How to Heal Hashimoto’s Disease in 2022

• Ann
• January 17th, 2022

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“All disease begins in the gut. “ – Hippocrates

What is Hashimoto’s Disease

According to the mayo clinic, hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck below your Adam’s apple. As a result of your thyroid being inflamed and under attack by the immune system producing a specific antibody in which causes the thyroid to not produce enough thyroid hormone. Your tsh level becomes suboptimal in which your healthcare provider will recommend prescription thyroid medication.

How to determine if you have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

In order to get officially diagnosed with Hashimoto’s you’ll need a simple blood tests to confirm whether you have hashimoto’s or not. Here is where it can get tricky. Most conventional medicine doctors will run a basic thyroid panel and tell you, “Your Thyroid looks normal! See you next year!” But yet you’re still left with your symptoms and health problems that you came in complaining about, am I right?!

This is why in the united states it can take up to 5 years to get a proper diagnosis with this thyroid disease and get put on medication. Not to mention medication doesn’t solve or get rid of all or many of your thyroid symptoms. Thyroid hormone replacement medication such as Synthroid or Levothyroxine are generic brands that may provide immediate relief in the very beginning but then after your body adjusts, you’ll need to go back in to up your dosage.

Next time your doctor tells you your labs all look normal but you suspect Hashimoto’s ask your doctor for a copy and check out your optimal ranges verses the lab ranges.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone is released from your pituitary gland to communicate with your thyroid. If your TSH is high, it’s sort of like your brain shouting at your thyroid to work harder. Research has linked (34) a lab “normal” TSH of 2.5-3.5 mlU/mL with a 69% risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. Now you can see why the optimal (functional) range is so important for your health. Forget the larger reference ranges and aim for what’s optimal:

Lab range: .45-5.5 mlU/L

Optimal range: 1.8-2.5 mlU/L

If you are someone who wants to skip the doctors office visit all together because you’re ready to break up with your PCP because you feel as though he/she isn’t listening, I got you covered!

You can use this link to order your Thyroid Testing Kit. You’ll definitely want to purchase the Thyroid Antibody Testing Kit. This one will test for the two thyroid antibodies:

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab optimal range: 0-15 IU/mL

Thyroglobulin Ab optimal range: 0-0.9 IU/mL

What I love about the ease of this testing kit is that it’s mailed to your home and it’s a simple finger prick verses a blood draw. Sometimes a blood draw can leave me with a headache by the end of the day, not to mention the inconvenience of taking time off from your already busy day to got to the doctors office just to get a blood draw. I don’t know about you but my doctor’s office is never on time with any appointment. During this covid climate, I HATE waiting in lobbies.

Let’s Get Checked is easy and convenient! Just follow the instructions and mail your kit back. Your results are emailed to you within a few days! If needed a doctor is available to provide you with a prescription is they detect an underactive thyroid. You can get a discount using my discount code AnnetteG30 for 20% off!

Click this link to order your testing kit today and use my discount code ANNETTEG30 at checkout.

Again, get your 20% off by entering discount code AnnetteG30. Click HERE to purchase!

If you do have Hashimoto’s disease don’t worry! You can reverse Hashimoto’s. This isn’t a life sentence and you can put it in remission. Let me tell you and show you how but first you must first understand how and why this happened.

What is the root cause of hashimoto’s disease

This is the best question to ask and to understand because this question gets over looked at every.single.doctors.visit. Doctors are so quick to diagnose and put you thyroid hormone.

Most doctors and what research will say is that Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disorder in which your body suddenly starts attacking the thyroid gland which then affects your thyroid hormone levels as we already mentioned.

Why does the body suddenly start attacking the thyroid? It’s such a mystery according to the medical community. So one day your body just went haywire and started to attack the thyroid?!

NO, absolutely not. Your body is a very highly intelligent organism. It would NOT self-destruct or turn on it’s self for no apparent reason. Here are possible causes that doctors can’t conclude or test for therefore they don’t mention them to you.

Underlying Causes For Thyroid Dysfunction

Here are some possible causes for Hashimoto’s and also subclinical hypothyroidism. In order to treat the root cause we need to understand what triggers the immune system to attack the thyroid in the first place. Only then can we begin to mitigate these triggers to start a path to true healing.

1. Stress

Research has confirmed the stress-thyroid connection. Two studies, one from 1991 (11) and the other from 2001, (12) both found that autoimmune thyroid patients had more stressful life events before their diagnosis, compared to control groups.

Many of my clients discovered that their thyroid problems started after a stressful time in their lives. I like to partake in stress-busting practices like mindfulness meditation and yoga. These activate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which will make you feel more zen, while also boosting healthy thyroid function.

2. Food intolerances

If you are predisposed to an autoimmune disease, certain foods can cause an immune response to overreact. Specific foods such as gluten, eggs, and dairy can contribute (13) to inflammation which can further perpetuate symptoms and autoimmune flare-ups. More on this later but this is why I recommend a gluten-free diet and then to work up to eliminating dairy and eggs for a temporary period. An elimination diet can be so, so helpful in your recovery.

3. Nutrient deficiencies

Your body relies on a certain amount of specific nutrients for your immune system to function optimally. Deficiencies in selenium (15) and vitamin D (16) have been linked to poor immune function in people with autoimmune thyroid conditions. Vitamin d deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies and can be one of the reasons why you feel so darn tired all the time.

4. Gut problems

Close to 80 percent of your immune system is found in your microbiome. A compromised gut like in leaky gut syndrome due to gluten sensitivity can contribute to poor immune health. Also, 20 percent of your T4 is converted to T3 in the gut, specifically in the liver. This is why we focus on healthy fats and also lowering your fat intake from unhealthy sources. If the liver is overwhelmed by a high fat diet, it’s going to slack on hormone conversion as well as other essential processes in the body (more on this later).

5. Toxin exposure

Our world has become increasingly toxic. Studies have shown that chemicals and heavy metals can cause an autoimmune response (18) against the thyroid. You can measure your toxicity levels through labs such as a urine heavy metal panel.

6. Estrogen imbalances

Proper levels of hormones are important for optimal health. An imbalance of estrogen in women has been shown to trigger autoimmune thyroid problems.

7. Blood sugar dysregulation

PCOS, insulin resistance, or other blood sugar problems can contribute and exacerbate Hashimoto’s.

9. Infections

Infections, including bacterial, parasitic, fungal, and yeast, are associated (21) with just about every autoimmune condition. This could be due to the fact that the majority of our immune system is produced from the gut microbiome, so when infections enter the gut, they can alter immune activity.

This can become a trigger for autoimmune thyroid disorders (AITD). In the above study, 36% of Graves’ disease disease patients had evidence of a recent viral or bacterial infection. Avoiding or immediately treating infections may prevent this chain of events. (*exerted from Dr. Will Cole blog)

10. Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners like saccharine (Sweet’N Low), sucralose (Splenda), and aspartame (Equal and NutraSweet) are in many diet and zero-calorie drinks and foods, but even though people may believe that reducing calories with these products is good for health, the fact is that simply eliminating artificial sweeteners and diet soda alone may reverse Hashimoto’s. The mechanism seems to be their proven negative effect on the microbiome.

11. Smoking

By now, everyone knows that smoking is destructive to good health. Multiple studies have examined the effects of smoking on people with autoimmune thyroid disorders. One study (22) observed an increase in autoimmune hypothyroidism in women smokers, while another study showed an increase in Graves’ disease in smokers.

But studies have shown that a decrease (23) in thyroid function could be reversed by taking n-acetylcysteine (NAC), and by increasing the super-antioxidant glutathione. NAC is by far one of the first supplements I would recommend for optimal healing and to start there!

12. Low vitamin A

Low vitamin A can spell trouble for your thyroid because this fat-soluble vitamin has been shown (24) to boost T3 levels and normalize TSH. It’s best to always take a multivitamin that contains Vitamin A.

Plant carotenes, a precursor to vitamin A, are found in sweet potatoes and carrots, but the conversion rate to the usable retinol is very weak.

13. Low selenium

Selenium is essential (26) to convert T4 to T3 in your liver. Selenium also protects (27) against autoimmune thyroid problems. One of my personal daily supplements is Selenium by Pure Encapsulations.

14. Low iron

Iron is needed (28) for the production of thyroid peroxidase, the enzyme used to make your thyroid hormones.

If you have low iron, the most important thing to discover first is the underlying problem that’s causing the iron deficiency. Healing your gut is essential for healthy nutrient absorption, especially iron. Once the gut is healed, iron-rich foods like lentils, beans, spinach, kale, chia seeds, cashews, etc can be absorbed properly. Maximize your absorption by pairing your foods with Vitamin C or or taking your Vitamin C supplement with every meal.

16. Hormone imbalances

Your hormones are all connected, and the ripple effect from dysfunction in one endocrine gland outputting any hormone can negatively affect your thyroid. Low estrogen, (30) insulin resistance, and low testosterone (31) were all found to inhibit thyroid function. Depending on your individual hormone problems, solutions will vary.

17. Pain

Being in chronic pain has been shown (31) to suppress deiodinase, the liver enzyme that converts 80 percent of your T4 into your active T3.

There is no simple answer for this. No one chooses to be in chronic pain, but there are many therapies that may help. I have seen some success with liposomal turmeric, which has great bioavailability compared to the standard version of this anti-inflammatory natural product.

How to Heal Hashimoto’s from a Holistic Approach

Here is the meat potatoes to this article. A holistic intervention consists of a protocol and lifestyle changes in your daily routines that eliminates inflammatory foods and adds the healing foods.

The inflammatory foods are, gluten, dairy, and eggs. Notice how I didn’t say GRAIN FREE, only gluten free.

Grains are essential and you will needs these as part of your daily diet!

The foods I have clients eliminate right from the start are start in my Thyroid Method course is the elimination of gluten, dairy, and eggs.

I know, I know what you’re thinking. You love cheese or what is there left to eat for breakfast or you can’t give up bread or pasta!!

Trust me, here. You will feel A LOT better and you will notice that rheumatoid arthritis suddenly disappeared or your hair loss is not as prominent as it used to be (don’t get me started on hair loss). Your once dry skin is no longer dry or cracked. Once you start eliminating these foods your thyroid condition drastically improves and your antibody levels fall bellow the elevated ranges. It’s A LOT easier than you think.

Start out with eliminating gluten the first week and then dairy the second week and then eggs the third week. I also recommend to my clients, to start off with one meal at a time.

So the first week just focus on removing gluten from breakfast. I have an amazing FREE breakfast recipe Ebook just for this! It’s super simple, with easy to follow recipes. Join my newsletter and you’ll receive the Ebook directly to your inbox.

Then the second week, focus on breakfast and lunch and eliminate gluten from lunch. I get most of my meal planning ideas from Pinterest. I’m a visual person and Pinterest has a lot of plant-based copy cat meals.

A plant-based lifestyle is going to heal your thyroid symptoms, improve your gut health, boost your immune system, and not to mention you’ll lose weight as a natural byproduct. I know weight gain

is often the biggest and most common cause of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s. If you dealt with chronic inflammation of the joints, nerves, or muscles you’ll see that your inflammation will fade away.

I recommend a plant-based lifestyle as a means to healing your thyroid disease because of what all the scientific evidence and research reveals about it. Not just what the scientific community says but the countless number of clients who feel lighter, more energetic, lose weight, and get their TSH hormones back to normal ranges and their antibodies under abnormal levels.

If you suffered from a range of gut issues such as constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, bloating, gas, and other gut problems eating a plant-based lifestyle will heal your gut lining, feed your gut microbiome, and regulate your BM’s consistently.

If you have been considering a plant-based lifestyle but you don’t know where or how to start, start with the free Thyroid ebook. Once you join the newsletter, I’ll be giving out free info on how to make this transition.

Start slow because the last thing you want to do is burn yourself out. You don’t even have to go 100% plant-based. I honestly still eat fish because I love salmon so much but I can still feel and see the difference from eating mostly plants. My TSH levels are within normal functional range and by thyroid antibodies are below the elevated ranges and I no longer take Thyroid hormone. My diet has been sustaining the health of my thyroid, gut, and immune system for the last 3 years. I’m happy to report I no longer have an underactive thyroid gland and it wasn’t because of conventional treatment!

You can put your thyroid disease in remission too. It’s just about eliminating the inflammatory and incorporating more plant-based foods to heal your thyroid, gut, and improve the immune system. In addition to eating more plants, reducing your stress by incorporating movement and meditations is also key. Movement is something I struggle with because my job is so, so sedentary. Maybe one day I will invest in one of those treadmill desks!

Next Step, Reversing Your Hashimoto’s Disease

1. Join my newsletter to get your FREE Thyroid Breakfast Ebook and start with breakfast!
2. If you don’t know your Thyroid levels or if you even have Hashimoto’s, use this LINK with Let’s Get Checked to purchase the Thyroid Antibody Testing Kit. Remember to use discount code ANNETTEG30 to receive 20% off your testing kit.
3. Find me on Instagram or TikTok where I am incredibly social and more fun over there, not to mention free and entertaining content

Be well friends,

xo,

Annette