Hi does anyone know about the effects of being a vegan on underactive thyroid please and is there research that sheds a light on it. Thank you
Being vegan: Hi does anyone know about the... - Thyroid UK
Being vegan
Written by
mado
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
56 Replies
•
But you can supplement them?
If you read that article, Izabella suggests it's not possible to completely resolve Hashimoto's on vegan or vegetarian diet as Hashimoto's seems to need a high protein diet.
You can get a high protein vegan diet. This link is to the Vegan Society's protein sheet:
vegansociety.com/sites/defa...
Precise balance of amino acids might be more difficult to achieve, but quantity needn't be a problem.
But they recommend and awful lot of soy! And that really isn't good. Unfermented soy is bad for everyone, but especially for hypos!
Greygoose, can you please explain why unfermented soy is particularly bad for hypos? I never eat soy in any form myself, but I'm still interested to know what it does to people on replacement hormone 
It impedes the uptake of thyroid hormone by the cells. So, no matter how much is in your blood, it can't get into the cells, where it's needed, so you stay hypo.
Thank you. Do you happen to have a link to a source for that info? Am always learning
Somewhere, yes, but no guarantee I can find it! 
If you come across it...
Thanyou harvella and slow dragon. I will check out the vegan society article. I have already read Isabella wentz articles, all of them. However I start to wonder who to believe sometimes with different people giving conflicting advice, specially when they have their own brands of things to sell.
This is why I asked here because you always get u biased good advice without any personal gain.
Thank you very much, I love this site
Mado, do you rely on unfermented soy for your protein intake? If soy, you are making yourself more hypo, whilst leaving yourself low in protein.
Whilst soy does contain a lot of protein, it also contains a chemical that stops the human gut from absorbing that protein.
And, soy will be stopping you absorbing your hormone into the cells.
Hi mado,
The bottom line is this.... A vegan diet is the ONLY natural diet. For 90% of the human race's existence we have consumed only plant based foods.
I'm convinced that my thyroid disorder was originally triggered by the consumption of dairy products which are a cocktail of unnatural chemicals and hormones. This, I believe, wrecked my endocrine system.
As a vegan, the symptoms I have suffered have been minimal compared to most others in a similar condition. Over the years, I have had many full blood tests and have surprised all concerned that I am not deficient in any area and apart from my goitre am fitter and healthier than many people half my age.
I, however, do avoid soya and gluten, and certainly do not advocate the consumption of the many vegan junk foods that are available in supermarkets. Like everyone should in the UK regardless of diet, I take vit D3 in the winter and obtain B12 from supplemented plant based milk.
It is a fact that ALL essential vitamins and minerals for a healthy body (and thyroid) can be obtained on a plant based diet without increasing the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes etc.
Because of our digestive system, nutrition from plant sources is more easily absorbed into the body. Foods such as quinoa and buckwheat, for example, contain all of the essential amino acids the body needs.
For more info. please go to nutritionfacts.org and vivahealth.org.UK.
Hope this helps.
You cannot get B12 from a plant-only diet - which is why your plant-based milk has to be supplemented. There wouldn't be any in there naturally.
Actually, humans are omnivores. They need plant products and animal products. We are not herbivores.
Hi greygoose,
To find out what is the natural human diet, please check out the following:
nutritionfacts.org/video/wh...
Also, many people are unaware that livestock are fed with fodder supplemented with b12 so humans get enough in their diet. This is just the same as supplementing my plant milk but eliminates all of the other health issues.
I'm confused. If humans are only supposed to eat plants, why do we need B12 and where did their B12 come from before supplements were invented?
Hi StitchFairy,
The following link will answer both of your questions and how B12 from supplemented plant based foods is more easily absorbed by the body.
It is well worth a read.
vivahealth.org.uk/resources...
But you appear to have missed my point. Supplemented B12 has only existed in recent times, so what did humans do before that?
Have you read the link to the viva website that I mentioned in my last post? All is explained in full.
You ought to be able to make B12 in the gut, but modern "sterile" living has probably made that impossible. I don't chance it and supplment B12. In the past we would definitely have eaten anything we could lay our mitts on - probably less meat than nowadays, but we'd have eaten the insects along with the fruit and so on. We aren't gorillas (chimps aren't veggie, either).
Exactly!
Just because some extremist crackpot makes a video, doesn't mean it's the gospel truth.
Also, Lentil61 , your statement about fodder makes no sense whatsoever, and is certainly not a testimonial in favour of vegan diets. Livestock may indeed be supplemented with B12, but the facts remain, you can only get B12 from animal products - meat, eggs, etc. - or supplements, which are a modern invention. Are you saying that Prehistoric Man didn't need B12? In which case, how come we need it now?
Be vegan if you wish, but don't talk gobbledegook to try and prove your point. It doesn't work.
I really don't think that there is any need to be so insulting on a site that is aimed at trying to offer advice and help, in good faith.
The "extremist crackpot" that you refer to is world wide best selling author Dr. Michael Greger. This man has genuinely devoted his life to helping others. He runs a not-for-profit organisation that advises people on how to lead healthy lives by avoiding the, often preventable, diseases that kill millions of people every year.
I would advise everyone to read his book "How Not to Die".
OK, sorry, wasn't intending to be rude. But I just find it a crackpot idea. The very fact that we humans need B12 should tell you that we need animal products. I think we are the only species that is unable to make it ourselves. Therefore we need to eat it.
Believe me, I find the idea of eating meat as repulsive as you obviously do. But trying to convince everyone that man is herbivore in origin, is just dishonest. Without B12 you will die, a long, slow miserable death.
Encouraging people to be vegan is not giving good advice. For a hypo it is not a healthy diet. Sorry, but been there, done that, and got the bad health to prove it.
I agree 100% with you. Some people just don't want to know the truth because then they might feel like they should be doing something different
With respect, that works both ways.
I think a lot of the people saying that a vegan diet is not sufficient are citing studies and urban myths from the 1970's and have not actuallly researched more recent papers. Have you ever wondered how those animals you feed from get their protein or B12?!
As PeteRad says, just go to nutritionfacts.org, it's all based on studies, and it will tell you all you need to know, facts, not the regurgitated nonsense that seems to be showing up quite a bit here... (no disrespect intended as I know it is advice given in a genuine, supportive manner).
Meat and dairy are the biggest cause of just about every ailment out there, they cause inflammation, leading to a leaky gut which is present in all autoimmune disease. Then all sorts of toxins can escape through the gut wall into our bloodstream and organs, wreaking the havoc we experience. Heal your gut with the right foods and most of your symptoms receed, whichever AI disease you have. A lot of symptoms of AI thyroid disease are so similar to other diseases because they are actually symptoms of a leaky gut, present in the other AI diseases too. If you continue to assault your gut with your food choices, it will become more damaged and other AI diseases will likely occur as your body degenerates (eg. Psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus etc). I had the most gruesome thick, yellow psoriasis over the whole of my scalp for the last 2 years (gone now though thanks to plants)
I have had Hashi's for 16 years, and in January this year, at the end of my tether, I started looking to help myself, as doctors, and there tests and prescriptions were not helping me from feeling iller and iller, year by year. Changing to to a whole food plant based vegan diet (not junk food vegan or processed food vegan diet), has had the most profound effect on my health - no pills have ever come close. I am full of life and want to live everyday to the full, after being at the point where I did not want to wake up another morning. I now want to live to be 110 years old, and feel I could, but last year, 45 years old was enough for me. This is a great site, it shows you are not alone, but do yourself a favour, people, go to the nutritionfacts website and read and read and read and read, spend every night doing it, like I did for 5 months, and start making the changes as you learn, until you have it fathomed. Our bodies aren't just broken because we are unlucky, we may have a predisposition that has caused the state of our sick bodies to manifest as thyroid issues, rather than diabetes or lupus etc (see website), but we have brought on this malfunction ourselves by not giving our bodies what they needed to thrive. Petrol cars can't run on diesel. What my body needs comes from the same places that those animals get what they need. I cut out the middle bit of consuming them and their offsprings' milk and thus cut out the antibiotics, growth hormones, lead, DDT, mercury, pus etc etc etc. Animal products and processed foods are not bad for you, as in the sense of not doing you good, they are downright harmful, they are causing you damage everytime you ingest them and you have to accept the damage and ailments caused if you are not prepared to feed your body what it needs rather than what you like the taste of.
Yes, a vegan diet can be deficient of nutrients but no more so than a standard Western diet, you just have to make sure you are eating a varied diet with plenty of all the food groups (which do exist plentifully in plants, surprisingly... 😀, and I have the blood results to prove it, and incidentally, I am avoiding gluten and soya while working on gut healing, and still have tonnes to choose from).
I am sorry, I feel I have ranted, but my journey has made me passionate and I am infuriated that so few doctors treat the cause of all these illnesses, they just drug us up so life might be tolerable (or not), telling us that our levels are right and we are likely to get worse with age - It doesn't have to be. Thank God some doctors are finally turning their backs on conventional prescriptive medicine and retraining in preventative functional medicine.
And...vegan food is actually the tastiest and most varied I have ever eaten, not like the 70's stereotype 😀
Incidentally, T4 not converting to T3 is usually a gut problem... heal the gut and the T4 stands a chance of working...
B12 comes from dirt not animals. Livestock raised in modern Factories do not Graze Outdoors anymore and that is why they need to be supplemented
Hi Mado,
I don't no much about a Vegan diet. How ever I just
Wanted to let you know that Soya should be avoided for those of us that take Thyrocine/ Levothyrocine. Soya counteracts the Meds. I hope
This little bit of info helps
Karolly🙋🏻
Mado,
I strongly suggest you watch a documentary called 'What the Health', you can watch it free on youtube, here is the link: youtube.com/watch?v=b5hmwG7...
A diverse whole food plant based diet will give you much more nutrients, minerals, phyotchemicals and happiness than an animal protein diet could ever provide. Just watch this documentary, its based on credible figures in the scientific literature all referencing their points with powerful scientific studies. It explains things very nicely!
I hope this helps!
For as long as we have evidence, humans were omnivores. Bugs, animals and plants. The earliest tools are tools to kill and butcher animals.
Sorry, evidence shows that this is simply not true. Humans have eaten animals for a long time but only for the last 10% of our time on this planet.
Don't know where you get that idea. Don't think you will find a single paleontologist that would agree. Raising animals perhaps but early stone tools to cut meat and corresponding bones with cut marks are 2.5 million years old. Well before you could even say we were fully human. Apes and chimps also hunt monkeys and small antelope, as well as eating insects and small animals. Before we hunted large game we scavenged it and pits with bones that were cut and the matching tool are a common find.
so why do we have teeth of omnivores?
We don't. Our relatively small 'canine' teeth are not suitable for ripping animal flesh apart. We have a variety of teeth, of all shapes and sizes, purely to consume a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. The same goes for the movement of our jawbone and our 'claws' (fingernails).
There are also some vegetables people that are hypothyroid need to limit in quantity or avoid..broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage: everydayhealth.com/hs/thyro...
Sorry, not true. That is a myth.
You're talking about goitrogens, and they are not a problem for people on thyroid hormone replacement. They only affect the thyroid gland, by impeding the up-take of iodine, which is needed to make thyroid hormone. If you aren't dependant on your gland for hormone, this won't have an impact on you.
The only exception to that is unfermented soy, because that also acts on a cellular level, impeding the up-take of thyroid hormone by the cells. So, enjoy your cauliflower any way you wish!
Many of us still use the gland too. Just take t4 to supplement it. I take only 100 mcg because my gland still does something. Different case if you had Graves' disease and now have no functioning thyroid.
You'll need to supplement B12, but your folate will be great. You may well have low ferritin as well and need to supplement - but get them all tested first. I am pretty much OK with being vegan and on T3 only with secondary hypo, but it's taken a long time.
Oh dear sorry I seem to have started an argument which I didn't mean to. I am not vegetarian or vegan. I am considering it. I have a b12 deficiency even with eating meat. I already use a spray
Thank you everyone for the advice.
Good point, as there are far more omnivores who are B12 deficient than vegans. It's about absorption as much or more than consumption
That's because of reduced absorption due to being hypo. You probably have low stomach acid.
HI mado I eat a meat free/ Dairy free and Egg free diet and there are a few things I would recommend if you think to go this route to keep your thyroid and general health in check.
1. B12 & Vitamin D supplement
2. Iron Supplement
3. If doing regular exercise a protein supplement made from plant protein which is not soy. I recommend Sun Warrior Vegan protein. It is a good way to supplement your diet if you are struggling to hit protein targets.
These are things that I take religiously as Vegan and Vegetarian diets can make you more prone to having deficiencies in Iron/B12/Vitamin D but once you supplement correctly there is no need to worry
Awww thanks karenk13. Good idea. I will check out the vegan protein. Take care
.
Warm hello, mado! 👋 ☺️
Don't have any 'research' to point you to on "the effects of being a vegan on underactive thyroid" but do have an anecdote from Roxana that may be of interest:
.
Roxana Improves Her Rheumatoid Arhtritis, Hashimotos And Her Whole Life:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=CX1Kd...
.
A few more references are at: Roxana, 'The Sofia Vergara of Peru' (& now 'The States'), Improves Her Hashimoto's (Hypothyroid) & Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
.
.
Additionally, B12 (& a few other nutrients) are addressed here: Supplements/ Nutrients (B12, Vit. D, Potassium, Protein . . . ) for RAers/ Autoimmuners & Plant-Based Dieters (Vegans, Vegetarians, . . . ): healthunlocked.com/cure-art....
.
Dr. Klaper sums up the essence of it in 5 minutes 👍:
Vegan Protein Deficiency and Vegan Pitfalls - Dr. Michael Klaper:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=1GsGx...
.
.
Also, this 4-minute discussion on B12 (amongst a panel of physicians) may be of interested if you wish to dig a bit deeper: B12 For Vegans? Experts Weigh In - Dr. McDougall:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=wwjoY...
.
.
Hope this helps in your research, mado. 😌
Wishing you the very best of health. 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞
.
Kind regards, ☺️
Kai
.
Thank you so much Kai. I will watch and read.
People with hypothyrodism often suffer from adrenal issues: low cotrisol. Cortisol is produced by adrenal glands from pregnenolone and pregnenolone is manufactured from.....cholesterol. It's one of the reasons why it's risky for us hypos to be vegetarian:
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Vegan diet ??
I would love to hear from anyone that has been on or are about to start a Vegan diet to improve...
Vegan Levothyroxine
At long last I have found a brand that is vegan, it has TEVN on the packet, my old brand I...
Reluctant vegan patient
Thinking not a good idea to get started on thyroxine at all after reading some of the posts. I went...
Vegan Diet
Hi folks
Just wondering is a Vegan diet okay to follow if your Hypo i was thinking of giving it a...
Vegan diet
My daughter has heard of someone who’s hashimotos has gone. By eating a vegan diet and is trying to...
Vegan, and taking NDT!
VEGAN DIET FOR HASHI’S
