ShopAIP was inspired by, and based upon, the Paleo Auto-Immune Protocol diet.
We still use the Paleo, Auto-Immune Protocol Elimination Phase and its four stages of reintroduction as the guiding light of our store. We have added options like Whole30, low-Carb, low-FODMAP, and many other designations to continue to help our customers easily and quickly find the foods that are right for them.
We like to more broadly think of AIP as Anti-Inflammatory Products. We believe anyone looking to mitigate and/or prevent symptoms and disease processes caused by inflammation can benefit from shopping for convenient foods. This is why we started ShopAIP. Currently, the ShopAIP was moved to FullyHealthy.com.
What are some of the symptoms and health issues that can be caused by or exacerbated by inflammation?
Autoimmune disorders, heart disease, depression, some cancers, brain fog, fatigue, joint and muscle pain have all been linked to chronic inflammation. Scienists are still discovering all the ways in which chronic inflammation is causing and/or exacerbating symptoms and disease.
It is important to remember that eating lots of vegetables and a reasonable portion of healthy meat, coupled with health fats and oils is key. Although ShopAIP provides lots of healthy alternatives for standard american diet (SAD) foods, that doesn't mean we don't believe in FRESH foods as being the most important staple in our diet. Our snack and prepared foods are meant to make living with this diet day-to-day much easier. We have safe alternatives for what you crave, on-the-go snacks for when you can't be home and near a kitchen and pre-made sauces, seasonings, soups and broths to help make eating fresh, high quality food delicious and easy.
Founder, Sandra Dorst, knows well about change and acceptance. Diagnosed with Anti-Synthetase Syndrome (ASS) at the age of 38, Sandra found herself suddenly confronted with an extremely rare, chronic, debiliating and often fatal autoimmune condition. This disease targeted and compromised her lungs, muscles, heart, joints, and skin. For Sandra, a happily married mother of three young children, this diagnosis meant life as she knew it would never be the same. It meant a future of scheduling endless medical visits, lugging oxygen tanks, and enduring doses of prednisone, which promised uncomfortable side effects and high risk for other medical issues. And, of course, it meant emotional upheaval.
Through modern medicine and other lifestyle changes, Sandra had seen many unexpected improvements, but she was still riddled with chronic and debilitating pain, fatigue and brain fog. She was confronted with the need to change her diet many times after she was diagnosed. She always found changing other parts of her lifestyle much easier than her diet. She initially focused on exercise, sleep health and managing stress. Finally, when her routine and medication schedule stabilized and her symptoms became predictable, Sandra was ready to commit to the Auto-Immune Protocol (AIP) diet.
She secretly wished the diet would fail her because it's a challenging task to eliminate foods and replace them with unfamiliar ones. "Food is such a source of comfort for many, but for those fighting illness, it's sometimes all they have to look forward to." Thankfully, wishes don't always come true. Instead, the AIP diet turned Sandra's whole life around.
In the beginning, however, Sandra was frustrated. She complained to her husband about how difficult, confusing and time consuming it was to find compliant food. He suggested she be the one to create a store. Sandra realized her husband was right. Having an entrepreneurial background, extensive experience in supply-chain logistics, and knowledge of the Auto-Immune Protocol diet, she knew she could do it. From that moment forward, she worked diligently to open the first store that specialized in Anti-Inflammatory Products.
In addition to ShopAIP, Sandra launched a personal blog soon after diagnosis. Although she doesn't have much time anymore for updates. It is a raw and personal account from the time of diagnosis through the launch of ShopAIP. It can be found at relativelyunscathed.me. She created and led a local support group for those with chronic illness and/or pain. She was a member of the Tahoe Forest Non-Malignant Chronic Pain Advisory Board. Sandra had also joined the Tahoe Forest Patient and Family Advisory Council. She is a trained leader in Stanford University's Chronic Disease and Chronic Pain Self-Management Program and leads groups locally on an annual basis.
