Hello Paleo Diet Team,
I’d like any information you might have on how The Paleo Diet has helped with thyroid issues. I have Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease and am having trouble getting consistent thyroid levels with medication. Thank you for your help.
Candice
Trevor Connor’s Response:
Hi Candice,
First a quick clarification on Hyper/hypothyroidism vs Hashimoto’s for our readers. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is the autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. We measure TgAB and thyroglobulin to track the progess of the disease. As Hashimoto’s progresses, the thyroid stops functioning properly and the patient experiences hyper- or hypothyroidism. They are tracked by looking at the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) levels. However, a patient can have hyper- or hypothyroidism without any autoimmune processes.
With that being said, we had 18 Hashimoto’s subjects of which eight provided medical records. Eight of our 18 subjects saw clear signs of improvement following The Paleo Diet and four were able to reduce medication. One of the subjects provided medical records with TgAB and Thyroglobulin levels over three years. His levels improved after going on The Paleo Diet and was eventually able to stop taking medication.
The primary process we are looking at is an imbalance between T-help cells (Th17) and Treg cells in autoimmune conditions. I’ve read a lot of research showing a clear imbalance towards Th17 in people with Hashimoto’s and a fair amount of research has shown that a wheat-based diet can promote a Th17 imbalance.
Purge the wheat from your diet, and check out Dr. Cordain’s Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (Hypothyroidism) to learn more about the healthful benefits of adopting The Paleo Diet to treat Hashimoto’s Disease.
Regards,
Trevor Connor
The Paleo Diet Team
Trevor Connor is Dr. Cordain’s last mentored graduate student and will complete his M.S. in HES and Nutrition from the Colorado State University this year and later enter the Ph.D. program. Connor was the Principle Investigator in a large case study, approximately 100 subjects, in which he and Dr. Cordain examined autoimmune patients following The Paleo Diet or Paleo-like diets.
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