Autoimmune protocol
The autoimmune paleo (AIP) food list
A clear eat-and-avoid reference for the autoimmune paleo approach. It builds the plate around vegetables, quality meats and seafood, glycine-rich foods, and healthy fats, while removing the foods most likely to provoke an overactive immune system: grains, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, nightshades, and additives.
How this fits with the other diet guides
The autoimmune paleo protocol is the strictest elimination tier, designed for an actively overreacting immune system. That is why it removes some genuinely healthy foods that the other Elemental Health diet guides include freely, eggs, nuts, seeds, and even stevia among them. These are not “bad” foods. They are common immune triggers being set aside temporarily so the immune system can settle.
It is a starting point, not a forever diet. Once symptoms improve, foods are reintroduced one at a time to find your own tolerance (see the companion guide on reintroducing foods after elimination). If you are following this alongside another plan, treat AIP as the more restrictive overlay, and work with your practitioner on what to keep, swap, or bring back.
Vegetables and fruit
Organic is best. Build the plate around vegetables, 8 to 14 cups a day, with as much colour and variety as possible. Eat
Vegetables and fruit
Vegetables of all kinds, colourful vegetables and fruit, cruciferous vegetables (arugula, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, turnips, watercress), and sea vegetables (excluding algae such as chlorella and spirulina).
Avoid: nightshades Avoid
Ashwagandha, bush tomato, cape gooseberry, capsicum, cocona, eggplant, garden huckleberry, goji berries, hot peppers (jalapenos, habanero), kutjera, naranjillas, paprika, pepinos, pimentos, potatoes (not sweet potatoes), tamarillos, tomatillos.
Protein and fats
Naturally pasture fed and sustainably raised. Eat
Quality meats
Pastured, grass-fed, organic. Beef, buffalo, chicken, duck, elk, lamb, pheasant, pork, rabbit, turkey, venison, wild boar. Poultry in moderation due to high omega-6.
Seafood and offal
Fish and shellfish (wild is best), aim for 3 times a week or more. Organ meat and offal, aim for 5 times a week. Glycine-rich foods: connective tissue, joints, and organ meats.
Fats
Avocados, coconut, fatty fish, pastured grass-fed animal fats, olives. Improve trace minerals by switching to Himalayan pink salt or “dirty” sea salt.
Probiotic foods
Coconut milk kefir, coconut milk yogurt, fermented vegetables or fruit, kombucha, water kefir.
Herbs and spices
Most leaf herbs are fine, some are provisional, and seed-based spices come out (they behave like seeds).
| Eat Eat | Provisional Caution | Avoid Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon balm, sweet basil, bay leaves, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, cinnamon or cassia, cloves, dill weed, garlic, ginger, horseradish, lavender, mace, marjoram, onion powder, oregano leaves, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, saffron, sage, salt, savory leaves, spearmint, tarragon, thyme, turmeric. | Allspice, black pepper, caraway, cardamom, green peppercorns, juniper, pink peppercorns, star anise, vanilla bean, white pepper. | Anise seed, annatto seed, black caraway, cayenne, celery seeds, chilli flakes, chilli powder, coriander seeds, curry, cumin seeds, dill seed, fennel seed, fenugreek, mustard seed, nutmeg, paprika, poppy seed, sesame seed. |
Foods to avoid
General Avoid
Alcohol, eggs (especially the whites), emulsifiers and thickeners, food additives, fructose (no more than 20g a day), non-nutritive sweeteners (including stevia), NSAIDs (aspirin or ibuprofen), nuts, seeds (cocoa, coffee, seed-based spices).
Foods that cross-react with gluten
Amaranth, barley, buckwheat, chocolate, coffee (instant, latte, espresso, imported), corn, hemp, millet, milk, oats (two different cultivars), Polish wheat, potato, quinoa, rice, rye, sesame, sorghum, spelt, soy, tapioca (cassava, yucca), teff.
If there are particular foods you are allergic or sensitive to, even if they appear on the foods to include list, leave them out for the time being as well. You may still need some pharmaceutical support to get the affected organ or system functioning properly again. The guidance of an integrative medicine GP or naturopath is always recommended.
Adapted for Elemental Health and Nutrition from The Paleo Way autoimmune food list. See also the companion resource on autoimmune disease, diet, and lifestyle.
Frequently asked questions
What is the autoimmune paleo (AIP) diet?
The autoimmune paleo, or AIP, diet is the strictest elimination tier for an overreacting immune system. It temporarily removes even otherwise healthy foods like eggs, nuts and seeds to give the immune system a chance to settle, then reintroduces them one at a time once symptoms improve. It is built around a large volume of vegetables, quality proteins and good fats, and is intended as a starting point rather than a forever diet.
What can you eat on the AIP diet?
The AIP plate is built around 8 to 14 cups of vegetables a day in a wide range of colours, quality proteins such as pasture-fed and grass-fed meats, fish and shellfish around three or more times a week, and organ meats, with healthy fats from avocado, coconut, olives and animal fats. Probiotic foods like coconut yoghurt, fermented vegetables and kombucha are included, and most leaf herbs are fine.
What foods do you avoid on the autoimmune paleo diet?
AIP removes eggs, especially the whites, nuts, seeds and seed-based spices, nightshades such as capsicum, eggplant, potatoes, goji berries and paprika, alcohol, coffee, cocoa, emulsifiers, thickeners and additives, non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia, and high fructose intake. These foods are removed temporarily to allow the immune system to settle, then reintroduced one at a time once symptoms improve, so it is a structured starting point rather than a permanent restriction.
Reviewed by Rohan Smith, BHSc Nutritional Medicine · Elemental Health & Nutrition, Adelaide. Last reviewed 13 June 2026.
Important: This summary is general information, not personalised medical advice, diagnosis, or a treatment protocol. Speak with a qualified practitioner about your individual situation. Book a consultation →