Stage 3 and 4 AIP Reintroduction: Nightshades

Hi there! Thanks for dropping by Flawed yet Functional today! Emily here, an adult onset Type 1 Diabetic working through the reintroduction phase of the Autoimmune Protocol. After stabilizing my blood sugar in January through the reintroduction of insulin to my health management routine (I was 19 months without additional insulin! Read more here!), I was able to begin reintroducing new food to my diet after months of no progress. Today I’d like to show how I reintroduced nightshades to my diet.

AIP Reintroduction Phase

The purpose of the Autoimmune Protocol is to heal the gut and halt autoimmune disease in its tracks. The diet first has an elimination period that cuts out all inflammatory foods. You remain in the elimination period until all symptoms of the autoimmune disease have stopped. Then one at a time, reintroduce potentially inflammatory foods in this manner:

• Take one small bite of food then monitor reaction for 15 minutes.
• If all is well, then take a full-sized bite and monitor reactions for 2-4 hours.
• Then if no reaction occurs, eat one full serving and monitor symptoms for 3-7 days before reintroducing another food.

So far, I have reintroduced the following foods:

• Fruit and seed spices and oils
• Wine (in small quantities)
• Chocolate (soy and dairy-free)
• Almonds
• Legumes with edible pods
• Cashews

The only failure reintroduction has been eggs. I know that I am highly sensitive to dairy too, so I have not tried any of the dairy products in the reintroduction stages: ghee, grass-fed butter, cream, or fermented dairy. The four stages are below for reference.

Reintroduction Criteria for Type 1 Diabetics

As a Type 1 Diabetic, my benchmark for success or failure is based on my blood sugar levels after I eat the new food, particularly my fasting blood sugar the following morning. If my gut is irritated by food, my morning blood sugar will be higher than 150 which is my primary indicator that something is going wrong. My blood glucose goals for reintroductions are as follows:

Starting/Fasting Blood Glucose Before Eating: <130

Two-Three Hour Post Eating Blood Glucose: <150

Fasting Blood Glucose the next morning: <150

**These criteria are made up by me and use common sense from my knowledge of diabetes management. This is not medical advice, but rather criteria that let’s me know when a food does or does not irritate my gut.**

Stage 3 & 4 Reintroduction: Nightshades

Nightshades are in stages 3 and 4 of the reintroduction stages. Stage 3 is likely to be easier for the body to accept (sweet peppers and paprika). Stage 4 are more likely to cause inflammation (spice peppers and tomatoes).

Since nightshades come in such a variety, I tried to test them multiple times. Well, I didn’t just try. I did test them multiple times and ways. However, I didn’t have a clean test because of my own error, but alls well that ends well, nightshades were a success!

Here’s how I did it, but I wouldn’t recommend being as imprecise as I was!

• First, I tested homemade kimchi. The only nightshade is spicy red pepper powder.
• Second, I attempted to test adobo chilis. However, adobo chilis are actually just jalapenos in tomato paste. Doh. Two nightshades! BUT, it worked, so whew!
• Third, I threw caution to the wind and made chili. It had paprika, chili powder, bell peppers, and tomatoes in it. Nightshade heaven! Again, it worked. The results of this test are below.

Meal: Dinner

Pre- Dinner Blood Glucose: 136

Two-Three Hour Post Blood Glucose: 146

Fasting Blood Glucose the Next Morning: 106

I was jumping for joy after that 106 blood glucose reading the morning after eating chili! Tomatoes, red sauce, tomato soup, kimchi soup, taco meat, fajitas…bring on the nightshades!

AIP reintroductions can be tricky to get a totally clean test. I’m so relieved that this worked out in spite of my sloppiness! Even though nightshades span stages 3 and 4, it looks like they are a go for my diet! Woot! Reintroduced nightshades for the win!