What have you added to your diet or taken away that has contributed to you feeling better? Do you find eating little and often helpful? Does anyone find the probiotic drinks helpful (ie. Actimel)?
Since discovering I have Hashimoto's (10yrs Hypo) I am trying to add more fruit, veg, fish, water, nuts and seeds, yoghurts. I don't really fancy a gluten free diet. Also now supplementing with B complex and B12. Start to feel better for a few days and then on a real downer 
I don't think there are many people who "fancy" a gluten free diet. I certainly didn't. 
But the alternative was awful, so I've learnt to adapt.
In all seriousness, the foodstuffs you seem to desire most are often the ones that are doing you no favours at all. I really don't understand how that works - but I was a breadaholic before finally realising I was either wheat or gluten intolerant.
On the face of it, you seem to be making good choices with what you're currently eating. But give some serious thought to why you're averse to trying to go gluten free. It might just be the key to getting back to normal.
because I love my bread to be honest
I know the feeling! Diet change is key, and it's important to take a close honest look at what changes are best for you.
I know how hard it is to think of giving up food you enjoy, but if diet is driving illness, sooner or later something has to give. And that will either be your diet or your health.
I used to crave bread, sugar, and carbs like mad. Before I was diagnosed with celiac and hashi's and prediabetes, I was hungry all the time, but never felt nourished. I had desperate cravings night and day.
Honestly, my health problems were in large part responsible for my cravings. So I thought I really wanted these harmful foods, but once we started to treat the diseases my cravings eased up. Now I feel much more in control.
Also, before I got diagnosed, my health went really sharply downhill. I felt so awful I lost my appetite for food and for life. It's been a long process getting better, and it's really changed my perspective. There is no food in the world that tastes better than good health. I know that sounds like a platitude but it's true. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to have to learn the hard way.
As to my diet, it's 100% gluten free (including cross contamination), lactose free (there is a blood test for intolerance), limited carbohydrates (about 110g), sugar free (I get carbs from fruit, vegetables, nuts, etc). This is dr's orders. Beyond that, based on symptoms I've also started avoiding corn and processed foods in general. Even gluten free bread bothers me. If I eat the wrong thing, I will have a ton of symptoms the next day.
Sensitivities vary from person to person, but I really think gluten is a big one for hashi's. It frustrates me that it's hard to find professional guidance. Diet and disease connections are so complex that it's really hard to do this by trial and error.
I would say look into professional guidance for an elimination diet. And get as much testing as you can. Having proof of intolerance makes diet changes much clearer.
I hope I'm not rambling too much I tend to do that
Yes, I felt this in pregnancy, before the Atkins diet revealed that I was gluten sensitive - both hungry and sick throughout. A really horrible combination, along with nine months of intense exhaustion.
Yes definitely. Food didn't satisfy, it just made cravings worse. I had pica for a while too.
It's getting better now I think.
Gluten free. Definitely. Its a pain in the arse pardon the expression, but at least you dont stuff yourself with cakes and biscuits. Theyre too expensive - even the bread is a luxury. Keep away from sweeteners too. They are awful. little and often works for me, amd no food after 6 pm except if unavoidable.
I always eat after 6pm because I don't normally get up until around 10am because I am normally still awake around 3am. I normally have my evening meal around 7-8pm
You mentioned b complex- some people have side effects (even delayed side effects) from b supplements, so that's something to keep in mind.
I'm on a probiotic and I do find it helpful, but honestly I rely on diet to do the heavy lifting. The wrong diet will affect gut bacteria in a bad way that probiotic might not be able to compensate.
Also not overeating is helpful for me, since thyroid problems can affect stomach acid production and transit time. Best not to do too much at once. I find a lot of packaged snack foods really constipating, I think because the water is removed.
I also have some specific changes I've made to help with blood sugar. I'm on metformin which has helped moderate my appetite, so portion control is easier and I don't overeat so much. I avoid processed carbs because they will knock me out for hours and give me sugar cravings. I avoid carb-heavy evening meals, otherwise I get neuropathy and frequent urination the next morning.
If I get heartburn I drink water with a splash of apple cider vinegar. Also I don't lie down for an hour or so after meals or supplements.
Hello Jefner, I gave up gluten and it helped enormously - I learned how to make gluten free bread and cake so that I can enjoy toast etc. It helps to keep starchy foods down though, so I just have a little. Another tuning point was discovering that cow's milk and cheese didn't agree with me and I improved after taking them out of my diet. There are so many milk alternatives it's not difficult nowadays. Also, I don't have much sugary juice or fruit, as these also seems to tip the balance back towards a higher symptom load. Good luck and I hope you see the good results from any experiment you make.
I did a food intolerance test and it flagged up 42 issues so I tend to cut out what my body didn't like and lost half a stone and feel much better
Hi Jefner, I feel your pain and frustration. Increasing fruit, veg, water and especially oily fish as well as nuts and seeds, Chai being particularly good is great, hold on to this positive set of steps. With Gluten it’s a case of mistaken identity. The molecular structure of gliadin, the protein portion of gluten, closely resembles that of the thyroid gland. When gliadin breaches the protective barrier of the gut, and enters the bloodstream, the immune system tags it for destruction. These antibodies to gliadin also cause the body to attack thyroid tissue. This means eating foods containing gluten, cause our immune system to attack the thyroid. Why we crave Gluten is annoying and I too have had to suppress that devil on my shoulder craving white bread! Free from alternatives are much better than they were even a few years ago. I would recommend food intolerance testing using kinesiology. Until I’d had this done, I thought is might be a load of fooey, but the results were very revealing. So, Gluten and Lactose unsurprisingly came out as bad for me. Excluding animal milk, soft cheese and sadly yoghurt unless it’s coconut is worth a try. Recently I’ve cut out “normal” tea as it only grows in fluoride rich soil, harmful to us. Yerba Mate is the only tea I have found which doesn’t grow in fluoride rich soil. To exclude harmful foods takes some will power and preparation, ensuring you have the alternatives available like gluten free bread when the need for toast hits, finding a hot drink you enjoy without milk, or one that tastes nice with almond milk and trading cream cheese for hard cheese are some of the things I have found helpful. The Paleo Diet is getting very good press and one that seems to work well for auto immune conditions. Worth researching that a bit and I wish you the best of luck. To quote Allyson “There is no food in the world that tastes better than good health.”
Watched video on you tube on paleo, it may work but the idea that it's based on the diet of prehistoric man is just wrong as diet then wax varied.
Be sure to check the sugar content of fruit yoghurt.The fig one I like I noticed last night has 18% sugar!
Read "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, an American Cardiologist, and you'll never want to touch the stuff again!
Since Adding Chlorella & Spirulina my migraines are a lot less and easier to cope with. They also high in protein & iron as I don't eat much meat.
They're also high in iodine, so be careful.
Seconded. Sometimes iodine makes me feel great and really clear-headed, other times I get hyperthyroid and get crazy anger of out nowhere. Last time I ate seaweed I wanted to smash things the next day. I had hoped a food source might be tolerable. O.o
My doctor is monitoring it though so I have hope it can even out.
For me gluten was the answer!! Most people with hashimotos have a sensitivity or allergy to gluten. Look up the research. Was super interesting to find out that your body mistakes gluten for thyroid tissue. It ultimately attacks the gluten and so begins the autoimmune battle with your body. Now, don't expect quick results! Look up gluten withdrawel. Initially I felt exhausted, irritable, and disgusting. Probably because most people with autoimmune have a leaky gut and when particles of gluten escape into the blood steam it causes an opiate like reaction. Yeah crazy right? So going off gluten is definitely not something to "fancy" if it's ultimately like having a drug withdrawel. But, here I am after that and feeling great!! I am jumping out of bed, more back to myself, not lethargic and almost depressed, no anxiety, etc. it's amazing how gluten causes anything but the typical stomach problems in me (and MANY other people suffering gluten sensitivities). It really makes me feel so bad for people that have these problems and will never discover them! Soooo, haha in answering your question gluten!! Give it a try and DEFINITELY buy Udi's baked goods, some gluten free cookies, etc.
I think you could try a really strict gluten exclusion diet for a month in the new year, being careful to read all the labels, not merely give up bread and cake, and then eat a couple of slices of bread and see if you have any symptoms. ( I don't think there's evidence that everyone who is hypo is gluten sensitive, though clearly from this forum many are.)
Then you will either have (a) ruled out gluten as a problem for you personally or (b) found one of the roots of your problems.
I find it helps to eat the last meal of the day early - but then I have reflux.
Hi Jefner,
I eat clean food, ie, nothing processed. Lots of veg, legumins, fruit & nuts ~ especially brazils for selenium, & sourdough bread in small quantities.
I started making kefir this summer, to get my B12 & K2 levels up. B12 is a big issue for vegetarians, & I'd looked up reasons why my blood doesn't clot readily, so thought I needed K2, that comes from some fermented foods, & certain cheeses. Both have helped, & I have an excuse to eat brie.
Kefir is supposed to be the best probiotic source, as it's a combination of several lactobacillus & other gut healthy bacteria. It's cheap & easy to make, & better than shop bought probiotics, though I initially started with a bottle of bought kefir. Dried cultures can be bought online, which you just add to milk, or water, if that's your preference, then leave in a warm room for a day.
I also make ryazhenka, another probiotic, which is tasty, & the consistency of cream.
Mel
I can see you've had many replies already and I sympathise with the idea of giving up gluten. My older brother has celiac disease so absolutely no gluten or wheat. My mother cannot touch dairy so yet another alternative used. As I am the birthday cake maker I have gotten used to baking without such things.
For me personally (and I will add that I haven't yet been given my dx for hashimotos although my current GP seems convinced) I changed off of dairy milk onto rice milk. I'm particularly fond of the coconut dream and vanilla rice dream types and drink copious amounts daily. Especially since I now cannot touch diet soda in any form (throat pain, nasty just from a sip). My skin has become very soft. My daughter has bemoaned it since she thinks it's softer than hers now, lol. It's also better for my lung condition and I'm aiming to be dairy free full time. Just need to change my butter.
Goats milk, cheeses, butter etc are good alternatives.
Dairy (cow based) simply isn't good for us. Same goes for most junk food, salt levels and sugar replacements are very bad. It's safer to have proper sugar in moderation. But it is hard when such products are forever before us and usually the cheapest options.
Best of luck with your dietary changes and hope you find the best option for yourself.
Regards,
P.
Edit: I should also add that I'm back on a vegetarian diet and really don't miss meat at all. Well worth a try.🙂
I felt much better last week with more energy and brain fog had lifted. Now i feel depressed and weak. I dont know if i can find the strength to fight this anymore. I havent lived for yrs, i just exist
What you really need to avoid is soy in all it's forms. They sneak soy in wherever they can. Soy flour in bread, soy oïl in your suppléments... always, always read the ingrédients and make sure there's no soy in anything.
Thought some soy was ok as long as hrs after levo
No, no amount of unfermented soy is ever alright at any time.
Soy has a double action on the endocrine system.
A) it impedes the up-take of iodine by the thyroid gland. So if you still depend on your gland for some of you hormone, it will make you more hypo.
B) even worse, it impedes the up-take of thyroid hormone by the cells, which will make you much more hypo.
Quite apart from that, unfermented soy has lots of bad effects on the body. It is not, in any way, shape or form, a health food.
Here are just a few of the nasty things that soy does to you :
natural.news/2015-12-18-7-r...
I have a lot more if you want it! lol
If you've been cosuming unfermented soy in any form, you've been shooting yourself in the foot!
So much to take in and at the moment i just want to step in front of a train and be done with this continual suffering
You've taken the first steps, as have I, to change your diet, so well done on that.
It may help to keep a food diary, so when you get the bad days you may be able to pinpoint food/s that affect you negatively.
Was thinking about that. How soon can symptoms show after eating something that doesnt suit you?
I think it depends on whether you have an allergy (which would show virtually straight away) and an intolerance (which would take longer)
I think if a certain food keeps cropping up you will notice.
I watched a TV programme years ago that was about food intolerances. It said that if your heart starts racing within an hour of eating, then it is most likely an intolerance to that substance.
I have had this happen on occasions so it sounds feasible.
Has anyone purchased a gluten sensitive home kit test. Curious as to whether they would give me a sufficient enough reading to go back to my docs to get a proper blood test
i absolutely feel it too! but if you have something to give you have something to receive
MY HEALTHY EATING AND EXERCISE IS HELPING ME LOOSE WEIGHT :)
Keto diet and Hashimotos
Diet
Diet difficulties
Gluten free diet 
