I am a big reader. Long before I became an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I read tons of books on how to reverse autoimmune diseases. Better yet, I tested these out!

Now there’s no absolute replacement for working with a fantastic Naturopathic Doctor or Functional Medicine Doctor, you can accomplish a lot by following protocols laid out by some of these doctors.

Here are 4 books I’ve gotten a lot of value out of. There are plenty of similarities in how they describe autoimmune diseases and how they tackle dietary changes but I love that each has a slightly different approach to healing, some different approaches to supplements and to tackling root causes (ie. infections, viruses and stress).

Food, What the Heck Should I Eat? by Mark Hyman

This books is a great book for beginners looking to apply concepts of healthy eating to their lifestyle. This isn’t a book designed specifically to reverse a type of autoimmune disease but it’s a great if you’d like to get to your optimum weight and improve your overall health. This is a beginner book because Dr. Mark Hyman covers the basics of all types of food and covers what to definitely take out, what foods you should be more cautious about and what to add. There are also tasty recipes in this book as well as his website.

The Paleo Cure by Chris Kresser

I’ve been following Dr. Kresser’s blog and newsletter for some time. This book is a great intermediate book for those ready to reverse chronic disease including blood glucose issues. This book focuses on a reset diet with reintroduction after the initial reset period. I like this book because it’s a great overview of the paleo diet and at the end he has descriptions on how to personalize it for specific issues (gut issues, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, anxiety, skin issues and adrenal fatigue). There are also recipes at the end of this book.

The Autoimmune Solution by Amy Myers

I loved the specific advice Dr. Myers gives in this book to reverse the full spectrum of autoimmune diseases. The book covers about 80 percent of what she takes her patients through at her clinic. She covers eliminating toxic and inflammatory foods, introducing restorative foods and supplements, identifying environmental toxins and healing infections. Her diet is essential AIP or autoimmune paleo diet which is more restrictive than a paleo diet. This diet works wonderfully for many people with autoimmune conditions though I noticed it was a bit lower in fats than what I seem to need. She has a lovely cookbook as well called the Autoimmune Solution Cookbook.

Deep Nutrition by Catherine Shanahan

This is a very thick book with tiny text but it’s really enlightening. I share this not because of Dr. Shanahan’s protocol, but because of the information she shares about eating traditional foods and how what we eat effects the health of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She promotes what she calls “the Human Diet” and it’s simple enough your great-grandparents may even have recognized some of it. For some of you this might be exactly what you need to reverse your chronic condition and you might find it more approachable than an AIP diet.

I’m always reading new books and have quite a pile of books I’ve read through and tried but these are ones that I kept and refer too. I’m constantly testing out dietary approaches as I continue my healing journey and I’ll be sharing the results of these in future blogs.

If you’re ready to reverse your autoimmune disease book a free discovery call with me here.