Hashimotos Thyroiditis and Gluten Cross Contamination

You would think we have enough to worry about just watching the test results of our TSH and antibodies having Hashimotos Thyroiditis – but there is a “new” kid in town – and one that might be even more important to watch when you have this disease. I doubt many of us would be surprised to hear the answer but what I am talking about is gluten ingestion. Yes, the evidence is mounting leaps and bounds that our antibodies can be a direct result of ingesting gluten! If you do the deep thinking, this brings us to the question, which came first, the Hashimoto’s or the gluten intolerance? I will leave that as a separate post for another time.

Today I want to concentrate on the most difficult part of going gluten free (for me). Honestly, going gluten free has had its challenges but none as great as the very real and in some cases, daily, risk of cross-contamination! Let me give you an example: You walk into a restaurant (especially when you are just starting this journey of gluten free) and you ask if there is gluten in certain dishes.  The waiter or waitress asks the chef and comes back to tell you “no, no gluten in this dish”.  Okay, hold it right there! You asked the wrong question or at the minimum, did not include the second important part of the question. Here’s where it can get frustrating. You need to ask them not only if the dish has gluten containing ingredients but also, you have to know if it is prepared in pans, utensils, grills, etc. that are also used for gluten containing foods.

In other words, just finding out that the food/dish itself is free of gluten is ONLY the first step. It becomes essentially important to let them know that you either need a gluten free environment for your food preparation (P.F. Changs, for example, has a gluten free kitchen section) OR they would need to take precautions to keep your food from being cross-contaminated. Now, this is where most restaurants fail the test. In fact, this is when a serious gluten free person, becomes all too familiar with one or two restaurants and that’s about it, when “out on the town”. I found this video very helpful and hopefully you will too (even though she describes the life of a Celiac, we need to see ourselves this way):

But what we need to keep in mind, is that we do this for our health and to stay out of trouble health-wise. If you haven’t seen my other post on the connection between thyroid antibodies and gluten, you will find it very informative as this subject is discussed in the interview with Dr. Thomas O’Bryan and how this link has been proven.

Gluten cross contamination could be the biggest set back we have to healing. I hope this post has been helpful for you. I know I have felt 80%-90% better going truly gluten free. I hope you will too!

Hashimotos Thyroiditis and Gluten Sensitivity

I think this post would be better named “food for thought” since it is really hard to wrap my brain around the idea that the “staff of life” is quickly becoming instead a “death trap” for many, many people, especially those with autoimmune diseases like Hashimotos Thyroiditis and others. How could it be as simple as eliminating gluten from your diet in order to feel so much better? But for many gluten intolerant people, that has been ALL it took! For me, my main symptoms have almost disappeared after going on 6 months gluten free. [Read More...]

Suggested First Steps after being Diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis

In this post, I have decided to compose a guide to help those who have recently been diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis but have not yet gone through the “detective” process of sorting out which symptoms are from Hashi’s and which are from other sources. This step was crucial for me in understanding my disease. I hope these simple steps will help someone else:

Take inventory of stimulants and chemicals in your diet.

Hashimoto’s can be positively influenced by a healthy diet. Consider what you are currently eating. Keep a journal for a week (or even a month!) and spot the culprits that might be there. Some of the more obvious ones are caffeine, sugar and preservatives. I react strongly to all three of these. It took me many years to realize what a significant burden those “foods” were to my health. The first two abuse the adrenal glands and cause all types of imbalance. Preservatives can cause further stress to the brain (especially Aspartame!). Greatly reduce or eliminate your intake of these substances. Once this step is done, it will be easier to monitor the symptoms coming from your disease and those coming instead from food sensitivities or reactions. [Read More...]

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Cross-Reactive foods

Hello All! I have been nudged while reading your comments, to make a quick post about the possible other triggers to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Although this info is a bit dated (not seriously dated however, but from last year), I feel it touches on an area that hasn’t got enough attention from the Hashimoto’s community and that is cross-reactive grains/foods. My daughter was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s last year and is in the process of getting a cross-reactive food test. I will be taking one in July so this will add some new info to our current diet (gluten free). [Read More...]

Quick Update on my Gluten Free diet in Regards to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

Okay, I need to make this clear… this post is going to be only about how I feel my gluten free diet is benefiting the technical side of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. In my next post, I will do a more “feelings” oriented assessment (I am speaking about how my body is “feeling”, but I guess I can include also how my “emotions” are doing too!). LOL

Before I started my current TRUE Gluten Free Diet, my antibody count (TPO) was ranging (over 10 years) between 3,000 to over 7,000. I got my test back a couple weeks ago after being gluten free for about 6 weeks. I will be much more detailed in my next post, even on this, but this is just a quick update. The antibody test came back at 172! Yes, you are reading right….172! Now how’s that for progress! I haven’t done anything new besides a serious diet change and this is something to get excited about. My TSH has also gone from 12 (range) to 7 (range) without a change in medication. So I would say I’m on the right track, wouldn’t you? See you soon with a full update! Mo

Hashimotos Thyroiditis and the Gluten Free Diet

You would think that someone with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis would have already experienced the gluten free diet—especially since I had a post that told you all about it’s “failure” to make a difference in my disease. Well, a lot of time has passed since then and it has become painfully apparent that I really didn’t go truly gluten free. I thought I had by just avoiding obvious gluten sources, mainly wheat – especially in processed foods. However, what I now know to be TRUE gluten free is much, much different than what I had submitted myself to a few years ago. [Read More...]

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and My Treatment Update!

Although my last post on Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis was a long standing one, it was on purpose! Getting a battery of testing, preparing for a TRUE gluten free diet, and beginning to create an action plan are all good things, even if it did take many months to establish. I figure, I’ve lived this long with all these symptoms, why not make my next attempt to beat them be a good, strong one. Well, I think, with the help of my doctor, I will!

Now, before I move on, I always believe a good link to exceptional material is in order when writing a new post. So, here is the “winner” this time: [Read More...]

Can Hashimotos Thyroiditis be Reversed?

I can’t begin to tell you how much this post means to me after living with Hashimotos Thyroiditis for over 15 years! Now, before I attempt to answer this question, let me remind you that I am NOT a doctor and cannot give a definitive answer myself. But if you’ve ever wondered, “How Can I Reverse Hashimotos Thyroidits?”, this is the post for you!  I am sure once you watch the video at the end of this post from someone much more capable of answering this question, you will be as excited as I am. [Read More...]

Hashimotos Thyroiditis and Properly Prepared Foods (Traditional Foods)

One thing that I keep going back to as I make this journey through Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is that this disease is not much different than any other disease in that there undoubtedly is a root cause. Not many admit to that, but as I research natural remedies, one thing keeps coming up: diet is key.

Okay, that is no surprise to most of us. But one thing which is making a popular comeback is the idea that we might just be preparing our foods wrong. Huh? Many people I talk to cannot figure out what I could be suggesting. It is still a “foreign subject” to many Americans. Everyone knows that white flour is inferior to whole wheat but why would preparation be an issue? Isn’t it just that whole wheat is “better” for you. But why can’t we digest it properly? [Read More...]

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis – Is it YOUR fault? Oprah and Mary Shomon disagree

The quest for the root cause of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is very dear to my heart. It HAS to be. I have suffered many years with this disease. That’s why I think I have the experience to post on this subject. Mary Shomon has been a patient advocate and a thyroid patient herself for many years now. The problem I have and why I am writing today is to find balance in a bold statement she made in her latest article correcting Oprah Winfrey’s suggestion that somehow your thyroid disease can be your fault. Oprah admitted to working extra hard and being extremely tired before her diagnoses. Here’s the excerpt from Mary Shomon I am concerned about: [Read More...]