Bad Medical Advice??

[shinyfrankie]

My integrative medical professional wants me to take low dose naltrexone to boost my immune system & reduce inflammation. I asked about AIP diet. She said it's basically like an elimination diet...NOT something to stay on long term. Any idea why she might have said that?

[rheagan]

I would say your practitioner is right in that the AIP is an elimination diet, but I would argue the idea that you can't/shouldn't stay on it long term if that's what your body needs. I've had practitioners tell me that you can't stay on AIP/paleo long term. When I questioned them on it further, their reasons for saying that were usually because, in their experience, people just don't stick with highly restrictive diets long term. They end up binge cheating periodically, abandoning the diet/lifestyle completely, or suffering emotional side effects (frustration, guilt for cheating, lack of social connection, etc.). Noone I've talked to has ever said it was because of nutritional/long-term health implications, as long as you're doing it right and making sure you're getting everything you need.

Aother reason might be if she ascribes to a metabolism-based approach to diet. Some people do better with more carbs than others, others do better with more protein than others, depending on their metabolic type. Personally, I think there is something to this. If she takes this approach and you are someone that does better with more carbs, she may have concerns about you not getting enough carbs and too much protein for you metabolic type. Or maybe she isn't that familiar with AIP to start with?

Just my own personal guesses!

[shinyfrankie]

Thanks, rheagen!

[helper]

I'm new to these boards and to AIP, but my understanding is that the initial phase is very restricted, but then we can very slowly and carefully start adding certain things back in if we can tolerate them. So in that way, she's right. It is an elimination diet and it isn't meant to be forever. As we heal, we should be able to tolerate more things (nightshades? egg yolks? maybe), so we won't be on the most restrictive portion of it long-term, God willing. However, we'll probably find that we can't tolerate everything so parts of it will be forever.

[stane]

As far as 'bad medical advice', one MD told me to stop taking daily 3g salmon oil, and my response was "What could possibly be the benefit of that?? There's effectively ZERO correlation between lipids and dietary-consumed oils. Thanks for the advice, I'm keeping the salmon oil." Google "The Cholesterol Myths" by Uffe Ravnskov, and you'll see where I'm coming from. He says we've all been duped for the last 50+ years on the Lipid Hypothesis.

My brother and sister are both allergic to one or more of the proteins in milk, so I'm planning on leaving milk and milk-products off of the diet forever. They're both OK with butter and cheese, so I've added the butter back in already. Kerrygold is quite a bit cheaper than ghee, and works better in baking than ghee. I'll also stay gluten-free forever, as it's the leading implicated cause of autoimmune disease. On the AIP, I've already re-introduced eggs and tree nuts, as nobody on either side of the family ever reported issues with them. It's loads easier to cook with almond flour than coconut & cassava flour. I'm VERY slowly re-introducing foods, but I'll stay off of the goitrogens for quite some time as I'd read one study done in Italy that reported the people that stayed on something like the AIP and goitrogen-free had reductions in the thyroid antibodies. That's a Good Thing.

My TSH has dropped about 35% in the last few months with no change in levothyroxine (I have Hashimoto's), so I suspect the AIP + no goitrogens is doing the deed. Won't know for sure until the next appointment with the endocrinologist, but I suspect the TPO antibodies are lower now, and the thyroid is starting to heal and produce more T4 all on it's own. When I started dealing with the Hashimoto's, TSH was at 11.2. With 25mcg levothyroxine, TSH had dropped to 6.8 or so, and now it's down to 4.5. If I did the standard TSH-only test and used the (flawed) lab range, my doctor would say that I'm essentially cured. I know better, and it's a process. It may be years more before (and IF) I can reduce the levothyroxine to zero.

My MD wants me to triple the levothyroxine dose. The endocrinologist and I disagree, so I'm staying at 25mcg for now. I'm still mostly asymptomatic, so there's no need to hit euthyroid levels (what the MD wants). If I'd followed my MD's advice, I'd be on 75mcg levothyroxine and probably feeling worse, plus continuing to kill my thyroid. The AIP diet at least offers hope that I can halt or possibly reverse this autoimmune condition, which is more than my MD can suggest with her bag of prescription drugs.

[suew77]

There are many bad practioners and a lot of bad advice out there. I understand, from reading and listening to YouTuber's about the AIP diet is that it isn't supposed to be for the long haul. The idea is that you will adventually heal and will be able to add more foods. That's my hope! If I didn't have this hope, I don't think I could do this. Some of us may not be able to add much more, but if I could reduce my pain and be able to exercise a bit, I'd be happy.

Also, if I could go on LDN, low dose naltrexone, I'd do it in a flash!. I can't seem to get off my pain meds and you need to, as far as I understand, for Naltrexone to work right. I have heard great testimonies from LDN Trust in the UK. So many people feel better taking a very low dose of it. I just need to heal enough to reduce my pain and I'm going to give it a try. It's very cheap, too. There is an LDN group on Yahoo Groups, if you're interested.