Extreme Diet

[MichaelJH]

As previously posted my girlfriend has had half her thyroid removed and is being treated with thyroxine. She is also undergoing investigation (recent scan and biopsy) for parathyroid issues.

I try and avoid Dr Google but she is a big fan! Last week she came across a diet that should, allegedly, help her conditions. However, it seems extreme to me. Basically it is free of the following: wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs and products containing same, red meat, fish, green vegetables, tea, coffee, sigar and alcohol. There may be more but I think I have recalled the basics.

Is anybody on or familiar with this diet? I am concerned that she will become deficient in some essential nutrients.

Thank you.

[bantam12]

Is she having tests for primary hyperparathyroidism ? If it's due to a parathyroid adenoma then no diet on earth will cure it, surgery is the only option.

[MichaelJH in reply to bantam12]

They have found a mass on the parathyroid. Her calcium levels are elevated as well. As I understand it the plan is to have a 'look' after further tests.

[bantam12 in reply to MichaelJH]

While she has hyperparathyroidism she shouldn't start on any drastic diet, her body is already stressed with the high calcium. She will need to find a good surgeon experienced in parathyroid surgery.

[jimh111]

There's no substantial evidence that excluding any of these foods will improve a thyroid condition but the resulting malnutrition will make her an ideal target for companies selling vitamin supplements. If she has a parathyroid condition then it would need treating, probably surgery. This diet would leave her very low on protein and soy is not recommended for thyroid patients, so she would become under-nourished.

[MichaelJH in reply to jimh111]

Thank you for response. I actually have a soya intolerance so useful to know it is not recommended.

[Cooper27]

I follow something very similar - the auto-immune protocol (AIP) - altjough that allows red meat and fish. I actually think it's a good diet to try - it's intended to be an elimination diet, to find out if you have any food intolerances that might be causing thyroid issues. It's not a lifestyle though, so she shouldn't do it for more than about 3-6 months.

I would point her towards the AIP diet, as that's much easier to pull off, and there are a lot of example meal plans and recipes out there.

[MichaelJH in reply to Cooper27]

I also thought she requests allergy testing as quite a few people seem to base it on what they dislike or as a lifestyle choice!

[Cooper27 in reply to MichaelJH]

Intolerance testing isn't all that reliable - the only way to know what foods you react to is to cut the food group out for at least a month, then reintroduce it.

[jimh111 in reply to Cooper27]

Yes the tests are a waste of money, at least the IgG tests. The NHS uses IgE but these allergies tend to have obvious symptoms and the IgE just identifies the culprit.

[Jose651 in reply to jimh111]

Hi jimh111,

Pre Op Assessment showed that I have IgE and IgA deficiency .

Can you please point me in the right direction where I can inform myself please.

My GP didn't know a lot about this matter. I have a medical card in case I ever needed a blood transfusion.

Many thanks,

J ☘️

[jimh111 in reply to Jose651]

Sorry, I don't have any expertise in IgE or IgA deficiency, it's a subject beyond my knowledge.

[Jose651 in reply to jimh111]

Thanks for replying, No Problem, I felt that you had some knowledge in your reply to Cooper27.

[Hidden]

It could be a symptom, thyroid can.

[Tina_Maria]

There is no strong scientific evidence that excluding certain foods from your diet is having any effect on auto-immune conditions -including thyroid diseases. There is a lot of dietary advice out there and some interesting case studies, but the hard scientific evidence is unfortunately lacking.

Like others have said here, excluding so many elements from the diet will leave the person with severe nutritional deficiencies in the short term and especially in the long term - and you cannot have an exclusion diet and just pop some supplements to replace the nutrients, it just does not work, as every decent nutritionist would tell you.

As a first step, I would try to eat a helthy and varied diet and get the thyroid hormone and vitamin levels optimised. If there are still severe symptoms, then perhaps you could look at diet carefully, but a restrictive diet should in my view always be a last resort.

[Hidden]

If she has no thyroid where are her parathyroids now? I don't know anything about diets sorry.

[Hidden]

I got it wrong sorry half a thyroid left.