AIP Mindset: Optimism, Hope and Healing
No matter where we are in our healing journey, we’ve likely discovered that a positive mindset makes a world of difference in how we think, look and feel. But how do we …
AIP Mindset: Putting Myself First
As parents, friends and community members, we’re often pulled in a million different directions. In a culture that increasingly emphasizes hard work and self-sacrifice, it’s no …
AIP Mindset: Cooking is Not a Burden
If there’s one skill we all gain on the AIP, it’s cooking! When we’re focused on consuming only the most nutrient-dense, clean, anti-inflammatory, high-quality whole foods to …
15 Awesome AIP Snack Ideas + a Free Snack Guide!
We might be tempted into intimidation at the idea of putting together AIP snacks. Even if we’ve been Paleo for a while, avoiding old staples in the pursuit of autoimmune health (no …
AIP Mindset: Getting Beyond Feeling Deprived
This post is the first in a new series all about the mindset shifts that can help us heal on the AIP . I felt it was time to tackle mindset because I keep hearing one pervasive …
Steroids: What To Do When You Need Them
Corticosteroids are man-made hormones similar to the cortisol naturally produced by our adrenal glands, typically prescribed for autoimmune conditions and inflammatory disorders. …
Making Healthy Choices: What’s Your Currency?
The Autoimmune Protocol, or AIP, is a life-changing complementary approach to healing autoimmune disease that’s based on a somewhat radical notion: the idea that we can control our …
20 Keys to Success on the Autoimmune Protocol
My good friends Mickey and Angie at autoimmune-Paleo.com have created what they call AIP Evolved – A Manifesto, a collection of 20 key concepts that are fundamental for a …
Self Care and Healing From Chronic Illness (includes vlog)
There is increasing interest within the scientific and medical communities in something called self-management, a fairly loosey-goosey term for any intervention or complementary …
4 Tips to Combat Eczema
Eczema is a tricky condition that affects an estimated 10-20% of infants in the U.S. And, though it’s less common in adults (only about 3% of American adults have eczema), …
3 Reasons Why Olive Oil is Amazing
Olive oil has been used for centuries and is simply one of the least controversial fats in use no matter what our nutritional philosophy might be. With endorsements from the Paleo, …
The Importance of Nutrient Density
While the Paleo Diet is often presented as a collection of foods to eliminate, its tenets go far beyond that list of foods to avoid. In fact, the concept of nutrient-density may be …
5 Ways to Improve Your Bedroom Environment for Sleep
There are SO many important and exciting studies coming out on sleep right now, and the reason is pretty simple: we’re finally grasping the fact that in terms of health, …
Are Microwaves Safe to Use?
Microwaves are a hot topic in the health community (pun intended!), and the internet is full of claims that they leak radiation, destroy nutrients, change the chemical structure of …
Broth: Hidden Dangers in a Healing Food?
It’s no secret that I’m a huge broth fan! Between its helpful mineral content and abundance of important amino acids (especially proline and glycine), it’s definitely meets the …
Why Broth is Awesome
Have I mentioned lately how much I love bone broth? There’s a reason it’s been prized across numerous cultures and traditional societies, and not just because it’s so delicious! …
Recovery from Antibiotics
In the Paleo community, the idea of taking antibiotics is often frowned upon, and it’s easy to see why! A huge body of research shows that antibiotics not only destroy beneficial …
The Verdict on Psyllium Husks: Not Paleo!
With increasing frequency, unhealthful ingredients are creeping into recipes labeled as Paleo or food products catering to the Paleo community. Part of the problem, is that when we …
The Healing Kitchen is in Costco – get my FREE shopping guide!
Today I’m giving my readers a truly awesome resource to celebrate The Healing Kitchen making it into Costco stores around the country! This is an awesome feat for any Paleo …
Sleep and Disease Risk: Scarier than Zombies!
Friday morning at the Nutritional Therapy Association Annual Conference, which also just happened to also be World Sleep Day, I gave a keynote presentation on the connection …
Saturated Fat: Healthful, Harmful, or Somewhere In Between?
For decades, we’ve been warned that saturated fat is a dangerous substance capable of raising our cholesterol, clogging our arteries, and sending us to an early grave. Official …
Because Fiber Wasn’t Awesome Enough: New Science Suggests Fiber Improves Sleep Quality!
You may or may not have seen a brief Facebook post I wrote about a week ago regarding an exciting hot-off-the-presses scientific paper that totally blew me away—so much so that …
Fructose and Vitamin D Deficiency: The Perfect Storm?
In my previous post, 5 Nutrients You’re Deficient In… If You Eat Too Much Sugar, I talked about the harmful effects of excess sugar on certain micronutrients, and touched upon an …
The Best Foods and Nutrients to Support Liver Detox
In Part 1 of this series, I summarized the phases of liver detoxification and addressed the misconception of liver as a “sponge” for toxins due to its role in processing harmful …
What The Heck Does Our Liver Do Anyway? Detoxification Explained
There’s no organ our body that really “slacks off” (at least not without dire consequences!), but when it comes to the liver, to say it’s hard-working is an understatement! Among …
The Power of Journaling for Positive Self-Change: Self-Monitoring Makes All the Difference
Recently, I proudly launched my new online program, Go to Bed: 14 Easy Steps to Healthier Sleep. This sleep guide is the most comprehensive resource for the real science of sleep …
Announcing the launch of Go To Bed: 14 Easy Steps to Healthier Sleep!!!!
Go To Bed: 14 Easy Steps to Healthier Sleep is a new online program and is quite simply the most comprehensive sleep guide ever created. Go To Bed contains the most comprehensive …
The Healing Kitchen Review Round-up and Video Q&A
When Alaena Haber and I decided that we’d like to collaborate on a project, the question we asked is “what resource does the autoimmune community need, but …
Autoimmune Disease: A Road That Doesn’t Need To Be Walked Alone
The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) estimates that approximately 1 in 5 of us suffer from one or more of the 140+ diseases classified as autoimmune in …
Lunchbox Ideas for Back-To-School
It’s finally here! With the impending Labor Day holiday, most children in the U.S. and Canada are headed back next week for another school year. Whether you view the start of …
The New Science of Sleep-Wake Cycles (and How to Improve Yours!)
One of my favorite topics to research and to write about is how sleep (or lack thereof) affects our bodies. And, the more I learn about the necessity of life, the more I’m …
The Health Benefits of Fermented Foods
Most of us are familiar with at least a handful of fermented foods (like sauerkraut or yogurt); but the history, variety, and benefits of fermentation are much more extensive than …
The Benefits of Gentle Movement
Many of us think we can cancel out an otherwise sedentary lifestyle (sitting at our desk job, commuting in the car, watching TV, and spending way too much time on Facebook) by …
Nutritional Support for Injury and Wound Healing
Finding health via diet and lifestyle changes can make us feel superhuman—but, we’re not (sadly). While we may lose weight, get fit, and mitigate chronic illnesses, calamities can …
Sleep Requirements and Debt: How Much Sleep Do You Need?
I’ve very passionate about the necessity of sleep for health, which is why I wrote an entire online sleep program called Go To Bed: 14 Steps to Healthier Sleep. In the last …
My Personal Battles with Stress
This has been a hard post to write. It has always been important to me to be honest with you about my own challenges and successes, but when things aren’t going well, …
The Link Between Sleep and Your Weight
A question I get asked frequently: “I’m eating a Paleo diet but I’m not losing weight. Why?” Sometimes the person lost a bunch of weight initially but …
Grief Upon Diagnosis: Uncovering Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Wednesday, I was diagnosed with a new autoimmune disease. I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. There is such a tremendous feeling of grief associated with a diagnosis like this. …
The Health Benefits of Connection
‘Tis the season for merriment, spending time with family and friends, and exchanging gifts as signs of appreciation for our loved ones. Did you know that this connection has …
Autoimmune Protocol Holiday Recipe Round-Up
Who’s ready for the holidays?! When you think about all of the planning, purchasing, cooking, socializing, and other random chaos that comes with the season, can …
A Very Thankful Thanksgiving Round-Up
Hey ya’ll Charissa here! Even though I am known for not cooking, I absolutely love cooking for others, especially on Thanksgiving. I was excited when Sarah asked me to put …
Why Exercising Too Much Hurts Your Gut
The World Health Organization lists physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Without a doubt, being physically active is critical for our health. …
Which comes first: the leaky gut or the dysfunctional immune system?
I was asked by healthline.com to comment on a new study from researchers at Lund University in Sweden that was published earlier this month in the journal PLoS ONE. The study is …
Happy Release Day to The Paleo Approach Cookbook!
It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! Today is the day that The Paleo Approach Cookbook is finally available in stores and from online retailers!!! Happy Release …
How Chronic Stress Leads to Hormone Imbalance
When we think about the effects of chronic stress, we think of cortisol. We think of weight gain, especially around the middle. We think of headaches and depression and anxiety. …
Tips and Tricks for Eating more Offal
I am a nutrient-seeker. Aka, a nutrivore. For me, eating a diet based on the most nutrient-dense foods available–offal, seafood, and vegetables–trumps all other …
Regulating Circadian Rhythm (and why that’s important)
I can’t take credit for this analogy, but I absolutely love it: hormones are like a symphony and circadian rhythms are the conductor. The term circadian rhythm refers to …
The First Clinical Trial Using a Paleo Diet for Autoimmune Disease
The first paper from Dr. Terry Wahl’s clinical trials, titled “A Multimodal Intervention for Patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility and …
