Which ingredients should you avoid with an autoimmune condition?

What is Ingredient Intelligence?

Ingredient Intelligence is the working library behind this guide. Instead of one blanket good-or-bad label, every ingredient is classified separately for each autoimmune condition it touches, and twice per condition: once for an active flare and once for remission.

That matters because tolerance shifts. Dairy, fibre and many additives that aggravate a gut in flare are often fine once the condition settles — and an iodine caution that applies to Hashimoto's or Graves' disease says nothing about rheumatoid arthritis. The result is a reference you can check one ingredient at a time: what an emulsifier does to a gut in flare, whether kelp belongs in a Hashimoto's kitchen, or which sweeteners complicate insulin dosing.

How the ratings work

Each ingredient carries one of four ratings per condition — and, for the first three, a separate rating for flare and for remission:

• AvoidWorth leaving out — at least during a flare — based on how the ingredient behaves in that condition.
• Limit / CautionNot forbidden, but there is a reason to watch the amount, the frequency or the form it comes in.
• Usually OKNo specific problem for this condition. Some entries carry a caveat worth knowing before you eat them freely.
• No specific guidanceThe evidence does not single this ingredient out for that condition, either way.

When a rating differs between flare and remission, both are shown side by side on the ingredient's page, with the reasoning in plain language.

Where the guidance comes from

Every classification in this library — all 20 of them — was reviewed by Morvarid Nikousokhantayar, who signs each ingredient page. When a published study supports a rating, the study is cited on that page. When no independent study is cited, the page says so directly: the classification rests on clinical nutrition assessment rather than a specific paper. Nothing in this guide cites internal frameworks or intake documents.

This is the same library that powers the Foodsage app, where ingredient guidance is combined with the conditions you select.

Questions people ask

Is this ingredient guide medical advice?

No. It is general nutrition guidance reviewed by a clinical nutritionist, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Individual tolerance varies — talk to your clinician or dietitian before changing your diet.

Why do ratings differ between flare and remission?

Many foods that irritate an active flare are tolerable once the condition settles. Every ingredient here is classified for both states, so check the one that matches where you are now.

What if an ingredient has no page for my condition?

Every ingredient still appears in the condition lists with its rating. Detailed pages exist only where the guidance is to avoid or limit, or where there is a condition-specific caveat worth explaining.

Where does the classification come from?

Each ingredient is classified for all eight conditions and reviewed by a clinical nutritionist. When a published study supports the rating, the source is listed on the ingredient's page; where none is cited, the page states that the classification rests on clinical nutrition assessment.