Hashimotos protocol

Has anyone read this book by Dr Izabella Wentz?

Would you recommend it?

[Marz]

No - I have not read her book. I do read her Newsletters. Perhaps sign up for those first to get a feel for her approach.

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

Yes, I think I was hesitant when I read claims of a cure... 🤔

I'll give the newsletters a go first. Thanks!

[Lora7again]

I have read some of her stuff but what amazes me is how healthy she looks .... I wish we all looked as well.

youtube.com/watch?v=bbb2mSp...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden in reply to Lora7again]

Generally, when she talks of diet is it meat heavy? We're veggie/vegan so a diet book that leans heavily on meat is pointless in my house!

[Lora7again in reply to Hidden]

I haven't followed her protocol but I have read some of it and found her to be a typical American no offense to any people from the US on here. I used to be a member of a few US sites and some of the members were always sending me links to different sites which showed how different diets can help the thyroid. I did try some of them but it made no difference to my thyroid and I still have a multi-nodular goitre and high antibodies.

[tiptoes47 in reply to Hidden]

HI - yes unfortunately the diet involves eating meat and fish for many meals. I was vegetarian for 30 years - but went back to eating meat to give this a go. It was difficult at first. I only buy high welfare / organic, but it was hard making that decision. I have noticed some definite benefits from following the diet - I feel my symptoms improved and I lost all excess weight I had gained.... though not 'cured' - I still have antibodies, but generally thyroid levels seem better.

[Hidden in reply to tiptoes47]

Gosh, that is a hard decision to make. I remain hopeful that I won't have to do that same thing.

I'm glad you're feeling an improvement for it though. That's got to take some of the sting out.

[buddy99 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, she is a great proponent of the so called Paleo Diet, heavy on animal products and fats. Her diet is definitely not for vegans. Being vegan myself, I just ignore that part of her book. I find diet to be a minefield and go with those who say that there is no one-fits-all diet (just like I think that there is no one-fits-all medicine for Hashimoto's). Different foods work for different people. (just like medical approaches). I do like Izabella Wentz's books, though, because she explains a lot about Hashimoto's, what it is, what tests should be done, what symptoms, etc and she seems to back much of it up by research. I own both of her Hashimoto's books, but not her cookbook. I would recommend her books (one of them suffices) to anybody who is starting to learn about Hashi and have even recommended them to patrons (I'm a librarian) with other autoimmune diseases, as I do Dr. Terry Wahl's book (She has MS). Over time I have learned to take ANY advice with a grain of salt and make sure to follow up on everything until I'm satisfied that it helps me.

[Hidden in reply to buddy99]

Thank you - that's much appreciated. I will get hold of one of her books on payday then! I do feel a bit 'out at sea' at the moment with it all.

Like all of us, I'm keen to do as much for myself as I can but the bits I've read so far point towards quite a radical shift in diet and it's a bit intimidating at the moment. I'm focussing on improving Vit D at the moment. Baby steps.

As a librarian, and therefore the Font of All Knowledge(!) could you recommend anything to read to do with diet and nutrition? We have been flitting between veggie and vegan for about 2 years and I'm really aware that what we eat isn't nutritious enough but I'm absolutely overwhelmed with where to start improving things.

[buddy99 in reply to Hidden]

Do you have a public library near you? They might have Izabella Wentz's books for you to see whether they are helpful before you buy one. The public library should also have vegan cookbooks. My favourite is "Oh She Glows" by Angela Liddon. I also like "31 Day Food Revolution;......." by Ocean Robbins (it's all about diet and nutrition, website is "foodrevolution.org"), but it is a lot to read if you want to work yourself through it towards the recipes at the end :-). Vegan.com I found to be an excellent website with tons of information on veganism and health and nutrition. And here is a guide to different vegan cooking websites: culinarynutrition.com/top-5... It is only overwhelming at first but after a while you get the hang of it and you might even find it fun to try out new stuff. Often I just throw things together that I have handy or (for economic reasons) that are on sale and just see what happens. It rarely goes wrong. Also: Izabella Wentz has a website "thyroidpharmacist.com "to look things up. There is also the "ohsheglows.com" website by Angela Liddon. Those might be a start if you do not want to invest in the books just yet (and rather spend the money on nutritious food ). Betterworldbooks.com is my first go-to when looking for books. They are often (but not always!) less expensive. Lots of options out there. Just take one step at a time and boldly go forward. Be kind to yourself and have patience and compassion with yourself. It takes time to find your way. There is always more to explore and adjust. One step at a time. You'll find your path. I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe all the info I gave you here might be overwhelming in itself. Never ask a librarian for help on a subject they're interested in. You'll be buried :D. I hope you can find something useful. Best of luck (and success).

[Cooper27]

I've done it, and it actually does help. I had high antibodies, in range test results, but still felt a host of thyroid symptoms. The protocol made me feel well again, that feeling has lasted nearly 2 years now.

I've been slipping with diet though (did a gluten challenge to be tested for coeliac, relying on processed foods a bit more) and I can feel the fatigue now. Brain fog is still gone though.

[Lora7again in reply to Cooper27]

That is good to hear but it doesn't help everyone as we are all different.

[Cooper27 in reply to Lora7again]

Have you tried it yourself? I'm sorry to hear if it didn't work for you.

My answer to the original question is that I would recommend giving it a try though. There's not a lot to lose from trying.

The book utilises the autoimmune protocol. A very small scale clinical trial has been done for the diet, with 14 Hashimotos patients. All found their symptoms improved.

[Lora7again in reply to Cooper27]

I don't think I have hashi's because I had my goiter scanned last year and the experienced consultant who did it said mine looked nothing like someone who had the disease and she had scanned hundreds. When you are desperate to feel well you will try anything and I tried gluten free for 6 months which didn't make any difference either. As for hair loss solutions I have tried numerous and none worked. All I know is if my levels are slightly too high or too low for me I get hairloss and loads of other nasty symptoms. At the moment I feel well with a TSH of 0.38 and T4 at top of the range at 22. I am taking nothing except vitamin D at the moment but I don't know how long this will last this time.

[Cooper27 in reply to Lora7again]

It is frustrating that there aren't more resources to help, but I suppose this book is targeting those with the underlying autoimmune cause so it wouldn't be very helpful in your case.

I actually never thought gluten was an issue for me until I realised every time I had a bit, I got dermatitis. I always expected a far more obvious reaction (my partner has coeliac disease, so maybe that skewed me).

[Lora7again in reply to Cooper27]

I do know I cannot drink much coffee which I love so I limit myself to one a day. I actually had a thyroid storm in July of last year and was admitted to hospital after attending a friends wedding. I think drinking too many coffees and perhaps too much champagne might have contributed to it. It was a very scary experience and the consultant in A & E thought I was having a heart attack. What was worrying was that he actually told me he knew nothing about thyroid disease!

[bookish in reply to Lora7again]

Interesting about the coffee. I've never been that great with it, but found when doing a genetic test for other stuff that there is a gene that controls the enzymes that break down caffeine, and mine is not functioning properly (too slow). This enzyme (CYP1A2) also metabolises oestrogen so may be causing other issues (as it is with me). If you are oestrogen dominant, seems a good idea to limit caffeine so that you aren't using up your reduced enzyme function on the caffeine when you very much need it for the oestrone/oestradiol. Thyroid function being strongly affected by oestrogen too...all makes you think. I made the mistake of having half my thyroid out because of nodules before I knew that oestrogen could be a cause. Best wishes

[Lora7again in reply to bookish]

I don't think I have much oestrogen because I am 60 now and I don't take HRT.

[bookish in reply to Lora7again]

You may be surprised - the point is, hormones need to be in balance. Progesterone is protective, as is thyroid hormone, Vit E, magnesium. Oestrogen is not. I'm 55 and mine is still absolutely too high, relatively. But I'm glad that you don't take HRT. Lots of ways to naturally support your liver to detoxify oestrogen (and everything else that we throw at it). Cheers

[Lora7again in reply to bookish]

I should of added that I don't take HRT because of a family history of breast cancer. I actually feel a lot better after going through the menopause at 55 and don't think I need to balance my hormones.

[bookish in reply to Lora7again]

One of many good reasons not to use it. We have the same in the family, and all have multiple genetic oestrogen issues plus low glutathione and poor detoxification. Now I know more about it, I can see that I have had increasing signs of inability to properly metabolise (rather than just constantly recirculate) oestrogens since I was 12. Glad to hear that you are feeling so well. Best wishes

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

That's great to hear! Although as it's meat-heavy it will be the last resort for me as a veggie but I will be interested to read the science.

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

It's the main drawback, if you aren't a meat eater it doesn't really provide a well rounded diet. I suspect there are ways to adapt the diet for vegetarians, perhaps by holding onto legumes?

I did the diet without removing nightshades, and it still worked. cutting out spices and courgettes was a step too far for me.

[CBDB]

Yes, it would be good which books (for me specifically Hashimotos) this community generally trusts in, as I have read three and they can have conflicting information. They also have been published ca 10 years apart, and the research has obviously changed how we view this condition, specifically Hashimotos, which 15 years ago, I remember, nobody talked about and now it seems the dominant Hypothyroid condition?

[bookish in reply to CBDB]

Hi, just wondered which three? I started with Dr Peatfield's which was useful but for me Datis Kharrazian's 'Why do I still have thyroid symptoms' has been more relevant. It is 10 years old but so much information - and his site is useful too, especially for those of us with multiple autoimmunity issues. Cheers

[CBDB in reply to bookish]

Yes: 1) Durrant-Peatfield ; 2) Haskell 3) Wentz.

[redandgreen]

Yes. It is most informative. I also found this wonderful site through her.

[MichelleHarris]

I was diagnosed 15 months ago. I have read her books and am following the protocol. She makes sense to me and I would recommend it x

[Hidden]

Thank you all, very much appreciated! Roll on payday and my amazon order!