Hi everyone. I have posted previously about raised antibodies (Anti-TG 347 range <115, and Anti-TPO 53.6 range <34)
Now having got my head around this, I can considering a gluten free diet to try to reduce the inflammation. My thyroid appears to be working normally - most recent results with a 9am blood draw:
TSH 1.61 (0.35-5.5)
FT4 16.7 (11.9-21)
FT3 5.06 (3.1-6.6)
However I have a few questions about this:
1. I am happy to go gluten free and can do this, but does a contamination undo all the hard work so to speak? If I accidentally ate gluten at a family members house etc?
2. Does a reduction in gluten help as well as completely gluten free? Or is any gluten just as damaging as lots of gluten (current diet is lots of gluten)
3. Is dairy free something that I should consider too?
4. Do the benefits of going gluten free include a delay in onset of thryoid dysfunction?
Thanks in advance
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Sweetpea1234
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1. I am happy to go gluten free and can do this, but does a contamination undo all the hard work so to speak? If I accidentally ate gluten at a family members house etc?
If you're gluten-sensitive, yes. It will affect you. If you're not gluten-sensitive, there's no point in going gluten-free. Not sure it has any effect on inflammation, anyway. And really not worth doing if all you're trying to do is reduce antibodies, because reducing antibodies won't change anything.
2. Does a reduction in gluten help as well as completely gluten free? Or is any gluten just as damaging as lots of gluten (current diet is lots of gluten)
No. It's all or nothing. And I'm not convinced gluten is damaging, anyway. Lots of us eat it with no problem. A gluten-free diet did nothing to help me.
3. Is dairy free something that I should consider too?
If you think you have bad reactions to dairy, yes.
4. Do the benefits of going gluten free include a delay in onset of thryoid dysfunction?
No. The only reason, as I see it, for going gluten-free is if you're gluten-sensitive - a lot of Hashi's people are - and it is causing symptoms, like digestion problems, etc. It's not going to have any effect on the Hashi's itself. That will just continue it's course.
I realise a lot of people will proably disagree with me, but those are the conclusions I've come to. It's worth trying, to see if it makes you feel better, but if it doesn't, there's no point in doing it.
thank-you for your reply. I feel well in myself currently, so was hoping that a gluten free diet may help to ward off the impending low hypothyroidism that I believe is heading my way sooner rather than later. Or maybe I am wrong... but surely with my antibodies, i will soon become hypothyroid?
Your antibodies have nothing to do with it. It's not them making you hypo. And there's absolutely no guarantee that going gluten-free will have any effect on their number, anyway.
With Hashi's, it is the lymphocytes from the immune system invade the thyroid and slowly destroy it. During an immune system attack on the thyroid the dying cells leak traces of TPO (Thyroid Peroxidas, a protein necessary for making thyroid hormones) into the blood, where it should be. So, the TPO antibodies come along to clean it up. They don't attack the thyroid themselves. So, lowering them would not save the thyroid and would just leave you with impurities in the blood.
Many of us are not coeliac but benefit from a gluten free diet. (There's a name for it, but I can't remember it.) (NCGS - thanks)
For me this is because I have been tested for food intolerances and my main problems are oats, wheat and potatoes. So the obvious thing for me to do to avoid the wheat and oats is to go to the free from section. I still need to read labels as too many gf foods have potato starch in them, but I know which sausages to buy, which brand of gf bread is usually potato free etc etc. I do avoid products which are made with gf oats as these are aimed at people who are coeliac, but for me it's the oats that disagree with me, not the gluten.
I was tested for intolerances because my joints were becoming rather stiff so I gave up problem foods. After 2 or 3 months my joints were much improved and to my surprise my life-long indigestion had cleared up too.
It’s ALWAYS worth trying gluten free with Hashimoto’s
You might be astonished
you don’t need any obvious gut issues to still benefit
Only 5% of Hashimoto’s patients test positive for coeliac but a further 81% of Hashimoto’s patients who try gluten free diet find noticeable or significant improvement or find it’s essential
yes with gluten it does need to be strictly gluten free to be effective
Trying gluten free diet for 3-6 months. If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse
The predominance of Hashimoto thyroiditis represents an interesting finding, since it has been indirectly confirmed by an Italian study, showing that autoimmune thyroid disease is a risk factor for the evolution towards NCGS in a group of patients with minimal duodenal inflammation. On these bases, an autoimmune stigma in NCGS is strongly supported
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
Similarly few months later consider trying dairy free too. Approx 50-60% find dairy free beneficial
Dairy doesn’t seem to be as critical on strictly dairy free (unless actually lactose intolerant)
With loads of vegan dairy alternatives these days it’s not as difficult as in the past
I was gluten free for a year before finding out about my thyroid ... so it did not stop me being underactive. The group on here are amazing.
Everyone please correct me if I am wrong. I think you can have antibodies and not end up with underactive thyroid.
I did not show positive on celiac blood tests. If I have gluten I feel ill for a week ... tired / brain fog/pants. Then clear.
Apparently the part of the immune system that attacks the thyroid glands attacks gluten/protien when it gets into your blood.
This all create debris and the antibodies you have, clean up the gunk. I think it was greygoose who taught me this.
I have been on thyroid hormone for hashi/autoimmune for 18 months now. The wise ones above have helped me so much. I have been generally well for more than a year now.
Many 80% or 90% have simple thyroid problem and are treated simply with levo T4. The people on here are the ones who struggle... so you may be more lucky. My message is do not be too scared.
On the cross contamination front, personally I would say that no, unless you suffer from coeliac disease which seems unlikely as you say you feel generally well, some cross contamination is not going to have any significant effect.
I suffer from coeliac disease and for something to be considered gluten free (suitable for coeliac consumption) the present gluten has to be less than (from memory) something like 7 parts per million! In that case, yes, any exposure such as from using a work surface, container, or utensil that's been in contact with gluten will cause a full auto immune response. I do not believe that 'food sensitivities' or 'intolerances' operate in the same way.
Going GF changed my life. I am hypothyroid also, and recently needing to change my replacement meds. Years and years I had bloating and stomach issues, GERD, etc. going back to childhood. Stress from my work triggered my weight loss, changed my needing thyroid meds, and 21 years ago before "Gluten Free" became some trendy thing- going completely GF all these years changed my life- even though the biopsy was negative for celiac sprue.
Finally the medical community has accepted "Gluten Intolerance" as a valid disease/condition/whatever. But to find out if it helps you- it's all or nothing, you need to spend several months testing out completely GF and see what occurs to your own well being after strictly eliminating Gluten. Be careful with buying manufactured GF products that have high caloric content. I recently found I have another serious issue, and have lost 50lbs changing my diet removing high fat products and meats.
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