January 2015 - Phoenix Helix

GAPS Intro Diet Modified for Autoimmune Disease

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that I started with the GAPS diet, and then transitioned to the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), because I was still struggling with inflammation and autoimmune flares. Many people with autoimmune disease struggle on the GAPS protocol because it reintroduces foods very quickly, that are common food intolerances for people with autoimmune disease (such as nuts, dairy and eggs.) Katy Haldiman is a nutritional therapist who has modified the GAPS Introduction Diet to use with her autoimmune clients, with great success. She shares her modified protocol with us today, and tells us who benefits best from the Introduction Diet.

Episode 10: Overcoming Self-Sabotage with Dr. Judy Tsafrir and Rory Linehan

Sometimes, we make choices that we know will cause an autoimmune flare and do it anyway. It’s doubly painful, because not only do we suffer the physical symptoms, we often feel shame about being the cause. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Judy Tsafrir and Rory Linehan, to talk about why we do this, and how to break this pattern.

Can Skipping Sleep Cause an Autoimmune Flare?

How many of us try to squeeze extra time out of the day, by staying up late or getting up early? We sacrifice sleep, because in our modern culture, we don’t value it. We consider it unproductive time, but we’re wrong. When it comes to reversing autoimmune disease, sleep is as important to our health as diet, and it might be the key (or the obstacle) to remission. Research also shows that we can’t “catch up” on sleep over the weekend. It feels like we can, because we’re less tired after a couple of good nights’ sleep, but on a cellular level we haven’t recovered. In today’s post, I share the research along with tips for how to sleep well and long.

Episode 09: Functional Medicine with Anne Angelone

This episode of the Phoenix Helix podcast answers the question, “What is Functional Medicine?” Our guest is Anne Angelone, acupuncturist, herbalist and functional medicine practitioner. She talks about what health obstacles can interfere with autoimmune healing, which tests are most helpful, and which interventions she recommends. Anne also has autoimmune disease herself (ankylosing spondylitis and uveitis), and shares her healing story with us today.