Would following a gluten free diet for 10 years have an effect on the thyroid peroxidase test?

[JadisFox]

Hi - having had hypothyroidism for 15 years I actually asked my GP for thyroid antibody blood tests as this had never been done - he was only prepared to do the thyroid peroxidase test which came back as 46iu/ml (0.00 - 60iu/ml). As I have been following a gluten free diet for circa 10 years I wonder whether this would have affected the result? I have known I have a problem with gluten for years and had multiple tests for coeliacs which I did not ever think I had and as that came back negative I was always dismissed - so I went gluten free of my own accord. Just wondering if this may have made a difference as I was pretty sure I had Hashimoto's. Thanks

[researcherUK]

Yes, there is a connection!

This has been discussed recently under this thread, please check my reply.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[JadisFox in reply to researcherUK]

Thank you very much for the link - I am fairly new to the Forum so will do a search next time I have a question to see if I can get a answer that way first! I suspected as much for myself.

[humanbean in reply to JadisFox]

Unfortunately, you will find that the search function is extremely poor. Finding anything on HU is very, very difficult.

[JadisFox in reply to humanbean]

Ah - OK - possible repeat questions it is then! lol

[researcherUK in reply to researcherUK]

Sorry JadisFox, here is the previous reply about the connection:

There is a connection between gluten and Auto-Immune Thyroid Diseases (AITD). 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 if you have AITD and you eat foods containing gluten, your immune system will attack your thyroid. Even worse, the immune response to gluten can last up to 6 months each time you eat it. This explains why it is critical to eliminate gluten completely from your diet if you have AITD.

Gluten is also responsible for a lot of illnesses. The wheat consumed today has no resemblance of the wheat that we human can digest. If you want medical evidence, there is a lot out there for you to find. To name a few, check the work of Dr William Davis, a cardiologist, and Dr Perlmutter, a neurologist.

And here is one of many links in a peer-reviewed journals, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

also "The close interaction between Celiac's (CD) and AITD was evidenced by the decrease of thyroid disorders and anti-thyroid antibodies after switching to a gluten-free diet. "

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Reply

[JadisFox in reply to researcherUK]

Hi thanks - yes I have read this and known about it for a long time but my question (having never had an antibody test) was whether my gluten free diet would have reduced the antibodies in the test that they EVENTUALLY got round to - there does not seem to be a conclusive answer or anything backed up by any research .... thank you for taking the time to reply to me anyway.

[eeng]

Many people (but not all) find that a gluten free diet decreases their TPO antibody count.

[JadisFox in reply to eeng]

Thanks for this info!