Many people with autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease wonder what they can do to see their symptoms improve quickly. This is especially challenging when you were told that no treatment is necessary because you have Hashimoto’s without hypothyroidism.
When Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is diagnosed at an early stage but a person hasn’t developed hypothyroidism just yet, conventional medical doctors often choose a “wait and watch” approach and don’t prescribe any treatment. However, many patients already start to notice their first thyroid symptoms that can substantially affect their lives.
And while thyroid drugs can be very helpful for those with Hashimoto’s disease who have hypothyroidism, it can take time for the medication to start to work and thyroid hormones reach optimal levels.
In addition, lack of thyroid hormones is only one of many reasons why autoimmune and hypothyroid symptoms get worse. You may be surprised to learn that more than anything else, food that you eat (and don’t eat) is the number one cause of many health problems and Hashimoto’s disease is no different.
In order to find out which foods are affecting your thyroid health, nothing beats the elimination diet. It is the most accurate test for uncovering foods sensitivities and dietary triggers of thyroid autoimmunity that you can actually do at home and save yourself hundreds of dollars on unreliable laboratory testing.
An elimination diet can be a very helpful tool to discover what you can eat safely, especially when symptoms become very puzzling and it is difficult to determine what to do next.
Table of Contents
7 Huge Improvements Hashimoto’s Patients Can Expect On Elimination Diet
1.It Calms Down Inflammation
Inflammation is a common factor in all autoimmune diseases, including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The inflammation can affect not only the thyroid gland itself but also other areas of the body unless it is properly treated.
This is one of the reasons why a person who suffers from Hashimoto’s disease often develops other inflammatory health conditions such as arthritis (inflammation of the joints), inflammation in the arteries and veins which may cause heart disease, inflammation in the tendons, inflammation in the brain which creates brain fog, all of which create more new symptoms.
By eliminating foods that trigger pro-inflammatory response, the body has a chance to recover from existing inflammation, some symptoms improve or even can go away completely. As inflammation goes down, the thyroid gland and other bodily systems get a break and can gradually recover.
As a result of using an elimination diet, a person with Hashimoto’s has a chance to heal more than just Hashimoto’s disease because it heals many other conditions.
2. It Boosts Your Energy
One of the problems that Hashimoto’s disease creates is a debilitating fatigue. You may feel tired all the time. You can have trouble getting up in the morning and by mid-day there is no energy left to do anything.
Going on an elimination diet may help you to discover what foods are draining your energy and what foods actually help you to get energized and feel better. By establishing and removing energy-draining foods, you can get your energy back.
The transformation can be dramatic and you could have amazing results within a couple of days. You can go from that person who is tired all the time to a new you who knows what foods to use to replenish energy and have steady energy levels throughout the day.
3. It Puts Hashimoto’s Disease Into Remission By Healing Leaky Gut
Like all auto-immune diseases, Hashimoto’s disease has a gut component to it. There is excessive inflammation which with time causes damage to the digestive tract and promotes leaky gut. As this happens, toxins, bacteria, and food particles enter the blood stream and the body reacts by attacking them and creating an autoimmune response.
Since about 70% of the immune system is contained in the digestive tract, its malfunction drives up inflammation throughout the body, compromising glands and organs, including the thyroid. The result is systemic inflammation, widespread pain and many unexplained symptoms outside of the digestive system.
By removing dietary irritants and trigger-foods and focusing on gut-healing foods, you can gradually reverse underlying problems with the digestive tract including healing leaky gut syndrome and strengthening the immune system.
Don’t underestimate your body’s ability to recover and re-build. As soon as it is given an opportunity to heal itself, it does exactly that. As less and less irritants enter the digestive system, the gut starts to heal, the inflammation in all parts of the body subsides and all systems get an opportunity to recover.
By healing leaky gut some thyroid patients can actually stop the autoimmune attack on the thyroid and put Hashimoto’s disease into remission.
4. It improves Digestion
Digestive problems in people with Hashimoto’s disease are very common and directly related to hypothyroidism and autoimmunity. The one important benefit of going on an elimination diet is that you begin to feel better after eating. No more gas and bloating. No more pain after a meal or feeling tired and sleepy. You also may notice that you start more regular bowel movements.
Existing diseases of the digestive tract begin to heal too. A study done in 2006 at the University of Kansas Medical Center put 20 patients with irritable bowel syndrome on an elimination diet for 6 months. All 20 participants experienced significant improvements in their digestive symptoms.
5. It Boost Your Immune System
People with Hashimoto’s disease have a predisposition to all kinds of infections, viruses and bacteria since they could trigger an autoimmune attack on the thyroid, especially when the immune system is weak.
One of the important steps of an elimination diet is when you remove the top foods that can flare up your immune system. This helps strengthen your system, which is essential, whether you find yourself often getting run down with colds or you are struggling with autoimmune problems like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
6. It Improves Thyroid Function And Symptoms
The elimination diet can contribute to better thyroid health. For example, there have been many studies on the link between gluten intolerance and autoimmune thyroid conditions and how eliminating gluten can reduce thyroid anti-bodies and affect thyroid function. Some patients showed fast progress on a gluten-free diet with an improvement of hypothyroid symptoms along with thyroid medication (thyroxine) dose reduction.
Food sensitivities are now known to provoke autoimmune conditions and make hypothyroid and Hashimoto’s symptoms worse. For many people the elimination diet brings a lot of relief and makes a person feel normal again as the various systems continue to repair and heal over time.
7. It Clears Brain Fog
Brain fog is often associated with Hashimoto’s and occurs as a result of inflammation in the brain and is possibly a precursor for memory problems like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and depression. On the elimination diet, a person with brain fog gradually experiences improvements in mental clarity as the inflammation reduces and the brain can function normally again.
It is a gradual process of course, and it can be a huge challenge to eliminate favorite foods from the menu. However, improvements that happen to the body and the thyroid symptoms are worth it.
I would like to introduce you to a practicing Naturopathic Doctor Kimberley O’Brien who is an expert in nutrition and food sensitivities. She can help you overcome your fatigue, digestive upset, chronic and autoimmune Hashimoto’s symptoms through her Elimination Diet Meal Plan.
She has worked with and helped hundreds of patients successfully implement an elimination diet. Her program is unique because it allows you to identify specifically how food affects your body and individual physiology. Elimination Diet Meal Plan makes completing an elimination diet simple, straightforward, delicious and enjoyable.
P.S. Like want you read and want to get more? Get access to our FREE online Hypothyroidism Seminar: The Right And Wrong Ways To Heal here
References:
1.Treating irritable bowel syndrome with a food elimination diet followed by food challenge and probiotics. J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Dec;25(6):514-22.
2. Celiac Disease and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease. Clin Med Res. 2007 Oct; 5(3): 184–192.
My name is Marina Gutner, PhD. I am a researcher, medical writer, Author of forthcoming series on thyroid, hypothyroidism and autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed with autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism in 2004 and soon got so sick that I was unable to function. It took me years of research to find how to recover from severe adrenal insufficiency, stop Hashimoto’s and reduce my high dose of thyroid medication. On my blog I show you exactly how I did it so you can learn how to get started. Read more in 
