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Alyssa Luck

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Getting Enough Carbs on the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)

Alyssa Luck · Nov 15, 2016 · 15 Comments

The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (or AIP) has become extremely popular recently as a dietary approach to manage autoimmune disease. I’ve been aware of the AIP for quite some time, but have been pretty turned off of very restrictive diets for the past few years based on my experiences with GAPS/SCD (and for other reasons as well). But after dealing with several back-to-back flare-ups related to recent treatments I’ve been exploring, I decided to give it a shot.

However, I was a little worried about getting enough carbs on the diet. Most common starchy foods (including potatoes and white rice, two of my staples) are on the “no” list, and AIP proponents usually recommend limiting fruit and sweeteners. That leaves sweet potatoes and plantains as the only familiar sources of dense carbohydrate, with things like squash and parsnips providing lesser (but respectable) amounts of non-starchy carbs.

I personally had a little trouble figuring out how to get enough carbs on the AIP, even with the Internet and my existing nutrition knowledge at my disposal. Granted, this is partially because I personally do better when I include plenty of starchy carbs, so I can’t really rely on veggies like squash and parsnips. And I just don’t love sweet potatoes enough to eat them that every day. Regardless, I’ve since discovered AIP-friendly foods (which I’ll tell you about below!) that fully and easily satisfy my carb needs.

But given how easy it is to default to a very-low-carb diet on the AIP, I really feel like the carb issue should be addressed more frequently and fully by proponents of the diet. (Although maybe it is, and I just missed it!) Of course, many people do really well on lower-carb diets, which is fantastic! But everyone’s needs will be different, and people who are already dealing with the physical and mental stress of chronic illness often do poorly when saddled with the additional physical stress of a low-carb diet.

So my goal with this post is to compile a bunch of information about why carbs are an important consideration when starting the AIP, as well as AIP-friendly food sources and recipes that are more carbohydrate-dense.

How Many Carbs Do You Need?

Being slightly more involved in the AIP community now, I’ve noticed many AIP newbies reporting certain new or worsening symptoms on the AIP, including digestive issues, trouble sleeping, hormone issues, and hair loss.

My friend Laura Schoenfeld does a ton of work with clients who are recovering from eating too few carbs and/or calories for their stress and activity level, and I’ve had my own experiences with low-carb issues on the SCD. So a lot of these issues jumped out at me as potentially being caused or exacerbated by not eating enough carbs.

As I mentioned above, existing stress load plays a huge role in determining how your body will react to a low-carb diet. One reason for this is that cortisol is one of the hormones responsible for promoting gluconeogenesis (the creation of new glucose) when your body is low on stored glucose. If your cortisol levels are already up-regulated due to other stressors, this additional bump in cortisol could lead to or worsen any of the myriad adverse health effects of chronic stress.

I don’t want to get into it too much here, but below I’ve linked some articles and podcasts from Laura and her podcast partner Kelsey…

Is a Low-Carb Diet Ruining Your Health?

When Should You Try A Low Carb Diet?

Higher Carbohydrate Paleo Diets for Hormone Related Health Issues

Is A Paleo Lifestyle Giving You “Adrenal Fatigue”?

How To Adjust Your Macronutrient Percentages When Increasing Carbohydrate Intake

The 3-Step Process to Determining Your Ideal Carbohydrate Intake

…and a couple articles from Chris Kresser…

7 Things Everyone Should Know About Low-Carb Diets

Are You Lower-Carb Than You Think?

…that should explain more about why carbs are important, and help you figure out how many carbs are right for you personally. I’m sure there are many other resources out there to help you answer the carb question for yourself; these are just the ones I was already familiar with. Feel free to link to other helpful resources in the comments!

AIP-Friendly Carb Sources

Now that you have a general idea about how many carbs you should be eating, here are some places to find them! Below are a couple tables I made listing AIP-friendly foods and their carbohydrate content. I included good sources of carbs, as well as foods that people often think are good carb sources, but really aren’t!

The data is all from the USDA Nutrient Database, so hopefully it’s somewhat accurate. And I’ve listed everything in terms of a one-cup serving, because even if you wouldn’t eat, say, an entire cup of blueberries, I find things easier to conceptualize when the physical amount of food stays constant.

Starches and Vegetables

FoodCarbs (grams per 1 cup)
Yuca (Cassava/Tapioca)78
Plantain62
Sweet Potato58
Malanga56
Taro46
Yam (Ñame)42
Acorn Squash30
Parsnips26
Butternut Squash22
Pumpkin (canned)20
Beets17
Carrots13
Turnips12
Celeriac10
Spaghetti Squash10

Fruits

FoodCarbs (grams per 1 cup)
Banana34
Grapes27
Cherries25
Pear25
Mango25
Pineapple22
Oranges21
Blueberries21
Apple17
Papaya16
Honeydew16
Peaches15
Raspberries15
Cantaloupe14
Strawberries13
Watermelon12

A Guide to Unfamiliar Starches

Now, you may be wondering – what on earth is malanga? Or taro? Or ñame? These, along with yuca (aka cassava/tapioca, which you’ve probably heard of) are all carbohydrate-dense starchy tubers that are neutral-tasting, rather than sweet like sweet potatoes. This makes them fantastic potato replacements for those of us on the AIP.

Honestly, having been on this diet for about a month and a half now, I really don’t miss potatoes, aside from how easy they are to find in stores. All of these other tubers are equally satisfying and versatile, and I often find myself liking them even better than potatoes! I used cubed yam (ñame; these are true yams, which are nothing like sweet potatoes, despite common labeling confusion) in a beef stew recently, and it was fantastic. I liked them better than potato, because the cubes had a denser texture and really held their shape, rather than getting grainy or falling apart.

I’ll probably update this post once I have more experience cooking with them, but for now, check out this post from Amanda at The Curious Coconut for an excellent guide to some of these foods!

As far as where to find these things: I’ve found plantains at almost every grocery store (including Walmart), and my local Publix actually has malanga, yuca, and yams, which I was extremely surprised about. But in general, your best bet is going to be ethnic markets.

In the picture at the top of this post, you can see malanga (bottom left), frozen yuca (top left), and green plantains that I found at my local Mexican market, and taro (middle), yam (to the right of the taro), and sweet potato glass noodles from my local Asian market. (Note: The only ingredients in the glass noodles are sweet potato starch and water, but I’m not sure there’s a consensus on the AIP-okayness of them due to questionable labeling standards in other countries. Proceed at your own risk.) 

Carb-Tastic AIP Recipe Roundup

Linked below are some recipes featuring these tropical starchy tubers, as well as sweet potato and green plantain. Obviously there are tons of recipes out there, but these are either ones that I’ve tried and liked, or just really caught my eye! I’ll add more as I find them. And again, feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

The Best Paleo Rice Replacement (not cauliflower!) — The Curious Coconut

Mashed Malanga, Taro, or Yuca — The Curious Coconut

Crispy AIP Hashbrowns — The Curious Coconut

Ultra Nourishing Puerto Rican Sancocho — The Curious Coconut

How to Make Puerto Rican Pasteles — The Curious Coconut

Moroccan-Spiced Rice – Grazed and Enthused

Rosemary + Prosciutto Stromboli – Grazed and Enthused

Cinnamon Plantain Fritters – Grazed and Enthused

Sweet Potato Gnocchi – Paleo Pumpkin

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad – Autoimmune Paleo

AIP Plantain Waffles – Simple & Merry (Note: I’ll be posting a slightly modified version of this recipe soon that has a higher ratio of green plantain to arrowroot, making it a little more whole-food-y)

Now, go forth and carb it up!

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Comments

  1. Carmel says

    September 25, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Thanks so much for this. I, too, have done poorly on low carb diets and am looking into trying AIP, but want to make sure my carbs don’t slip too low.

    Reply
    • Alyssa Luck says

      October 2, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      So glad it was helpful, Carmel! Best of luck if you try AIP.

      Reply
  2. Amaya says

    March 14, 2018 at 1:15 am

    Living in Europe it’s impossible to find the carbs u talk about, what then? No rice etc? I mean, this diet cant be only fir those living in countries with these vegetables.

    Reply
    • Alyssa Luck says

      March 15, 2018 at 12:06 pm

      Hi Amaya! Lots of people do AIP with their primary carb sources being sweet potatoes, fruit, winter squash, and other root veggies like beets and carrots that are easy to find. And lots of people just eat fewer carbs in general while following AIP. I didn’t find that either of those approaches worked particularly well for me at the time I wrote this article, which led me to seek out these other options, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s the only (or best) way to do things! I encourage you to check out thepaleomom.com or autoimmunewellness.com for more resources on AIP.

      Reply
    • Anny Lomax says

      March 16, 2018 at 1:45 pm

      Hi Amaya, I wanted to respond to you as Amaya is my daughter’s name! Though we probably pronounce it differently (we say a-may-ah not a-my-ah?). Anyway, I’m from the UK and find it hard to find the above too, though I know I could probably find Asian or Carribbean super markets if I traveled far enough. I do as Allyssa suggests and eat the easy to get ones. I’ve been AIP for a year now and fully recommend it for chronic illness. I’ve got to say, I’m getting fed up of sweet potato now. We grate sweet potato and carrot into stir fries, make turnip and root veg chips, swede and celeriac and parsnips are good for stews and mash. We buy plantain chips from Amazon too.I feel better with carbs. I can go low carb at lunch but need carbs ar breakfast and my evening meal. I hope this helps!

      Reply
      • Alyssa Luck says

        March 16, 2018 at 2:16 pm

        Thanks for chiming in, Anny! I’m the same way – I can eat lower carb at lunch, but definitely need carbs at breakfast and dinner to feel my best.

        Reply
  3. Nairi says

    May 23, 2018 at 10:20 am

    Thank you so much for this!! I found you here after a few nights of poor sleep on AIP Paleo, striving to find the answer!!

    Reply
    • Alyssa Luck says

      May 24, 2018 at 11:07 am

      Aw you’re welcome Nairi! I hope you find your answer soon! I’m crossing my fingers that adding more carbs helps 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jade says

    June 11, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    Alyssa Luck Thank you so very much for your list of the carbohydrates that I am allowed to eat. I’ve had gut surgery due to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and you probably know that I cannot eat grains, pastas and I so needed your above-carb list! I love your carb food list! I can eat these! Yay! Again, THANK YOU!

    Reply
    • Alyssa Luck says

      June 15, 2018 at 6:41 pm

      You’re so welcome Jade! So glad this was helpful to you.

      Reply
  5. Anish Potnis says

    September 5, 2018 at 2:50 pm

    Hey, I thought this helpful.

    I’ve started just making cassava flour tortillas for every meal, and that’s been working for me.

    Reply
    • Alyssa Luck says

      September 6, 2018 at 10:04 am

      Hey Anish! That’s a great idea. Cassava flour makes surprisingly good tortillas.

      Reply
  6. eugenie breida says

    February 24, 2023 at 10:29 pm

    Thanks for the acknowledgement that, sadly, quite a few of us ultimately can NOT sleep sufficiently on the popular low carb/no carb (indeed, low inflammatory) diets.

    I am one of those insomniacs, regrettably.. so much so that I added back a slice of bread w/my dinner (yikes, eh? ).

    I would love more detail of “basic prep” of frozen taro/cassava root (must one soak??!! I know native cultures cook/drain/rinse/soak .. as very high goitrogenic?? And oxalates?? Anyone familiar w/primitive cultures approaches?)

    Thanks much!

    Also, what can I do with tapioca beads?? If I were more confident eggs were my friends tapioca pudding would be a side-dish w/every meal, the cool texture is delectable to my palette.

    Keep comments rolling in, people!

    PsA, (too) low bmi, 64 yrs F.

    Reply
    • eugenie breida says

      February 24, 2023 at 10:30 pm

      PS: sweet potato & cassava flour mini-tortillas are the bomb…

      Reply
    • Alyssa Luck says

      February 27, 2023 at 2:54 pm

      Hi Eugenie,

      Thanks for chiming in! Sadly I can’t help with either of your questions – it’s been so long since I did AIP that I can’t for the life of me remember how I prepped the frozen cassava, nor do I have any creative ideas for tapioca beads. But hopefully you’ll be able to find that info elsewhere online! Feel free to report back if you do – it’s so nice having people leave comments with their experiences, since it adds so much additional info and experience to these posts.

      Warmly,
      Alyssa

      Reply

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Hi! I’m Alyssa. I like thunderstorms and cats, hate wearing shoes, and enjoy devising extensive research projects for myself in my free time. This is me in Bali with a monkey on my shoulder. And this is my blog, where I muse about health-related topics and document my relentless self-guinea pigging. If you want to know more about me, click here!

alyssa.luck

alyssa.luck
Photo dump from the last year. Thanks to everyone Photo dump from the last year. Thanks to everyone who made 28 the best yet - excited for 29🥰

(PS. In case anyone wants to know what it’s like in my head, I was going to write something like “year 28” or “my 28th year” but then I realized that the year between your 28th and 29th birthdays is not your 28th year of life, it’s your 29th year. I am turning 29 because I have been alive for 29 years. So then I had a whole thing about how to word it without being inaccurate and ended up going with what you see above which is vague and weird but the point is it was a good year and I love all the people in my life dearly)
Biology of Belief (2005) was written by Bruce Lipt Biology of Belief (2005) was written by Bruce Lipton, who earned a PhD in developmental biology in 1971 and was an anatomy professor and academic researcher in the 70s and 80s. Despite the book's presentation and Lipton's background, this is not a science book. It is an exposition of an ideology, supported by haphazard and poorly contextualized nuggets of evidence, rhetorical leaps, and a mind-boggling overuse of analogies. 

The book largely failed to deliver on its promised content. What it does is argue for the primacy of the environment over DNA in controlling life; propose that the cell membrane rather than the nucleus is the "brain" of the cell; invoke quantum physics to explain why modern medicine fails; explain that our behavior is largely controlled by our subconscious mind; inform parents that they therefore have a great deal of control over the destiny of their children; and conclude that humans must become nonviolent protectors of the environment and of humanity because Everything Is Connected.

It’s not that these points aren’t relevant to the topic at hand - they are. But they were not connected in a coherent way that would explain how “belief” actually works (like…biologically), and the treatment of scientific concepts throughout was careless, or perhaps disingenuous.

I think he's correct about many things, some of them being common knowledge. For instance, the "new" science of epigenetics is now old news, as is the critical role of parenting and early environment in shaping a child’s future. But however important these and attendant concepts may be, the book did not do a good job explaining, supporting, or connecting them. 

As far as practical guidance, he refers the reader to a list of resources on his website, which is fine, but I expected some scientific insight into how/why those modalities work. None was given. 

On the plus side, the book was quite thought-provoking, and I came away with loads of references and topics to follow up on. My favorite line? "There cannot be exceptions to a theory; exceptions simply mean that a theory is not fully correct."
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (section 382) Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (section 382), as quoted in the introduction to Thus Spoke Zarathustra because I like the translation better.
This paper totally changed the way I think about e This paper totally changed the way I think about early nervous system development and the relationship between physiology and sociality. 

The authors propose that newborn babies are not inherently social, and have just one goal in life: physiological homeostasis. I.e. staying alive. This means nutrients, warmth, and regulation of breath and heart rate, i.e. autonomic arousal (it’s well-accepted that newborns sync their breathing and heart rate with caregivers through skin to skin contact). 

All these things are traditionally provided by a loving caregiver. So what the baby experiences during the first weeks of life, over and over, is a shift from physiological perturbation to homeostasis (a highly rewarding event inherently) REPEATEDLY PAIRED with things like the sound of a caregiver’s voice and seeing their face. Thus, over time, the face/voice stimuli become rewarding as well. 

The authors argue that THIS is the beginning of humans’ wiring for sociality, and may explain why loving social interactions can have such a profound regulating effect on physiology throughout life: because the brain was trained for it at an early age. 

This framework holds all kinds of fascinating implications for what happens if that initial “training” isn’t so ideal. What if the return to nutritional homeostasis via feeding is paired with negative expressions and vocalizations rather than loving ones, perhaps as could occur with PPD? What happens if the caregiver has poor autonomic regulation, such that social stimuli become paired with cardiorespiratory overexcitement in the baby? Could that have potential for influencing later introversion vs extroversion? (Because if social interaction is paired with autonomic overexcitement, that could lead to social interaction literally being more energetically draining, which is what introverts experience. Thoughts?)

For my energy metabolism enthusiasts: Table 1 in the paper draws a link between metabolic rate and sociality across species. Swipe for a screenshot. 

Anyway, check out the paper! It’s free, just google “growing a social brain pdf.”
I’ll be under general anesthesia in a couple day I’ll be under general anesthesia in a couple days to have two tooth implants placed, and I think I’ll take the opportunity to have a little heart-to-heart with my subconscious mind. A bit of medically-assisted self-hypnosis, if you will. 

I randomly stumbled upon these papers a couple months ago - an RCT showing reduced post-op pain in patients who listened to recorded positive messages while under general anesthesia, plus a post-hoc analysis of the same data that found reduced post-op nausea and vomiting in a subset of high-risk patients. 

The full review paper from the first slide is unfortunately in German, but it has long been recognized that even when unconscious, the patient is listening (for better or for worse). 

It boggles my mind that it isn’t standard of care to have patients listen to recordings like this while under sedation, considering that almost nothing could be easier, safer, or cheaper, and we have at least some evidence of significant efficacy. I mean c’mon, what more could you want from an intervention? 

(Yeah, I know. Profit. If anyone still thinks that our medical system operates with patient well-being as the foremost goal, you’re deluding yourself.)

“There should be a fundamental change in the way patients are treated in the operating room and intensive care unit, and background noise and careless conversations should be eliminated.”

“Perhaps it is now time to finally heed this call and to use communication with unconscious patients that goes beyond the most necessary announcement of interventions and is therapeutically effective through positive suggestions. When in doubt, assume that the patient is listening.”
If you've seen "vagus nerve exercises" that have y If you've seen "vagus nerve exercises" that have you moving your eyes or tilting your head, you've probably encountered the work of Stanley Rosenberg. The exercises he created and introduced in his 2017 book now appear in instructional videos all over the internet. 
 
The book itself has much to recommend it: it's accessible, it's practical, it's inspiring. But it has one major flaw: the solid practical and informational content regarding the cranial nerves is framed in terms of the scientifically dubious polyvagal theory. 
 
I particularly enjoyed the book as an introduction to the therapeutic arena of bodywork, of which Rosenberg is a skilled practitioner. His book is full of case reports that demonstrate how immensely powerful extremely subtle movements and physical manipulations can be. These do need to be kept in perspective: it's a small sample size of the most remarkable cases, and the results were achieved within the supportive clinical environment of a skilled practitioner. You can tell from his descriptions how refined his technique is. But nevertheless, it was a paradigm-shifting read for me, and the exercises give you something concrete to play around with. 
 
The book also brought the cranial nerves and the concept of “social engagement” to the fore as arbiters of health. Rosenberg has a solid background in cranial nerve anatomy and shares many interesting tidbits and considerations that you don’t typically hear; for instance, the potential impact of dental and orthodontic work on cranial nerve function.
 
So, is it worth reading? If any of the above piques your interest, go for it! Just read my post on polyvagal theory first – you can use the book to practice separating the wheat (solid informational content) from the chaff (pseudoscientific framing). If nothing else, the book is a nice reminder that genuine healers who get lasting results for their patients do exist.

But if you just want to try the exercises, you can easily find them all on YouTube. 

“You learn techniques to understand principles. When you understand the principles, you will create your own techniques.” -Stanley Rosenberg
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