Sugar.

[Diyena]

I have just found out my Thyroglobulin antibodies are 343, which i believe means i have Hashimotos. I have seen people talk about going Gluten free to help get the antibodies down. Does sugar have an adverse affect too? ( I know sugar is bad in general, but i am addicted and wondered if this was part of my problem)

[Hidden]

I have given up gluten since last September, I also gave up Soy/ Dairy/ and virtually all sugar. I take Selenium 200mcg daily. My antibodies have dropped quite a bit. Not sure if it's a single one of these or a combination. I just know I feel much better these days x

[Jodypody]

Sugar has now been linked to cancer as in it feeds cancer cells. When sugar is removed from the diet the cancer cells can no longer grow. That says a lot I think and its one of the reasons I have omitted sugar from my diet. I tend to follow a fairly low carb diet generally about 50g per day max and also gluten free. Apart from oats. I don't have hashimoto but I'm wheat intolerantfor sure. I don't buy gluten free bread as I think it's ridiculously priced so I eat organic corn cakes as a carrier instead as they are ok and only a £1. You can snack on Nakd bars nuts seeds and fruit. It takes a bit of getting used to but I actually think we ought to eat more unprocessed natural foods anyway.

[Katepots in reply to Jodypody]

Just look at the sugar content in nut/seed bars!!I thought I was being healthy eating them...

[Jodypody in reply to Katepots]

Nakd bars and the peanut 9 bar are ok. Nakd bars are sweetened with dates only and Paleo bars too. The peanut 9bar is sweetened with rice syrup which I've researched and seems ok plus its only got 10g of carbs per bar

[thyr01d in reply to Jodypody]

I would just like to point out that the statement about sugar and cancer is not accurate. I gave up sugar in my teens, not having had much before as Mum decided it was 'too much trouble to put out the sugar bowl' when I was much younger. Even so I had cancer in my 30s and it was particularly fast growing.

Also, when people say 'dates are ok' and agave syrup, it depends which aspect of the sugar effect a person is concerned about. If we are looking at 'spiking' then fruit sugars cause spiking, but a diet free of fruit would not be healthy.

[Ruthi]

I don't think sugar mimics the hormone in the way that gluten does. So it doesn't aggravate the autoimmune response.

My sugar addiction is the result of being hypothyroid. It was what alerted my holistic doc to my adrenal problems (my cortisol is high throughout the day/night). And my adrenal problems are the result of stress, and also the stress of being hypo.

Raising blood sugar is a response to the sluggishness of hypo - an attempt by the body to gee up the system. Of course eating sugar doesn't work, and in the long term would result in insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.

And raised cortisol is also a response to the sluggishness of being hypo - the adrenals are also trying to gee up a slow system. And one of the effects of adrenaline is to raise blood sugar. No wonder so many hypos end up diabetic!

Add to this the fact that fructose (and sugar is one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule) acts on the brain to release the feel-good hormones, endorphins, in the same way as alcohol and its no wonder we get addicted to sugar.

But it is bad, BAD news and causes all sorts of diseases. We evolved to crave sugar when it was rarely available, and being able to eat lots of it does not mean that our bodies can cope.

I found L-glutamine really helped with my sugar cravings.

[Bob00752]

Eating a balanced diet is often the best approach. I've switched from a traditional UK diet to one with strong Mediterranean leanings (more nuts and fish, less red meat, more salad and use olive or rapeseed oils). This helped me lose weight. I tried and stopped Soya milk when I found that it was a hindrance to low thyroid. I make my own muesli with oats, rye, barley, nuts and seeds (2:1:1:1:1 for proportions). I have tried almond milk but am currently on semi skimmed. I do try to snack on nuts or raw carrots but my diet is fine until evening and then I need a lock on the fridge! I'm low thyroid and type 2 diabetic. Never been tested for Hashimotos though auto immune diagnoses seem to run in clumps not singly!

[bluebug in reply to Bob00752]

If you feel that you need to raid the fridge you may not actually be eating enough during the day.

Over the years I read and watched things that state the salads most people make outside the med are deficient as they contain to many leaves like lettuce and not enough of things like pulses.

[Bob00752 in reply to bluebug]

My diabetic course by a dietician was very helpful. I hadn't realised that pulses were more protein than carbs! I lost the 2 stone I needed to get me into the 22-23 BMI range and have stayed about there for three years now. Changed from old and unwise to older and wiser (diet only!)...

[Jodypody in reply to Bob00752]

Rapeseed oil isn't good my friend

[Hidden]

Depends what you mean by 'sugar'. If you mean the white stuff you put in a cuppa, that's chemically called 'sucrose', which as Ruthi rightly says is composed of one molecule of fructose and one of glucose, and is colloquially known as 'sugar'. However the term 'sugar' is a generic one and covers a wide range of other related molecules such as dextrose, maltose, fructose, glucose, etc.

'Sugar' in general is not 'bad', but refined sugar i.e. sucrose in the amounts that some of us eat it (either by adding it directly to food/drink or getting it via 'hidden' amounts say in baked beans or processed foods) can indeed be bad for the health. Glucose forms a central part of our metabolism, and can be derived from eating starch-rich foods, which take longer to break down into their constituent glucose molecules and don't give such a rapid spike to blood sugar as eating sucrose does.

It wouldn't hurt at all to exclude sucrose from your diet as you should still be getting sugars from other sources of starch such as rice, potatoes, etc.

[bluebug]

Or you can simply look at the charts of the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL ) of foods and choose those with a low GL.

health.harvard.edu/diseases...

OR

mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk/research/... (Link obtained through diabetes.co.uk)

[Diyena]

I mean sugar as in cakes, chocolate etc. Anything sweet. I know I need to cut it out ( again). I was eating Paleo for a few months before I was diagnosed Hypo, I know it is much better for me. But it does bore me. My problem is as soon as I eat refined sugar, I crave more and more. Must resist!

[Jodypody in reply to Diyena]

Google the sugar film with Stephen Fry an eye opener

[Diyena in reply to Jodypody]

I can't find anywhere I can watch it in the uk

[Diyena in reply to Diyena]

I've found it on iTunes

[Jodypody in reply to Diyena]

Try you tube. I think it's called that sugar film

[Bob00752 in reply to Jodypody]

Wasn't it Jamie Oliver's sugar rush. This link might get you to some of the information. Bob

iquitsugar.com/amputations-...

[cat_alli in reply to Diyena]

I also used to crave sugar but that went away when I changed to a mainly ketogenic diet. On a ketogenic diet I can eat plenty, I have never felt hungry since changing (in fact you get a nice full feeling) & have lost all excess weight I gained through being hypo. I have Hashimoto's & after two years of crawling around unable to function physically or mentally my life was transformed by going 100% gluten free. Once I changed to gluten free cookery books & gluten free store cupboard ingredients it is not difficult & the health benefits to me make it easy never to be tempted by anything with gluten in it.

[Diyena in reply to cat_alli]

I think I'm convinced that this is the way I need to go. Just need to get through the first 3 weeks and past the cravings 😏

[cat_alli in reply to Diyena]

On a ketogenic diet I did not have a single craving for sugar from day one. It is a high fat low carb diet, & the pounds just melted off me 🙄

[faith63]

yes, they are all inflammatory..sugar, dairy, all grains, chemicals in food, gluten cross reactive foods like soy and sesame.. look up the autoimmune paleo reset diet.

[Katepots]

Hi,

If you are eating a large amount of cakes, biscuits etc you are having a huge amount of gluten let alone the sugar, they both will give you inflammatory reactions.

If you have Hashimotos you absolutely need to be gluten free to feel better. Hashimotos is an autoimmune disease where your T cells attack the body.

Research leaky gut.

Read books by Dr Datis Khazzarian.

Read The Immune System Recovery Plan by Susan Blum

I have a nutri bullet and have a lot of smoothies, these may help you replace your sugar as filling and delicious and give you an energy boost instead of cake.

Gluten free takes a lot of getting your head round but once you find alternatives it's not so bad and you will feel so much better!

Less aches, less pain, less swelling, better bowels, less weight gain probably weight loss...

[Bodil333]

If you have an infection that stimulates the antibody production, cutting sugar is likely to help. Sugar (inc fructose) feeds infection and reduces neutrophil (a type of white cell) count / immunity.

[Diyena]

I've just watched That Sugar Film, I'm definitely going to cut it out of my diet!

[Raucous]

I too have high thyroglobulin antibodies but most people who talk about hashis refer to the TPO antibodies and I have not yet found out the difference, as my TPO antibodies were in normal range.

I've just gone gluten free (few weeks) & am sure it is making a difference. My problem with the keto and pales diets is that I have been vegetarian for over 30 yrs so doing those without meat, fish or dairy might be difficult and unhealthy. Not sure if I can bring myself to eat meat again even for the sake of my health, but I may consider it!! Anyone else out there with same issue?

[thyr01d in reply to Raucous]

Yes Raucous, same issue as you, I am vegan and can't see how to devise a balanced and sufficiently nutritious diet if also following either keto or paleo, especially if avoiding soy. It would be good to hear from anyone who is managing.