipated ratios,” explains Wahls. “I still do take some supplements, but the magic is the food.” Tose key ingredients, says Wahls,
include magnesium, zinc, selenium, sulfur, amino acids, cholesterol, omega-6 and omega-3s, fats, carnitine and creatine. Her rule of thumb for daily intake is three cups of leafy green vegetables; three cups of
ing to manage disease with lifestyle changes alone, without giving available allopathic treatments a fair try. “People do better if they are treated early and aggressively. Tey are reliant on fewer medications down the road and don’t have permanent damage if they seek treatment early.” However, even researchers focused
on pharmaceutical approaches acknowl- edge the importance of diet and lifestyle. Meggan Mackay, professor of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, at Northwell Health, in Manhasset, New York, believes this can play a critical role in disease management. She cites numerous studies showing exer- cise as a stress-buster positively influencing disease outcomes, as well as a more specific study looking at the benefits of adding fish oil and vitamin D to the diets of lupus pa- tients. “Te rise in obesity, which is linked to increased inflammation in the U.S., may be one of reasons we are seeing more auto- immune disease than ever,” says Mackay. At-risk individuals should be aware of
factors under their control, adds James. “If someone is worried about autoimmune disease running in their family, monitoring and maintaining adequate vitamin D levels and avoiding smoking and other high-risk behaviors can help improve their chances.” Even sleep patterns can play a role in disease manifestation, says the researcher. In one study, individuals at high risk for autoimmune disease that slept less than seven hours per day were more likely to develop an autoimmune condition, accord- ing to James.
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