Can fasting reverse Hashimoto’s?: Hi! I was... - Thyroid UK

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Can fasting reverse Hashimoto’s?

SpicyLotus profile image
28 Replies

Hi! I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of the science of fasting, some people and doctors worldwide swear by it, and claim to have cured a lot of conditions. There are clinics in Russia, Germany, and Costa Rica, that do supervised fasting, and there’s a whole science behind it. Apparently 21 days can reset your body. Has anyone with Hashimoto’s ever fasted for 21 days successfully? I know it sounds insane but if you read about some medical articles about it, it makes perfect sense. There are proofs that it definitely cures Diabetes type 2, and Asthma, but I was just wondering if anybody had done it for auto immune disease reasons and if I could get some insight into it. Imagine if fasting for 21 days could get rid of your Hashimoto’s. I would be willing to do it if I knew it would change my life for better.

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Heloise profile image
Heloise

Hi Spicy, is this a water fast or juice fast? I don't know if having no nutrients for 3 weeks seems healthy. SIBO patients try to speed food through the gut in order to keep bacteria down but even they stay on an elemental diet which includes amino acids.

I suppose you would avoid trigger foods like gluten, dairy, soy and corn so reduce antibodies. It may also give your liver a rest. It is an interesting idea.

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus in reply to Heloise

Water fast

Heloise profile image
Heloise in reply to SpicyLotus

I agree with Marigold. The Atkins diet worked for many people and Dr. Mercola has a book "Fat for Fuel". Fat is the preferred fuel of the body and if you can get your body to make the transition you will feel very satisfied and not have the cravings you feel. Glyphosate in GMO plants is the cause of everything from cancer to Alzheimers. We just had the series Betrayal and there was so much evidence about this herbicide it was horrifying. If you can possibly eat organic, that would go a long way in improving your health.

youtube.com/watch?v=F1rxW9I...

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus in reply to Heloise

I will definitely try my best, I already do, eating organic foods is so expensive though! But we are worth it! Specially in the States where I live now, you’d think they’d fed caviar to the soil! And some veggies you can’t even find in organic form, but they are becoming more conscious these days, so it’s getting better. I’m from Spain so olive oil is part of my diet anyway, but I’ll have to revisit the butter from when I lived in Ireland. And I’ll try to find the series you are talking about. It’s actually a documentary called “The Science of Fasting”, that led me to think that could be the solution to all my problems. One last question: what’s the deal with oats? Are they a grain or not? Gluten free or not? Good or bad? The literature about them out there makes me so confused! Thanks ladies! I appreciate your time!

Heloise profile image
Heloise in reply to SpicyLotus

I do hope they rerun Betrayal but I don't think you can find it but you could check You Tube or go to Tom O'Bryan's website. So good.

Even rice has gluten but wheat, barley and rye are specifically the ones to avoid. Wheat gluten (is the stickiest substance on earth) clumps and will not digest completely in ANYONE and actually tears the lining of the gut and then ends up in the bloodstream. The mucous membrane heals quickly but if you continually eat gluten it turns into a grim problem. Gluten also looks like thyroid tissue so if your immune system activates it will attack anything that looks like gluten as well and then you have a serious problem.

Oats are okay but any grain raises insulin, right? Wheat is actually a grass they brought out in that series.

I posted summaries after each episode so you can get an idea. There was so much information I wish I could have posted it all. Click on my name and on my profile page it should show my posts.

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus in reply to Heloise

Thank you so much! I love good information!

bluebug profile image
bluebug

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disease involving insulin and sugar levels which is why fasting works for it. The majority of people with the disease have to much body fat for their frame including those who aren't actually over weight - I'm sure you have heard of "skinny fat" - so by decreasing body fat particularly around their organs they can control their sugar levels better.

Asthma has unknown causes but some people are triggered by certain foods which is why fasting probably can work for it. I actually met someone the other day who was triggered by salicylates in foods so couldn't take aspirin. She had aspirin adversion therapy - taking small doses of aspirin while being monitored - and now is cleared of asthma and other problems. She did try a salicylates free diet a while before the adversion therapy and it did improve her asthma. The diet is very restrictive.

For Hashimotos, like with asthma, if fasting removed trigger foods then I suppose it would work. However a juice fast would probably be destructive as juices have lots of sugar in them and one of the current ideas is that you need to improve your gut health to help the auto-immune disease and sugar based diets are destructive for the gut. So I would think a Hashimotos diet would involve eliminating sugars so no processed foods plus eliminating gluten, soya and dairy.

marigold22 profile image
marigold22

Fasting for that length of time seems a tad over the top to me... and painful. I've got rid of my Hashimotos by cutting out all grains and eating high amounts of good fats. I have sent you a PM with my Special way of eating (don't like calling it a Diet)

Gussymagoo profile image
Gussymagoo in reply to marigold22

Can you send that “diet” to me as well? Thanks so much

marigold22 profile image
marigold22 in reply to Gussymagoo

Have sent to you

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus in reply to marigold22

Thank you so much, you guys are a wealth of knowledge! It does seem a bit extreme to fast for so long, but (and this is going to sound contradicting), while I would go to some remote country in the world and deprive myself of every nutrient and every bit of civilization, if I knew I could get rid of my Hashimoto's antibodies etc, I am having a really hard time, removing toxic foods from my diet, in my current life situation. I'm soooo weak when it comes to will-power to avoid gluten and sugar, I also looove milk, which I hear I should at least temporarily not have, and nuts!! That's where the logic to going to a fasting retreat came from, and like Heloise mentioned above, give the liver a break. I do think 21 or 26 days of fasting is too much, I'm scared I may die from it, although they say it is easy to put nutrients back in your body afterwards as long as you then eat properly and continue to stay away from harmful foods, but I figured after starving for a while and putting my body after such shock, I could find it easier to stay away from cookies, croissants, glasses of milk, nuts, and crunchy breads. Don't take me wrong, if I didn't have Hashimoto's, my diet is not so bad, I don't drink sodas ever, I quit drinking more than a decade ago, I love salads and lean protein, etc. But for a Hashi's person, that is just not enough. I know for a fact my Hashimoto's got triggered in my body right before puberty when the doctors misdiagnosed me as epileptic, and put me on horrible drugs, like Tegretol, that don't really even stop seizures, for years and years. Apparently you can get seizures as a child just for having vitamin deficiencies, or hormonal changes, and probably the cause lied in there somewhere. I don't have epilepsia as an adult, and epilepsia does not really have a cure, so that means I was getting seizures for other reasons. So basically, my gut got compromised and I'd like to fix it, but clearly something's wrong with my head, when I cannot quit those things that harm me, so I wanted to get away from my life, just to resync my body. I'll check on that diet you sent me, I do try every other day, but then gluten knocks on my door and I get tricked ; (

marigold22 profile image
marigold22 in reply to SpicyLotus

Tegratol nearly killed me. The consultant thought I was having seizures but it was extremely low adrenaline coming out in spurts. Please do try my diet, it's done wonders for me x

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus in reply to marigold22

Aha!!! There’s the culprit! I will try thanks!

Girtonian profile image
Girtonian in reply to marigold22

Could you PM me your diet too? I would like to compare it with what I'm already doing. Currently I have goat/sheep dairy but not cow. Only after midday- I take my thyroxine about 6am. I wonder if I should try cutting out dairy altogether. I also avoid the usual suspects plus nightshades - Implicated for rheumatoid arthritis, which I also have. Thanks very much.

marigold22 profile image
marigold22 in reply to Girtonian

Hi Girtonian Not sure if it was my 'diet' you wanted. I have actually discovered it's the Paleo Diet, so you can google it. Certainly no grains of any type. I ate some oats about 10 days ago and it left me in a bad way for a week - really bad stomach, headaches.

Girtonian profile image
Girtonian in reply to marigold22

Thank you Marigold 22

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply to marigold22

Would you kindly send to me too? Thanks

marigold22 profile image
marigold22 in reply to foxglove

Hi foxglove I've just been brought back to this Post after Girtonian requested a copy of my 'diet' that has helped me. Not sure if I ever contacted you. Anyway, as I said to Girtonian I have discovered that it's the Paleo Diet I have been using so you can find it by Google. Good luck

vivoom profile image
vivoom in reply to marigold22

ignore me its the paleo diet x

marigold22 profile image
marigold22 in reply to vivoom

Good luck....

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply to marigold22

Thanks

vivoom profile image
vivoom in reply to marigold22

Could you send me your diet too please?

in reply to marigold22

I've cut out all grains, sugar, soy, too as well as processed and 'packaged' foods (with the odd occasion like when on holiday I've had a very small amount of rice). I'd be interested to compare notes with what's worked for you Marigold, so would you send to me too. x

Siri829 profile image
Siri829 in reply to marigold22

Can you please send me the diet chart. Thank you

marigold22 profile image
marigold22

Hi SpicyLotus Your Post has been reignited. Since Friday I have been making Bone Broth on the hob. I think you could possibly eat/drink bone broth mainly, for up to a week. I've still been eating things like pure 80% cocoa chocolate (by Lindt), very small amount of fruit, had some steamed cod this evening on its own. Mega pure stuff. The bone broth has the bones plus vegetables, garlic cloves, in fact anything you want to throw in. So easy to do.

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus in reply to marigold22

That's fantastic! I just bought a slow cooker, so I intend to take homemade broth to another level. I'll try and make sure the bones, meats, and veggies used are organic and grass-fed. I finally quit gluten, I'm on my 21st day without it, and I do feel much better, my brain in particular seems less foggy (way to go still though!).

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus

Hi marigold22, I fixed my thyroid, feel free to read my new post that I swore I would write if I had a success story. I ended up doing the opposite of fasting, which is a nutrient dense diet called the AIP. Mind you, I also had to discover and address an underlying cause for my thyroid disorder, a bacteria called H. Pylori that was causing havoc in my system, and a bunch of food sensitivities, that were messing up my digestive system and making my immune system work overtime, and thus attacking my thyroid. Feel free to read my new post: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

SpicyLotus profile image
SpicyLotus

I'd like to answer to my own question that I placed 2 years ago on this post. I have now reversed my TSH levels to normal, and I have put my Hashimoto's pretty much into remission. The reason why fasting works, is because by not eating, you are not exposing your immune system to certain foods and allergens that may be taxing your system. But why I don't recommend it, is because to regenerate your thyroid, you need as many nutrients as possible to do the job, so while you need to find out which foods you react to negatively, you need to eat to regenerate and only avoid foods that are not pro fixing your gut and your thyroid. The AIP food protocol, did wonders for me. It was not easy however, I had to give 100% of myself to sticking to it, but the good news is, it's not forever that you will have to avoid certain foods, except once you've done it and realize how good you feel without certain foods in your life, you may want to. I see an old post of mine there saying how I could never give up milk and cookies.... well, guess what? I no longer eat or drink that, and if you paid me, I wouldn't go back to it, as I feel like a million dollars now. So put in perspective, sometimes the hardest things to do, are exactly the things we need to do!

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