As I have Hashimotos, should I be on a gluten free diet?

[dylansmum]

[Pigthyroid]

Hi! I too have Hashimotos and a year ago I went on a gluten free diet. Whether it effects the thyroid or not I do not know but I was told by my Doctor that going Gluten Free would help the natural thyroid I take to be absorbed more effectively. I notice my digestive system is much better, I don't bloat anymore and consequently don't feel so heavy.

[EmJB]

I'm gluten intolerant and have Hashimotos, I've only just linked the two from reading on this site.

[Flowers2]

I went gluten free after diagnosis as I read that the gluten damages your stomach lining and therefore partially undigested particles leak through and your body sees them as invaders so sends out antibodies to attack them but as thyroid is so similar to gluten the thyroid gets attacked too. Although this wasn't my intention when I went GF, I lost 5kg which was a pleasing side effect as I'd gradually been creeping up in weight. Being GF can only be good for you if you are intolerant to wheat and gluten.

[HEA72]

I have a friend who's got Hashimotos and been put on the 'Paleolithic Diet' which includes going gluten free. She has stuck to this diet strictly and is now feeling so much better. It took a good few months to start noticing an improvement. She's also been taking nutritional supplements (I don't know which I'm affraid), these have all been tailored for her and prescribed by a private healthcare professional, so you'd need professional guidance on what you'd need to take if you were interested in taking nutritional supplements.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to HEA72]

Ooh, do you have any idea who s/he is seeing? This sounds a lot like the way my doctor works, but I'm trying to find someone similar here in the UK. If you know the name of the person your friend sees would you mind sending me a PM? Many thanks.

[puncturedbicycle]

My doctor recommended it. I was strictly gf for a year and can't say I feel any different but it is definitely worth a go as it seems to help a lot of people here.

It seems like it will be a huge inconvenience but for me the only real problems were with eating out, where you can never really be sure what you're getting. And I used to bake my own bread but had zero success with gf bread-baking (though baking other things was never a problem).

Give it a try. Good luck.

[Hidden in reply to puncturedbicycle]

I love your username. Kinda describes what I feel like

[vajra]

Hi guys.

It may be that gluten is only a part of a broader story relating to overall gut health and correct gut function - and hence to overall metabolic and broader health.

I've just posted well down in this thread on the link between gut function, hypothyroidism and auto immune problems - the road my undiagnosed hypothyroidism took me down. thyroiduk.healthunlocked.co...

There's good reason to think that much thyroid disease has it's origin in gut trouble and consequent immune disturbances. Many of the life threatening chronic diseases we see in society these days too.

I've made some broad points, but it's well worth Googling 4Rs (a holistic approach to gut health) and reading some of the material that comes up - there's lots that goes into the topic in more detail than I can or did...

ian

[Josoap]

I was diagnosed hashi nearly 2 years along with fibromyalgia a month reform and diagnosed coeliac 7 months ago so GF also dairy free feeling much better most of the time and lost 23lbs since November my body now seams to dislike my monthly cycle with a feeling of being glutened, joint pains fatigue mid month for 2/3 days and during TOM for 5/7 days or had this before but just all the time arrgghh

[Chiquitita]

Yes, without a doubt... Traditional/conventional doctors don't tend to explain this, but gluten sensitivity is definitely linked to autoimmune conditions in general and to hashimoto in particular, as the molecular structure of gluten closely resembles that of thyroid tissue.

I have been completely gluten free for some months and my thyroid antibody count has significantly decreased, as have my symptoms. For it to work, you have to be 100% gluten free, though. "A bit" gluten free makes no difference.

Most hashimoto patients are gluten sensitive, but unfortunately there is a lot of confusion around this area and people don't understand that it is perfectly possible to be very gluten sensitive and have no digestive symptoms whatsoever when eating gluten. I never had problems digesting gluten... but tests show that I am tremendously gluten sensitive and this has been the cause of the development of my autoimmune thyroiditis (hasthimoto). Once you develop one autoimmune condition, if the trigger is not addressed, you are very likely to develop others.

There is a lot of literature out there about this... unfortunately conventional medicine doesn't address this. Functional or integrative medicine does, and there is general consensus on the need to go gluten free if you have hashimoto.

This video is quite thorough, but there are quite a few out there.

youtube.com/watch?v=IvUgcLQ...(Not working as expected?)

Bye for now!

[dylansmum]

Thank you all for your comments, I am going to try to go gluten free!x

[Flecmac in reply to dylansmum]

I need to go gluten free, could you let me know how you managed to achieve this and any pointers please, I cannot imagine where to start! Thanks