Hashimoto Thyroid Disease: How Green Smoothies Helped My Recovery
Hashimoto thyroid disease, also known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and other thyroid health disorders are becoming an epidemic. Right now, there are 200 million diagnosed worldwide with thyroid disease, 20 million of these are Americans. Learn more about thyroid health and the best diet for Hashimoto’s below.
In this article:
- How Patients Suffer from Hashimoto Thyroid Disease
- My Journey Through Hashimoto Thyroid Disease
- Thyroid Tests to Ask For
- Thyroid Health and Nutrition: Is The Autoimmune Protocol the answer?
- Greens as Part of Your Diet for Hashimoto Thyroid Disease
- Why You Need Whole Foods for Thyroid Health
- Hashimoto Diet Recipes Featuring Green Smoothies
Hashimoto Thyroid Disease: Symptoms, Tests, Food for Thyroid Health, and My Journey
How Patients Suffer from Hashimoto Thyroid Disease
A large number of people have Hashimoto's disease and don't even know it.
A patient with Hashimoto’s disease usually goes 6 to 7 years untreated, before an accurate diagnosis is even achieved. The longer the condition is untreated, the more progressed it will become.
According to thyroid.org, 60% of those with thyroid disease don’t even know that they have it! And as the undiagnosed disease progresses, those who have it are unknowingly putting themselves at greater risk for osteoporosis, infertility, and cardiovascular diseases. Men have moderate rates of thyroid disease, but for women, these diagnoses are exploding and levoxothyrine (Synthroid) has become the most prescribed drug in the world.
A typical Hashimoto’s patient may suffer from the following conditions:
- Weight gain
- Hair loss
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Cold hands and feet
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory loss
- Dry skin
- Brittle nails
My Journey Through Hashimoto Thyroid Disease
My own diagnosis, after suffering from most of those Hashimoto thyroid disease symptoms, came 17 years ago, at the age of 33. Until then, for years, when I complained of many of the symptoms above, doctors gave me a T3 or a TSH test, told me I was “fine,” and dismissed my symptoms as being related to having four babies in 7 years.
I have been in complete remission from Hashimoto’s for 17 years. I started with the standard drug prescription. That was the only recommended intervention, and I was sent out the door.
At first, I felt better and was able to finally lose most of the 70 pounds I had gained during the untreated phase, but after a number of months, I started to feel worse. This is very typical of a thyroid patient whose only intervention is a drug prescription.
I discovered that lifestyle and diet changes would be needed, for any true healing. Then, I discovered that bioidentical thyroid would decrease my cancer and overall disease risk, as the bioidentical substances were an exact molecular match to the thyroid hormone my body produces. Bioidenticals are a big improvement on the molecularly altered and/or highly synthetic substances in levothyroxine and other pharmaceutical drugs.
I also discovered that the thyroid doesn’t act alone, in a vacuum. Other glands, organs, and hormones were involved in a turnaround of my health. I needed a full blood-panel workup, and I found that as more people discover the health risks of taking the synthetic drugs (molecularly different than human thyroid, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone), a growing field of “functional medicine” practitioners could do much more to reverse my progressing autoimmune condition.
Thyroid Tests To Ask For
If you get tested by a regular doctor for thyroid issues, you might pass even though your thyroid is not working the way that it should to keep you healthy.
I spent too many years limited by the “Standard-of-Care” doctors who tested my TSH, declared me “normal” according to a huge range they consider normal, and sent me home. A functional medicine practitioner – often a nurse practitioner who has a master’s degree and can prescribe medications – looks for the root cause and addresses that, rather than simply treating symptoms as the MDs had in the early years of my treatment.
In fact, looking at upstream “precursor” hormones in broader-based blood tests played a significant role in addressing the “big picture” of my health.
Hormones to Ask A Functional Medicine Practitioner to Test, If you Suspect Hormone Issues:
- Pregnenolone
- Vitamin D
- DHEA
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
- Testosterone
- Free T3 and T4 (thyroid hormone)
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
- Thyroid Antibodies TPO and TSI
Let’s take a look at these in a little more depth, starting with your pituitary gland. This all-important endocrine gland is called the “master gland” because it produces hormones that control the other glands.
One of these, called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), does as its name implies. It stimulates the release of hormones from the thyroid gland. The main hormone that the thyroid then produces is T4.
In order for the body to use T4, it must first be converted to T3–also known as the “energy” or “active” hormone which is then absorbed by all the cells in your body when it becomes Free T3 (T3 that has been cleaved from protein).
T4 levels are often tested because most prescriptions for hypothyroidism are made from synthetic T4. Free T4 determines how much is available for your body to use. But, as previously explained, T4 must be converted to T3 and then Free T3, the most active form of thyroid hormone.
Doctors have a tendency to check for TSH, T4, and Free T4 … and leave it at that. But what if your body isn’t converting T4 into T3? Or what if the problem is really an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s? Screening for T3 as well as TPO and TGB antibodies are important tests and steps to an accurate diagnosis.
On top of that, TSH has a tendency to fluctuate and, in all honesty, is not very reliable. It may very well be one of the reasons that so many people are walking around with a thyroid disorder and don’t know it.
The other very important lab test that most doctors disregard is pregnenolone, also known as the ultimate precursor hormone. Your body actually uses this hormone to make your other hormones, such as DHEA, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
If your thyroid hormones are out of wack, it can cause a plethora of issues.
And Vitamin D? Well, this vitamin is actually not a vitamin but a prohormone that is ultimately converted to calcitriol, the active form. There is a strong connection between this nutrient and Hashimoto’s disease. A study conducted in China found that 82 percent of patients who had Hashimoto’s also had low vitamin D levels.
Why don’t most OB/GYNs, GPs, and other medical doctors inside the insurance-code system do the complete set of tests, the “full blood panel?” Very frankly, their training in medical school doesn’t include this level of knowledge.
As more patients demand more holistic, comprehensive, and natural treatment options, more MDs are getting in the game of prescribing bioidenticals. After all, they are subject to market forces, too!
Bioidenticals are not eligible for patents, so drug companies have no interest in them. However, even traditional MDs are being asked by their patients every day for bioidentical versions of hormones, so this kind of treatment is on the rise.
Unfortunately, traditional MDs don’t have the additional 1,000+ clinical hours of training that nurse practitioners who specialize in natural hormone replacement therapy (NHRt) usually do.
In my experience, most MDs do little, if any, extra investigative work when you present with a potential thyroid problem. All they do is the standard minimum blood test, and give you a bioidentical T3 or T4 hormone prescription rather than Synthroid.
That’s simply not good enough. As we’ve indicated, many other upstream and downstream substances, glands, and hormones play a role in getting you on track, so you can beat the depression, weight gain, and other symptoms.
Thyroid Health and Nutrition: Is The Autoimmune Protocol the Answer?
Another common problem in the way thyroid patients are treated is that many of the practitioners, including the “functional” or more holistic ones, can’t take the time necessary to educate their patients about the role of their diet and thyroid health.
So, they often plug the patient into whatever fad diet is ruling, at the time.
The practitioner may prescribe you the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), which may help identify foods thyroid patients are sometimes reactive to, such as lectins in beans, or oxalates or goitrogens in greens.
Avoiding certain types of food can help a lot with thyroid issues. AIP helps identify which foods to avoid.
Two things about the AIP are of significant concern to me as I continue to study thyroid health, overall health, and trends in functional medicine.
A growing body of evidence documents that, in fact, the “anti-nutrients” may be friends, with supporting roles in your health, rather than foes.
One, the AIP is a temporary way of eating while you heal, but avoiding all legumes (chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, split peas, and the like) over a lifetime is counter to a massive body of evidence showing these foods to be an important part of the diet of the healthiest people around the world.
Two, the Internet-popularized idea that crucifers and greens (high in two anti-nutrients, goitrogens and oxalates) should be avoided, does not seem to have solid science underpinning it. It appears to be a theory that has been spread mostly on the internet without any tests to back it up.
One of the reasons this theory is problematic is that some under-educated thyroid practitioners assume that an “anti-nutrient” is bad for you, and a growing body of evidence documents that, in fact, the “anti-nutrients” may be friends, with supporting roles in your health, rather than foes.
Greens as Part of Your Diet for Hashimoto Thyroid Disease
Another reason suggesting that the idea that avoiding greens isn’t a good strategy, for most thyroid patients, is that our thyroid-disease-free primate cousins forage for greens all day, every day, and the healthiest populations in the world, for thousands of years, have mostly eaten significant or even massive quantities of greens.
I haven't found any significant or published or controlled-study evidence that greens are anything but highly nourishing and healing to the vast majority of thyroid patients. In fact, there are dozens of micronutrients in virtually all greens that have known therapeutic effects for regulating and balancing hormone function.
Keeping a lot of greens in your diet can help with thyroid issues.
This suggests that to laser in on goitrogens in broccoli and cabbage or oxalates in spinach and kale, and ban them from your diet, is anywhere from unhelpful to tragic, at least as a long-term strategy.
Why You Need Whole Foods for Thyroid Health
My own medical history is nothing more than a “case study,” and my results may not precisely parallel yours. You may have gut problems (common in thyroid patients who have progressed to Stage III or IV), and if so, you may need to limit or eliminate, usually temporarily, some “healthy” classes of foods, such as nightshades (peppers, tomatoes, eggplant), onions and garlic, or legumes, while you heal.
But for over 20 years now, I have eaten a primarily plant-based diet (95% of my diet is from plants, and most days, I eat no animal products), with greens the day-in, day-out highest-quantity food I consume, in a great deal of variety, and served in a number of ways: salads, green smoothies, green juice, and sautéed or steamed greens. Legumes and nightshade vegetables are also a staple of my diet.
My thyroid antibodies are undetectable, making me a Hashimoto’s patient in complete remission for a decade and a half now. If nothing else, this should challenge the assumption that to be well, a thyroid patient must (a) follow the latest fad diet, (b) eliminate healthy categories of foods, (c) skimp on greens, or (d) eat significant amounts of animal protein.
Not only has this diet, which is counter to virtually all the latest “fad diets,” healed my thyroid battered by exposure early in my life by the radiation coming from the Nevada Test Site, but it has led to my being a 51-year old competitive athlete, author of 15 wellness books, and single mom of four, living the life of my dreams. This would not have been possible if I still had the 21 disease states I was diagnosed with 17 years ago, including heart disease, a tumor, mini-strokes, and 4 autoimmune conditions!
For the sake of my long-term health and disease risk, I cannot afford to leave greens, vegetables, all “carbs,” and legumes out of my diet.
After all, the thyroid is a magnet for toxins. Your chemical and radioactive exposures tend to concentrate in this tiny, critically important gland that governs your metabolism. And if you don’t eat and live in ways that nourish it, you’re likely to find yourself in the downward spiral of adding more symptoms and diagnoses to a growing list of miseries.
So, if you don’t have food sensitivities, you may want to consider eating a more inclusive whole-foods diet, rather than following a fad. How to test for food sensitivities? US Biotek and Meridian Valley are the best labs, according to my friend, Alan Christianson, NMD, who has split-tested the efficacy of the lab tests with 22 patients.
In some tests, he sent the same person’s blood in two vials, to two different labs, and in another testing, he sent two vials of the same person’s blood to the same lab but marked as two different people. With the other big lab companies, Dr. Christianson told me, the results for the same person were wildly different, casting doubt on the efficacy of their tests. US Biotek and Meridian Valley are the labs he still trusts after his testing.
A whole foods diet can be a great way to help with thyroid issues.
Be encouraged that healing the gut microbiome damaged from eating a diet high in chemicals and processed foods or use of many synthetic pharmaceuticals and antibiotic can lead to the elimination of food sensitivities, over time. A commitment to a healthy diet and reduction of toxic exposures is required.
Hashimoto Diet Recipes Featuring Green Smoothies
I’m sharing with you two wonderfully thyroid-supportive green smoothie recipes I use often. I like to minimize the fruit and maximize greens, sprouted flax, and superfoods. But if green smoothies are new for you, and you’re weaning off “Standard American Diet” tastes, feel free to add a bit more fruit to these recipes, at first. Throw in something you have on hand, or omit something you don’t have, because the nice thing about green smoothies is, you can’t mess them up! If they’re too thick, add water, or aloe vera juice.
Hashimoto Thyroid Love Green Smoothie
- 2 cups water
- ½ to 1 cup organic aloe vera juice
- 2 tbsp. organic sprouted flax
- 3 large handfuls spinach, kale, and/or collards
Blend well. Then, add:
- 1 cup organic frozen, mixed berries
- 1 small banana
Blend well and drink immediately. Save the rest in pint jars and keep in the fridge! Yield: 6+ cups, or 3 pints.
Hormone-Support Green Smoothie
- 1 1/2 cup organic almond milk
- 1 1/2 cup water
- an organic celery stalk
- a cup of green or purple cabbage
- 2 handfuls organic spring mix
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ginger (or ½” fresh ginger)
- 1 cup chopped pineapple
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
Blend well and drink immediately. Save the rest in pint jars and keep in the fridge! Yield: 6+ cups, or 3 pints.
After learning how green smoothies can help you recover from Hashimoto thyroid disease, you may want to check out this video from our channel on how to make a green smoothie.
I, Robyn Openshaw, a Hashimoto thyroid disease survivor in complete remission, and author of bestsellers including The Green Smoothies Diet, Vibe, and 12 Steps to Whole Foods, have made you a four-video masterclass on principles I discovered. I healed not only thyroid disease but 20 other diagnoses with evidence-based nutrition principles rather than fad diets. Learn about thyroid detox and organs of elimination by watching my video. You can watch it for free here.
Did we miss anything on our discussion about Hashimoto thyroid disease? Tell us in the comments section below!
Read next: Thyroid: What You Need To Know
Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.
Posted in: 12 Steps To Whole Food, Detox, Green Smoothies, Health Concerns, Natural Remedies, Recipes, Whole Food
Where so you get bioidentical thyroid hormone? Following you from the Heavy Metals Summit.
Your doctor can prescribe them. Ask for Armor, Nature Throid, WP Thyroid or NP Thyroid. You might have to experiment until you find which one works best for you. Hope this helps.
Armour and Nature do NOT contain enough T4 to maintain proper brain function. These are primarily as replacement for T3. People with Hashimoto’s do not convert T4 to T3.
There is a lot of missing information in this article.
I did not see thyroid peroxidase on the list of blood tests. That is one of the main tests for Hashimoto’s.
Robyn,
I have all the symptoms of Hashimotos, but there are no functional Drs in my area that I know of. Also, I had a urine test done and it came back saying my oxalates are high. I also have leaky gut, I know because my food is not digested in my stools and I am always constipated, even stool softeners don’t work. Can you give me some advice as to what I could do? Thank you
Mickey
Although it would be more helpful to have a functional dr. to work with, you don’t need one to be diagnosed. Find a good endocrinologist and ask for all the tests mentioned in the article including antibodies.
Mickey,
I see a NMD and take Naturthroid or Armour thyroid. Lately my dose of Naturthroid has been unavailable so I’ve defaulted to Armour. I too have a constipation issue. My estrogen and progesterone are wonky too. Many women in menopause have constipation issues. I’ve tried about 20 natural foods, fibers, probiotics and nothing has cured the problem. Last month I read about how taking a tablespoon of olive oil with juice in the morning helps the liver dump bile into the intestine to soften the waste and move it along. Well, it continues to work for me. You could try a little more or a little less as you figure out what works for your body. I usually wait a half hour before having breakfast or just have fruit for breakfast after the olive oil-juice mixture. Good luck to you.
Lori
Magnesium citrate works wonders constipation!! I take up to 5 capsules daily. And it’s good for you.
I take it, too! It’s been a LIFESAVER! I’m down to one citrate a day and two magnesium dimalate
Yeah, my nature throid was out of stock too and had to go to armour for a few months. Antibodies doubled.
I recently was able to switch back to NT. So much better.
Pioneering in the Holistic field since the 1960’s I haven thyroid issues and have been Hypothyroid all my life!!!I had the symptoms especially constipation, Now my THS show from.8 now down to .4…eating Seaweed, Probiotics, lots, among The TCM Herbals, Also diagnosed with Thyroid Nodules, Jan 2019, latest results (they were not benign) as of July 2019, they are smaller then they were (very small ) even smaller now, with South America Herbs…and as far as hair thinning & Chinese herbals will handle that too!!!
Bone broth will help heal your Leaky Gut. Kettle and Fire has a good on-line delivery service if you don’t have time to make the broth yourself. When I have time, I make it in my slow cooker over a 2 day period so that I can break the bones down and get the marrow from the bones into the broth but it’s a messy and time consuming process at the end.
I was diagnosed with Hoshimoto’s at the end of 2015… been told that I need to follow a Paleo lifestyle and I don’t like eating that much animal protein. I love beans and mostly all veg. I recently changed doctors to a D.O. who’s 12 year old daughter has Hoshimoto’s, but she wants me to be on Synthroid because it’s the “easiest one to regulate” and she believes that everything in moderation is the appropriate approach to diet. I get so much conflicting information that it’s really hard to keep up. Wish there was a way for me to find out exactly what would work for MY body. My ultimate goal would be to be in remission like you. Thank you for sharing your story and this great information.
Many years ago, my original D.O. Rx Synthroid. I used it for a few months, but really resisted the synthetic approach and found a Functional Medicine practitioner. I’m not a physician, but after my experience with Hashimoto’s (which is 5 years in remission) the natural hormones are better. They more mimic our own hormones and contain the T3 that Synthroid does not.
I’m also on a (flexible) Paleo Diet. I still limit my meat intake since I purchase (the more expensive) grass-fed beef and organic pastured chicken, etc. I simply have smaller portions and fill my plate with more veggies – and at least twice a week include meatless meals into my dinner plans. Best to you on your journey… Pam
Go to http://www.thedr.com I’m saving up for a consult myself, but they have food sensitivity tests that they offer in addition to many other tests.
Read Anthony William : MEDICAL MEDIUM and THYROID HEALING !
Absolutely brilliant
I don’t understand how you could get diagnosed with Hashimotos 17 years ago and then be in complete remission for 17 years as well. Didn’t it at least a few years to get to remission?
A decade and a half is 15 years.
I was told by one Doctor (8yrs ago) I had Graves Disease, post partum after my #3 was born. I then went on a 21 day Kris Carr cleanse, for a little over 30 days. I was on medications including beta blockers. I hated the idea of being on medication. So, on this plan, I spent most days, drinking lots of green juices, some cooked veggies, rice and salads. I went back told my doc i was stopping my meds. She retested me and my thyroid tested normal. So, then when I had my now 4 year old, my OBGYN said i absolutely did not have Graves disease. My thyroid was fine and normal. But then I felt they were wrong….so 2 years ago, I went to a doc and wanted my thyroid checked to see how i was doing. She said I have auto-immune Hashimotos. This Dr chose to do NOTHING. No advice, no nadda. Just a – yep your thyroid is abnormal. A year later, I went back and the new doc didnt seem to think it was important to test my thyroid. But I really wanted to know and then still tested as actively in Hashimotos. Same doctors office, new doctor. She also says she plans to do nothing but re-check it in the future and see how I am doing. I am beside myself. I cannot believe my doctors just have no interest in even giving me any kind of thyroid medication. (I do not want it, but I am surprised they dont ave a treatment plan at all) I started eating “BLE” around the same time and lost 40 lbs (since Aug 2017) but I am really wanting to go back to green juices and smoothies….the Kris Carr 21 day is haunting me, since I always thought it healed me. At least for those 30 days. Haha. I really feel confused! BLE is strongly against drinking calories. I am strongly against not having a healthy smoothie or juice for healing….so I am greatly confused as I dont want to sabotage my weight loss either. I have 25 more lbs to go til I am at the right weight for my body. Any advice? Any readers have thoughts?
Traditional MDs (including some endocrinologists I’ve had) have told me in the past there is nothing they can do for my Hashimoto’s and Grave’s Disease until my Thyroid panel came back abnormal. And just so everyone here knows… You only need thyroid hormones AFTER your thyroid can’t compensate with all the antibodies any more. I would suggest looking for a functional medicine practitioner. If you find the right one you can work with them to find a diet, and lifestyle that can help you reduce your antibody load. I still have sky high antibody levels after trying to make a go of some dietary and lifestyle changes.. Unfortunately there is no functional practitioner near me and I cannot afford to travel. I’m saving up to get an online consult with one of the functional medicine practitioners at http://www.thedr.com. Hope this helps! Good Luck!!
Was vegetarian before diagnosed with Hashis. Switching to AIP reduced my antibodies 80%, but I hate the amounts of animal protein.
Slacked off and began eating grains, bean, nuts and nightshades. Antibodies back up to what they were before.
Would love to be able to be 95% plant based, but need antibodies to 0 too.
Your story gives me hope! Were you able to get off your thyroid medicine as well?
I see a lot of flax seed. I can no longer have flax due to hormone positive breast cancer. What’s a good sub?
Hi Diana, I also have estrogen positive breast cancer, but my Cancer Coach told me I need to eat flax oil and flax seeds every day. Along with fresh raw vegetables, and vegetable juice, plus supplements.
I’ve just been diagnosed with hyperthyroid and Graves’ disease. Would the type of blood work you recommended for Hashimotos be the same to get down for Graves? I’m a firm believer in food being the main source to healing and health but sometimes we need a little extra gueidance and help from modern medicine.
I have Hashimoto’s and Grave’s. It’s the same bloodwork. Grave’s initially drives the thyroid to hyperthyroidism (until the thyroid is worn out and can no longer produce the hormones which eventually causes hypothyroidism) and Hashimoto’s drives the thyroid to hypothyroidism. Because they effect the same thyroid hormones doctors typically just test the thyroid hormones. If you want to monitor your antibody levels its TRAb for Grave’s, which is different from the anti-TPO and anti-Tg antibodies that drive Hashimoto’s. Hope this helps!
I have been in remission from Hashimoto’s since 2012. Prior to diagnosis, my own intense research to find a Functional Medicine/Homeopathic physician) led me to a wonderful doctor who, herself, was pretty new to the whole reversal of autoimmune disease. She still believed from her days as an M.D., that once you have a autoimmune disease, you’ll always have the disease. I just wouldn’t allow myself to accept that, so onward I dove into more and more research. Over these past several years there’s been a myriad of conflicting information out there on foods to avoid and foods to heal. So, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride. However, I’ve also learned to loosen my obsession on some of it. If I didn’t, my stress levels would probably have triggered the disease again! LOL!
Having said all that, I wanted to thank you for yours and Dr. Christianson’s (who I also follow) balanced approach to healing.
Thank you for all you do,
Pam
Pam, can you, please, share what’s your diet like and lifestyle? Were you or still are on any medication? You are so right about conflicting information and I’m having really hard time picking what to follow.
Can you forward what you received in regards to her process/tips and tools used.
I was diagnosed with Hashimotos over 16 years ago. I’m a nurse and somehow failed to realize that treatment with levothyroxine was not the answer!! Fast forward to >14 years into Hashimotos and starting into Stage IV with no idea my Hashimotos was the root of my health problems. Gastroenterologist thought maybe IBS, helped reset my gut bionome but symptoms just wouldn’t resolve and I was getting worse! I had continued to gain weight after meds, gain meds along the way for depression, bursitis pain, inflamed joints, etc… Started a deep dive into my health about 6 months ago! Nothing was helping so eliminated gluten….just did not believe that the women who made her homemade wheat bread from fresh ground organic wheat could have a problem with gluten!! I was so sick it looked like FMLA to protect my job because everyday was a roller coaster of debilitating symptoms. No gluten and guess what!! I started to feel better…beginning of the journey. Continued eating corn products and realized I had another trigger so eliminated all grains at that point for 30 days! Then I really started searching and reading everyday. Could my Hashimotos have a root cause and could this really be why I had gained weight and actually gotten sicker over many years? Diet changed to no gluten, no grains, eliminated some nightshades and severely reduced intake of others. No legumes or beans initially, ditched all processed foods and changed to a diet with grass fed beef, local chicken and fresh eggs…who knew what I had been taught about low fat diets, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats was ALL wrong! Still had some intermittent symptoms so decided to think outside the box and spend my healthcare $$ in a different manner. Started with acupuncture and an Integrative Dr. No Functional DR nearby. Lost 25 lbs and still coming off at about a #lb a week. Researched supplements and foods to support my thyroid and began what I call intentional eating!! If it does not meet a healthy need for my body or have nutritional value it no longer crosses my lips! Dug deep and got rid of toxins like fluoride, bpa’s, nonstick pans that were old, aluminum, etc. Think toxic and remove it!! Added the most unusual and out there product ” I thought” but what the heck I’m trying new treatment modalities right! Earthing!! Now could I walk barefoot in the sand everyday?? I wish! Not feasible and where I live in Texas fire ants are a deterrent to barefoot anything! Did invest in a good pair of mocassins, ditched the rubber soles as much as feasible and added a grounding sheet to our bed! All of a sudden my husband and I are realizing WOW all these changes and the pain is gone, we have never eaten better, and life feels like the clock turned back 10-15 years!! Thyroid antibodies are now undetectable and thyroid function improving, thyroid reduced in size by 2/3!! Thin hair and loss of outside eyebrows!! Guess what…they are growing back! Skin improving daily including long time sunspots just fading away. Along the way I recently figured out dairy was one of my last hold out triggers! Bye, bye dairy!! Diet moving towards higher percentage organic plant based, still getting good animal proteins, and fats using what was always told was bad for you…we cook with olive oil, avacado oil, coconut oil and real butter for my husband/ghee for me. Homemade bone broth, remember the bones you use you must consider what your eating is only as good as what it ate! We make 4-5 gallons of bone broth and use it in our cooking everyday. It is key to healing a leaky gut and getting back some key nutrients when your body has been nutrient deficient. Added wild caught fish and shellfish like lobster, shrimp, scallops etc as a major source of Omega 3’s and iodine!! At almost 60 I am finding wellness after 16+ years of worsening health and new problems all the time. Off of my antidepressants (do not just stop them as the serotonin is key to your gut it requires a long taper!), off one antihypertensive, off all over the counter medications and getting better everyday! Next is to start a slow taper off sleeping med and when clear work to enhance my natural sleep rhythms. OH and about my earthing sheet, my husband changed and placed a sheet over it and the next day my body screamed in protest! Back to skin to skin contact with that grounded sheet and our bodies agreed immediately. We’ve invested in a steel conducted pad with a conducting sheet as Earthing is a MUST! We eat organic, buy local fresh products, are starting an organic garden of plants, herbs, fruit and berries. The road to wellness should have started 16 years ago with my Hashimotos diagnosis but in 6 months my body is healing from all the immune insults. Aches and pains are gone, depression is gone, leaky gut and IBS symptoms gone! Hopefully, you are at the beginning of your journey and you’ve read this and are searching for a functional DR to help you down the right path!
Karla, what an incredible health journey you’ve lived these past 16 years and I celebrate with you over your equally incredible healing! Thank you for posting your story to help serve others well!
Thank you so much for this!!! Still busy with a good diagnose and at the beginning of my journey. Reading this gives me hope and strength!! Whish you all the best!
How does this differ from Graves Disease? Do the same principles apply?
Hi Linda – Thanks for leaving a comment asking a great and important question. The answer is yes – Thyroid disease can be either an over production or under production thyroid hormones, which the last is known as Graves’ disease, an immune system disorder. The same principles apply.
About AIP and goitrogens. You must have quite old info because all the “gurus” of AIP like Paleomum, Dr K etc agree totally that goitrogens are no problem and recommend eating them. If you would want to eat a ton of them, some can be cooked to reduce the goitrogens considerably. Just so you don´t spread falsehoods inside good information.
I’ve put myself on the AIP after following a grain free and dairy free diet…however, I had not gotten sick for over 8 months and within 17 days of being on the AIP I got a fever, and general aches and pains and a cough…it’s been 12 days and I’ve stuck to the AIP but feel AWFUL! I ate SUPER clean before but now I’m miserable and have no energy. Any ideas why? My husband thinks I should stick to it for at least another couple weeks before slowly adding foods back in. I’m so confused!
Hi Kristen – Gosh, March was definitely high flu/virus season but we strive to keep our immune systems in good shape to combat these moments. I like ACS and ACZ when I feel the first sign of illness coming on, plus my Grandmother’s tonic. All products and recipes are on the website. As for AIP, well, I guess you can tell from my article above that I’m not a big fan for the many reasons I stated.
I should add that I have Hashimoto’s which is why I was trying the AIP in the first place:)