Update: Please see my follow-up post here describing how I did not do the TRUE gluten free diet properly as suspected in this post. My conclusion in the post below that it would not help is only based on doing it improperly. This post describes the proper way to do the gluten free diet. My journey shows the need for great care in understanding whether you are doing something right before concluding it doesn’t work. ๐ And this post describes the success it had!
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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”. You can learn how to make much of this food through this fabulous online eCourse based on this type of food preparation which I highly recommend! So I added to that a gluten free diet in 2006 just knowing I was going to find the “answer” to this disease. ๐ 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
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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