Gluten free

[Sally39]

Hi I have underactive thyroid do you think I should eat gluten free food can anyone answer because I have not been told much about it

[LouiseM46]

Seems like it help some people. I’m planning to trial gluten free

[Peanut31]

Hi

I have Hashimoto’s and an underactive Thyroid. I was experiencing major tummy pains, cramps, tramped wind, Brain fog.

I’ve been gluten free since September 2017, and it’s definitely helped.

Here’s a link to coeliac U.K., (below) they have lots of gluten free information.

Look on the Free from section in the supermarkets.

Lots of restaurants have gluten free meals. When I first went gluten free I went mad buying gluten free biscuits, crisps, bread, cakes etc. Some were awful, but I realised that wasn’t the healthiest thing to do. I now eat lots of freshly prepared foods. I look Schar bread, and M&S white bread rolls, crisps seabrooke salt and vinegar. Look out for foods you don’t expect to have wheat in it.

coeliac.org.uk/home/

Best wishes

Peanut31

[Cooper27]

Around 75% benefit from going gluten free, so it's something we should all trial for at least a month.

It's cheaper and better if you just try to eat foods that are naturally gluten free, instead of using the alternatives.

One thing I would suggest, is that if you have any symptoms that could be coeliac disease, you ask your doctor to test you before you cut out gluten. You can't be tested after you've cut out gluten, and it's better to get a formal diagnosis, because they give you a lot more support if you do (dietician appointments, annual flu shots, bone density scans).

[MaisieGray]

Do you have Hashimoto's, or 'only' non-autoimmune hypothyroidism? If the latter, you may not have a need to follow such an exclusion diet - what digestive or other issues are you looking to address by going gluten-free?

[Heloise]

Hi Sally, Tom O'Bryan made a long presentation of functional doctors explaining the gluten issue. For one thing wheat has changed now that they can manipulate the seed by modifying it to resist herbicides. But even before that gluten is the stickiest substance and really hard to digest. It can cause leaky gut by opening junctions in the digestive tract allowing foreign particles to be released before they have been digested.

Almost everyone is affected but some more than others. You may not be able to tell unless you try going gluten free although there are gluten sensitivity tests.

[TheaW]

Hi Sally. I tried going gluten free but now I just make sure it’s really reduced and cut out obvious sources like breads and pasta etc and go for gluten free options. It has helped me but I also had to give up dairy which has made a huge difference. In essence if your digestion isn’t great then absorbing your thyroid replacement and any other nutrients needed is unlikely so you need to get that gut healthy

[genileris]

I have found being all grain (Wheat, rice, etc) free and dairy free has made a huge difference but also making sure your vitamin D, folate and other vitamin and mineral levels are optimal. I also take (NDT) Naturethroid rather than Levothyroxine.

[bookish in reply to genileris]

Hi genileris, I am all grain and dairy free, too, also nightshades, sugar, soy. Are you getting on ok with Naturethroid? Seem to be lots of reports on STTM of problems with current batches. (I am thinking about trying NDT, currently just on glandular. Thanks)

[genileris in reply to bookish]

My private GP gave me a prescription and a repeat and the specialist pharmacy filled both for me. I have about 6 months supply now hoping that will see me through any supply issues. I’d never go back on Levothyroxine.

[bookish in reply to genileris]

Thanks for that. The problems seem to be more that it isn't working as well as it used to and people are getting returning symptoms so are trying other options. I'm glad it is helping you.

[HashiFedUp]

Going GF has definitely made me feel better. I have Hastimotos. Been GF for two years. Modern wheat is not the wheat humans have had for thousands of years so it figures there might be a problem with modern wheat. I introduced wheat over Xmas to see what would happen - seen then I’ve felt headachy and have loose stools so there you go. Back to GF for me!

[Margiestar]

I cut out gluten about 4 months ago and it has been life-changing. I had tried minimising it before then and that would help a bit, but full elimination has made a world of difference.

[Mm10]

What’s your current lifestyle like in terms of diet and exercise? Oddly for me, my hypothyroid symptoms improved when I started to slowly increase my calories, mostly from carbs. My issues were caused by over training and under eating. I know some people benefit from going GF, but just wanted to share my experience. Best of luck

[Cleopatra73]

Hello I was diagnosed with an under-active thyroid due to Hashimotos when I was about 30 and have been on Levothyroxine since then. A few years after that I self-diagnosed my wheat-intolerance due to a chance reading of an article in a newspaper- an easy conclusion to come to because I just felt a million times better for not eating it and I no longer looked as though I was pregnant!!!! And I was no longer, to put it bluntly, farting like a carthorse...... Which at last stopped when I stopped eating wheat. How I wish I had known when I was younger....... I also felt far less foggy in my head and I no longer went down with every cold or virus that was around. I was told that was because my immune system was no longer perpetually attacking the wheat in my system (as well as my thyroid) and was free to function normally. I am fine with other grains, it is just wheat that I have to completely avoid.

A few years later I changed to another Drs practice and my new Dr casually said "oh yes- a wheat intolerance often goes hand-in-hand with hypothyroidism" which was news to me. Both are auto-immune conditions. The Dr put me in for a blood test to diagnose whether I was medically "coeliac" but this came back negative so it was definitely only wheat that I needed to avoid. For it to come back positive I would, apparantly, have needed to eat wheat for a week before the test to produce the antibodies which the test looks for. As there were no antibodies to anything else then it follows that I am ok with other grains.

So I would suggest just avoiding wheat to start with, and see how you feel. Taking levothyroxine and omitting wheat has worked for me. I've been vegetarian too, since I was about 14, so grocery shopping can take a little longer than for those who will eat anything but thats fine.

PS Get used to checking ingredient lists in the shop- wheat can be listed under several names. I was pretty surprised to find that Soy Sauce has wheat in!!

[Miffie]

Hi Sally 39,

I understand that many people with Hashimoto’s do benefit from cutting gluten. I don’t have any problems with raised antibodies and it made no difference to me. I do better on a low carb healthy fat lifestyle, so some gluten sources are cut anyway.

[Cleopatra73]

Hello again Further to my reply a few days ago I have thought of something else on this subject to tell you- Spelt is the "early form" of wheat so I found that I can't eat that without the same symptoms either, although I am given to believe that some can. So its all trial and error. However if you avoid wheat (and spelt) which are the main culprits it is fairly straightforward to try each of other other grains in isolation (ie, I am fine with Porridge Oats whether they are marked "gluten-free" or not) And, incidentally, Buckwheat is fine because it is not actually related to wheat at all ( its actually part of the rhubarb family of plants) and buckwheat pasta is delicious, just don't cook it too long.

[Sally39 in reply to Cleopatra73]

Thank you I will give it ago