Can the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Help Support Menopause?

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and Menopause: are they related and can the AIP support a healthy and natural menopause? My answer is Yes to both questions. I firmly believe that AIP can significantly help support a natural and healthy menopause, or even peri-menopause.

What we eat directly affects our health. The word health has such a broad meaning. For the context of this post let's consider health to mean hormone balance, healthy inflammation, and gut health in particular. If you know my backstory then you know that my second autoimmune disease decided to go into a massive flare at the same time I entered menopause. That was not a fun spring! I didn't know what was going on but I knew that my significant joint pain, brain fog, hair loss, night sweats, hot flashes, utter exhaustion, and poor sleep were all more than I could take. I was willing to do anything to feel, to be, better. Enter AIP.

Essential Nutrients for Great Health

B Vitamins: I've been taking B vitamins since I was a teenager. I first started taking them to try and help support my 'moods'...you know those moods that other people find trying! It didn't help that I have control and perfectionist tendencies. I love B vitamins for so many reasons.

B1: is used to support depression, anxiety, and cognitive function. Eat: Asparagus, bananas, broccoli, liver, onions, salmon, seaweed, and sweet potatoes

B6: is needed to support ovulation health during the premenstrual portion of your cycle and aids in depression and anxiety. Eat: Butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, kale, poultry, salmon, seaweed, and sweet potatoes.

B12: (best source is from clams) is needed to support cardiovascular health, strong bones, and good cognitive function. If you have an autoimmune disease and/or are in menopause you are very likely experiencing brain fog...B12 is a game changer. Eat: Beef liver, clams, coconut milk, lamb, oysters, and salmon.

Vitamin D: Necessary to support bone health as we age, but also required for strong muscles, balanced moods, breast and ovarian health, and for a healthy lymphatic system. Again, this is a vitamin I find extremely helpful to give me energy and yet help keep me centered. Eat: Mushrooms, pork chops, salmon, swordfish, and tuna.

Essential Fatty Acids: These are the fats that are liquid when sitting on your kitchen counter. These are not the fat you cut off of a pork roast. Essential fatty acids help balance hormones, build cell membranes, support cognitive function, and balance moods. Eat: Avocados, brussel sprouts, liver, molasses, olive oil, oysters, salmon, and winter squash.

Iron: when we eat foods with iron our blood is healthier, we have higher production of hemoglobin, our oxygen is transported from our lungs throughout our body more easily, we have more energy, and our muscles are stronger. Eat: Beef, apricots (dried), clams, mushrooms, oysters, spinach

Magnesium: this is a mineral that is deficient in most Americans. Important for bone health, hormone function, energy function and balance, and nerve constriction/relaxation. Eat: Avocado, bananas, halibut, kelp, salmon, and spinach.

When you follow the AIP diet you will be getting all of these essential vitamins and minerals. Because the AIP is a food first, and really a vegetable first, program your body will have many more nutrients to draw from throughout the day. When I went AIP I did so to reverse my autoimmune disease. My menopause issues were secondary in my mind. Never did I expect that in 72 hours after going full AIP my menopause issues would be significantly improved - by that I mean about 75%! It was amazing. My husband couldn't believe it. My hair stopped falling out in handfuls, I slept better, I wasn't having near as bad of night sweats or hot flashes, my cognitive function was far improved - I realized I was turning a corner toward better health.

If you are a woman over the age of 45, and especially if you have an autoimmune disease, I highly recommend looking into the Autoimmune Protocol. The AIP is a short term protocol that you follow that allows your body to relax, recover, and often reverse many health issues. It is not a lifelong diet to follow, but a way to reset your health using a food and lifestyle approach. Well worth a try.

Work Cited: Wolloch, Emmanuela M.D. Manage Your Menopause Naturally. New World Library, 2020.