By Jennifer Whitmire, MS, MEd, MH, CHES, NEP

Living with an autoimmune disease can feel like a full-time job—between flare-ups, fatigue, figuring out YOUR food triggers, and searching for answers, it’s hard to actually take care of YOU.

There is always HOPE! It doesn’t matter if you’re newly diagnosed, or you’ve been walking this road for years. The truth is, autoimmune diseases don’t mean you’re destined to suffer forever, and you may not be stuck in the medical system forever, either. With the right lifestyle shifts, you can calm inflammation, rebuild your resilience, and support your body’s ability to heal and to lower auto-antibodies.

What Do I Eat?

1. Eat to Calm Inflammation 

If there’s one place to begin, it’s with your plate. The standard Western, S.A.D., diet does not help the immune system, while a whole food, plant-forward lifestyle can help soothe it.  

I have been eating whole food plant based for 8 ½ years, and while I have gotten sick and had antibodies shoot up from a virus or wrong meds, they have always come back down to “normal” for someone who doesn’t have an autoimmune disease!  We teach how to cook and eat this way in The Zen & Zest Zone Membership.  It’s easy!  You are welcome to join us.

Key dietary changes:

• Go whole food plant-based (WFPB): Think Eat The Rainbow, colorful fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted legumes, and omega-3-rich superfoods like flax, hemp,  and chia.
• Remove common triggers: Gluten, dairy, processed sugar, and cooking in oils which leads to inflammation and autoimmune flare-ups.
• Add gut-healing foods: Fermented foods like homemade or raw sauerkraut, kimchi, and coconut yogurt help support the microbiome. Cooked greens, root veggies, and nourishing potassium broths are easy on the gut and nutrient-rich.
• Balance blood sugar: Stable energy means less inflammation and hormone disruption. Build meals with lots of mineral-rich greens, healthy fats, and fiber.

2. Prioritize Down Time

Stress is one of the most significant triggers for autoimmune flare-ups. But here’s the empowering part: how you respond to stress can change your gene expression. That’s the power of epigenetics. 

Each month, we offer a workshop to help stimulate the vagus nerve in The Zen & Zest Zone Membership.  This is definitely my weakest link. My doctor told me to avoid stress, but no one can do that! We have to prioritize stress management and learn how to better manage the stressors in our lives.

Nervous system nourishing practices:

• Daily breathwork (like 4-7-8 breathing or box breathing)
• Meditation, Heart Math, or guided imagery
• Time in nature, even just 10 minutes a day among the trees can shift your cortisol levels. And getting the early morning light not only helps with calming, it helps with vision, sleep, and more
• Journaling, somatic movement, or Neurographic Art like we did in our January workshop (You don’t just have to sit in silence and breathe! You can move or doodle)
• Gentle exercise (think yoga, walking, tai chi, stretching, or my favorite, Qi Gong—not HIIT during flares). My worst flares were after doing Crossfit, then again after trying to bike 10 miles a day during my daily lunch break. Find an exercise routine that works for you without adding more stress

3. Daily Detox and Seasonal Cleansing (a deeper detox in the Spring and Fall)

Detox isn’t just a buzzword. When your detox pathways are sluggish, toxins can build up, fueling more immune dysfunction.

Detoxification is especially important in autoimmune disease for several interconnected reasons. In a functional and integrative health context, detox refers to supporting the liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, skin, lungs, and gut—to function optimally. 

A detox helps with lowering the Inflammatory Load

Autoimmune diseases are marked by chronic inflammation. Toxins from processed foods, environmental pollutants, heavy metals, mold, and even metabolic waste can burden the liver and other detox systems. These irritate and confuse the immune system and encourage it to attack it’s own tissues.

Supporting detoxification can help reduce the overall toxic load, giving the immune system less to react to.

Some toxins like BPA, pesticides, or gluten, especially from processed foods or environmental exposures, looks like the body’s own tissues and proteins. The immune system gets confused and may start to attack both the toxin and your own tissue—this is known as molecular mimicry.

In autoimmune conditions, especially those affecting the thyroid or that involve estrogen dominance, a sluggish liver can struggle to clear excess hormones or inflammatory compounds, struggle to convert important hormones like T4 to T3, and lead to poor bile flow, which impairs fat digestion and toxin elimination.

Nearly every autoimmune condition has a gut component. Toxins, stress, and poor food choices can lead to intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut), where the tight junctions of the intestinal lining become compromised. This allows undigested food particles, bacterial fragments, and environmental toxins to slip into the bloodstream which fuels autoimmune reactions.

People with autoimmune conditions often report brain fog, fatigue, and muscle/joint pain. These symptoms can be from toxin buildup and poor elimination. 

Ways to support detoxification:

• Stay hydrated with clean, filtered water (Do you know what’s in your water? If you use tap water, be sure to look up what chemicals are allowed!  I use a whole house filter and drink distilled water, and many people really like to use reverse osmosis filters. Do some research and decide which is best for you)
• Dry brushing and lymphatic massage
• Infrared sauna and/or Epsom salt baths
• Eat liver-loving foods like bitter greens, lemons, beets, and cruciferous vegetables
• Do a guided seasonal cleanse (like our 14-day Liver Reset!  Comment below or send us a quick message if you want to know when the next one is scheduled!  It is usually in April and October)

4. Sleep Like It’s Medicine (Because It Is)

Sleep is when the body resets, heals, and repairs. Without deep, restorative rest, autoimmune symptoms can get worse.  

I’m on my second week of using the Silent Nights patch from Lifewave, and I am getting more nights of deep sleep, and I am having more vivid dreams. Now, my antibodies are under control, and I am in remission. So this test for me is different from someone who has elevated antibodies.  

During deep sleep, the body shifts into a restorative, anti-inflammatory state. This is when the immune system “resets” and clears out immune cells that are no longer needed. When sleep is disrupted or insufficient, that cleanup process doesn’t happen as efficiently which can lead to an increased production of autoantibodies.

Sleep directly impacts your circadian rhythm which effects cortisol production. Cortisol is naturally anti-inflammatory. When you don’t sleep well or consistently, cortisol rhythms can become dysregulated which can lead to higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This can activate immune cells and increase the production of autoantibodies.

Sleep-supporting tips:

• Create a calming evening routine: stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime, go to bed at the same time as possible every night, have a relaxing herbal tea, dim the lights in your house to signal bedtime is near and use blue light blockers on any computer devices, do a few gentle stretches, and maybe take a warm Epsom salt bath
• Sleep in total darkness to support melatonin production (I have black out curtains, I can turn off the light on my clock, and I wear a sleep mask)
• Aim for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Allow yourself at least 7 hours of time in bed and increase it if possible
• Consider calming herbs like passionflower, lemon balm, or chamomile (we talk about herbs for sleep and for many different things each month in our herbal workshop in The Zen & Zest Zone)

5. Heal the Gut, Heal the Immune System

About 70–80% of your immune system lives in your gut. Gut permeability (leaky gut), dysbiosis, and low microbial diversity are common in autoimmune diseases. 

Your gut is also deeply connected to your mood and energy levels. The gut is sometimes called the “second brain,” because it contains millions of neurons and produces about 90% of the body’s serotonin. A healthy gut microbiome helps regulate inflammation, supports nutrient absorption, and influences the production of neurotransmitters that directly impact how you feel emotionally and physically. When the gut is out of balance—due to poor diet, trigger foods, lack of chewing, stress, or lack of sleep—it can lead to fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and even symptoms of depression. 

Healing strategies:

• Focus on rainbow foods with fiber for diversity
• Add fermented and sprouted foods to reduce gut inflammation. Make your own ferments which you can not only customize but make sure they contain active strains that are actually healing (We also teach you to make ferments in the Zen and Zest Zone Membership!)
• Rotate probiotics and include prebiotic-rich foods like Jerusalem artichoke, asparagus, garlic, and chicory root
• Should you Test? Stool tests can uncover underlying infections, pathogens, or imbalances. I always recommend this AFTER you’ve already tried everything else AND given it enough time.  For example, it took me 6 months of being glutenfree to see changes.  It will NOT happen overnight
• Drink gut healing teas. Plaintain, calendula, the appropriate aloe, slippery elm, marshmallow. Find the right tea or combo for you! (We also teach this in the Zen & Zest Zone)

6. Support Hormone Balance Starting With Blood Sugar?

Blood sugar imbalances can have a profound impact on hormone balance and autoimmune disease. When blood sugar is chronically unstable, this can lead to insulin resistance, a condition that disrupts the delicate dance of other hormones like cortisol, estrogen, and thyroid hormones. 

Elevated cortisol (the stress hormone) from chronic blood sugar swings stresses the adrenal glands and inflames the immune system. In those of us with autoimmune illnesses, these blood sugar fluctuations act like fuel to the fire. They promote systemic inflammation, weaken the gut lining (like we needed more help with that!), and keep the immune system on high alert—making flare-ups more likely. Stable blood sugar isn’t just about energy and weight; it’s about calming the immune system and creating a more balanced internal environment where hormones and immunity can stabilize and thrive.

We have to have balanced blood sugar BEFORE we can balance the other endocrine glands.  Thyroid imbalances, adrenal insufficiency, and estrogen dominance often show up alongside autoimmune conditions. The endocrine system and immune system are in constant communication.

Hormone-friendly practices:

• Prioritize blood sugar balance (yes, again!). Cut saturated fats, added sugars, and foods that contain flours, even gluten free flours! Gluten free bread may spike your blood sugar even higher than white bread!
• Start exploring adaptogens for calm and balanced hormones like ashwagandha, holy basil, and maca
• Cycle sync your movement and rest
• Ensure you’re getting enough healthy fats and minerals like magnesium, zinc, and selenium

7. Create Community and Connection

One of the most overlooked (but powerful) healing tools is community. Isolation increases stress hormones and worsens autoimmune conditions. Connection calms the nervous system and increases oxytocin—a powerful anti-inflammatory hormone. Community and support are crucial—not just emotionally, but physiologically and even hormonally. 

When you’re surrounded by people who understand or simply listen without judgment, it helps calm the nervous system. This can improve vagal tone, lower cortisol, and reduce inflammatory markers like CRP and IL-6.

When you’re part of a community—whether it’s a support group, a coaching group, or even a small circle of understanding friends—you get to share, be seen, and feel less alone. This emotional safety can increase oxytocin (the connection hormone), which in turn has calming effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, helping regulate the stress response and hormone production.

Being around people who “get it” makes it easier to stay consistent with food, movement, and lifestyle habits that support healing. It’s hard to follow an anti-inflammatory or whole food plant-based lifestyle in isolation—when the mainstream world isn’t always aligned.

Positive social interactions and a sense of belonging can actually influence gene expression in ways that reduce inflammation and enhance immune regulation. Studies on loneliness show it’s linked to increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes and reduced antiviral gene activity.

Autoimmune diseases are often “invisible,” and many people go years without a diagnosis. It’s common to hear, “But you don’t look sick.” That invalidation takes a toll. Community provides a mirror. It reminds you: you’re not crazy and you’re not alone. That validation alone can be deeply healing.

Community isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a healing tool. Healing is a journey, but we’re not meant to walk it alone.

Ways to build your healing circle:

• Join support groups, both online and in person
• Take part in healing classes or group coaching
• Work with practitioners who make you feel seen and heard
• Cultivate spiritual or heart-centered practices that connect you to something bigger than the illness
• Join The Zen & Zest Zone Membership

The lists of recommended things may look really long, but you’ll notice they start to repeat.

Getting outside for early morning light helps with stress, vision, and resetting the circadian rhythm. Mindful eating helps with digestion and absorption which helps with blood sugar, hormone balancing, healing the gut, and daily detoxification.

Start with a few small things you can do today, and commit to adding 1 small thing each week. In no time, you’ll be feeling better and be doing All The Things.

Ready to Feel Better?

Healing from autoimmunity comes from creating a lifestyle that nourishes your body, supports your immune system, and reconnects you with your power.

Whether you’re dealing with Hashimoto’s, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or any other autoimmune condition, these lifestyle shifts can make a real difference.

You don’t have to do it all at once. Start with one change. Then build. Your body is always listening—and it wants to heal.

Let’s nourish to flourish.

Inside the Zen & Zest Zone, you’ll find a vibrant community of like-minded women on a healing journey, just like you. With monthly wellness themes, live calls, herbal education, culinary coaching, functional fitness, and a deep focus on calming inflammation naturally, you’ll be empowered with the tools, knowledge, and support you need to thrive.

This is your safe space to learn, connect, and feel inspired.
Let’s take the guesswork out of healing and bring the joy back to you.

Click here to join the Zen & Zest Zone now — your autoimmune support sanctuary is waiting.

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