Book review: The Autoimmune Fix by Dr. Tom O’Bryan

by Jelena

One of the most impactful books I read on health a few years ago. It took me on a crazy journey – from being paranoid to careless, and back to my new “normal” self. After reading it, I was never the same. And neither should you. Here are my key takeaways.

Just by reading a foreword by Dr. Mark Hayman, you can already see you are in for a rollercoaster ride.

If you are one of the many millions of people who know that they don’t feel quite right, but don’t know exactly why, this book is for you.

Dr. Mark Hyman

And he goes on to say:
1. Health doesn’t happen in the doctor’s office. Health happens where we live, in our kitchens where we cook and where we eat. The fork is the most powerful tool we have to transform our health.
2. Today we know that the foods most of us were taught to enjoy our entire lives, and many of us still eat every day, are actually making us sick. These foods include wheat products as well as sugar, dairy, and commercially processed fats.

These sentences were shouting “Get back to your driving seat!” at me and I knew I was in for a ride.

“You are fine; it’s just stress.”

Dr. Tom O’Bryan is a functional medicine practitioner who is specialized in the field of Celiac disorders and Non-Celiac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS). He is the founder of theDr.com which was created to educate the public about under-diagnosed and under-treated gluten-related disorders, which affect up to 30% of the population. He views the lack of recognition, diagnosis and treatment of these disorders as a massive public health crisis.

He uses his book “The Autoimmune Fix – How to stop the hidden autoimmune damage that keeps you sick, fat and tired before it turns into disease” to disclose the big myth about diseases. They don’t happen overnight, or because of age. He explains the underlying mechanisms of the most common illnesses we face today, and also shares with us the Transition Protocol that can help us change our lifestyle and prevent or reverse the disease.

No one gets degenerative or chronic diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, or lupus in their sixties or seventies. That’s just when the damage has accumulated to the point where it’s obvious. Instead, these diseases are decades-long processes, which now can be identified before debilitating symptoms appear.

He claims that the underlying cause of many of health issues is related to our immune system: the mechanism that is so overwhelmed by all the things we are doing to it, that instead of protecting us, it is harming us.

When the body attacks itself and causes organ and tissue damage, we call the disorder autoimmunity.

Earliest symptoms of autoimmunity are joint pain, weight gain, brain fog, gut imbalances, depression, mood disorders, and fatigue.

When you see a doctor for all these issues, and nothing shows up on a blood test as a crisis, you usually get very generic advice such as “lose weight,” “get more sleep,” “eat cleaner,” or “reduce your stress.” Some of us might even leave the office with a prescription for antianxiety or blood pressure medication to help us “calm down.”

For inflammation to continue to a chronic state, have a life of its own, and cause autoimmunity, three distinct factors must be present: a genetic susceptibility, environmental triggers, and a loss of intestinal barrier function. All three have been shown to be necessary to develop the majority of autoimmune diseases. If you take just one of the three out of the picture, your body can begin to heal.

Over the past 25 years, medical scientists focused on the immune system research. In fact, most of the Nobel Prizes of the last 20-25 years went on to the findings on the immune system.

Unfortunately, you and I might be among the first ones to read those findings because according to this book, it takes at least 17 years for research findings to reach our local doctors. If our doctors didn’t go to school in the past ten years, their medical training didn’t have the newest cutting-edge science and findings.

From a cellular standpoint, we have an entirely new body every 7 years, because every cell in our body reproduces itself. Some cells (like inside our intestine) reproduce every 3-7 days. Others take much longer. The process of regeneration is going on 24/7 in our bodies.

No wonder a simple lifestyle change can bring such a difference to our health! Our body is so forgiving.

My patients find that within about 3-6 months, other people start noticing how much better they look. Your friends or family members who may not have seen you in a few months say, “Wow, you look different. You look good.”…. The reason is that by this point in time, your internal environment is replicating healthier cells. Now you’re shifting from a catabolic state to an anabolic state, transitioning from the mechanism of getting older to one of youth, vibrancy, and better health.

This book is teaching us how to help ourselves, how to take care of our body and uncover the weak link in our body – and make sure we protect it so it doesn’t break.

He suggests that with simple lifestyle changes we can arrest and reverse the inflammation and damage causing disease. In order to start healing, his Transition Protocol claims we should remove from our diet:

  1. Gluten
  2. Sugar
  3. Dairy

We can affect our internal environment in many different ways. That includes increasing our exercise and overall physical activity, pursuing lifelong learning for optimal brain function, learning lifestyle habits that reduce excessive stress, avoiding exposures to unnecessary chemicals and toxins, and changing our diet. In fact, one of the most far-reaching, impactful changes we can make to our environment is to both avoid foods that harm us and introduce foods that help us. As you begin to eliminate the foods that your body is sensitive to, you stop fueling the autoimmune fire. When this happens, the fire calms down. While it may not go down completely at first, when you stop throwing gasoline on the fire, you reduce the intensity of the inflammation and diminish inflammatory cascade.

Making any change is not easy, but it is worth our while. In case you need help with forming healthy habits, read my blog post on that topic here.

My journey since then

Since I’ve read this book, I had a chance to also read several books by Anthony William, better known as the Medical Medium (please go to bookstore or library and get them!), and I definitely don’t agree with Dr. O’Brian that our body is attacking itself by being overburdened with toxins. I just don’t buy it. But I am grateful how he gathered data and opened the door for more learning for me. If there wasn’t for his book, I would have most likely never opened my mind to more research.

For instance, thanks to this book I now see the play of words “common” and “normal” when we talk about health. Just because many people have the same/similar symptoms ( eg. weight gain, headache, depression, bloatedness, tiredness), it doesn’t make it normal (for your age or environment). It just makes it common. But it is definitely not normal and we shouldn’t accept it as a norm.

Also, now I understand that genetics is very helpful navigation tool for us. If your parents or grandparents have diabetes, it gives you a clear indication of where you will end up if you consume foods that cause it. But it doesn’t mean you will get it for sure! Just gives you a clear indication where your weak link is.

It is important to remember that genes rarely cause disease. Your genes may say, “This is the weak link in your chain. If you pull at the chain too hard with excessive inflammation, this is where the chain is going to break.”

I will share in future posts some of the more specific health-related facts from the book. I always wanted to write down somewhere accessible notes from this book, luckily I can do it here!

Comment below what books were life-changing to you. Don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list.

Let’s bring health revolution on 🙂

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40 comments

Anna January 17, 2019 - 3:14 pm

In the past 20 years, I think we’ve been swamped and overwhelmed by “new” diet books from America. It’s brought me to a position of complete paralysis: confused and scared to eat! My gut brain tells me that this is not good for people – it keeps us running around, spending money on the next load of food we’re supposed to eat; weighing, measuring and …. putting on weight. I want to live a natural, healthy life going into old age; active, performing well and HAPPY not fearful. I love your blog, Jelena – keep us informed of your food thinking and actions – thank you!

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Jelena January 17, 2019 - 9:31 pm

Hi Anna,
Thanks for following my blog! I know how you feel, I’ve been there. I felt scared and lost too.

I quite agree with you. There are a lot of different diets out there, offering us quick fix and most are focused on external beauty such as loss of weight or clearing up our skin. They never really teach us much, they only give us basic guidelines. Some say more protein, fewer carbs, some say no sugar at all even the natural fruit sugar… Many opinions out there.

I realized that I want long term solution that will get me out of doctors office for good. I realized that knowledge is power, and with it comes responsibility back into my hands. I don’t expect others to tell me what to do, finally, I understand the mechanics of the body and organs… and I only scratched the surface with my learning. There is plenty for me to discover… 🙂

So you can only live natural and relaxed once you start speaking the language of your body. Just as you take time to learn other skills in life, for this one you also need to take time and patience 🙂

Much love and hope this was helpful!
Jelena

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Anna January 18, 2019 - 1:25 pm

Thanks for your reply. I am sure you’re right to keep on researching and learning and know your own body. I have given up sugar – cakes, chocolate etc and I DO feel so so much better. I tried raw but my body was screaming for some cooked food. It’s quite an adventure. Love to you. PS. I bought the Miracle book you recommended.

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Anna January 18, 2019 - 4:14 pm

Sorry, I meant the medical medium!!

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Carrie Bauer January 18, 2019 - 2:03 pm

Jelena,
Thank you so much for all of your research you have been passing on to us! Not only have you changed my life, but the life of my 22 yr old daughter. We now approach everything we eat in a completely nutritious manner. We are a told over and over to add things to a regular diet to help with our nutrition, but what we are not told is the healthy foods will not have the same impact if we do not cut out the unhealthy foods like sugar, gluten and dairy. You gave me the information about Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium and I am eternally grateful to you for that! Now everything is clear, simple. My life/health will never be like it was before. You have given me a whole new perspective on eating and I feel 100% better, my daughter feels 100% better too! Thank you again! I tell my family you are my earth angel! ???
With love and gratitude,
Carrie Bauer

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Antonio Pajovic June 24, 2019 - 1:03 am

Dear Jelena,
Thank you for the wonderful things you are doing, bringing awareness and hope to people. I also very appreciate the initiative to help children, work with childcares and kindergartens…it’s very important, especially in this fast paced world in which parents don’t have enough time to educate their children.
I am trying to do something similar here in Australia (Melbourne), and also doing a lot of charities, involved in business, organising political events…
Beside all above mentioned, I was obsessed with sports, healthy life…and have had friends everywhere, I was at the top of the world :). One day I woke up, had double vision, no strength in my jaw…and went to hospital. There, I was shocked..diagnosis was .autoimmune disease, MG, one of the rarest ones. My whole world broke, I just turned 38 and have to girls (Evelyn, 6 and a half/Christelle Angelique 3 and a half…by the way, Evelyn is one the top tennis talents in her age, I am very proud of her ??).
To cut the story short, I read all the books about diets, leaking gut, treatments….(cause there are no any diseases in my family genetics).
Even though I had a very broad knowledge about human body, helped people to find best treatments for their diseases (there are few good integrative clinics here in Melb, NIIM is the best one), I couldn’t help myself. After I almost lost the will to fight, I was introduced to a pastor in a small church who told me I am already healed. What a joke? Don’t sell it to me, please. I am a son of a communist dad and mum, war hero family, one of the best students in MN….that things don’t exist. But, I was wrong all the time.
I saw miracles happening, the last one to Mischa Ginns, a young lady with an injured spine, bed ridden for six years. Two years ago, I was in committee (Rotary Club of Melbourne) who awarded her with ‘Shine on Award’, for her effort to fight, not to give up. She tried everything, every treatment, but nothing.
Then, some pastor put hands on her, and she stood up and walked 3km same day. Same month she walked, jumped, climbed…400 km.
I am now completely free of medications, even supplements (I used USANA, one of the best ones in the world), still have some symptoms, but am exercising as navy seals do.
My point is, use proper diet, eat and live clean, but there is no proper treatment without faith (Jesus).
And. the same pattern goes for every disease, mental or physical…I’ve seen a lot.
Ok, wishing you all the best in your life, healthy and happy family, and a lot of success…And tell Novo we’re proud of him.
P.S. I am from Montenegro, but live here in Melb.
Once when I talked to Clive Scott, Sofitel on Collins GM, he made a joke. He said:’ Serena is in my hotel during Aus Open, Rafael, all the big guys…even Vladimir Putin was in his hotel…just Novak isn’t :)’.
Best wishes,
Antonio Pajovic

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Kristina Lalova January 18, 2019 - 4:52 am

Hi Jelena,

Thank you for writing openly about this subject matter. It is true that plenty of books offer different fixes and it is difficult to find what fix will work for you. I have found that diets that offer quick fixes don’t work and often people, especially women, who are desperate to look a certain way try these diets and further damage their body image and self-esteem. In my teens and early twenties (up until my 24th birthday last year) I felt like I needed to look a certain way to make myself more liked or even popular. Overtime my body started to respond to my undereating until I realized that there was no quick fix. Over the past year I cut out gluten, sugar, dairy, and meat, and found that my body had never felt better and more alive. I was finally listening to my body when I became a vegan. The fatigue went away. I made other lifestyle changes, such as going to bed at 10 pm and getting up at 5 am every day. Moreover, I cut out toxic relationships and allowed for myself to grow into a better person. I have realized that the quality of my life depends on the quality of my relationships, and I am not as open as before or even let many people into my life. In my opinion, this has improved my health, as well, as I focus my energy only on the people who will be there for me and I will be there for them, respectively. Unfortunately, it took me a whole year to gain back my strength. And, I still even feel insecure about my body at times. I can also recommend reading Gisele Bundchen’s book ‘Lessons’ in which she writes about her personal experience and struggles with body image, food, relationships, and many other topics. Thank you for recommending this book as I will read it in my free time!
Best,
Kristina

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Gordana January 18, 2019 - 7:15 am

Dear Jelena,
Thank you yor this article.This is very inspiring for all of us and interesting.Also I would like to thank you for your introducing on Serbian language too.

Where can we find that book ( maybe you told us and I skip this ??This should be useful family book . We all try to live healthy, doing sport and eat healthy food, but sometimes this could hard in practise..practicly- we all need receipt in a life? And I am 100%sure that there is no receipt for well being in life..We are all unique samples.Person by person..and pesonaly I dont like general rules..they are limited for the soul..it looks to me that this book promise someting else..doing on your own feeling based on some facts..? your topis are very interesting and please go ahead..do your passion.I like to read and learn ..despite sometimes of disagreement..
With love,
G.

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Kathy January 18, 2019 - 7:55 am

Hi All

First thing you can help yourself is to fix your gut.. you can eat sauerkraut but only unpasteurised one It’s rich in billions of bacterias.. I healed myself with this

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Teodora Dzinic January 18, 2019 - 8:30 am

Hi Jelena,
I‘m so thankful to you! You change the life of many people over there. I admire your social commitment and interest in so elementary things! Keep going on with such great ideas!!!
Sending you so much love ❤️
Teodora

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MasterEma January 18, 2019 - 9:02 am

Draga Jelena,
Hvala na divnim tekstovima. Već neko vreme pratim svoj organizam i menjam svoju ishranu. Ono sto po meni nedostaju jesu prave informacije u vezi promena navika. Divno je sto u svojim tekstovima pišeš iskreno o svojim promenama, pa nam samim tim olakšavaš i nas proces promene. Pratim tvoje tekstove na oba jezika, jer planiram selidbu.
Da li ćeš uskoro objavljivati neke tekstove o ishrani u trudnoći, nakon 13 godina, vreme je da ponovim drugo stanje, ovaj put starija, zrelija i sa pravim informacija o ishrani.
Sin i suprug imaju Hasimoto, autoimuno oboljenje koje je sve češće u Srbiji i uverena sam da osim stresa i ishrana ima znacajnu ulogu okidaca.
Srdačan pozdrav i divljenje ❤️

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Vladana January 18, 2019 - 9:08 am

Dear Jelena,
Thank you for sharing your researches and knowledge with us. In order to find our path, at least we need to try. You saved our time and I am so grateful for that. As with your previous recommended book ‘The Conscious Parent’ which I could not stop reading, I will definitely go and find this one too. ?

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Aleksandra January 18, 2019 - 9:10 am

Divno je sto si počela pisati na ovu temu. Mislim da će delivi iz knjige biti bas korisni nama koji ne možemo do nje. Ja imam more autoimunih poremećaja od svoje 34,rksperimentisala sam sa zdravim namernicama ali verovatno u nečemu grešila. Želha mi je da se izvedem na pravi put. Sa svojih 48 godina mislim da to dugujem sebi i ukinem more lekova koje pijem. Veliki pozdrav Jelena divno je ovo sto svojim uskustvom i pre svega prijatnošću deliš sa svima nama. Možda bi bilo lepo da kad možeš prevedeš tekst za one koji ne vladaju dobro engleskim jezikom.

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Gisele Massamba January 18, 2019 - 10:05 am

Hi Jelena,
THANK YOU very much for this post!

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Vera January 18, 2019 - 10:22 am

Zdravo Jelena,

obozavam tvoj blog i obozavam tebe kao osobu. Mene takve stvari mnogo interesuju, zato sto sam uveg umorna, svaki dan imam nesto novo, tako da ti se zahvaljujem za ovaj blogpost i generalno za ovaj blog. Mislim da takve ljudi kao ti i novak trebaju da budu primer/ uzor svim ljudima na ovom svetu. Ljudi koji imaju nesto pametno da kazu, a ne samo da prate neke make up tutorials. Zelim da ti se zahvalim za to! Mnogo Ljubav za tebe! Veliki pozdrav iz nemacke za tebe i tvoju lepu familiju!

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Michela January 18, 2019 - 10:27 am

Ciao Jelena, sono felice di seguirti in questo blog, i tuoi consigli alzano la qualità delle nostre vite perciò ti ringrazio. Ho già eliminato il glutine e sto già molto meglio sotto alcuni aspetti, togliere i latticini non dovrebbe essere un problema ma lo zucchero, si, è un grande sacrificio per me. Cosa puoi consigliarmi per sostituire gli zuccheri (anche lo zucchero di canna?) Comunque aspetto il tuo articolo su E-mail, che è in italiano, per rileggerlo attentamente. Grazie Jelena, sei un esempio di determinazione, vorrei riuscire a mettere ordine nella mia vita alimentare, sono davvero troppo sconclusionata
Ciao ?

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Loredana January 18, 2019 - 11:35 am

Voglio stare bene e in forma come posso avere un alimentazione corretta ma on italiano. Grazie di cuore

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Sanja Bojanic January 18, 2019 - 11:00 am

Dear Jelena,
I am 100% with you on this journey!
My story of sensitivities and gut inflammation culminated with developing autoimmune hypothyroid disease and then searching for answers through integrative medicine. I’m a pharmacist in Australia (Melbourne) and although I believe we are quite advanced with our knowledge, to get the right answers is still difficult. But currently after doing a sensitivity test I’m on GF DF and egg yolk free diet and have never looked or felt better! Also I believe everyone should be on circumin and a GOOD probiotic considering our body carries at least 2kg (and even up to 35,000 different strains) of bacteria.
But I’m still learning a lot and love you blog posts!
You are an inspiration and thank you for trying to educate the wider community of what is “normal”!
Lots of love
Sanja

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Ilona January 18, 2019 - 11:42 am

Hi! I used to eat a lot of sweets- really, not so much vegetables and at that time I was sick sometimes even 3 times a year ( you know- flu, cough, cold), I had a mood swings- but most these were bad thoughts, I was often sad. And then one day I have started to exclude sugar from my diet (of course from sweets- instead of this I started to eat more fruits) and I’ ve started work out systematically. And from that time I wasn’t ill at all! And finally I feel much better, my mood is really good now! When I think about how much the sugar governed my life I can’t even comment this…It was really true addiction. Only now I can see how our diet affects our health, I think in my case elimination of sugar gave me a lot.. I would never say such a small change will change my life so much! Thank you for your post Jelena 🙂 Greetings! ?

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Mila January 18, 2019 - 12:32 pm

Draga Jelena,

Ti si meni velika inspiracija!

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Anna January 18, 2019 - 1:21 pm

@Ilona. Yes, amidst all the conflicting advice I decided to cut out sugar. I feel so good now – happy to not be addicted to this stuff anymore. Cakes and chocolate are 2 minutes pleasure for long term misery! Well done.

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Kristina January 18, 2019 - 1:34 pm

Dear Jelena,
I needed to hear something like this. Unfortunately as I am sure you already know, autoimmune diseases tend to come in bunches and are like a nasty clan that gang up against you. I already have 3 autoimmune diseases working against me and am worried there is a fourth looming. I will definitely purchase this book and really hope that even at my age, some of my syptoms can be relieved if not reversed. I admire all the work you are doing with your blog (& of course your foundation ) and I thank you as I am sure it will help so many people.
Much love, Kristina

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Aswani January 18, 2019 - 6:33 pm

Dear Jelena,
Thank you for this post. This came at the right time for me as lately, I have been confused and in a fix as to my diet, lifestyle choices. As a learner myself, I am curious to read what Dr. O’Bryan has to say. I ordered a copy of the book and can’t wait to dig in. Excited to read and exchange notes with you.

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Sharon Faxio January 18, 2019 - 7:17 pm

I listened to your instagram story just now which led me to your blog. I am so inspired and wanted to thank you! I just started following you on Instagram yesterday; I was moved to do so because of the AO. So out of curiosity I followed you and Novak (really to see your kids, wink). I am 64, overweight, and have a history of Alzheimer’s in our fam. Like so many people, I want to feel better and try, fail, try again, fail again. Honestly, I feel like you just handed me the key to being my awesome self (God did it). It is a smack-myself-on-the-forehead moment. Can’t wait to read the book. I look forward to learning more and beginning a long overdue transformation. God bless you!

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Jen January 18, 2019 - 7:25 pm

I am so glad I’ve found your blog! I am a former tennis player (at the collegiate level, not professional) and have always been an active person. I am a mother to 3 little girls and make it a PRIORITY to exercise almost every day followed by a healthy shake for lunch. I have been struggling with bloating and am just now realizing that I must have a sensitivity to something although I am not sure what it is yet. I saw your Insta post about this blog and gut health and I was so excited to read it. I am hoping to possibly try a probiotic and see if that helps. I am so interested in all of this….glad to have found your blog. Thank you, Jelena!

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Anita January 18, 2019 - 8:08 pm

Hvala Jelena divna si sto ovo delis sa nama! Veliki pozdrav

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Dessi January 18, 2019 - 10:42 pm

Fantastic post! I love Medical Medium and second his books. They are a true treasure and a must-read. My interest in health and nutrition (I’m a health coach) also began with determination to find the truth after being lost in the contradictory information that was everywhere. What opened my eyes was the work of T. Colin Campbell, PhD – “The China Project”. It’s the largest study ever done on the relationship between diet and the risk of developing diseases. So, I highly recommend his books “The China Study” and “Whole”.

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Craig Woods January 18, 2019 - 11:11 pm

Of course Jelena, it’s a complete no brainer that we are what we eat! Have you heard of Dr Joe Dispenza? He’a spiritual neuroscientist who has taught me a lot about how the nervous system functions, how the brain works and so on. I’m sure you’d love his book “Becoming Supernatural”.

I believe it is important to also eat from the correct frame of mind. Notice how most cultures like to say thank you before they pick up their forks? This is because eating foods (no matter how good they are for you) in the stress response will actually prevent us from absorbing all of the nutrients. When we’re under stress, our body contracts, and as a result of this, our cells don’t absorb the nutrients in the foods. This is why you see so many people, who worry too much about their health and eat really healthy foods all the time, sick and with a weak immune system. Our state of mind is key, managing our emotional state on a daily basis is the best diet you can give yourself. Because, then from a calm state of mind, you’ll automatically feel inclined to take better care of yourself as most people only eat junk food to cover up some latent form of stress or anxiety within themselves.

I highly recommend Dr Joe’s work to you Jelena, I have studied it for years. I have also replied to your question on the previous blog. I am starting Yoga soon, you have inspired me to take even better care of myself. I thank you dearly. I know you’re a busy woman so I won’t pester you. but if you have time, please check out my new blog too about how changing our perception changes the expression of our genes and can literally prevent you from being diagnosed with the same diseases which have run in your families bloodline, perhaps for generations.

https://divineconsciousness451476739.wordpress.com/2019/01/17/a-change-of-perception-is-a-change-of-destiny/

All the best! Namaste!

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Paige January 19, 2019 - 4:25 am

Thank you for sharing your information! I’ve been following an autoimmune protocol for several years and appreciate any new information on healing your gut and fighting back to better health, as knowledge is power. I’m looking forward to checking out this book. A resource that I have read and refer back to often when my nutrition and health journey is challenging is The Wahls Protocol by Terry Wahls, M.D. Thanks again and keep up the great work!

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Jevan Lyle Rust January 19, 2019 - 6:34 am

Very nice Blog.

Very informative and enjoyable Jelena.

You should read The Autoimmune Solution written by Amy Myers.

You’ll thoroughly enjoy that and add to your knowledge too.

Thank you for your awesome Blog. Have a lovely Saturday and Sunday.

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Ana January 19, 2019 - 10:12 am

“Our body is so forgiving”
Godd this sentence feels so relieving…

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Janka January 19, 2019 - 1:30 pm

I like your post Jelena, I just don’t agree that people shouldn’t eat gluten and diary at all..i mean, if someone is okay after eating it, why should he stop eating? I know many people are lactose intolerant and feel bloated after eating gluten..but just like everyone is unique and different, so is his body reacting to different types of food..i also tried many “diets” like gluten free and lactose free. i felt okay, my body just tried to tell me that it needs some yoghurt and toast..so I don’t feel bad for having one yoghurt and toast for a breakfast and i feel great.. Thank you for your posts, you are a real inspiration 🙂

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Jelena January 21, 2019 - 9:27 pm

Hi Janka,
There is no right or wrong. If something goes well with your body, follow it! I am just sharing what I found very useful 🙂 I personally don’t think gluten is good, period. But then, I am no expert and I might change my mind eventually. I am open to new knowledge and that’s why I keep looking for more theories and examples 🙂
Thank you!

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Mila January 22, 2019 - 7:03 am

Hi Jelena,

Great review! I purchased this book already and can’t wait to read it! Can you recommend some others that can really help me get started on this journey? In terms of concrete steps to take and how to create a balanced meal plan for the week? I want to make sure I’m able to get all the nutrients I need in this way and not let this boil down to me taking in the same foods that I can find on the Serbian market (fruits/vegetables) and using soy products. It’s easy for me while I am traveling (currently in Vietnam, eating a lot of dragon, passion fruits and matcha tea) but when I return to Serbia I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up. Especially because I question the quality of soy in Serbia. Also, do you have recommendations for the Serbian doctors of nutrition that propagate veganism? I only found one person and he is not a doctor 🙁 and I would like to get a medical advice on the meal plans for my body.

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David Pokrajac January 26, 2019 - 1:08 am

I would appreciate if you could answer to the following questions:
1) What qualifies someone, such as Tom O’Bryan, who is NOT a medical doctor (but a chiropractor), to write a book about autoimmune diseases?
2) What qualifies you, a person with management background, to write book reviews on books related to nutrition. Specifically, what is precisely your medical background.
3) Where the claim that gluten-related disorders affect up to 30% of the population can be verified? Is there any peer-reviewed publication that determined this and how?
4) Are there any mandatory courses and trainings that MDs need to undertake AFTER they finish their medical school. If yes, how does it agree with your claim: ” If our doctors didn’t go to school in the past ten years, their medical training didn’t have the newest cutting-edge science and findings.”
5) At one place you say “, I would have most likely never opened my mind to more research.”. Can you please explain the readers how do you define research, especially what are: hypothesis, model, theory, etc.

I appreciate your timely answer.

Dr. David D. Pokrajac, PhD, MBA

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Jelena January 26, 2019 - 8:12 am

Dear Dr. David D. Pokrajac, Ph.D., MBA

Thank you for joining us 🙂
Valid questions indeed.

If you read through many articles on this website, you may find that I am mainly sharing what I am finding useful in my life and what I generally read. You may call it a book club.

There are many books out there, many interesting topics… I usually buy books by recommendation.

I do not define myself through my university degree. Whatever my degree was, it didn’t stop me from expanding my mind beyond what was taught in school. I know that some people like to say “It is not your job to do/know this and that…” but I don’t agree with that simply because I am a curious soul and love to take care of myself and be as independent as I can be.

I am mainly interested in living a healthy life and staying away from the doctor’s office (not because I don’t like them).

I have referred you to the book to find all the answers that I shared in this blog. He has given links and published some of the medical findings too. In my opinion, very interesting. In case you feel intrigued, please take a look and let us know.

My way of researching: I connect with people who I find interesting, read their books and some medical findings (not all!), test it in my life and share what I found without imposing anything on anyone. To be fair, that might not be the most satisfying answer you seek, but it is my truth and I am happy with it.

Thank you once again for joining us!
Feel free to recommend some books for us to read 🙂

Jelena

Reply
David Pokrajac January 27, 2019 - 5:40 am

Jelena,

Thanks so much for your kind response. Now I understand your thoughts better. If i may, I would like to recommend for further reading a book by Stephen S. Carey, “A Beginners Guide to Scientific Method”, ISBN-13: 978-1111305550. The book contains chapters dedicated to science, hypotheses, testing causal dependences and fallacies.

I’d like to quote a paragraph from page 108 of third edition:

“First, people commit fallacies because they have little knowledge of what rigorous scientific enquiry involves but nonetheless believe they are capable of undertaking such enquiry. Second, fallacies are committed by people who may well understand a great deal about science but who are trying to create the impression that there is some real measure of scientific evidence for something when in fact
there is very little. Thus, errors of the sort we will discuss are sometimes committed inadvertently, sometimes intentionally. But no matter what the motives of their authors, such mistakes are instances of what is generally called pseudo·science.”

I wish you a lot of pleasant hours in reading scientific literature and expanding horizons of your knowledge.

Sincerely,

David

Reply
Olia January 30, 2019 - 8:11 am

Dear Elena,
I love your website with great thoughts and positive energy in every article.
I have 5 years old daughter. Would be so kind and recommend some books or YouTube or any advise about healthy food for kids.
Did you try meditation or yoga with your kids? I know that in US yoga for kids is really common, but unfortunately here in Germany in a small city we don’t have something like this.
Thank you so much!

Greetings from Germany!
Olia

Reply
Vesna May 13, 2020 - 7:56 pm

Dear Jelena,
Excellent topic.
I am walking example of what wrong and right food can do to human.
For years I had all symptoms that you mentioned in your writing.
With research, reading and doctors guidance, after 7 months I can say that I am on the right track.
My first elimination was dairy, then caffeine etc..
Greetings from Cyprus

Reply
Nastasja McCarthy September 1, 2021 - 10:07 pm

Love this book review, thank you. Definitely the next one to read. Love your blog too, the calmness in your ‘voice’ and the openness of mind. Looking forward to reading more. Warm regards from cold Sydney.

Reply

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