For many years I’ve wondered if I could somehow reverse my Hashimotos Thyroiditis by finding the “root” problem. I began to entertain the thinking that there was a connection between autoimmune thyroid disease and gluten sensitivity. After some research, I found articles that seemed to point me further in that direction like the following one from Mary Shomon:
According to research recently reported on in the medical journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences, a significant number of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease also have celiac disease. Celiac disease is a disorder that causes the intestines to react abnormally to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt,kamut, and other related grains.
“…researchers found that…organ-specific autoantibodies (i.e., thyroid antibodies) — will disappear after 3 to 6 months of a gluten-free diet.”
Celiac disease, which is sometimes referred to as celiac sprue, sprue, or gluten intolerance, makes it difficult for the body to properly absorb nutrients from foods.
You can read the full article here.
Now, the reason I brought this up is that I tried a gluten free diet for 6 months to prove to the world that the connection was there! Prior to this I was already enjoying success in eating according to the wonderful book, Nourishing Traditions, written by Sally Fallon, and my medication had dropped by one third so I thought I was on the “right road”. So I added to that a gluten free diet in 2006 just knowing I was going to find the “answer” to this disease. 
Okay, well… I tried. I not only went gluten free, but sugar, and preservative (which I do anyway) free, too! I also consumed live raw milk based Kefir to help re-supply the gut with probiotics. My antibody count went from somewhere around 1,800 to like 3,400 in the six months! As you can imagine, I was horrified. I expected the opposite. I was ready to celebrate but you can imagine the crash I experienced when I heard the numbers. My TSH improved but my dose of medication was slightly increased during this time also so that didn’t really mean anything to me.
Am I saying that a gluten free diet can’t improve this disease? No. But I am saying that it didn’t work for me. Reflecting back on all of this brought up some interesting points.
- I did not eliminate corn during this time. I have a hunch that corn could be a culprit. Don’t ask me why. I will continue my research on this one. I have heard many discouraging studyies on the dangers of corn in our diet so I will just leave it at that until I have a better grasp on the possible concerns with consuming it in our diet.
- I continued to eat raw honey (which I don’t believe is a culprit but I will confess to it’s usage in moderation).
- I was not exercising to the capacity I believe would aid in the healing process.
- I was not taking any supplements at that time which could indicate a “missing component” to the process.
I would love to get feedback from others that have tried a similar journey. I truly believe we can work together to find the natural cure!
Maureen
Hi Maureen, Your hunch about corn is accurate. The tv show “Know the Cause” and website by the same name (.com)support this, so do all of their books, I’ve been to their seminar, for the past 50+ years mass production has stored corn haphazardly making it one of the moldiest foods in history (200 molds, some deadly, some cause diabetes, and cancer has exactly the same properties as mold, this mold could be the “anti-bodies” mentioned. Corn is a grain. Europeans don’t eat it, they only feed it to pigs. They know it’s harmful. Here, nobody cares. The next highest mold contributor is peanuts. Avoid both.
Moreover, understand that whenever we eat, breath, or touch substances to which we are allergic, our body’s natural survival response is to activate survival stress, adrenaline, cortisol, helpful is small infrequent amounts but very damaging in large constant amounts. With allergents in us, our body functions much like a car engine left on 24/7 for years — it doesn’t stop until it burns out and dies. I’d wondered for years what was going on inside me which was depleting me nutritionally while damaging my mouth, gums, teeth, jawbones, thyroid since I was a kid, I’m 56. The connection is consumption since infancy of foods to which I was allergic.
There are 2 times I felt really good, you may wish to try them intermittantly, research them first: FASTING (drinking just water) always made me feel more ALIVE, energetic, happier, freer, in control, normal. For me, the trick was to feel that good while eating to survive. Fairly recently, for a month I followed the http://www.knowthecause.com Phase One diet.
It proved itself successful in 3 ways much to the distress of my stoic hard-hearted dope of an endocrinologist who was clueless: 1. I lost 15 lbs. without exercising. 2. The blood lab report proved my TSH was improved, meaning my thyroid was functioning normally, it was not suppressed anymore by the allergy to grains. 3. The doctor’s exam of my thyroid revealed that it was no longer swollen, the lack of swelling was so rare the doctor couldn’t believe it.
During the month, I took one “Natren Healthy Trinity” probiotic capsule each day (it’s strains of probiotics are superior to most others even kefir)(if you need more to get rid of the anti-body growth, do so, it’s perfectly healthy, in ‘69 one of its strains cleared patients out of a hospital ward and back home & to jobs, all 48 were terminally ill with cancer. Several hours apart from the Natren, I took the recommended “Solaray Yeast Cleanse” 4 caps daily, it chases or kills nasty bacteria, mold, fungi, etc.
The diet is grainfree because it is MOLD-FREE. We thyroid and gluten patients are so focused on them that we haven’t figured out that we are all also allergic to MOLD. An allergist tested me so I know I am (mold, wheat, pasteurized milk, tuna, coconut from shampoos, grass, etc.). This diet permanently cleared up a nose stuffed since birth, 50 yrs of sinus infections from mold & grain allergents. Eliminated cravings, restored control.
Here’s the diet I followed:
EGGS
FRUIT: berries, grapefruit, lemon, lime, green apples, avocado.
MEATS: virutally all grassfed meat, fish (can salmon is healthier than farmed), organic poultry, grassfed beef .
BEVERAGES: water, non-fruity herbal teas, stevia sweetened lemonade or limeade, freshly squeezed carrot juice.
VINEGAR: Braggs apple cider vinegar.
OILS: Italian olive, grap, flax seed.
NUTS: raw nuts, pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin. Stored nuts tend to gather mold, keep them frozen.
SWEETENERS: Stevia, SteviaPlus, birch tree extracted Xylitol, honey in moderation, maple syrup in moderation.
DAIRY: organic butter, organic yogurt, unsweetened whipping cream, real sour cream, raw milk.
My issue is no longer knowing what to do to restore my health and figure, it’s affording it. Remember the car engine scenario I explained above? I burned out. Ended up on S.S. Disability on an appallingly small income. Affording all of this pricey stuff in sufficient quantity and variety month after month is a terrible juggling act and I often drop the balls. Just this week, program people from a state agency came in to replace my hot water heater and a.c-heat compressor, fridge, and other things because nothing worked. It’s just how things are for single women like me.
Conversely, I’ve used my time to improve my writing skills and to read. M.D.s think it’s impressive to tell patients they’ve read 40 books. I’ve read 169 allopathic and naturopathic medical books plus extensive internet medical and nutritional research free to doctors and patients.
This week found a particularly progressive 9-page article by a doctor on how gluten/wheat contributes to complicating Lyme disease and in so doing it actually causes what he called a “cerebral allergy” or “leaky brain syndrome”, and this allergy in turn causes the extreme pain, weakness, and other issues Lyme patients suffer from. He said it started with anti-biotics.
I choose to add “processed foods”, I’m a member of The Weston A. Price Foundation aka “Nourishing Traditions” cookbook was written by my friend Price president Sally Fallon. Dr. Jernigan tied these components also to ALS, MS, and Fibromyalgia. I sent his article to Sylvia Browne to give to Montel Williams whose foundation does research to find a cure for MS. Had to, every damned M.D. I’ve been to totally ignores allergies, including the allergist I saw, he told me nothing about any of this, just didn’t care.
Perhaps you’ll stay in touch, I’d like that. I respect how smart you are and what a tenacious researcher you are, Maureen. Remember this simple fact: Caught early enough, EVERTHING in the body, mind, and spirit can be HEALED. The whole skeleton in 1-3 years. Soft tissue organs and such only months. They can regenerate sickly or healthy, it’s up to us. If God wants us to blindly trust medical doctors or other professionals, He wouldn’t have given us minds of our own to use. You’re a wonderful teacher. Keep it up. Candy
Have you tried going dairy-free? I have Hashimoto’s. I became vegan about a year ago. It has helped. I immediately lost weight. I accidentally ate some dairy a few months ago and began to gain weight again. I’ve leveled off and am beginning to lose a little. Also, soy can be very bad for your thyroid.
Good luck,
Jenn
HI Jenn,
Thank you for your comment. When you said that going off of dairy helped, do you mean you were tested with less antibodies? Just wondering. I was off of dairy for a few years but then got access to raw milk. I will have to check out the possible correlation between drinking milk and the ability to loose. I think it’s also important to know what metabolic type we are. I am supposed to be a mixed type which should be able to have some milk but I am also sure I am not allergic to it so I am not sure. I appreciate your comment and will let you know if I try going off of milk. Thanks! Mo
cow’s milk is for cows no matter how it is offered :raw vs. pasteurized. Lactoglobulin and casein are large proteins that are as toxic as gluten……………try milk free.
This is such a strange and baffling disorder. As I right this my thyroid is so swollen I can hardly swallow. I’m just getting over a bout of what I think may have been a “Celiac” hit on my digestive system. This is a fairly new development (last year or so) and I’ll be darned if it didn’t start AFTER I gave up the gluten a couple of years ago. The thing is - I’m pretty sure I got some flour in a sauce on some chicken in a restaurant last week(stupid me, I believed the waitress even when I FELT like it had flour in it). I was beginning to feel as though the gluten-free wasn’t helping one bit either - but if this was a reaction to that - then it looks like there’s some connection. I feel as though I’m always “guessing” at this!
Right now I’m on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet which is very much like the Kaufman Phase II or III anti-fungal diet. Between bouts of inflammation, I have to say that I feel a lot better on this diet. It comes from a book called “Breaking the Viscious Cycle” - it’s better known as a diet for autism. It’s written by Elaine Gottschall - a molecular biologist. It’s worth a read - she feels that celiac disease is mis-understood and that the real problem is sugars - disaccharides and polysaccharides to be exact.
I have been eating corn and peanuts and have been feeling that I should stop doing that lately as I’d given them up years ago. Candy is right - corn is a grain after all. I’ve begun to crave peanuts which is a bad sign for me - it could be that peanuts are at the bottom of my latest episode.
Lots of things have made me feel I’ve turned a corner with this stuff - I was on Diflucan for a systemic yeast infection last year -that had a huge positive effect on my body. There is definitely a yeast connection with this - is it b/c the yeast is opportunistic and grows out of bounds when the thyroid gets sluggish or is it the operating factor? I was on Nystatin for my gut - also yeast - also helped a lot. I feel that eliminating gluten has had a positive effect in the overall. I still have some nasty bouts but I feel that they’d be worse and more frequent with the gluten.
I’ve taken mega doses of Fish Oil and Vitamin C. I take Red Yeast Rice and Moducare. A “B Complex” Vitamin D, DHEA, Raw Thyroid, Raw Adrenal, Coconut oil, Aloe Vera, Enzymes, Probiotics and even more…
One thing I do as part of the Specific Carb Diet is make my own yogurt - you are not allowed dairy except for certain kinds wherein the lactose is very low. That has helped as well as just being off the dairy.
I have come to believe that the problem is indeed in the gut and that it will take years to be overcome. I think that the more “clean” whole foods we eat the better. I notice that what I’m eating is getting closer and closer to what my ancestors would have had access to - I’m sure this is not an accident! I still eat meat - I find I don’t do well without a lot of protein. Every once in a while I try to do a cleanse with one of those commercial herbal kits. I’ve also started walking - 20 minutes in the morning and that has helped a lot. I think exercise can overcome a lot on its own - why is so hard to get started?
Well, I’m happy to have found your blog Maureen (I can’t help but notice your Irish name) I often wonder if there’s an “Irish connection” too. I’m 100 percent Irish. Grain came very very late into the Irish diet - maybe we haven’t developed the stomach for it! Slainte! Patricia
I am so grateful to come across tis site and confirm what I have been feeling in my “gut” for months. Last night, I made a decision to go “gluten-free” without much information. Now I am glad for your entries and my instincts. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s last February although had had the symptoms for approx 6 months prior. Although the little pill helps, my entire system seems to have run amok. I will start a diet today free of gluten corn, and peanuts and hope that I’ve finally hit the nail on the head. Thank you for all the information.
Candy! what a treat reading your article & the others.all informative. my husband’s cousin a few years ago told me peanuts in any form were not good for thyroid folks, I too am hashimoto.
I discovered a few years ago, on my own that mold was an allergen of mine. I do love corn,& peanuts,but had not looked into or thought of the manufacturing of these products.I do know that soy is a definite no no for us. I am going to go to the site you mentioned it sounds very worthwhile. the gut is a problem for me too.as is weight.I am now on a metabolic diet which is working for me BUT very costly too. I will bookmark this site as you all have been doing a lot of work on this subject.I am 70 but now that I am retired I have time for ME! so am going to really start looking into ME!…. thank you all so much for all the work you have done so am going to run with all I read………Jo Ann
Thank you for this informative post. I feel like there is a connection between diet and hashimotos as well. I completed a 92 Day Juice Fast in June and like Candy feel much better when I am fasting or Juicing. Since the fast I have been trying to maintain a vegan/high raw diet. However for the past 2 months I’ve been giving myself weekends off having a little dairy or wheat on Friday/Sat if I feel like it (very little!) and potatoes - I crave cooked potatoes like crazy so have been eating lots of home cut baked “fries” I started feeling a little off so I went in for blood work last week my T3 is sky high and my iron levels are way low. Everything was perfect and in remission while I was juice fasting . I keep thinking I’ve found the answer then have these upsets along the way. When I found out I cut out all gluten/sugar/dairy and had allergy testing done. I also consulted with a Chinese doctor and went on a course of herbal therapy - it worked the Hashimotos went away completely for over a year. Frustrating that my levels are off again. I think it must be the cheat days, corn and potatoes.
Hi Jolie,
Wow! You’ve really done some great work in tryiing to find the answer to this disease. I applaud you! I am sorry your symptoms came back. Are your antibodies also elevated too? Hope you’ll come over to our forum. It seems you have a lot to offer - much good natural experience on combating this disease. Have you tried energy therapy? Emotions seem to have quite a role too. I think we should all work together to find the answer. It’s great to have a good community of Hashimotos sufferers to share natural journeys.
Take care and hope to hear again from you soon.
Mo
I am new to Hashimotos-diagnosed 2 years ago. A week ago I was diagnosed with Dermatographia-skin writing (common in patients who have Hashimotos)- my skin is highly sensitive. My allergist put me on Zrytec (sp)- allergies, Zantac(sp) Heartburn and a nose spray. I am not a drug person. My goal is to not use any of them and go the healthy natural way. This entire situation is hard for me as I have always been a healthy person. Throughout my research I have found that Hashimotos can cause cleft-palates in children and also infertility problems. This concerns me because my husband and I want to start trying in April 2010. I just had word that my levels are up but my doctor doesn’t want to see me for a year unless something happens. I have had 4 biopsies done and they are cancer free-thank goodness. I am considering going on a gluten-free diet. I also want to have acupuncture. I am a very active person and live a rather healthy lifestyle (food wise). I do have my days though! Any thoughts?
I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and insulin resistance and now have discovered I have lyme disease and I have known for quite a while that I am sensitive to molds. Carbohydrates make me swell up and feel horrible. I think there is a huge connection between bacterial infections, specifically Lyme (Borrelia) and Yersinia Enterocolitica. Try getting a Western Blot and see if you have lyme….I needed 200 mg of doxycycline and then showed a positive result. Good Luck
Hi there!
Wow, this is so informative! I’m so glad I came here. I am frustrated right now because of my inflammed thyroid that is bothering me. I too have Hashimotos and insulin resistance and am tired of doctors telling me that I will be on a pill my whole life. I want to find out what the underlying culprit is and deal with it.
So, I have a question…
Is it ok to take my natural thyroid medication and do a water fast? I have been wanting to do one, but am not sure if this medication requires food with it every day or if it will work just fine without it. I also don’t want to feel sick on an empty stomach with just medication in it.
I’d appreciate your help
Hi Laura,
Thanks for your comment. I am so happy you found the post informative.
I must say that because I am not a doctor, I can only give you my opinion but not advice.
I can tell you that I was on the Maker’s Diet a few years ago and had a movement into hyperthyroidism from the change in my body while taking my meds at the same time. However, I don’t think I would go off of your meds unless you are able to get a natural doctor or some way to monitor your levels during the fast. I’m not sure how long you want to fast but I am assuming you are talking about a long one (20-30 days)? If so, I think you will need to monitor your symptoms to make sure you don’t go hyperthyroid. That could be very troublesome. It is a frustrating balance between trying to do things naturally and monitoring your medications. An experienced natural doctor would be a great assistance for you. I have never regretted my movement out of the traditional medical treatment BUT I still find I need a good natural doctor to help me monitor my thyroid health. I have also incorporated other techniques like NAET and EFT for help through the emotional side of things. Stress is a big contributor to all kinds of illness so working to overcome negative emotions is always a good part of healing.
As far as the medication and it’s interaction to food - I am sure a pharmacist would be happy to give you a competent answer (better than me) but in my understanding natural thyroid like Armour and Naturethroid are just dried thyroid glands of pigs or cow so it would not seem to be a big problem HOWEVER I know that the T3 in the compound can give you a bit of a jolt if you are sensitive to it like I can be. So, I only exercise before I take my medication to avoid palpitations.
I am happy to hear of someone who wants to take control of their health. Keep it up and don’t get discouraged. Life is a journey and health is just one part of it.
Mo
Laura - you’ll want to make sure you’re not hypoglycemic before you try a water or lemon juice fast. If you ignore that advice and try it anyway, be very attentive to any feeling of cold hands, light-headedness, irritability, etc. Stop the fast and take some food ASAP.You can really screw up your thyroid that way (ask me how I know).
Mo - I second the recommendations to try a dairy-free period. There are many kinds of kefirs and probiotics.
PS - Laura: A very helpful book is:
“Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal: A Revolutionary Breakthrough In Understanding Hashimoto’s Disease and Hypothyroidism” by Datis Kharrazian
YES, that is a GREAT book. Thank you Jane. If anyone would like a direct link to this book, here it is. It is the ONLY book so far in my whole journey (over 15 years) that has really hit all the main issues of Hashimoto’s that we have struggled to piece together all this years.
This is the cheapest I have found it so far:
Anyone with this disease will take a giant LEAP in learning about alternative ways to deal with it by getting this book. It took me years and years to find a resource like this and currently I don’t know of any better book!
Thanks Laura for mentioning it!
Mo