Dr. Rupy Aujla is an NHS medical doctor, who battled his own health issues and turned to lifestyle and food for answers. His focus is on evidence-based benefits with a healthy dose of skepticism, which makes him credible. In his latest book, The Doctor’s Kitchen, he reviews foods that are healing for the brain, the heart, inflammation, immunity, cancer, your mood, skin, eyes and general great health. His recipes are a bit ethnic for my taste, and sometimes includes a lot of ingredients I don’t stock in my kitchen cupboard, but the front, explanatory section is a definitely worth a read. The recipes are healthy and a matter of what you are used to eating.

In the immunity chapter, he talks about autoimmune diseases and how those with such conditions often have an imbalance in their gut flora. He mentions on-going research to prove that rebalancing the gut microbiome with beneficial microbes and may improve symptoms, as well as a theory by Dr. Alessio Fasano, which my nutritionist has also mentioned before, ie. gluten and other products may be responsible for irregular immune responses, as they enter the blood stream by tight junctions in the intestine, are recognized as foreign and trigger an aggressive immune response. So, basically your bread is being attacked like a virus by your immune system, which might have other consequences if such a reaction persists. Have a look at this video to find out more.

That said, Dr. Rupy does say that “There has been a lot of speculation regarding AIP (Autoimmune protocol) diets and, although these appear to be restrictive and eliminate perfectly healthy items from your food, there have been interesting and significant outcomes gained from their use.”

Here are the foods he recommends for a healthy immune system — interesting that nuts, seeds and good oils always come up. I have gotten into the habit of sprinkling them on salads, eating them as a snack and using them in my morning smoothy. Quite easy, delicious and filling! Their content of zinc and selenium is especially good for Hashimoto’s patients.