I have a hypoactive thyroid as well--and I do fine on a mostly vegan diet. I've never heard of doing a high protein diet for hypothyroidism, but mine is relatively mild. My understanding is that highly processed soy (isolated soy protein, soy infant formula) interferes with the absorption some thyroid replacement meds if you eat it within a few hours of taking the medicine. From what I've read, whole soy, and processed soy eaten at other times are not a problem. So, if you take your meds first thing in the morning, you should be okay to have soy later in the day. If you haven't already, you might try reading the detailed patient info on your meds to see what it says.

I take my medicine each morning, and then eat 30 min later. I have no problems. I avoided soy for years, but then my new doctor who is also vegetarian, and has a thyroid condition, said it was fine to consume soy. So I have soy milk with my cereal, and sometimes tofu for lunch and my thyroid functions have continued to be fine. I would check with your doctor, assuming your doctor is up on all the newest research and that you have confidence in him or her. Good luck! Hope you continue to feel good!

I have Hashimoto's and had my thyroid removed due to cancer in December of 2009. I used to believe that the only way that I could lose weight was on a low carb, high protein animal based diet. Imagine my surprise when I went vegan and the weight just started to fall off of me. I eat mostly raw fruits and veggies, so my carbohydrates are quite high, but still, the weight is coming off quickly. I eat a ton of soy also, and for me it never interferes with my thyroid medicine!

Hi! My word, am I relieved to see that there are other hypothyroid vegans out there! My dad has Hashimoto's, and I'm considered to be in the "high risk" category for developing it (most of my family on my dad's side have Hashimoto's, and my thyroid already seems to be sluggish). A big part of why I want to lose weight and foster good eating and exercise habits now is so that I can manage my weight and lifestyle better in the event of developing it.

What do you guys do to manage your hypothyroidism? I know my dad takes thyroxin (sp?) and exercises like a beast, but he's still rather portly... I never even considered the impact being vegan may have on my thyroid, I became vegan for ethical reasons and then never thought that far!

Wow, am I ever happy to have run across this post. I have Hashimoto's and have been on synthroid for a good 15 years. I have been vegan for about 3 years and lost a lot of weight quite quickly. I've been stuck at my present weight, even though I still have a lot to lose. I'm quite committed to remaining a vegan.

I have always avoided soy like the plague... so it's interesting to hear some of you do consume soy without issue. I might experiment with this and see what I come up with. I've committed to exercising on a more regular basis -- hopefully this will have a positive effect on my weight loss.

So great to hear from other vegans who are doing great regardless to thyroid function!

I had hyperthyroidism, then they nuked my thyroid. I lub me some soy, and hv been a veg for over two decades. After I became vegan (and now more soy than before) I hv had a problem with the thyroid medicine I've taken for 25 yrs--my doc said he doesn't know why but it's as if my metabolism is functioning better and we've been working on reducing my dosage for nearly 4 months. So who knows where it will all shake down. I realize my hypothyroidism was a result of radioactive iodine, so perhaps a whole diff game.