How does low carb help?

Morgaine_on_the_move

I've seen some posts about how people with hypothyroidism should eat low carb, and I was hoping that someone could help me understand why. I will totally do this if it will help my thyroid work better or if it will help me lose weight easier, but I would like to know how exactly it helps, or hear stories from people about how low carb helped them.

I'd also like to know if the kinds of carbs matter? ie, fruit, vegetable and whole grain carbs ok? Are just refined carbs detrimental, or are all carbs harmful simply because they are carbs?

How many grams of carbs are we talking about? Super low, like 20? Or more moderate, like 100?

Thanks for any help/insights!

bathsheba_c

I will let someone who knows more than I do explain the exact biological mechanism, but the fact sheet I got from my doctor basically said that it is important to reduce sugars from the diet from all sources in order to prevent weight gain. So, basically, avoid refined sugars as much as possible, limit fruit to 1-2 servings a day, and don't drink fruit juice.

Marll

There are a few things that tend to go hand in hand with hypothyroidism, many of which can be checked and then mitigated with a low carb diet. Many times if checked a hypothyroid patient will also have the following:

Gluten intolerance/allergy
PCOS
Insulin Resistance
High Blood Sugar
High Cholesterol (though oddly enough, in hypo people the elevated cholesterol is mostly HDL, the good kind...go figure)
Inflamation
Tend to be overweight (not always, but very common)
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Vitamin D Deficiency


Low carb helps these things by doing the following:

Eliminating grains to stop the inflammation caused by gluten intolerance
Balance hormones and help in weight loss for PCOS
Low carb is proven to improve insulin sensitivity
Low carb is proven to lower and regulate blood sugar
Low carb is proven to lower and regulate cholesterol levels
Low carb generally reduces inflammation by eliminating foods that cause it (grains, soy in some people, sugar in some, dairy in some)
Low carb is a proven way for many to loose weight that have no success on other plans
Low carb is rich in B12, which is lacking from many people's daily diet, and nearly devoid in vegan diets

Marll

In addition to what I posted above there are a few other things that can happen in overweight hypothyroid people:

Estrogen dominance: While estrogen is an important hormone, especially for women, when estrogen becomes dominant many times it will bind with thyroid hormone thus rendering the thyroid hormone inactive. Weight loss can generally help to balance estrogen, but avoiding foods such as anything soy based will also help shift estrogen back to a normal level.

Gluten and Hashimoto's Disease: It is speculated that gluten in grains play a big role in the development and advancement of Hashimoto's, and therefore a gluten free diet is generally considered best for those with thyroid issues.

Soy and thyroid: there is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones found in soy, including genistein and equol, a metabolize of daidzen, demonstrate toxicity in estrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid. This is true for a number of species, including humans. Additionally, isoflavones are inhibitors of the thyroid peroxidase which makes T3 and T4. Inhibition can be expected to generate thyroid abnormalities, including goiter and autoimmune thyroiditis. There exists a significant body of animal data that demonstrates goitrogenic and even carcinogenic effects of soy products. Moreover, there are significant reports of goitrogenic effects from soy consumption in human infants and adults.

Morgaine_on_the_move

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. How do I know if I have a sensitivity? Do I just eliminate these things one by one and see if I feel better?

Marll

A doctor can test for these things. My wife's naturopath sent her home with a kit for a sample and then sent that to a lab. They e-mailed her the results, which were shocking.

On their scale "normal" people have a gluten sensitivity rating of 10, her's was 110. If she even takes in a TINY bit of gluten these days she gets aches and pains for a week or more and gains as much as 3lbs overnight due to swelling and water retention.

firstsip

Just to pipe in, people with thyroid conditions tend to have a higher correlation with gluten intolerance/celiac, and my endo has stated that a thyroid patient is much more likely to develop various forms of celiac disease than a non-thyroid patient.

jenniprr

This is such an interesting thread! Thanks for all the information!
Just to add my personal story, I have hypothyroidism and do suffer from inflammation. I started South Beach at the end of Jan. 2012, which is lower carb/ healthy carb. Then, about 8 weeks ago my headache specialist asked me to go gluten-free. I haven't had a migraine since! I do gluten free about 90% of the time. I am not perfect. But it really helps. Also, since starting low carb in Jan. and then moving to 90% gluten free have lost almost 38 lbs. Plus, I just feel better and my energy is higher.

tecallahan

About Gluten-- Gluten Antibodies
If you have the immune form of gluten intolerance, or celiac disease, your body reacts to gluten by secreting antibodies. If you are exposed to gluten, the gluten antibodies produced by your immune system stay in your body, causing damage long after the last molecule of gluten you ate is eliminated from your intestines. According to Dr. Peter Osborne from the Gluten Free Society, these antibodies have a half-life of up to three to four months.

So, if you are gluten free and "cheat", the after effect can last a long time. There are lots of gluten free foods out there and they are getting better tasting because gluten-free is popular now. But gluten free bread or pizza crust, etc. has a ton of carbs, so I try to use it only when I'm really craving it.


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/496690-how-fast-does-gluten-go-through-the-intestines/#ixzz1zf9X8pkY

shakybabe

I went low carb last year after couldn't lose weight at first I just cut all white carbs so no bread, potatoes, pasta, rice with meals and lost 7lb in first week, probably mostly water... it doesn't seem to work as well now though I had gone onto gluten free and try to us it only when craving them bad like when have monthlies. I find water isn't coming off as well after monthlies even if the carbs that I have had were gluten free ones and going really strict for a week doesn't seem to have the same results either.

the other week I had got down to 9st 4 before monthlies started so just 1 lb off my goal, but its been nearly a week since they ended and I'm still 9st 7. I'm trying really strict this week as get chance to get weighed at hospital next tuesday on proper sitting scales (my balance isnt very good so don't get consistent numbers on scales) I'm hoping if I go strict for rest of this week I will be nearer to 9st 3 when I get weighed at hospital.

I'm 5ft 3 and half so 9st 7 is within my healthy range but I have Wii Fit plus which says I should be 9st 3 so was wanting to get to that to finish the game, but it's taking absolutely ages to get these last few pounds off!

firstsip

Shakybabe, I hate to say it, but I have a really hard time understanding what you're saying in posts. Use some punctuation, please!
As for your water retention, what's your SODIUM intake versus your carb intake? Carbs make you bloat, yes, but so does sodium (in excess).

As for the general topic, can anyone enlighten me as to how I can juggle MFP to have a balance of such and such percentage of carbs/fat/protein. I know I had done that awhile back for sugar, but can't seem to remember how I got to that setting...

debbylee22

As for the general topic, can anyone enlighten me as to how I can juggle MFP to have a balance of such and such percentage of carbs/fat/protein. I know I had done that awhile back for sugar, but can't seem to remember how I got to that setting...

Hi,
I keep losing that one too! Not sure which one you're needing, so I posted both.
My home...Goals...Change goals...Custom
OR
Or... Go to Settings on the top of the page... Click Diary Settings..

BWinsto1

How many carbs per day

Athletes: 200-250 grams per day, or more
Weight Loss or Maintenance: 100-150 grams per day
Extreme Weight Loss: Fewer than a 100 grams per day

Source: http://www.kriskris.com/how-many-carbs-per-day/