Hashimoto's

I have not been diagnosed with hashi's but I did try the autoimmune diet. It's not easy. Start it during a time when you won't be going out to eat for a while. it is most difficult to stick to at a restaurant. It's also difficult at parties. I started it last month with the intention of trying it for a month before the holidays. however I cut it short because I didn't feel any better. but since I had already eliminated so many foods, I took advantage of this and have been introducing foods one at a time. I did find that nightshades caused me inflammation. Otherwise I haven't had a strong reaction. I haven't introduced dairy or grains back yet though.

My digestion and mood have improved. (I have IBS and depression) I don't know whether this is because I am avoiding something in particular, whether my overall carb count is lower (it's about 40% of my calories now), or whether I am getting more micronutrients than before (replacing grains with root veggies has improved my micronutrient score significantly). I approached the whole thing as a big (temporary) experiment on myself. I don't think the foods I eliminated are necessarily unhealthy and I still feed them to the rest of my family, and intend to reintroduce them all in the end. But I find the experiment kind of fun and at the very least interesting. Thinking of it as temporary takes some of the pressure off, of both me, and family and friends.

I have Hashis and I tried to go GF for health (no allergy present). I didn't stick to it.

I just take my medication and eat normally. It is worth trying to switch up your diet, but unless your doctor thinks it's a necessity than it isn't.

i haven't seen any scientific studies that prove the effectiveness of going gluten free/autoimmune protocal for hashi's - there is anecdotal evidence that people "feel better"

My levels always come back normal, but my symptoms are usually present.[/]
something to consider and talk to your doctor - there is a range of what normal is and while you are in the right range, you might not be at your optimal range - i.e. TSH is .2-2.0 (although some docs still using the old .5-4.0) - I feel much more normal at the .6-.8 range than the 3.5 although 3.5 is within range - so talk to your doc about that and see if they would do a meds adjustment

some people also respond better to name brand vs generic (assuming unithyroid is a generic) - you could ask to try synthroid which is the name brand and see if that changes anything

I have not been diagnosed with Hashimotos but I have all the symptoms; My thyroid levels come back normal one month, then they come back abnormal the next. I just have ALOT of things going on in my body i dont know what to do, I was told i have Barretts esophagus, gastritis, gastroparesis, now I have gallstones that need to be removed and the doc is going to put a ring around my esophagus to prevent acid from coming up. My colon is just a mess, but my diet is the worst, I dont eat very much, but when i do its yogurt or snacks, I have to say I rarely if ever sit down and have a meal. I just want to get healthy and i read that Paleo Autoimmune is really good!

shaumom wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

i haven't seen any scientific studies that prove the effectiveness of going gluten free/autoimmune protocal for hashi's - there is anecdotal evidence that people "feel better"

This article has links to a few studies that supposedly do show a gluten free connection to thyroid issues, but I haven't really looked at them to see how accurate they are - https://chriskresser.com/the-gluten-thyroid-connection/

i've seen more anecdotal and research based gluten free connections to thyroid issues. I sometimes suspect that one reason may be that there may be a lot of undiagnosed celiacs and gluten intolerants with hashi's and hypothyroid issues. I know having either diabetes, celiac disease, or thyroid related auto-immune disorders seems to put one in a higher category of having one of the other two. And I saw a study a few years back that one of these can mask the symptoms of the others, although that seemed more a case of 'some of the symptoms are the same, like fatigue or gut issues, and doctors don't consider there could be more than one disease.'

And gluten intolerance has only just been proven, really, but did show an immune response, so potentially could impact auto-immune diseases, I imagine.

ehhh I clicked on the first five references he linked...they weren't specifically about thyroid disease and gluten free - but that there is indications that many people with thyroid issues also have celiac disease - not entirely the same thing...

i'm talking specifically about non-celiac disease, indviduals diagnosed with thyroid and a study to examine the impact of eating gluen/vs non-gluten (even better would be double blind if the participants were provided with food that was either gluten or gluten free)

also when I read this in his bio...
and his work is frequently cited in national publications such as Time, The Atlantic, and NPR, and on Dr. Oz and Fox & Friends, where he has appeared as a guest.

deannalfisher wrote: »

i'm talking specifically about non-celiac disease, indviduals diagnosed with thyroid and a study to examine the impact of eating gluen/vs non-gluten (even better would be double blind if the participants were provided with food that was either gluten or gluten free)

To my knowledge, no such study exists, to date. At least none that I have found, and I have been looking for a while. There are both celiacs and non-celiac gluten intolerants in my family, as well as people with hashi's and/or hypothyroidism on both side of the family too, so I'm very interested in any new research, you know?


The closest I have found currently- which is not that close, honestly, but might lead to relevant research - was a small study that seems to have disappeared off the internet already. I can't find references to it at all (and I didn't jot down the name, argh). It was a study on rheumatoid arthritis and MS that found that wheat (not gluten, but wheat) seemed to have a slight inflammatory effect on folks with RA or MS, which lead to an increase in severity symptoms. Not a huge increase, but noticeable.

I remember it mostly because the author said that they ONLY looked at RA and MS, so far, but that he speculated that they might find similar increases in symptom severity with other auto-immune diseases.

Before that, this is a pretty good review of the little bit of relevant research on inflammation, grains, and auto-immune issues, at least: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705319/

It's about 4 years old, showed a few studies that found good or bad things from grain ingestion, and in the conclusions said, "In the present review, we describe how the daily consumption of wheat products and other related cereal grains could contribute to the manifestation of chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that gliadin and WGA can both increase intestinal permeability and activate the immune system. The effects of gliadin on intestinal permeability and the immune system have also been confirmed in humans. Other cereal grains containing related prolamins and lectins have not been so extensively studied and, therefore, more research investigating their impact on intestinal permeability and inflammation is required. It would be interesting to further elucidate the role of other prolamins on zonulin release and intestinal permeability."


and re: my one reference before. Yeah, that sounds pretty sketchy; good to ignore, then.


Hmmm, there is another study that could be interesting, even though it's not nearly as hard science as one would like, that was just on a low fat vs. a low carb diet. Year long study, patients self reported diet, and then were tested for various components. Now, I would assume low carb is going to be lower gluten, while not gluten free, you know?

One of the interesting results of the study, as I recall, was that the low carb folks had lower markers of inflammation. But that sort of things is really just one of those 'huh, interesting to look into' bits of information, not proof of anything, you know?

But when faced with a condition where there simply ISN'T that much research on, and only hints that more research might find something of use, I always personally think then it's up to us to decide if we think it's worth a personal investigation, yeah?

I have a different disorder, but it has very little research on it yet, and most patients share what they are doing with each other, and the background leading to those choices, and I have found some of it to be worthwhile, and some of it to be pure woo-woo. But the worthwhile stuff has honestly helped me, so i tend to personally feel like trying out some things, if they won't HURT, can be worth the extra effort, potentially. :-)