To make up for not writing to y’all for over two weeks, I’m going to throw in this English landscape porn, taken by me today in Yorkshire on a sunny, 67 degree day—in other words, perfection.
And honestly, I’m really glad my Brit hubby and I had a lovely drive, lunch at a farm cafe, and short walk (just me) on the moors, because he also got some advice from a physician friend that pointed us towards the AIP diet as a possible treatment for both his long COVID and my ME/CFS. Because we’ve realized that long COVID is just a post-viral syndrome, like ME/CFS, a treatment that could help him could also help me.
What is the AIP diet, you ask? It’s the Autoimmune Protocol Diet, and it’s VERY STRICT. It’s like Paleo on every steroid there is. In the “elimination phase,” which can last 30-90 days depending on how quickly a person starts to feel better, you can’t eat: grains (I’m already gluten-free, but this includes ALL grains), legumes, nightshade vegetables or spices derived from them (oh, smoked paprika, I will miss you!), eggs, dairy, nuts & seeds, alcohol, coffee, processed vegetable oils, refined or processed sugars (um, no chocolate? how will I live?), food additives & artificial sweeteners.
Ok. So I already avoid many of these things because they cause me indigestion or just make me feel awful. Beans, potatoes, too much dairy, most nuts, alcohol except clear liquors, coffee, artificial sweeteners—all of those have been out of my diet or only consumed in very small quantities for years. I know, I know: the main thing I’ll struggle with is cutting out sugar. My addiction, my craving, my energy crutch, my fleeting symphony of bodily pleasure. The thing is, I want to cut it out, or at least way, way down. I know I’ll feel better, and I know I’ll be healthier. I just…don’t want to have intrusive thoughts about all those sweets I’m not eating.
Cue the “help from drugs” soundtrack, which means I’ll start Mounjaro when I get back to the U.S. and hope it will cause less stomach pain than Ozempic did.
So what can you eat on the AIP diet, you ask? Well…
Vegetables—except for tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers—which leaves…carrots, celery, sugar snap peas—or do those count as legumes?, broccoli (not a fan, though it’s bearable roasted with olive oil and garlic), cauliflower (even less of a fan), lettuce, cabbage (ick, ick, ick), beets (nope), cucumber, parsnips, mushrooms (I have a mold allergy and have been told to avoid all fungus), spinach, squash
Fresh fruit—1-2 servings per day max
Tubers—sweet potatoes, yams, taro (is a parsnip a tuber?)
Minimally processed meat—poultry, fish, seafood, organ meat (ick)—all wild, grass-fed, or pasture-raised if possible (Whole Foods, here I come!)
Fermented foods—NOPE. I know these make my stomach hurt. Kombucha & kefir: nope. Sauerkraut: yuck. Pickles: ok. I can eat some pickles.
Olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil—so extra virgin olive oil it is. I can’t eat avocados (allergic) and the cardiologist said to avoid coconut, so…yeah. The Italians have it right.
Herbs and spices not derived from a seed or chili pepper. So my herb garden will get used for sure.
Vinegars without any added sugar—fine.
A very small amount of maple sugar and honey—WOOHOO! Something to sweeten my tea with. Though it can’t be Yorkshire tea, because no milk of any kind is allowed.
Green and black teas up to 4 cups/day—so not herbal tea, I guess? That just seems weird. How could chamomile tea hurt?
Bone broth—which gets its own category, also weird. I mean, wouldn’t you just add some veggies & maybe a little meat to it so you have soup?
And after you endure this extremely limited diet for 30-90 days, you try reintroducing certain foods, one at a time, to see if they make you feel worse again or not.
So basically I have two questions: 1) What am I supposed to eat for breakfast? No eggs, oatmeal, gluten-free toast, or cereal. A little fruit and…some chicken? It’s going to be strange. Very strange. And 2) When eating sweet potatoes (which I do like), what should I put on them? Butter is not allowed. I know they make “butter” from olive oil, but what else is in it? Do people just drizzle olive oil on their sweet potatoes? A little maple syrup?
Anyway. My husband is ready to try this diet because he’s still getting out of breath walking from the couch to the loo (that’s British for “bathroom”) and I’ve told him I’m reluctant to move to England if the opportunity presents itself in the next few years if he’s still this sick. I just can’t imagine being the sole driver on these crazy narrow English roads, navigating doctors and vets and taxes and all the administrative b.s. of a new country by myself, and trying to make friends on my own. If he’s still sick, we’re likely to (eventually) move to central Illinois, where I have old, good friends and family and a network that will help me when I need it. (And it doesn’t hurt that Champaign, Illinois is a university town with a variety of smart, interesting people and wide, straight, easy to drive roads.)
We always bring English chocolate back with us because it’s just better than American chocolate. It’s…richer, creamier, with fewer additives. It’s just better. But this time? I asked my hubby if we shouldn’t bring any at all, and he said, “We could bring it back and give it to our friend, and tell him not to give it back under any circumstances until at least 30 days have passed.” Hmmm. I mean, I know where he lives. Will that chocolate truly be out of reach?
Beautiful photo! I hope you've had a good trip. I hadn't heard of the AIP diet before, but it sounds a lot like the Terry Wahls protocol for MS.