The Dual Diagnosis Diaries: 💜 The AIP Diet—Helpful Tool or Restrictive Hype?

Living with autoimmune disease often means hearing the same frustrating question:

“Have you tried changing your diet?”

It usually comes right before someone recommends eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, joy, happiness, and apparently everything that makes food taste like food.

When you live with Crohn’s disease and Myasthenia Gravis, you quickly learn that everybody has an opinion about what you should—or should not—eat. Somewhere between the well-meaning advice, social media success stories, and miracle-diet promises, I came across the Autoimmune Protocol diet, better known as the AIP diet.

Naturally, I had questions.

Could it actually help?
Is there credible research behind it?
And most importantly, what would I have left to eat?

🥕 What Is the AIP Diet?

The Autoimmune Protocol is a structured elimination-and-reintroduction diet intended to help people identify foods that may contribute to their symptoms.

It is based on the Paleo diet but begins with a much more restrictive elimination phase. During that phase, people typically remove:

Grains
Dairy products
Eggs
Legumes
Nuts and seeds
Nightshade vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, and eggplant
Refined sugar
Alcohol
Coffee
Highly processed foods
Certain food additives

The diet generally emphasizes:

Meat, poultry, and fish
Most vegetables
Fruit
Sweet potatoes and other non-nightshade root vegetables
Healthy fats
Fermented foods, when tolerated
Other minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods

After the elimination period, foods are supposed to be reintroduced methodically—one at a time—while symptoms are monitored.

That last part matters.

AIP is not supposed to mean eliminating half the grocery store forever. Its purpose is to help identify personal triggers and eventually create the broadest, most nourishing diet a person can tolerate.

🔬 What Does the Research Say?

There has been some encouraging research involving people with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

A small 2017 study followed 15 adults with active IBD. By week six, 11 participants—approximately 73%—had reached clinical remission and maintained it through the study’s maintenance phase.

Those results sound impressive, but they require context.

“Clinical remission” was determined primarily through symptom-based disease activity scores. Improvements in inflammatory markers were not statistically significant, and only seven participants underwent follow-up endoscopy. The study also had no control group and incorporated dietary and lifestyle support, making it impossible to determine how much of the reported improvement resulted from the diet alone.

A related study found improvements in participants’ reported quality of life, but researchers again emphasized the need for larger, controlled trials.

In other words:

The early results are encouraging, but promising is not the same as proven.

The American Gastroenterological Association does not currently identify AIP as a standard treatment for Crohn’s disease. Its guidance states that no diet has consistently been shown to reduce the rate of adult IBD flares. The AGA generally recommends a Mediterranean-style eating pattern for overall health, adjusted when necessary for active symptoms, intestinal narrowing, strictures, or individual food tolerances.

There is not enough high-quality evidence to conclude that AIP treats autoimmune disease, heals the intestines, prevents flares, or should replace prescribed medication.

And despite the word autoimmune appearing in its name, that does not mean the diet has been proven effective for every autoimmune condition.

💜 What Could This Mean for Crohn’s Disease?

Food can absolutely affect digestive symptoms. However, symptom improvement does not always mean intestinal inflammation has improved.

Someone might experience less bloating, pain, urgency, or diarrhea after removing certain foods while still having active Crohn’s disease. That is why symptoms should not be the only measurement used to determine whether a dietary approach is working.

Bloodwork, stool testing, imaging, and endoscopy may still be necessary to reveal what the disease is actually doing.

AIP can also present challenges for people with Crohn’s because it eliminates numerous foods and entire food groups. Crohn’s can already interfere with appetite, digestion, nutrient absorption, and the ability to eat enough. Adding a highly restrictive diet may increase the risk of:

Unintentional weight loss
Inadequate calorie or protein intake
Iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, or other nutritional deficiencies
Loss of muscle mass
Food anxiety
Difficulty eating socially
Eliminating tolerated foods unnecessarily

The foods encouraged on AIP may not always be Crohn’s-friendly either.

During an active flare—or when intestinal narrowing or strictures are present—some fruits and vegetables may need to be peeled, thoroughly cooked, blended, limited, or temporarily avoided. Raw vegetables, fibrous produce, fermented foods, and higher-fat meals may feel wonderful for one person and send another person running toward the nearest bathroom.

Crohn’s has never respected a universal food list.

🦋 What About Myasthenia Gravis?

There is currently no established evidence that the AIP diet changes the autoimmune activity responsible for Myasthenia Gravis, improves neuromuscular transmission, or directly reduces MG-related muscle weakness.

Good nutrition still matters tremendously.

MG symptoms can make grocery shopping, cooking, chewing, and swallowing more difficult. Fatigue may also make an elaborate elimination diet difficult to prepare and maintain.

During periods of bulbar weakness or swallowing difficulty, food texture, choking risk, and swallowing safety become more important than whether every ingredient complies with a dietary protocol.

A diet that leaves someone undernourished, weaker, or unable to consume enough calories and protein is not helping—even if every ingredient is technically AIP-approved.

⚠️ Food Is Information, Not a Moral Test

I understand why diets like AIP are appealing.

Living with chronic illness can make you feel as though your body has taken away your control. Changing what you eat feels like something tangible you can do. It offers structure, hope, and the possibility of discovering patterns that were previously overlooked.

But food should not become another reason to blame ourselves.

If a food causes symptoms, that does not make it morally “bad.”

If a food is well tolerated, it does not necessarily need to be eliminated simply because someone online placed it on a forbidden list.

And if dietary changes do not stop a flare, that does not mean we failed.

Autoimmune disease is not a punishment for eating the wrong breakfast.

🌿 My Honest Take

Would I completely dismiss the AIP diet? No.

A carefully structured elimination-and-reintroduction process could potentially help identify individual food triggers. However, with ileal Crohn’s disease, Myasthenia Gravis, a history of severe anemia, and two unpredictable roommates already controlling portions of my life, I would not attempt the strict version without professional guidance.

Before starting, I would want:

A conversation with my gastroenterologist
Guidance from a registered dietitian experienced in IBD
Baseline and follow-up testing for iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and other possible deficiencies
A plan for consuming enough calories and protein
Crohn’s-friendly adjustments for active symptoms
Texture modifications if chewing or swallowing becomes difficult
A clear and organized reintroduction schedule
A food-and-symptom journal
A way to monitor both symptoms and objective disease activity

I would also want an exit plan.

Because elimination should lead to thoughtful reintroduction—not lifelong fear of food.

🎵 Music Playing…

“Try” — Colbie Caillat

Because caring for my body should come from curiosity and understanding—not pressure to follow every wellness rule perfectly.

💭 Reflection Corner

Living with autoimmune disease requires curiosity, but it also requires caution.

The AIP diet may offer some people a useful framework for identifying foods that aggravate their symptoms. It may also be too restrictive, physically demanding, or nutritionally risky for others.

Both things can be true.

The goal should not be to follow the strictest diet possible. The goal should be to find a sustainable way of eating that supports nutrition, respects individual tolerances, and works alongside appropriate medical treatment.

My roommates may get a vote in what I eat—but they do not automatically get permission to confiscate my entire plate.

💬 Let’s Talk About It

Have you tried the AIP diet or another elimination diet?

Did it help you identify meaningful triggers, or did the restrictions become harder to manage than the symptoms themselves?

Share your experience in the comments. Your story may help someone else ask better questions before beginning their own food experiment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this entry. If it helped you better understand the Autoimmune Protocol diet, please like, share, comment, or subscribe. Every conversation helps replace misinformation with education—and reminds someone navigating chronic illness that they are not alone.

Kia Lorice
Founder • Author • Advocate • Future Wellness Coach
The Dual Diagnosis Diaries 💜
www.thedualdiagnosisdiaries.com

📚 Sources and Further Reading

⚕️ Medical Disclaimer

This entry is for education and personal reflection only and should not be considered medical or nutritional advice. Always consult your physician and a registered dietitian before beginning a restrictive elimination diet, reintroducing eliminated foods, taking supplements, or changing any part of your medical treatment.