Is there a best diet for Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism?
The truth is, there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all solution for Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism. In functional medicine, we typically go with what works, and it is based on a combination of scientific studies and anecdotal evidence for what our patients tell us. What we find is that there are a lot of different diets that have shown to be effective with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism. However, because the body is complicated, and the root cause of Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism is not the same for everyone, each person requires a different, tailored approach.
We will often hear reports of one diet working for one person, with complete resolution of signs and symptoms, etc., while that same diet has no impact on someone else. It is for this reason why appropriate diagnostic tests are used, and why functional medicine is so powerful. Most allopathic physicians have never heard of many of the tests we do in our clinic.
Are there any commonalities with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism?
Most people know that there are some things that you do NOT want to consume:
- Cruciferous Veggies – Avoid these Raw if you have Hashimoto’s.
- Canola Oil – No canola oil!
- Soy
- Avoid too many Omega 6 Foods. …
- Gluten
In addition, there are a ton of diets that make great claims and have good ideas on strategy for healing Hashimoto’s… Many of these you might have heard probably heard of. For example, diets like the gluten-free diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, GAPS Diet, The Paleo Diet, Autoimmune Paleo Diet, dairy-free diet, low-FODMAPs Diet, vegetable juicing and elemental diets have all had varying degrees of success.
The question is, do any of these diets do things similarly, and if so, what are they? Well, at a high level, we could probably say that within each of these diets there is a strategy to do the following 3 things:
- Remove reactive foods
- Increase proteins and reduce inflammatory grains
- Remove processed foods
This makes sense though right?
Reactive foods are simply foods which cause inflammation in the body and have a response the person can feel, typically right away. These foods are typically pretty easy to name: peanuts, soy, wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, etc…. Removing these can help people to heal, and usually, results can be felt fairly after the offending foods are removed.
Proteins and fats for most people are lacking. We are carb-heavy, and when we do eat protein, we typically eat too much in one meal, which can wreak havoc on the kidneys, digestive system, and create too much acidity in the body. Increasing regular intervals of small amounts of protein and fat, while simultaneously reducing grains seems to be helpful for people with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
Processed foods and artificial ingredients are a problem for EVERYONE, it is just a matter of to what degree. Some people are more sensitive than others. These people often develop chronic, inflammatory auto-immune diseases and often don’t feel good when they consume these. Processed foods also typically have lots of artificial ingredients, flavors, and additives which are all inflammatory in the body. They aggravate an already inflamed body, with people who suffer from Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
Two diets that we’ve seen to be of benefit are the paleo diet and keto diet. The increase in proteins and fats seem to be of significant benefit. The key though is to make sure to increase veggies, and specifically, alkalizing veggie a LOT! The reason is, meat is acidic, and we need to combat the acidity with consuming alkaline or alkaline-forming foods.
So the truth is that adopting one of these diets is supportive of most people dealing with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. But the story doesn’t stop there…
So… what of a vegan diet, or juice cleansing?
The thing is, these diets are AWESOME for cleansing the body, and YES, they should be included. So… there are multiple strategies… Follow a vegan diet for 3 days to 3 weeks, or maybe only eat animal proteins in the evening. Again, there is no one-size-fits-all approach! The idea here is to incorporate a couple strategies with doing paleo or keto, along with breaks where you focus on cleansing. This isn’t always straightforward, or easy to do. Transitioning from one diet to the next can be challenging. If you need some help, we would love to support you here with health coaching. Book a free 15-minute call with our health coach to go over specifics here…
What ideas do you have for food choices with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism?
Here is a list of foods that you might consider in beginning to shift things around if you have been diagnosed with, or think you might have Hashimoto’s…
- leafy greens, such as kale and spinach
- fatty fish, including salmon
- a variety of colored vegetables, such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, beets, and red, yellow, and orange peppers
- healthful fats, including avocado, olives, and walnuts
- lean proteins, including tempeh, eggs, nuts, beans, and fish
- Certain herbs like turmeric are great for Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
We’d love for you to write us back, and let us know what has worked for you, regarding Hashimoto’s! Just drop us a line at [email protected] any time!
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For more reading on Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, please check out one of the links below:
- Will certain foods help the thyroid (Mayo Clinic, blog)
- Best diet for reducing antibody levels (Dr. Westin Childs, youtube)
