Gluten Free Series

Hashimotos Thyroiditis: Let’s Go Gluten Free! (Let’s Go Gluten Free Series #1)

 

promo1I promised that September (2013) would be the month this blog will focus on the true gluten-free diet transition. (If you are reading this at any other time, I am numbering these post so you can always go through them at your own pace.) However, there are some very important points that need to be made before we start, mainly because there are a variety of people and situations represented in the readers of this blog and those on our Facebook Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Support Group. So, I want to give what I hope is a fair representation of as many of us out there as possible as we move forward.

I am approaching this endeavor from a strict gluten-free standard. After you are strictly gluten-free for a while, it will be up to you to find out how sensitive your body is to gluten in the event of cross-contamination or accidental exposure in any way. It is impossible to know what symptoms gluten is causing until it is thoroughly out of the diet and 3 months is the recommended strict abstinence before testing in any way (however this is strongly NOT recommended!). I did not realize it was to blame for many of my symptoms until I was truly gluten-free!

Additionally, I want to be very clear that I am not a gluten expert! (However, Dr. Thomas O’Bryan is!) I am a fellow sufferer who has made many mistakes while attempting a truly gluten-free diet and this month I am sharing what I have learned in the process. Please check everything I say against the experts and know that although I may not cover everything, I am hoping to give you the best start possible! I will lead you to what I believe to be the best experts out there where I can, and also give you my experiences along the way. So, without further ado, let’s go gluten-free!

There are a variety of reasons people want to go gluten-free. Some reasons are below (not exhaustive of course).

You want to go gluten-free because:

  1. You know it has been proven to be connected in some way to your thyroid antibodies and would like to see Hashimoto’s reversed, or at the minimum, you want to see your symptoms improve. (This was my reason and it was successful!) For those of you who doubt this connection, Dr. Izabella Wentz has a great post on this subject here.
  2. You just want to lose weight!
  3. You are hoping to start eating a more “real food” diet (here’s a link to my favorite online classes – she has gluten-free substitutions available), as well as incorporating a true gluten-free diet, so you can be overall healthier. This would be a GREAT transition diet choice.
  4. You have a loved one that needs to be truly gluten-free and don’t know where to start.
  5. You have another autoimmune disease (or more) that you are trying to control by diet.
  6. You want to achieve a grain free, sugar-free and real food diet and know the gluten-free diet is a good starting point.
  7. You want to get inflammation in your body down and have heard that going gluten-free can help with this.
  8. You have problems with digestion and you’ve heard that eliminating gluten might be part of the solution.

All the above reasons are good motivation to go truly gluten-free. However, in my desire to be very honest with the audience that is before me, I must say some things that are necessary in order to gain better perspective as we embark on this journey through this series. These are some of the points I think need to be made:

  1. There are no guarantees you will see the success you desire but it is extremely common to feel a lot better on a true gluten-free diet. It can be tricky to be truly gluten-free. You can find a post with my experience on this subject here.
  2. Additional food sensitivities in those with Hashimoto’s are extremely common because they almost undoubtedly suffer from a leaky gut. (The link between intestinal permeability and autoimmune conditions is described here by Izabella Wentz on her blog at ThyroidLifestyle.com.)
  3. Because of these likely food sensitivities, each one of us may encounter different success levels when going truly gluten-free. Some may feel immediate relief while others (as in my situation) will need to find other culprits after the initial gluten-free stage. This may take some time and is why I believe the easiest way to approach it is going on an elimination diet like the GAPS Diet, the SCD Diet, a Paleo-type Diet, or many other good whole food approaches to eliminating the most common allergens at the same time. This allows you to then add them back (except gluten) once every 3 days (or as directed by your nutritionist or doctor) and find out which foods can be limiting your progress. I found this to be the most productive symptom relief I have ever had and I have had so much healing, I do not regret this step.
  4. You will need to decide if you will make your whole family gluten-free at home (meaning you may ask others to please eat gluten outside of the home if they want to have it) or you may have to make yourself a special “safe area” with special utensils and pots and pans to cook with. The latter is the harder option but I understand that with adults or older children in the home, this may have to be your option. If I were to suggest the best solution, it would be to make your whole kitchen a gluten-free zone. This cannot hurt your family’s health and will make it a LOT easier for you to navigate in your kitchen without so much risk of cross-contamination. In my home, gluten containing snacks may be stored in the garage pantry or in individual rooms in an air tight bin and eaten away from the kitchen. This way, each family member is responsible for their own gluten containing food, while leaving the kitchen non-contaminated. I will get into these options in more detail in my next post in this series.
  5. You may have to explore the possibility of having to remove foods that might be causing gluten cross-reaction before feeling better. Sarah from ThePaleoMom.com explains this well in her post here. For many, unless this possibility is addressed, they may not get well. And if you click the following link, you will hear on this 34 minute podcast with Dr. Peter Osborne (thanks to SCDLifestyle.com), that there are other known gut irritants which can produce intestinal permeability thereby making gluten less likely to be the only culprit here. But starting with gluten is sometimes enough to help many people. You might want to just take it a step at a time. I’ve provided the above links for people who are ready to jump ahead. For those focusing on just going gluten-free, it’s probably best to avoid those links for now.
  6. I will not be covering recipes this month but I will give ideas for food preparation here and there (and perhaps links to my favorite recipes).
  7. I will refer you to what I consider to be experts in the areas I don’t feel adequate in. Although I don’t recommend replacing processed foods with their gluten-free counterparts, I will talk briefly about those options and give you alternative choices to consider.
  8. I am focusing on a truly gluten-free diet as a foundational first step and want to re-iterate that this step might likely just be the first step for you too! It is common to build upon this step in order to recover but it is incredibly important to get this step right as a significant foundation to build on!
  9. If you feel you need some help along the way (meaning you would like to supplement your efforts) with a natural supplement that has gone far and beyond the healing just going gluten free gave me, you can read about my success story with this weight loss and blood sugar balancing supplement here.

Finally, my best advice for those just beginning to grasp the true gluten-free diet is to take this month to become more familiar on the whys and the hows of going truly gluten-free before fully embarking on the journey. I did this for a long time before actually going truly gluten-free. And understand there will be a learning curve but it’s best that your learning curve is as minimal as possible once on the truly gluten-free diet, because getting accidental gluten exposure just feels worse once you begin to feel better.

photoI would like to take a “bite” at a time so as not to overwhelm anyone. In fact, I am keeping these posts down to about 2 per week so the information can be absorbed throughout the week, especially since I will be providing you with “off-site” links for your review at times. Consider this a month of exploring and planning for the true gluten-free diet. You might not want to jump in just yet. A month of preparation could be a great way to keep this low stress. It took me over 6 months to switch over my kitchen to a truly gluten-free place so don’t try to do it in one month. You will find that there will be some basic needs at first in the kitchen that you will have to invest in but for the less sensitive individual, you may be able to get away with some of your current cookware. It will be your decision how far to go. I will describe what I had to do but I am a very sensitive case so please take my journey as a guide, not as the exact path you will need. For those already gluten-free, you might use this month to assess whether you have covered all the bases to make sure you might not be getting some accidental gluten exposure from somewhere if you are not feeling well yet.

Unfortunately, for those new to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, all this may be quite overwhelming, as it was for me and countless others! For you, I recommend you not worry if you can’t grasp some of the additional information (beyond gluten-free) I will need to provide during this journey and consider it a “fly by” of what you will want to learn later. Focusing on just being 100% gluten-free will have enough concern of its own. However, for those who are a bit advanced, I will be including extra details that are an inevitable part of this journey.

Bear with me as I attempt to give you the right bits of information for a successful transition. And please forgive me in advance if I miss anything. This is a very detailed journey and one that I will not be able to cover perfectly. But I think you will get the feel for the process and be ready to take it on yourself by the end of this month!

As a side note: I have been asked so many times what tools, utensils and resources are best to have when embarking on this journey, that I decided to do something I have resisted for years. I have made a “resource center” through my affiliate partner Amazon, so you have a more direct path to some of the resources I might be talking about this month. You will be able to access it from the right sidebar of the blog at anytime also. I think this will avoid me putting so many links in to give you reference to the tool or product I am describing in each post and allow you to look around on your own. In the future, I will just say you can find it in the reference links in my “resource center” and hopefully that will make it easier for everyone.

And I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get a good guide for your Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis in order to heal the root cause. For this, I highly recommend Izabella Wentz’ book on finding the root cause which you can find here or even better, you can get the information faster and more conveniently through her eBook here which is great news for those needing immediate help! If you haven’t seen my book review with my personal video at the bottom, you can find that post here.

I hope this series will be a great help to many. I would have loved to have something like this as I was starting out. Remember not to stress over this transition and allow yourself time to adjust to all the details needed to be truly gluten-free. Before long, you will have mastered this transition and in the process, hopefully will also feel much better!

I am going to number the posts in this series so you can go back through them again at any time for review. You will also be able to go to the category section and click “Let’s Go Gluten Free” which will bring up all the posts in the series in the future. Take your time. You have the time to make this transition as slowly as you need to.

Here’s to our healing journey!

“Let’s Go Gluten Free Series” Part 2

The whole 8 part series can be found here.

Disclaimer: All posts are describing my personal journey through health issues and are in no way meant to guide anyone towards any method in particular. I am not a medical practitioner or have a dietary or medical license, and this blog is not intended to be taken as authoritative advice. Please see your doctor, or health professional before making any drastic diet changes! Also, occasionally I find others to partner with whom I have had tremendous help from and therefore, there may be paid advertisements and links to support them and help me financially run this website.
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10 responses to “Hashimotos Thyroiditis: Let’s Go Gluten Free! (Let’s Go Gluten Free Series #1)”

  1. Diann Avatar
    Diann

    thank you. I am trying to do a gluten free diet as I have Hashimotos and I want to heal myself. I get overwhelmed a ton on how to not eat gluten. thanks for the help on this blog.

  2. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Diann – Thank you so much for your comment. And you are welcome! I hope it helps. Take a little bit at a time. Sometimes I suggest people read through the material once and then decide how they want to approach it. I know it can feel overwhelming. It was actually easier for me once I also went grain and sugar free – mostly because I was eating just whole food – less processed food to sift through I guess. You can do it! And you will find great rewards over time. 🙂 Take care!

  3. KYF #051: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis with Maureen Valdivia

    […] “Let’s Go Gluten Free” 8 part series […]

  4. Pegg Avatar
    Pegg

    Alright, so I suppose I should mention that I have been on this journey for nearly a year now. going gluten free. I have had a hard time sticking with it, even though I know without doubt that I feel better. It’s too easy to cheat. My husband still brings in(well me, since I do the shopping but he wants it!) glutenous foods. I think I need to have a talk with him, that in the new year, no more glutenous foods in the house. Too great a temptation for me.

    Also, my son has intolerance to dairy and corn. So that makes it more difficult.

    The part I’m overwhelmed over is that my local stores have very little for organic, locally grown, etc. I think Nourishing/Natural foods is a word they know nothing about! 😉

    Alright, onto the next post in this series! 😀

    Peggy

  5. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Peggy – it can be overwhelming at first but main thing is getting that gluten out and see how you feel. Just a tiny exposure can set you up for an autoimmune flare that can last days/weeks and even months! So getting through a true gluten free period is the first step. Also being checked for gluten cross-reactive foods is a big part of the healing process. Keep up the research. Before you know it, you will have a solid plan to move forward. Hang in there! 🙂 And thank you for your comment!

  6. Sheri Avatar
    Sheri

    Ty so much for sending me this blog. I did the gluten test. I went completely gluten free for a week n then tried eating it today. Sure enough, I feel awful. I ache all over n I’m starting to feel the awful belly cramps. Going gluten free has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to concour bc it’s in so many foods. Sometime I think I’m not eating it n I am. I Ty for your support in this. I also have a great fiancé who is helping me cross over to the GF side. He has no problems w it, but he’s willing to help me n wants a healthy me. I know I have to take this 1 step at a time n if I fall off the track, I gotta just get right back on. I have a friend w a gluten allergy n she told me last yr that I have all the signs. She’s also helped me w knowing what food I can n can’t eat. I plan on going dairy I soy free too, but I’m starting w GF bc I know it’s the most important. I was told 12yrs ago I have a hyperthyroid. I was also suffering from both migraine n cluster headaches. The clusters make migraines look like a walk in the park. For the migraines the dr put me on beta blockers. It slowed my thyroid down n the next yr I gained 60lbs in just 8mons. I was 105lbs. All the sudden none of my clothes fit me. I had 2 toddler boys at the time. I tried everything to lose weight n nothing worked. Diet n exercise didn’t do a thing. I was eating a lot of “healthy” foods, but they contained gluten. I knew nothing sbout gluten then. I kept asking dr after dr why I was gaining weight. 1 even told me it was age. I was 26 by then. I was concerned bc I had gained do much weight, but no dr seemed to care, especially bc my medical records showed I had hyperthyroid. I was never rechecked until I had my daughter in 2004. I was 1 number over the “normal” thyroid limit. The dr said it’s normal after having a baby n put me on synthyroid. They didn’t even give me enough til my next appt. at my next appt I tested at being the very last number falling under the “normal” thyroid number. So they took me off the med. I’d gain a few lbs here n there, but nothing serious. Still I knew something had to be wrong for me to gain 60lbs so quickly 2yrs b4. In 2007 I had my last child. Over a few yrs I slowly gained more weight. I thought I was eating too much bc I was always hungry. When he was almost 4 I was devastated when it hit the 200lb mark unpregnant. I had moved to a small tone the yr I gained the weight n they, my now ex husband, n his family all made fun of me. I was so ashamed. Especially when I was called fat @$$. In late Dec 2011 I started seeing a neuro bc I have a lot of nerve pain n I suffer from awful headaches. Since 2002 I also suffered from awful stomach pain that lasted hrs until I finally would have diarrhea. I would feel like throwing up during this time n broke out in a sweat. After I went, I felt perfectly fine. I was checked for stomach n gall blabber problems n they found none, yet it continued. I was adXed w IBS. Also bc of fibroid tumors n heavy bleeding I had a hyst 2 woks after my son’s 1st bday. This was 2008. When I started seeing this neuro he put me on pain meds for the nerve pain. I doesn’t touch the headaches. He tried beta blockers. They didn’t help. After being on the beta blockers I got to 220-225lbs. My fiancé said “ILY n u know I love u no matter how u look, but I’m worried your weight is going to kill u. I want to help u lose the weight.” He tried we diet n exercise n not 1lb came off. He was floored. We tried several headache meds n found 1 to somewhat help. During this time I found out the pain med was causing me insomnia. My neuro put me on Klonopin at night to try n help it. It didn’t help. I lost almost 20lbs that 1st month on just 1 pill a day. I didn’t relate it to the Klonopin. I was under the most stress of my life. I told the dr it didn’t help my insomnia, but it helped my headaches n my nerves/anxiety. He knew every detail of what I had been through. He switched me to 3x a day. I kept losing weight. I then figured it has something to do w the Klonopin. In 16mons I’ve lost 85lbs n still keep losing. I’m 140lbs right now. I researched if Klonopin makes some ppl owe weight. It said a few ppl ost around 30lbs n stopped. My weight loss was so much more n I keep going. My daughter was DXed w Hashi’s at 3 1/2yrs. The drs have done nothing n want me to wait til she’s a teen n her thyroid isn’t working. I then started to think maybe I have it bc it genetic. I’ve never been tested, but I have every symptom n know I’m allergic to gluten. My ex fought for custody of my 2 youngest n won’t listen to me to put her on a GF diet. Since I lost so much weight I decided to further research the effects of Klonopin. I asked if it can cause hyperthyroidism. It said about 15% of ppl in my age group get hyperthyroid from it. A little bit higher of a % get hypothyroid from it. As I read further I found out that 0% of ppl recover from either while on it. Once coming off of it 50% of ppl w hypo recover n go back to normal. 100% of ppl who develop hyper never recover. They r hyper for life. I’ve had my thyroid checked n it put me into hyperthyroidism. The drs have yet tested me me Hashi’s. I have all the signs, I’m allergic to gluten, n my daughter has it. So I’m assuming I have it. W having Hashi’s n medical reports saying I will always be hyperthyroid, will I go hypo if the Hashi’s kills my thyroid? Does going GF stop this from happening, or does it just slow it down? I know u r not a dr, but u know a lot about Hashi’s. I’m afraid of gaining weight again bc I know it can cause serious health problems. I was told w being hyperthyroid I don’t need to worry unless I have cancer, a large nodule or goiter bc it can choke me to death, of bc severe hyperthyroid causing thyroid storm. I don’t have a rapid heart rate, the Klonopin keeps me from having that. I also don’t show signs of being overheated of having a high body temp. Actually, I’m the opposite n I’m cold anytime the temp gets below 75 * here. They say 100% of ppl who develop it bc of a klonopin have it moderately. Also, how do I get my ex to get my daughter GF? She’s very tiny n not growing at the pace she should be. I don’t want to wait til she’s in hypothyroid, I want to save her thyroid now for her, or slow it down. Whichever going GF does. I apologize for such a long post n asking so many questions, but I’m new to this n want to do what’s best for me n my daughter. I want to save or slow doen the destruction of both of our thyroids. I don’t wait her to go on the weight roller coaster like I did for 10yrs. I want her to be able to have kids when she grows up, n I want my kids to have a healthy mom. I know I will never be 100% healthy bc of my other autoimmune disorders. I also have interstitial cystitis. It’s a autoimmune disease that attacks the bladder n kidneys. But I do want them to have a mom at a healthy weight. I feel so much better w out all this weight on me, both physically n emotionally. It really hurt me to be called suck ugly nicknames in the small toen in Michigan where my ex lives. I moved to Daytona Beach, FL n have gotten so much support from everyone around from the time I was overweight to now. I’ve been back here for almost 5yrs. I’m so glad to have found the support group on FB n to have learned so much about gluten n How bad it is on Hashi’s. I’m now wondering if I have Hashi’s n IC bc of my gluten allergy. I’m glad to have finally had a dr listen to me. Although not 1 of them have checked me for Hashi’s, they have checked me for gluten allergy n I’ve found out throu research they go had n hand. Having 1 can cause the other. I never knew until the other night that yout thyroid is made up of the same compounds as gluten. That’s educational to know n help me to understand so much. I believe my gluten allergy may have even caused my IC bc it causes u to lose the protective lining in your bladder n kidneys leaving u full of bleeding ulcers. An allergy will destroy your insides. I’m disappointed that drs wouldn’t listen to me when I 1st started gaining weight instead of blowing me off bc I could’ve been better 11yrs ago. But it’s never too late to start somewhere n save what I can. I’ve also been tested as showing sights of late type 1 diabetes. Just from when I almost completely cut gluten of of my diet I’ve gotten my sugar levels to go back to normal n kept myself from having to use insulin. Again, Ty for the resources, help, n support. Here’s to a GF me n my daughter if I have to make the courts force it on him bc I want to save her thyroid. I’ve shown very little signs of reactions to dairy n soy. I can have very little. Any more than very little dairy, I’m doubled over in stomach pain n eventually diarrhea. The stomach pains can last for hrs, but after I go #2 I feel better as if nothing ever happened. Now I’m just wondering if bc they say the hyperthyroid is permanent from the med if I will gain weight back from the Hashi’s when I’m finally DXed. I know it’s genetic, so I assume bc I have the symptoms n my daughter has it, I do too. I’d be happy to find out I don’t have it n the beta blockers made me gain weight n that I can save my thyroid from further damage from have a gluten allergy. I know this allergy has messed up my insides, I just don’t know how bad. After having a hyst the dr destroyed my bladder n I’ve had several surgeries to correct as best they can. It will never be 100% fixed. They dr cut half of my bladder wall off n my ligament acts as my bladder wall now. I know I will never be off of pain meds or Klonopin bc it helps control the pain. Nothing can fix that n I’ve tried nerve blocks. My neuro said they r worse than meds, they do it for the money, n they cause more nerve damage. I trust this dr. He’s my dr n he saved my fiancé’s life. We were hit in a parked car at the gas pump n it caused me a severe concussion n he has to have his brain shunt replaced. They lady told the police we “came out of nowhere.” We were parked at the pump. We won $5k a piece, which isn’t much bc my fiancé can NEVER work again, again, sorry for the long post n half of my life story. I’m looking fwd to a completely GF life in the near future. I’m happy to have my fiancé n a support bc if I slip up n can always gets right back up n I have so many ppl to support me through this. God bless u for helping us newbies transition over to the zgF life <3

  7. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Sheri – Thank you for your comment! You have definitely been through the ringer! Please see my story here (or should I say listen as it is a podcast) and look into a Functional Medicine doctor asap! I believe you will get the fastest and most accurate help to get on the right road this way. Right now conventional medicine is like looking for a needle in a haystack even with some doctor’s best intentions. In regards to your daughter, my best advice is to work on yourself fully first (it may take a few months to know you are on the right track) and let your progress be confirmation to others that your daughter’s condition will also be helped in the same way. Unfortunately, we need to be the “poster” children for people to listen! Hang in there and you will soon be sure of the path you (and your daughter) need to take. I think it will be tricky with your daughter because it is not easy to be 100% gluten free and if her father is not convinced, there is nothing that will get her there. He will need to become convinced and that comes from all of us doing our part in getting as healthy as possible by following these protocols. I hope this helps. Hang in there and make sure you read ALL the parts of the gluten free series because there are more steps to consider (gluten cross-reactive foods can keep you from healing and that is discussed in the further parts). Take some time to digest everything. It can’t be done all at once unfortunately. Hang in there and thank you again for your comment. I do believe you will feel MUCH better soon!

  8. Rebecca Avatar
    Rebecca

    I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis 17 years ago. I have been taking Levothyroxine ever since. I’ve been feeling terribly for weeks. Overly tired with a severe bout of constipation. Other symptoms are obvious but I just thought, it’s a fact of life. I started doing some research and most of what I found said I should be GF. It makes sense after what I’ve read but I don’t remember ever being told that before. I feel as though I don’t need a doctor to confirm this but is that the right choice? I’m not sure. I’ve read some of your blog and also some of the links you’ve posted. Thank you for sharing.

  9. maureen Avatar
    maureen

    Rebecca – Thank you for your comment! And really it is a personal decision but I can give you a post (if you haven’t seen it) that will help you make that decision. These are some things you should know before you go gluten free but since it should be a lifetime decision (until new evidence comes out otherwise), you need to make a decision that you can hold onto for years. That is why I got the test. I also wanted to know if I had gluten cross-reactor foods so my gluten free “mission” was not sabotaged by these foods. I hope this helped some. I hope you feel much better once you get through this and remember to go through the whole series because there may be other steps to consider down the line. Take it steady and slow as I know it can be frustrating at times. But gluten free is easy now for me. 🙂 Take care!

  10. Feeling Liberated-Natural Healing And NDT Helped My Thyroid

    […] gluten free thing down. (If you are working to be 100% gluten free, make sure you read my 8 part “Let’s Go Gluten Free Series” for valuable tips and important information you might not be aware of yet!) This diet made a big […]

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