Please note, I am not a doctor. This is research I have personally done and spoken to my medical team about. Please speak to your doctor before making any lifestyle changes.
Last week I shared that I’ve been recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto’s disease. While this is something that will need to be very closely monitored, it is not something that I’m currently on medication for. The standard treatment for Hashimoto’s involves hormone replacement medication. Once I start that, I will likely need to be on it for the rest of my life. Autoimmune disorders are never fully cured, but they are manageable. After doing a lot of research, it seems there has been some success with people having their autoimmune disorder go into “remission”. A lot of people actually able to stop their medication. I dived a little deeper into this because I was curious how they got to that stage. I thought I’d share a bit about how I’m managing my Hashimoto’s disease.
There is research that shows with diet changes, you can manage the symptoms of Hashimoto’s. The other fun thing about autoimmune diseases is that once you have one, you are more susceptible for others. So by changing your diet you are also reducing your risk for other autoimmune disorders. The goal with diet changes is to remove the foods that trigger an inflammatory response.
I’ve learned that the most important thing for someone with Hashimoto’s disease to remove from their diet is gluten. This is because gluten has a molecular structure that closely resembles thyroid tissue and gluten sensitivity triggers an attack on the thyroid gland. I’ve taken a food allergy test that showed I’m sensitive to gluten, and my 23andMe DNA test showed that in my genes I have a susceptibility to be gluten intolerant. So the fact that I have now been diagnosed with a disease that is greatly impacted by gluten intake isn’t much of a surprise. Note: I have not yet been tested for Celiac disease, but this is not something I feel like I have at the point. However, Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder, and it is something I could potentially develop down the line. I’ve learned it’s important to give up gluten completely if you have Hashimoto’s and gluten intolerance. Cheats and little bites are not ok as they trigger an immune response that ultimately destroys thyroid tissue. I’ve been eating completely gluten free for a few weeks now and have already noticed a change in how I’m feeling.
Dairy is something else I need to eliminate from my diet as it can be highly inflammatory. I’ve been vegetarian for 10+ years now, and I found out in my food allergy test I’m sensitive to eggs, so by eliminating dairy from my diet that is essentially making me vegan. Trust me, finding gluten free AND vegan options, especially when eating out is HARD. I can’t budge on the gluten, so for now I will allow a little bit of dairy here and there, but I’m not going to seek it out. At home I can easily avoid it though.
So I’m officially vegan(ish) and gluten free. While great strides have been made in the past 5 years with gluten free offerings, it’s still hard to eat anything pre-packaged. I have had to become an expert in reading labels. There is gluten in so many things you don’t even think of it’s so insane. While it’s only been a few weeks, and I know it will be a process, I’m hopeful that by making these diet changes now, not only will it help me feel better, but it will also help to lower my levels so I can avoid taking medication. I’m very early on in this stage of what I know will be a lifelong process of managing. I’ll plan to track my progress and share updates over the coming months and years as I find what works for me and what doesn’t.
If you eat gluten free and/or vegan and have some good recipes and resources you love please send them my way!
-Ash