Episode 61: AIP for Hashimoto’s — The Pioneering Abbott Pilot Study & Case Reports

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most common autoimmune disease in the world—and yet many people continue to struggle with fatigue, brain fog, pain, and mood symptoms even when their thyroid labs look “normal.”

In this episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, Mickey Trescott continues the AIP Medical Research Review series with a deep dive into the very first clinical study ever conducted on the Autoimmune Protocol for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This community-supported pilot study, led by Dr. Rob Abbott and published in 2019, examined whether a structured AIP diet and lifestyle intervention could improve quality of life, inflammation, and symptom burden in adults with Hashimoto’s who were already medically stable.

Mickey walks through the full story behind the study—from the chance meeting that sparked the research, to the grassroots crowdfunding effort that made it possible. She breaks down the study design, participant profile, intervention structure, clinical measures, and results, including detailed case reports that offer rare insight into individual experiences.

This episode highlights a critical and often overlooked reality in Hashimoto’s care: meaningful improvements in how people feel and function can occur even when thyroid hormones and antibodies remain largely unchanged.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How the first AIP study for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis came to be
2. Why Hashimoto’s patients often struggle despite “normal” thyroid labs
3. Who participated in the Abbott pilot study and why that matters
4. What the AIP intervention looked like in a clinical research setting
5. How diet, nutrient density, and lifestyle practices were integrated
6. Which clinical measures were used to assess symptoms, inflammation, and quality of life
7. What the study revealed about fatigue, pain, mood, and daily functioning
8. Why improvements occurred even though thyroid hormones stayed stable
9. What happened with thyroid antibodies and systemic inflammation
10. Why some participants required lower doses of thyroid medication
11. What the individual case reports reveal beyond group averages
12. Why this study remains a milestone for Hashimoto’s research today
13. Practical takeaways for using AIP to support Hashimoto’s now

Resources:

Abbott Pilot Study (2019): Efficacy of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet as a Part of a Multidisciplinary Supported Lifestyle Intervention for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

AIP Foundation Series – Free 5-day email course with printable food lists, meal plans, and beginner guides.

AIP Certified Coach Program & Practitioner Directory – Advanced training for practitioners and a worldwide directory to find AIP-trained support.

Pre-Order The New Autoimmune Protocol – Mickey's forthcoming complete guide to the updated Autoimmune Protocol, including both Core and Modified AIP.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 – The meeting that sparked the Hashimoto’s study

02:51 – Overview of the Abbott AIP Hashimoto’s study

04:01 – Understanding Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and standard treatment

06:27 – Why study AIP for Hashimoto’s

08:37 – Study participant profile

10:09 – The AIP study intervention

13:17 – Clinical measures and assessments

16:20 – Results: quality of life improvements

18:02 – Results: inflammation (hs-CRP)

19:03 – Results: thyroid hormones and antibodies

21:09 – Results: thyroid medication use

22:36 – Adherence and safety

23:29 – Case reports and individual outcomes

26:02 – Why this study still matters

28:25 – Practical takeaways for listeners

32:16 – Recap, resources, and what’s coming next

In 2017, I was at a conference and had a conversation that quietly

set the stage for a meaningful AIP research collaboration.

I had just met a physician named Dr. Rob Abbott, who had read the first

AIP pilot study for inflammatory bowel disease by the team at

Scripps and wanted to talk about it.

In his family medicine practice, he had reported seeing a growing wave

of women seeking care for autoimmune disease, especially this condition called

Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and this was far more than he expected early in his career.

He told me that he had begun directing his Hashimoto's patients to try the

Autoimmune Protocol, and the results were consistent and compelling.

Their symptoms improved in ways that were too significant to dismiss, and

this got him interested in putting together a pilot study, this time using

AIP for patients with Hashimoto's.

Now, of course, when he shared this with me it immediately

resonated and I got very excited.

Not only was it a powerful clinical question, but this disease is personal

for me as a Hashimoto's patient myself.

I know how common it is, how misunderstood it remains, and how often patients live

with a high symptom burden, despite being successfully treated on paper.

So what followed was a true grassroots effort.

Angie and I, through Autoimmune Wellness, worked side by side with Dr.

Abbott to bring this study to life.

We crowdfunded the project, and as a side note, thank you to every single

person who donated back then, and our community helped recruit the participants.

It should be noted that this study wasn't backed by a university grant or a

pharmaceutical company, but by patients, community members and practitioners

who believed that it mattered.

And like the IBD pilot study before it, the Abbott Hashimoto's study

marked another turning point in AIP research, a moment when real world

healing stories began transforming into measurable peer-reviewed results.

Today we're going to walk through the full story behind this study:

the origin, the intervention, the results, the case reports, and how it

set the stage for even more research using AIP for Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Welcome back to the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast.

I'm your host, Mickey Trescott, and this is the second episode in our AIP

Medical Research Review series where I walk you through the published clinical

studies on the Autoimmune Protocol; what was examined, what was found, and

what it all means for people living with autoimmune disease right now.

As always, this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only, and

is not intended as medical advice.

Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider before making any

changes to your treatment plan.

In today's episode, we're diving into the very first medical study

conducted on the Autoimmune Protocol for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, a

community-supported study published in 2019 by Dr. Rob Abbott and colleagues.

The name of the paper is: Efficacy of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet as a

Part of a Multidisciplinary Supported Lifestyle Intervention for Hashimoto's

Thyroiditis, published in 2019.

If you would like to read along, you can find a direct link to the full

open-access paper in the show notes.

We're going to walk through the complete study design: who participated,

what the AIP intervention looked like and how outcomes were measured.

Then we'll explore the results including improvements in symptoms,

inflammation and quality of life, as well as some case reports that Dr.

Abbott generously included to highlight some of the individual experiences.

By the end of this episode, you'll have a clear understanding, not just

of what happened in the study, but why it remains such an important milestone

for Hashimoto's patients and for the broader scientific recognition of AIP.

To understand this study, we first need to talk about Hashimoto's thyroiditis itself.

Hashimoto's is the most common autoimmune disease in the world.

It occurs when the immune system mistakenly targets the thyroid gland

gradually damaging the tissue responsible for producing thyroid hormones.

Over time, this autoimmune activity can lead to hypothyroidism, which

is a lack of thyroid hormone.

The immune attack often begins years before hormone levels fall out of range

and can continue even after medication brings those levels back to normal.

Diagnosis typically involves a combination of thyroid hormone

tests and thyroid antibody markers.

The thyroid hormones include TSH, which is thyroid stimulating hormone.

This is the brain telling the thyroid what it needs to do.

Free T4, which is the storage form of thyroid hormone and free T3, which is the

active form that cells used for energy.

And then the antibodies include TPO, which is thyroid peroxidase,

and TG, which is thyroglobulin.

And elevated antibodies confirm the autoimmune nature of the

condition, but they don't always correlate with symptom severity.

And this is where things get a little complicated.

It's also possible to be diagnosed with Hashimoto's without these two

antibodies being present based on imaging results on a thyroid ultrasound.

So basically they look at the thyroid gland and can tell if there's inflammation

that's consistent with Hashimoto's.

You can also get a diagnosis there.

Symptoms of Hashimoto's are thought to stem from the resulting hypothyroidism,

but sometimes they aren't fully explained by the thyroid hormone levels alone.

So fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, depression, digestive issues, hair

loss, joint pain, menstrual changes, and depression are extremely common.

And if that sounds like a big list, just remember that every cell in

your body needs thyroid hormones.

Quite literally, almost any type of symptom can be connected

to hypothyroidism, if that is something that you are experiencing.

Thyroid hormone replacement is the standard treatment for Hashimoto's, and

in many cases it helps tremendously, but medication alone doesn't address

the ongoing autoimmune activity, nor the inflammation, the nutrient issues, the

gut dysfunction, or the lifestyle factors that contribute to persistent symptoms.

So why study AIP for Hashimoto's thyroiditis?

Hashimoto's is not only the most common autoimmune disease, it's

also one of the most represented conditions in the AIP community.

We surveyed in 2017 and 2018 through the Autoimmune Wellness channel, more than

3,000 people with autoimmune disease who had used AIP, and over half of

them reported turning to the protocol because of a Hashimoto's diagnosis.

While thyroid hormone replacement is essential and often very effective, it

addresses only one part of the condition, the deficiency in thyroid hormone.

It doesn't address the ongoing autoimmune activity that drives inflammation or the

fatigue, the brain fog, the digestive issues, the mood symptoms, and the pain

that many people continue to experience even when their labs look normal on paper.

And this disconnect between lab values and daily lived experience is

something that many patients know well.

I experienced it myself when I was diagnosed with

Hashimoto's at 26 years old.

I was struggling with significant symptoms despite being told that my thyroid

numbers were fine, and my story is just one example of a pattern that is widely

reported across the Hashimoto's community.

And because of this gap, many patients seek out additional

tools to support their health.

And AIP is one of the more common approaches that they turn to often

because they're looking for a structured way to improve their health.

And clinicians, including Dr. Abbott, we're seeing these patterns too.

So until this study, those experiences had not been documented in a clinical setting.

Studying AIP for Hashimoto's offered an opportunity to

explore an important question.

Can a structured diet and lifestyle intervention provide measurable support

for patients who are stable on paper but still struggling in real life?

This research aimed to bring clarity to that question and begin filling

the gap between conventional thyroid treatment and the persistent symptoms

that so many of us live with every day.

With that background, let's dive into the study itself and start

with the participant profile.

This pilot study enrolled 17 adults with Hashimoto's thyroiditis all

between the ages of 20 and 45.

These were not individuals with uncontrolled thyroid labs or

multiple complicating conditions.

In fact, the researchers intentionally selected pre-menopausal, non-obese adults

to minimize hormonal variability and reduce confounding factors related to

metabolic disease or rapid weight changes.

And here's an important detail.

These participants were euthyroid, meaning their thyroid hormone levels were within

normal treatment targets at baseline.

They were not newly diagnosed, wildly unstable, or in need

of medication adjustments.

On paper, their thyroid function looked fine, yet they were still experiencing

the persistent symptoms that so many Hashimoto's patients report.

The researchers also excluded anyone who had used AIP in the past.

They were encountering the protocol as a new intervention, just like the

participants in the IBD pilot study.

So the group enrolled here represents a realistic and commonly seen subset

of the Hashimoto's population: living with ongoing symptoms,

medically stable on paper, and looking for tools beyond that medical

support to support their wellbeing.

This is the exact population many clinicians struggle to support.

Next, let's talk about how the AIP intervention was

structured in this pilot study.

This one was modeled after the intervention in the AIP IBD pilot

study that came before it with a little adjustment on timing to

accommodate some of the testing.

Just like in the IBD study.

The intervention was intentional, phased, and highly supported.

In this study, participants completed the same six week staged elimination process.

Instead of removing every food group at once, they followed a weekly

sequence of eliminations, additions, and lifestyle practices to help

them adjust gradually and safely.

This six week transition was then followed by a four week maintenance phase.

As with the IBD study, what the researchers called the maintenance phase

is actually what we know of in the AIP community as the elimination phase.

This means that the total intervention lasted 10 weeks, six weeks for transition

and four weeks for elimination, which is actually relatively short.

The elimination phase used in the study aligns with what we now call

Core AIP, and removes all grains, legumes, nightshades, dairy, eggs,

alcohol, nuts and seeds, food additives.

And then alongside those eliminations, the program emphasized the AIP

Foundation of nutrient density.

Participants were encouraged to eat organ meats, seafood, bone broth,

fermented vegetables, healthy fats, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

And just like the IBD study, the intervention was not just limited to food.

Participants also worked on lifestyle practices that support

immune regulation and healing.

These include sleep and sleep hygiene, stress management, gentle

movement, building their support systems, and increasing time outside.

This is reflective of AIP as a holistic framework, not just a

dietary pattern, which is exactly how it's practiced and taught today.

And I think that this is a point that gets easily lost when we talk about

the results, so remember that the intervention here did not just focus

on eliminations, but also adding nutrient-dense foods as well as

making those lifestyle changes too.

Another core piece of the intervention was the support structure.

Participants were supported by health coaches who provided daily

guidance, a virtual group setting with a private community, email

access for questions and structured educational content on eliminations,

additions, and lifestyle changes.

They also got some help with menu planning, shopping tips, cooking

guidance, and recipes, which was really facilitated by the health coaches

who led daily discussions, answered questions, and encouraged participants

through challenges and helped them troubleshoot when issues came up.

This coaching model is exactly what we teach in the AIP Certified Coach

program, that a structured, supportive and education-based approach helps

individuals implement AIP accurately, safely, and in a way that respects

both their symptoms and their capacity.

Next, let's talk about the clinical measures the researchers used.

In this study the research team used a combination of questionnaires,

comprehensive blood work, and functional medicine testing to assess both symptom

changes and physiological changes.

During the two week washout period before the intervention began, participants

completed a detailed baseline assessment.

This included several tools.

First, the 36 item short form health survey.

This is known as SF-36, is a widely used and validated survey tool that measures

social, emotional and physical wellbeing.

It looks at things like physical functioning, energy levels, emotional

health, pain, social participation.

Higher scores indicate a better quality of life.

Next, they used a medical symptoms questionnaire or MSQ used frequently

in functional medicine that evaluates symptom burden across

multiple body systems, including digestion, mood, energy, and pain.

This questionnaire isn't validated or used often in research, but provides

a detailed picture of symptom burden.

Next, the NIH Food frequency questionnaire was used to provide a detailed snapshot

of dietary patterns at baseline.

After completing all of these questionnaires, participants

provided fasting blood samples to evaluate a broad range of biomarkers.

These included a thyroid hormone panel, which included TSH, free T4, free T3,

total, T4, total T3, and reverse T3.

They also tested thyroid antibodies to assess autoimmune activity,

which included thyroid peroxidase antibodies, thyroglobulin antibodies,

and they also included hs-CRP as a marker of systemic inflammation.

Lastly, they also included a complete blood count, CBC, and a comprehensive

metabolic panel, CMP, to evaluate immune cell counts, liver and kidney

function, blood glucose, electrolytes, and overall metabolic status.

This helps ensure participant safety and provides a broader context

for the physiological changes.

And then lastly, through a partnership with Genova Diagnostics, participants

an organic acid test, which offers insights into

nutrient status, detoxification and gut microbiome metabolites, and a

GI effects stool analysis, which evaluates digestive function, gut

inflammation and microbial balance.

While these tests are not always included in conventional research, they

can give additional information about gut health and metabolic function.

And all of these assessments, the lab work, the questionnaires, the

functional tests, were repeated at the end of the 10 week intervention.

This allowed the researchers to compare the baseline status with post

intervention results and determine whether meaningful changes occurred.

Let's move on to discussing the results and start with the outcomes that matter

most to people living with Hashimoto's: quality of life and daily symptoms.

In this study, both improved in ways that were not only noticeable,

but statistically significant.

The SF-36 is a validated tool that measures eight domains of wellbeing

from physical functioning to energy levels to emotional health.

In this trial, scores improved across all eight subscales, which is

remarkable for a 10 week intervention.

Some of the biggest changes were seen in physical role

functioning, which pre-intervention median was 25, post was 100.

Vitality, which is basically energy levels.

Pre-intervention, median was 23, post-intervention was 58.

General health perception, which pre-intervention was 40, post was 70.

And improvements were also seen in mental health with median scores increasing from

54 to 78, which is a 22 point change.

So taken together these numbers paint a clear picture-- participants

felt better physically, mentally, and emotionally in ways that were

both measurable and meaningful.

Next, the medical symptom questionnaire looks at symptoms across multiple areas:

digestion, mood, pain, energy, and more.

Higher scores mean more symptoms.

And in this study, MSQ scores dropped significantly indicating a

broad reduction in symptom burden.

Participants reported fewer digestive issues, more stable

moods, clearer thinking, better energy, less pain and discomfort.

The next outcome the researchers looked at was systemic inflammation

measured by high sensitivity, C-reactive protein, or hs-CRP.

This marker doesn't tell us where inflammation is happening,

but it gives a clear picture of whether overall inflammatory

activity is rising or falling.

In this study, hs-CRP levels decreased significantly over

the 10 week intervention.

Among the 14 participants with complete data, hs-CRP dropped by 29% from an

average of 1.63 mg/L to 1.15 mg/L.

This reduction is meaningful, especially considering that

participant's thyroid hormone levels remained stable throughout the study.

We're going to talk about that next.

This decrease in hs-CRP suggests that the body was experiencing less

inflammatory stress, which aligns with the significant improvements

participants reported in their energy, their mood, and their overall wellbeing.

Now let's look at the thyroid labs, both hormones and antibodies, because

these results help us understand what was driving the improvements

that the participants experienced.

In this study, thyroid hormone levels remained stable throughout the 10 week

intervention, and that was intentional.

Dr. Abbott monitored the participant's thyroid labs and adjusted medication

as needed to keep TSH, free T4, and free T3 within their target ranges.

This ensured that any improvements in symptoms or inflammation

could not be attributed to shifts in thyroid hormone dosing.

And that's exactly what happened, TSH free T4, free T3, total

hormones and reverse T3 showed no significant changes from baseline.

This stability is important because it tells us the improvements in

quality of life, symptom burden, and inflammation were not likely

due to the result of changes in thyroid function or in medication.

They were more likely the result of the AIP diet and

lifestyle intervention itself.

The study also measured TPO antibodies and thyroglobulin antibodies, which reflect

autoimmune activity against the thyroid.

These antibodies showed a very slight downward trend, but the changes were

not statistically significant over that 10 week period, which isn't

really surprising given the size of the group and the timeframe.

And here's an important nuance.

While some clinicians aim to reduce thyroid antibodies as a treatment target,

antibody levels don't always correlate with symptom burden, and they're not a

reliable marker for how someone feels.

Participants felt significantly better, inflammation decreased, quality of

life improved across all of those SF-36 domains, even though antibodies

did not change dramatically at all.

So this points to a possibility.

Maybe somebody can experience meaningful improvements in Hashimoto's

symptoms and overall wellbeing even when thyroid labs stay the same.

And this is a pattern that many patients report anecdotally in real life.

And the study helps validate that in a clinical setting.

Another noteworthy outcome from the study was the pattern observed

in thyroid medication use.

While the goal of the trial was to keep thyroid hormone levels stable, several

participants ended up needing less medication by the end of the 10 weeks.

Here's what the study found.

Six out of the 13 participants, so 46%, who started the trial

on thyroid hormone replacement, decreased their dose during the study.

. Three participants had already been asked to reduce or alter their medication

type before the intervention began because their baseline labs showed

that their TSH was too low or their other free hormones were too high.

After that 10 weeks, all three of those participants required

additional dose decreases.

And then another three participants lowered their medication dose

after the intervention based on those post study labs.

And then lastly, all three participants, I know this is a lot of groups of

three, the three that entered the study without taking any thyroid hormone,

were able to remain off medication entirely through the end of the trial.

This was not a formal endpoint of the study, and the trial was

definitely not designed to test whether AIP reduces medication needs.

But it is very interesting to see a trend for reduced medication use, especially

since none of the participants needed more medication during or after the study.

Before we move on, it's important to highlight how participants

tolerated the intervention, because feasibility and safety are key parts

of evaluating any therapeutic approach.

In this study, adherence to the AIP protocol was exceptionally high, with

food frequency reviews showing a 95% adherence across the 10 week program.

There were no moderate or severe adverse effects reported.

A few participants noted that the early stages of elimination were mentally

challenging something that is very common when changing long established

eating patterns, but that these challenges were quickly outweighed by

improvements in symptom burden, energy, mood, and overall quality of life.

Taken together these findings show that a structured, coached AIP program

is both safe and feasible, even for individuals living with ongoing

symptoms of autoimmune thyroid disease.

Now before we wrap up the results, I want to highlight something

very unique about this study.

In addition to reporting group averages and statistical outcomes, Dr. Abbott

and his team included detailed narrative case reports for each participant.

Something that we rarely see in nutrition intervention research.

These case reports are incredibly generous because they give us a window into the

lived experience of those individual participants, how they were feeling

at the start, what symptoms were most disruptive, how their labs looked, what

changed during the intervention, and how their quality of life shifted by the end.

And for anyone living with Hashimoto's, these stories help translate

the data into real life context.

They show the true range of what's possible from moderate improvements

to truly dramatic transformations, and they highlight the magnitude of change

that can sometimes be lost when we only look at the big group as a whole.

Here are just a few of the most compelling individual outcomes

from the case report section.

One participant entered the study with a severe symptom burden affecting

nearly every system: headaches, joint pain, digestive distress,

fatigue, mood swings, and more.

After 10 weeks on AIP, her MSQ score dropped from 103 to 36.

She lost 10 pounds, her sleep and energy improved, and she described a

profound shift in daily functioning.

Another participant's story was especially striking.

She began the study with an MSQ of 89, along with anxiety, joint

pain, mood symptoms, and GI issues.

By the end of the program, her symptom score fell to six, one of the most

dramatic improvements in the entire trial, and her hs-CRP dropped from 2.42 to

0.84, signaling much lower inflammation.

She described feeling calmer, clearer, and much more energetic.

A woman with a long history of skin issues and joint pain saw her MSQ

improve from 83 to 25, with a complete resolution of eczema and joint symptoms.

Her energy, sleep and mood also improved and she experienced greater resilience

during life stressors, despite her thyroid labs remaining completely stable.

So this is just a summary of a few of the case reports, but they offer a powerful

compliment to the statistical results, and I'd encourage you to give them a read

if you would like to learn even more.

So now that we've covered the results, let's talk about why

this pilot study still matters for people with Hashimoto's today.

First, this was the very first trial to test AIP for Hashimoto's,

and it validated what patients had been reporting for years.

Even with stable thyroid labs and antibody levels, participants

experienced major improvements in fatigue, pain, mood, brain fog,

digestion, and overall quality of life.

In fact, the gains across SF-36, vitality, mental health, general health and physical

functioning were far larger than what's been observed in medication only studies,

and they happened in just 10 weeks.

Second, the study showed that symptom relief isn't always tied

to changes in thyroid hormones.

Labs stayed stable, but inflammation didn't.

Hs-CRP dropped into the low risk range, and immune markers shifted

in ways that suggest real modulation of the autoimmune process.

This reinforces something fundamental for Hashimoto's: healing is not just

about those lab values, it's about how you feel and how you function day to day.

And third, nearly half of the participants on thyroid medication actually needed

lower doses by the end of the study.

This is a remarkable finding.

It suggests improved tissue sensitivity to thyroid hormone as inflammation

and overall health improved.

And fourth, the study demonstrated that AIP can be safe, effective, and

highly doable with the right support.

That high adherence was largely because the intervention was not just a diet.

Participants had coaching, community, gradual eliminations and

steady guidance, and this mirrors what we see across AIP today.

Structure and support dramatically improve outcomes.

Finally, this study broadened what's possible in Hashimoto's care.

It showed that a comprehensive nutrition and lifestyle approach can

meaningfully transform quality of life even when medication alone can't, and

helped pave the way for future AIP and lifestyle based thyroid research.

In short, this early trial demonstraed something powerful: your symptoms, energy

and wellbeing can improve dramatically even when your labs stay the same.

And that insight continues to shape patient-centered Hashimoto's care today.

What does all of this mean if you are considering using AIP

to support Hashimoto's today?

Across this pilot study and what we now understand from years of AIP

practice, several key themes emerge.

First, improvements can happen quickly, often within the first month.

Many participants reported noticeable changes in energy, mood, pain, and

digestion, with only four weeks in the elimination phase, which is

that bare minimum that we recommend.

Number two, AIP can be safe and effective when implemented in a structured way.

So here participants maintained 95% adherence and experienced

no serious adverse events throughout the 10 week protocol.

The study used a clear phased structure with gradual eliminations in a

defined framework, and that structure played a major role in making the

intervention both safe and doable.

Following a clear plan rather than improvising or restricting at

random is key to experiencing steady progress without unnecessary stress.

Three, look for improvements in quality of life, not just your thyroid hormones.

Thyroid hormone levels and antibodies stayed relatively stable here, yet

quality of life shifted dramatically.

Participants reported more energy, reduced pain, improved mood,

greater day-to-day capacity.

So for many people with Hashimoto's, symptoms don't

always match those lab values.

So make sure that you are tracking well to assess how your

symptoms are changing over time.

Number four, nutrient density and lifestyle changes are a part of success.

So this is not a diet only intervention.

Participants improved because they also worked on nutrient rich eating,

sleep, and circadian rhythms, stress management practices,

movement, connection, and community.

Now, this is not to make AIP super overwhelming, but you should definitely

know that these pillars directly impact inflammation, immune balance, and

energy levels, and they're not extras.

They are essentials.

So make sure that you're implementing some small changes in all of these areas.

Number five, Modified AIP might be an excellent starting point.

So participants in the study followed Core AIP, and they still

experienced rapid improvement.

But today we know that many people can achieve meaningful results

beginning with Modified AIP.

It keeps the nutrient density and lifestyle foundation intact while

easing some of those eliminations, making the process more sustainable.

So if you're considering starting soon, I definitely recommend Modified AIP.

Number six, your medication needs might shift.

So stay in touch with your provider.

Get tested often.

Nearly half of the participants who were taking thyroid medication, needing

less of it by the end of this study.

So AIP absolutely does not replace medication, but reducing inflammation

and improving overall health can change how your body uses thyroid hormone.

If you are starting AIP, work with your provider to monitor your symptoms and labs

so that your dosing stays appropriate.

Number seven, support makes the journey easier, clearer, and more sustainable.

These participants thrived with coaching, community accountability,

and ongoing education.

So whether that is working with an AIP Certified Coach, a functional

medicine practitioner, or just being in a supportive online group,

you do not have to do this alone.

And support often determines how smooth that process feels.

So taken together, this study showed that something powerful is possible.

Your symptoms, your energy, mood, and quality of life can improve dramatically

even if your thyroid labs don't change.

And for anyone who's living with Hashimoto's who still doesn't feel

well, despite those quote unquote normal labs, this study offers hope and a

clear framework for what to do next.

Let's quickly recap what we covered today.

We talked about who was studied: those 17 adults with Hashimoto's who

were medically stable on paper, yet still struggling with significant

symptoms, a group that reflects a large portion of the Hashimoto's community.

We reviewed what changed: across just 10 weeks of using AIP, participants

saw meaningful improvements in quality of life, symptom burden, inflammation,

and even some nutrient markers.

All while thyroid hormone levels were intentionally kept stable.

Nearly half of those on thyroid medication needed slightly lower

doses by the end of the study.

And we explored why this matters: this trial showed that AIP can be safe,

feasible, and supportive for people with Hashimoto's, validating what many patients

experience anecdotally and paving the way for more research on thyroid autoimmunity.

I want to thank the participants who shared their time and their

stories, and the Autoimmune Wellness community and donors whose

generosity made the study possible.

This research exists because you believe that it mattered.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe so that you don't miss the rest

of the medical research review series.

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And if today's episode got you excited about the science, you are going to

love my forthcoming book, The New Autoimmune Protocol, releasing this May.

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new recipes for both Core and Modified AIP, and step-by-step meal plans so

that you can put science into practice.

You can pre-order your copy now and it truly helps get this work into

the hands of more people who need it.

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode in the AIP

Medical Research Review series.

I'll see you next time.