Westin Childs D.O.
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2015 Westin Childs D.O.
How to reduce your antibodies and autoimmunity with these 5 diets
Ever feel like all you get is conflicting information about diet around the internet?
I do too which is why Im writing this post.
Today I want to talk about which Hashimotos diet is best for naturally reducing your antibodies, inflammatory levels and for overall just making you feel better.
If you didnt already know - diet is an absolute critical change you MUST make if you want to get your Hashimotos under control. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it is probably the most important part of your treatment plan.
Having said that, there are some nuances to making dietary changes that are specific to those with Hashimotos.
Im going to be going over several diets and how they impact symptoms and antibody levels. The data we are going to use is from Dr. Isabella Wentz who collected information on 2,232 Hashimotos patients.
Unfortunately, there just isnt a lot of research money being spent on Hashimotos because for the most part Doctors consider it just another form of hypothyroidism.
But this data is very actionable and can help you immediately.
Lets dive right in:
What you will learn in this post: Why diet is critical to healing HashimotosWhy diet alone isnt enough List of diets and how they each impact Hashimotos and antibody levelsThe recommendation that I give to my patients about dietWhat to do if you have Adrenal problems or Blood sugar issues
Why Diet cant be ignored in Hashimotos disease
As you should already be aware, Hashimotos disease is an autoimmune disease. That means your body is literally attacking and killing itself.
The the case of Hashimotos this attack occurs on the thyroid gland itself! If left untreated over long periods of time this will ultimately result in the destruction of your thyroid.
That means your thyroid wont be able to produce thyroid hormone anymore and you will be left with supplementing with thyroid hormone by mouth indefinitely.
It doesnt sound pretty, but heres the deal:
You can reduce and even prevent the attack on your own thyroid by making some targeted changes.
Today we are going to specifically be talking about how diet impacts this inflammation and autoimmunity, but dont forget that by itself isnt enough to completely reverse this process. It takes a whole body, multifaceted approach.
You can recall this image that I use to treat Hashimotos:
The 6 critical steps to healing HashimotosProper diet that is tailored to the individual and helps nourish the adrenals while focuses on nutrient deficiencies and reducing inflammation and autoimmunityAddressing gut health and gut imbalances that may be accelerating inflammation in the body and reducing absorption of critical nutrientsAssessing adrenal status and treating adrenal fatigue or other adrenal problems Replete nutrient deficiencies - including: Iron, B12, Zinc, Selenium, Iodine, and Vitamin D3Finding the right type and dose of thyroid hormone medication for each individualRemoving toxins that may be interfering with thyroid function, conversion or productionProper diet is step 1 in this process, but there are 5 other critical steps as well.
Why Diet isnt enough to heal Hashimotos
While diet is a critical component of reducing the inflammation in Hashimotos, it isnt the end all be all treatment.
In order to heal Hashimotos you must reduce inflammation.
That means you have to address ALL causes of inflammation including:
Dietary allergies and antigensGut imbalance (Dysbiosis, SIBO, Gut infections, Leaky gut)Physical, emotional and physiological stressorsChemical toxins and endocrine disruptorsNutrient deficienciesLifestyle changes including improved sleep and exerciseDoing just one of these is a recipe for failure
There is almost no question that your diet is increasing inflammation in your body, but its certainly not the only culprit. And in order to reduce all inflammation, each area must be addressed..
Which diet is the best for reducing inflammation and autoimmunity?
Thankfully Dr. Wentz put together a list of data of over 2,200 patients with Hashimotos and how changing their diet impacted their symptoms AND their antibody levels.
For the first time we have actionable information and data that can be shared with everyone:
How patients react to Hashimotos diet changesThis data compares people who went on various types of diets and how it made them feel in terms of their symptoms and what percentage of people had a reduction in antibodies as a result.
This data isnt perfect but it does provide some very helpful information for patients with Hashimotos.
First: It helps us see that there really isnt a one size fits all diet for every patient with Hashimotos. Many patients found relief with different diets.
Second: We can see that going gluten free is a HUGE benefit to many people. 88% of patients felt better with this diet and one third of them had a reduction in antibodies as a result.
Third: We can see that if one diet doesnt work for you that you shouldnt give up all dietary changes! You should certainly try another diet to see how you feel.
Lets go over each of these diets in more detail:
Food Elimination Diet
Food Sensitivity Diet (Elimination Diet)What is it?How to do an elimination dietThere are two ways to do this diet:
- Blood testing for food sensitivities: Find specific foods that you are sensitive to using delayed IgG food sensitivity testing. Testing for IgG antibodies will find food sensitivities that you may be reacting to, but may not be allergic to. You can find more information in the video below:
- Eliminate foods systematically: Instead of getting the Delayed IgG blood test (my preferred way to start for most patients) you can simply remove the major food groups that most people are sensitive to for 30-90 days.
After 30-90 days you can then begin to slowly reintroduce these food groups back into your body and determine how they make you feel. If you find that eggs make you feel sick, then you cut out that food group and move on to the next.
Elimination diet food listThe most common food groups removed in this diet include: Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, Corn, Peanuts, Eggs and Shellfish. There is no hard and fast rule for what foods to avoid first, but I find removing these food groups seems to help patients the most right off the bat.
Phase 1 elimination dietPhase 2 elimination dietDoes it work?According to the data using this diet (either ways noted above) 62% of people reported that they felt better, 4.2% said they felt worse, and 43% had a reduction in antibodies to the thyroid.
More information: Food Sensitivity Diets