Phoenix Helix: Maximizing Autoimmune Health Through The Paleo Diet And Lifestyle

This is one of the most popular podcast episodes - for good reason! One of my goals is to make the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol as simple to follow as possible. In this episode, I dedicate an entire podcast to the most frequently asked questions I've received: Will the AIP work for my diagnosis? Is it helpful if you don't have autoimmune disease? Does it replace medication? How does it differ from the Wahls Protocol? Why can't I just do an allergy test? Can you do the AIP as a vegetarian? Why isn't coffee allowed? Can you have sugar on the AIP? I'm constantly hungry - what do I do? Tune in to get answers to these questions, and many more. 

This is one of the most popular podcast episodes - for good reason! If you're experiencing symptoms without a diagnosis, or symptoms that remain in spite of all the interventions you’ve tried, this episode is for you. DNRS is a therapy based on neuroplasticity. With chronic illness, symptoms can actually become wired into our brains, even when the triggers for those symptoms are removed. DNRS is a therapy done at home, that rewires the brain (and body) for health. What types of conditions have been helped? Post-COVID syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, multiple chemical sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome, mold toxicity, chronic inflammatory response syndrome, mast cell activation, food sensitivities, chronic pain, mental health issues, and more. In this podcast, I speak with Annie Hopper, the creator of DNRS. She explains what this program is and how it works.

One of the joys of living is celebrating special occasions with those we love, and food often ends up being a central part of that celebration. What happens when your diet has changed and you're no longer eating traditional celebration foods? The answer isn't to give up on celebrations. Life is meant to be enjoyed! It just takes a little creativity to adapt the food piece in a way that's delicious, special, and supports your healing at the same time. In this episode, two AIP experts share their favorite ways to do that. We'll be talking about year-round holidays, birthdays, and parties in general. Whether it's an anniversary, a graduation, or a retirement celebration, you can serve AIP food so delicious everyone will enjoy it! 

Often, perfectionism is seen as a positive trait. What's wrong with striving for excellence? Nothing, but there's a difference between healthy striving and perfectionism. Healthy striving is a self-compassionate mindset that allows for mistakes, learns from them, sets challenging but achievable goals, and adapts as needed. Perfectionism fears failure, despises mistakes, sets unattainable goals, and feels shame and self-judgement when those impossible goals aren't met. When you apply perfectionism to autoimmune disease, your diagnosis may feel like your fault, and every flare may feel like a failure. You may believe that if you just lived your life perfectly, you could cure yourself. I am a recovering perfectionist, so I have felt all of these things. Don't judge yourself if you have felt this way, too. In this podcast, we explore the connection between autoimmune disease and perfectionism. My guest is Dr. Judy Tsafrir, a holistic psychiatrist who approaches mental health from a functional medicine perspective

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia is more effective than sleeping pills, and doesn't come with side effects. How compelling is that? We talk a lot about the importance of sleep on this podcast. Lack of sleep can lead to autoimmune flares, which in turn can interfere with sleep, creating a vicious cycle. This happens to everyone once in a while, and there are some basic interventions we can do to support our ability to sleep well. But what if you've tried all the basics, and nothing seems to work? That's called chronic insomnia, and that's the focus of our podcast today. CBT-I is specifically designed to help you overcome chronic insomnia. My guest is Dr. Jade Wu, a clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine researcher. The focus of her research is treating sleep disorders in people with chronic illness. 

Most of my podcast episodes focus on autoimmune health in general, with information that can help all of us regardless of diagnosis. But I also enjoy doing occasional diagnosis spotlights. This is where we take a detailed look at one particular autoimmune disease. Today, we’re focusing on Graves' Disease. When it comes to thyroid autoimmune disorders, we hear a lot more about Hashimoto's in the paleo autoimmune community. Yet Graves' Disease is also one of the top five autoimmune diagnoses. It affects millions of people around the world. My guest is Dr. Abbi Lulsegged, a functional endocrinologist practicing in London, UK with over 25 years of clinical experience. He believes strongly in investigating the root causes of a patient's problems and treating people holistically.

Inflammation is a natural part of being human - in fact, it can save our lives, but when it gets out of control, it can also cause damage. People with autoimmune disease know that very well. Every time we have an autoimmune flare, inflammation is part of that process. The higher the inflammation, the worse the flare. Not only that, but chronic inflammation is both a symptom of autoimmune disease and a root cause. How do we interrupt that cycle? How do we manage acute inflammation in the moment, and reduce chronic inflammation long-term? My guest for this podcast is Dr. Will Cole, a leading functional medicine expert and author of the book, The Inflammation Spectrum. He specializes in identifying and treating the root causes of chronic illness.

In the research, they call it expressive writing or art therapy. At home, we call it journaling. This simple practice is an amazing stress management and self-awareness tool. It helps release emotions that are difficult to let go, gain clarity to make difficult decisions, uncover hidden parts of yourself, express gratitude, discover playfulness, and simply honor and accept where you are in the moment. You don't have to be a writer or an artist to keep a journal and gain these benefits. In this podcast, we'll be focusing on using creative journals for autoimmune health. My guest is Olwen Wilson, a woman with autoimmune disease herself who also teaches the art of journaling.

We all come from cultural backgrounds where food is part of our family heritage. Did you grieve lost food traditions when you went paleo or AIP? Did you find AIP versions that came close? Or did you find new ways to celebrate those traditions? These are the questions I'm asking my guests today. 

We talk a lot about nutrient density and diversity on this podcast. Every food has a unique nutrient profile, and when we get in food ruts and eat the same thing every day, our nutrition suffers. The same thing happens with movement. Modern life limits the way we move our bodies, but then chronic illness can limit it even more. This creates a vicious cycle. How do we break free and expand our ability to move, enhancing our health at the same time? My guest is Katy Bowman, a biomechanist, teacher, speaker, and author. She's written 8 books, including the bestselling Move Your DNA, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Back in March, I recorded our first episode on the Coronavirus. Now, it's time for an update. How are people with autoimmune disease faring? What's the single biggest factor in recovery? What supplements and lifestyle choices support immune health? How do we navigate restrictions vs. reopening? And how do we support our mental health during the challenges of a long-term pandemic? My guest is Dr. Aly Cohen, an integrative rheumatologist who will be sharing the latest research with us.

78% of autoimmune patients are women, and some diagnoses are 2-3 times more common among women of color. When it comes to healthcare, ideally we all get the same treatment, but many people have experienced some form of bias in the doctor's office. Research shows this leads to serious health consequences. How can we address a problem this big - both as patients who want to get the best care, and as a community that cares about excellent healthcare for all? My guest is Dr. Maggie Cadet, a rheumatologist who is passionate about eliminating disparities in healthcare.

We hear a lot about the mind-body connection, but what are its uses and what are its limits? Are there techniques we can use to minimize pain and manage it better? How does the stress response increase pain's intensity? How does guarding against pain add a second layer of tension that can make pain worse? Vidyamala Burch has lived with chronic pain for over 40 years. Learning how to survive and thrive started as a personal goal and later became her professional mission. She's an author, educator, and cofounder of Breathworks, a non-profit organization that teaches Mindfulness-Based Pain Management to individuals and organizations around the world.

Many people think of the AIP as simply a list of foods you can and can't eat, so how can intuition play a role? And if your intuition tells you to eat junk food, that derails health goals rather than supports them, right? So, how can these things possibly go together? In this podcast episode, we bust some myths about both of these dietary philosophies and see how they might be blended for autoimmune health.

There are over 100 different autoimmune diseases, and it takes an average of 4 years and 5 doctors to get an accurate diagnosis. I know many of you have been through this, or are going through this right now. Let me introduce Dr. William Mitchell, whom I call the Diagnosis Detective. He's a naturopathic doctor who works in rheumatology. One of his passions is helping people cut through the chaos surrounding autoimmune diagnosis.

This is one of the most popular podcast episodes - for good reason! 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!

Self-soothing behaviors are the things we do to comfort ourselves in the moment, especially under stress. Sometimes those behaviors are healthy and double as self-care. Other times, they are the opposite of healthy. Most of us have impulses in both directions. What drives those impulses? How can we get in the habit of soothing ourselves in ways that both comfort us and support our health? My guest is Dr. Lili Wagner, a psychologist with over 20 years of experience treating patients. She’s also trained in nutrition, has 3 autoimmune diseases herself, and understands this topic both personally and professionally.

Why does food intolerance increase with autoimmune disease? And why are some people able to reintroduce foods successfully while other people struggle? In this episode, I speak with a leader in the autoimmune health community: Dr. Datis Kharrazian. He's a clinician, researcher, author, and expert on this issue. He shares the root causes behind this loss of tolerance, as well as practical tips to heal and expand food tolerance again.

Many people with autoimmune disease struggle with anxiety as well. In this episode we talk about why that's true, how anxiety can interfere with our lives, and share practical tips for addressing it in the moment, as well as strategies for reducing it long-term. My guest is Dr. Maureen Pierce, a health psychologist who specializes in working with people with chronic pain and chronic illness, as well as first responders.

Most of you are familiar with Dr. Terry Wahls. She's a physician with multiple sclerosis who reversed her symptoms dramatically, going from a wheelchair to a bicycle after implementing diet and lifestyle changes. That program is now called The Wahls Protocol and has been the subject of multiple medical studies, proving its effectiveness for others as well. In this episode, we summarize all the research, from the very first study to the current clinical trial comparing the Wahls & Swank diets for patients with MS. We also talk about a future clinical trial which will compare the Wahls Protocol to medication.