Hypothryoidism, soya and gluten

samfaye32

Afternoon All,
Just wanted to share this with you. I have been diagnosed for 10 years now and have seen my medication yoyo. I am now off to see the endo soon so will hopefully have some answers. I am healthy, don't eat meat, exercise everyday running 15-20 miles per week and watch what I eat. I have become very frustrated over not losing weight despite having a PT for several months now in addition to my other exercise. So I decided to research and have found that soy/soya can interfere with the production of thyroid hormones and interfere with weight loss and that gluten/wheat can also be an intolerance that can affect those of us with thyroid problems! So I have decided to cut soy and gluten out of my diet and see how I go. As a vegetarian this is proving to be quiet a challenge but will hopefully be worth it.
Does anyone have any experience of cutting these out of their diets and an impact on health and/or weight loss?
S x

BWinsto1

For the last two weeks I have been on a gluten free, soy free, dairy free diet. Along with exercise I have lost 10 lbs so far. I feel much better. So cutting soy and gluten out of my diet is working for me.

Daydreams406

I am attempting to cut gluten out...that is somewhat difficult. I have cut soy out already because my oldest son is allergic to soy. He can however, eat soy lecithin, and soy oil. But only those two. So reading labels has always been a must for me. We always have done a lot of home cooking because practically everything has soy in it.

Marll

Soy and gluten are not only bad for thyroid patients, but people in general. Truth is that everyone is gluten intolerant, just to varying degrees, similar to lactose intolerant people (ready everyone) come in varying degrees.

My wife's naturopath told her very strongly to stay away from all things soy and she had a gluten intolerance test a few months ago with staggering results. Normal intolerance score for most people is 10 on their scale. She was at 110.

Her naturopath also highly suggests that a low carb diet should be followed for best results when regulating hormones and actively turns away vegitarians that will not consider eating meat because of how many people over the years she has seen make little to no improvement without the addition of animal products and fats. She's been practicing for 30 years.

tecallahan

Agree -- my naturopath recommends gluten-free and dairy-free -- and soy is a no-brainer -- terrible for the thyroid.
I went gluten free relatively easy in January -- maybe once a week or so I allow myself gluten-free bread or pizza -- but it's really not good to go crazy with gluten free stuff -- because the calories are very high and there's very little nutritional value.

Going dairy-free was my challenge -- I'm down to almost zero dairy, but I do allow myself some cheese once in a while. Replaced milk and half&half with Unsweetened Almond Milk and found I love it!!

I have lost weight -- but in addition to removing gluten and soy, I would highly recommend eliminating as much processed food as possible - try to eat fresh... our bodies can't deal with the preservatives and hormones and antibiotics.

And whatever you do, don't starve yourself -- eat wholesome, fresh food every couple of hours and drink lots of water!

Terri

samfaye32

Thank you for all of your comments, they are very useful and have reinforced my decision. I eat a healthy and unprocessed diet already so thats good. It has just amazed me how many products that I wouldn't think but do contain soya and wheat. I am devastated that I can no longer eat a packet of crisps as a treat! It's not an option for me to eat meat again as I hate the taste and so am hoping to meet with a dietitian to discuss options etc. Will keep you posted!!
S x

Marll

Are you a vegitarian due to not liking the taste of meat, or for ethical reasons. If only for the taste I would encourage you to try different types, more fatty flavorful cuts of meat. I can respect if you are doing a vegitarian diet for ethical reasons, but otherwise give meat another chance. Red meats are your friend as they tend to be much more satisfying and tasty compared to things like boneless skinless chicken breasts.

tecallahan

Thank you for all of your comments, they are very useful and have reinforced my decision. I eat a healthy and unprocessed diet already so thats good. It has just amazed me how many products that I wouldn't think but do contain soya and wheat. I am devastated that I can no longer eat a packet of crisps as a treat! It's not an option for me to eat meat again as I hate the taste and so am hoping to meet with a dietitian to discuss options etc. Will keep you posted!!
S x

There's other types of vegetarian protein than soy. Vega One (Whole Foods) has a good protein powder and protein bars that I believe is hemp protein. APS Complete Veggie Protein uses Pea Protein and Rice Protein-- but I find it to be a little grainy.
My favorite is Vegamax from Lifetime Fitness -- makes a very creamy, smooth protein shake - you can put banana or other fruit in it -- you can put spinach in it and make a green smoothie.

Just google Veggie Protein and you will find options.

Silver_Star

yup, i wasnt losing weight even after exercising for an hour each day and staying within my cals...
then the doc told me to cut down on carbs...no potatoes, white rice, white sugar and white flour.

i started losing weight !!

im on levothyroxine