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Permalink Reply by Patrick on October 4, 2018 at 5:49am

Hi Dani

I was doing this AIP diet since the end of July. Only recently have I started to reintroduce eliminated foods  such as dairy, sugary sauces, seed based spices, soy, grains and potatoes aka nightshades.. I’m keeping gluten eliminated long term however as very problematic food for any autoimmune disease so gluten free oat porridge for example I eat regularly for breakfast.

If you are sensitive to any of these foods or worsen an existing condition such as  Candida overgrowth which I’ve have had , be very mindful to any gut symptoms you have after reintroduction. I mean things like bloating, excess gas, constipation, diarrhea and heartburn to name a few. Headaches, tiredness and brain fog are also others which can be gut related also.

So for example I added back a chocolate bar and the following day I had constipation with diarrhea. This would be a classic example. If that happens remove the food and retest at a later date. Reintroducing foods too soon doesn’t allow body to heal itself and can aggravate the gut lining if it’s still weak. Go slowly is the key especially if have any existing underlying gut issue which I do have.

A good and successful way to do food challenges or reintroduction is as follows

Take a small bite of the reintroducing food in one day ie some form of dairy. Review any reaction immediate like an allergy. Wait a few hours and eat a bigger bite then a serving size at the end of the day. Eliminate for 3 days and see how your body ie gut mainly responds. If get any gut reaction do not bring back after 3 days. If don’t you are safe to bring the food back after 3 days. Start slowly like dairy then move onwards to each food group like grains, nightshades , legumes etc. Best to do one at a time unless you feel confident you won’t get any reaction to some foods. Otherwise  you could possibly reintroduce several at a time which I did initially but thereafter tread carefully.

If you do get hair shedding when reintroductions then possibly if coupled with a gut reaction like constipation it is an offending food that needs to be removed from the diet and retested again at a later stage. I’ve noticed shedding also. This is due to over stimulating compounds in foods which you need to avoid. I find for example the treatment for Candida overgrowth itself was very stimulating and was affecting my hair shedding. Herbal teas can also be stimulating like green tea. That’s not good apparently for alopecia. 

Please note with all food intolerances, it is temporary and not permanent. You won’t have to remove these foods permanently. It is so to give your gut a chance to fully heal then can reintroduce them later if get no reaction. Most important thing is any offending food which you react to must be eliminated temporarily. Otherwise you will not heal I believe. The quicker you get a grip on this,  the better you will be in the long run and regrowth is not impossible.

Having said all of that it’s worth maybe seeing a Holistic Doctor who can test to see if have anything underlying which may be hampering your recovery and stopping you from healing your gut. Any gut issue can be a contributing factor to any autoimmune disease and certainly an underlying trigger. I’ve found mine.

Hope that helps in healing yourself and good luck in your journey!

If need any more help, simply private message me and will try and answer the best way I can.

Patrick

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