Cholesterol, Nuts, Fruits, and Autoimmune diseases

[Josh Bailey]

So, I decided to try Paleo. This site paleodietlifestyle dude is saying that "you should consider avoiding nuts and fruits all together if you have an autoimmune disease."
I have never heard this before. Any ideas why?

Thanks,
Josh

[Josh Bailey]

That title should read Nuts, Fruits, and Autoimmune diseases. No cholesterol.
Thanks.

[Kyle Myrick]

from Robb Wolf's blog

Emerging research has made clear the link between Neolithic foods (grains, legumes and dairy) and autoimmune diseases such as Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and a host of other less well know conditions. Many people have found significant improvements in autoimmune disease by eliminating the Neolithic foods and building a diet around nutritious Paleo options. If you suffer from an autoimmune disease we highly recommend you start a Paleo diet and let us know what your results are. To give your body its best chance to heal we recommend that you initially limit the following foods:

•Eggs
•Tomatoes & eggplants
•Peppers including bell peppers and hot peppers
•Spices such as curries, paprika, and chili powder.

Some of these otherwise Paleo-friendly foods have been shown to be problematic in individuals with autoimmune issues. We recommend you fully remove not only these foods but also all Neolithic foods (grains, breads, potatoes, beans and dairy) for at least a month to see if they pose a problem for you.

Nothing in there about fruits or nuts. I just started Paleo myself on Monday so I'm not an expert at it.

[Marcus Allen]

Nuts, well peanuts are legumes. Some folks worry about the high sugar content of fruit and possible inflammatory properties of that. The peppers are nightshades which can be inflammatory for some as well.

[Dave Traeger]

Moral of the story is don't eat anything or talk to anyone if you never want to catch anything.

[Rebecca Roth]

I personally don't know the answer to this, you could probably reach out to Robb or Dallas/Melissa of Whole9 via either their websites or facebook and get a quick certain answer.

My guess is the fact that those with autoimmune disorders are immensely more sensitive to inflammation, so the recommendation is based on mitigating as much inflammation as possible. The sugar/fructose in fruit was already mentioned, in terms of nuts it would be the fact that they are high in Omega 6 fats and really easy to go overboard on fast. A person with autoimmune will likely need to make more of an effort to keep their O6 to O3 ratio in line than the average paleo dieter.

[Graeme Moore]

Originally Posted by Rebecca Roth

A person with autoimmune will likely need to make more of an effort to keep their O6 to O3 ratio in line than the average paleo dieter.

Am I right in thinking this should be ~1:1?

[Liz Wolfe]

I agree with the mitigation of inflammation at all costs, but I also think it's interesting to note that most lectins seem to be destroyed by heat. (The lectin argument is getting dated, and quickly, at least when it comes to grains and beans. I still wouldn't eat them, but...)

I'm thinking that guy's objection to nuts was probably the fact that nuts have some lectin content. If you're concerned about it, you can always soak and dehydrate nuts to ensure any concerning anti-nutrients are broken down by heat.

If the objection was based on "pro-inflammatory" O6, just don't overdo the nuts, or opt for something like macadamias, which have a closer-to-optimal O3-O6 profile.

The optimal ration is THOUGHT to be between 1:1 and 1:4, although I think it can go a bit higher based on the common ratio in the tissue of appropriately fed ruminants.

I think that the optimization of gut/digestive flora is going to be the next frontier in this arena. Gut flora can completely mitigate the effects of dietary anti-nutrients in the body. If I were working with someone with autoimmunity, that'd be the first place I'd look.

[Graeme Moore]

Originally Posted by Liz Wolfe

I think that the optimization of gut/digestive flora is going to be the next frontier in this arena. Gut flora can completely mitigate the effects of dietary anti-nutrients in the body. If I were working with someone with autoimmunity, that'd be the first place I'd look.

Liz, really interested in this. Any information/links on what this would involve? All I know about gut flora is what I've seen on those probiotic yoghurt ads! Thanks very much.