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StoriesIs it possible to recover from hypothyroidism?
Before and after
Is it possible to recover from hypothyroidism? Most people on thyroid hormone treatment need to continue this for the rest of their lives.
Here’s a story about an exception named Julia:
The Email
Hi Andreas,
I just want to let you know that I’ve recovered from hypothyroidism since starting LCHF.
I started to eat LCHF in August last year and had lost 44 lbs (20 kg) by the end of the year. After this I started to phase out my Levothyroxine medication and am now free from medication and my labs are just keep getting better and better (I draw blood every six weeks).
I hope this can inspire and give others hope, as I know that there are many people out there struggling with both hypothyroidism and obesity!
Sincerely,
Julia
Commentary
Congratulations, Julia!
This is not a common story in my experience. Most people who are treated with Levothyroxine medication (thyroid hormone) and start an LCHF diet still need to take their medication. Some may indeed need to reduce their dose considerably, but others may even have to increase it. And many stay on approximately the same dose.
But there are always exceptions.
In Julia’s case, it’s possible that the substantial weight loss contributed to a reduction in the amount of hormone needed. Perhaps the body’s own production is enough.
Or she may have had an inflammation in her thyroid, which healed after she started eating LCHF. Perhaps the diet change contributed, but it’s difficult to know for sure.
Question:
Are you on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism? Have you started an LCHF diet after being diagnosed? What happened?
Feel free to share your experience in more detail in the comments below.
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PS
Do you have a success story you want to share on this blog? Send it (photos appreciated) to andreas@dietdoctor.com, and please let me know if it’s OK to publish your photo and name or if you’d rather remain anonymous.
70 comments
A question that I hope you'll be able to have some advice for... What might be wrong if you've previously lost a lot of weight with LCHF, and then suddenly you start gaining again despite eating the same sort of food as before?
I lost 20 kg over two years with LCHF. Now I've gained more than half again without changing my habits (maybe being more strict now than before). Measured my THC hormones which turned out OK. Read your blog post about hormones and can't see myself in the other described conditions. Thought it might have been related to stress, but I sleep well and do not feel stressed out anymore, but still gain weight. What is going on?!?!?!?!?
Interstingly, there was this same conversation over on the Reddit Keto forum, and a number of people wrote in saying that they had started having thyroid problems since starting Keto.
Its hard to say though, as eating cruciferous vegetables, soy protein shakes, or not getting enough calories will bring your thyroid function down, so there may be confounding factors at work here.....
Your issue is extremely common in the low carb community. While initially going low carb can lead to fast weight loss, over time, it may come to a screeching halt (as you've noticed). The body gets stressed when sufficient carbohydrates are not eaten. In fact, going too low with carbs could damage the thyroid. It sounds like you need to incorporate a modest amount of safe starches in your diet. I strongly suggest you follow Paul Jaminet's Perfect Health Diet. His method of eating has cured me from obsessing over food, I'm leaner than ever and I still get to eat my white rice, potatoes and fruit. This is not a high carb diet, just an adequate carb lifestyle. My friends can't believe how lean I am with all the heavy, nutrient-dense, satisfyingly rich meals I eat. Very low carb made me a bit sleepy and a bit heavy in the gut after doing it for too long. I always felt like something was missing from my diet and craved more sugar than ever. It's not meant to be a full time thing. Especially if you're active.
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/
All the best,
Des
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyvlWUQAkxM
Published on Dec 30, 2012
Safe Starches: Are they Essential to an Ancestral Diet?
The shift from hi-carb plainly involves upregulating and down-regulating many pathways and a change that is too abrupt might result in maladaptive "attractor states" in the dynamics. Dr. Shanahan, for example, counsels gradual conversion and she reports no issues with thyroid in any of her patients. Dr. Peter Attia is also good on managing long-term LCHF and high activity.
I have been low carb for over a decade and very low carb for over 5 years with none of the problems you report, so plainly there are metabolic nuances to be discovered.
http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/55/Supplement_2/S155.ful...
Looked around a lot and I can't see anyone else experiencing this :(
Thanks!
1. Hidden carbs. The ingredients in the foods you're eating might have changed. You can use Diastix to test for hidden carbs (look up Diastix and Bernstein). Also, get a blood glucose meter if you don't have one and check your blood glucose levels just before meals and one and two hours later. Dr. William Davis advises keeping post-meal blood sugars below 100.
2. Dairy. Some dairy products are insulinogenic.
3. Medications and supplements. Some medications (cortisone is one) raise blood sugar and can cause weight gain. There are supplements (including herbs) that lower blood sugar; if you take any supplements, see if the formula has changed.
4. If you check these things and you're sure they're not the cause of your weight gain, I'd suggest seeing an endocrinologist.
I had the same problem. As I started to eat LCHF, I was not hungry in the mornings anymore so I started to eat only lunch and dinner. But sometimes I was not so hungry even at lunch time, so I had only a snack in the afternoon and then, after my workout, I ate HUGE dinner. Actually, this dinner covered the whole daily caloric intake. Yet I was still loosing weight.
I was curious about the topic so I did a little research. I found out that this is actually how many people eat. Undereating during the day and controlled overeating in the evening. I experienced that when I don't eat during the day, I can focus for long periods of time (which is very useful for me as a student :)
If you are interested in this, I strongly recommend you the book Caveman Principles. The author himself is on LCHF and eating only dinners for more than two years now. In his book he explains how to become a 21st century caveman by implementing to your lifestyle three modes - fast mode, beast mode and feast mode. If you are interested, check this book out, it helped me a lot (and still is helping, I already lost 8 kg and the weight is still going down :)
http://cavemanprinciples.com/?hop=tinka210
Do you exercise at all?
That sounds like a pretty active life! Good for you - and I do appreciate a good clean freak!!
I wonder what would happen if you started lifting heavy weights. In her 50's my mother became a test subject in a weight lifting study performed at a major research university. They wanted to see what would happen to various subjects if they started lifting heavy weights.
My mother was a lifelong competitive swimmer but she was also very overweight (by nearly 100 pounds at one point - and that's despite the killer cardio workouts).
What happened to her during the study was extraordinary. She shrank! By that I mean she shed an enormous amount of fat and lost three dress sizes. The only thing she changed was that she started lifting heavy weights three days per week. There were other benefits, of course. She's a little older than you now and she's still lifting. Her workout isn't complicated oR long, but it keeps her incredibly fit - even as she severely reduced her swimming and running schedule.
I don't know what the results of the study were and I don't know if this information is helpful, but maybe those who have not yet tried this might find some success lifting heavy weights.
Can I have some ice-cream please, can I, can I, please ?
A study led by the University of the Internet shows that a 5% increase in unreferenced studies claiming random findings was associated with a 90% increased in being mocked on this forum.
I'll be citing here T Colin Campbell himself (citation out of Denise Minger's blog, Raw Food SOS, a great blog by the way)...
Essentially, plant protein seem to protect against cancer because they are incomplete protein, lacking essential amino acids. As soon as these amino acids are added to the diet (and they must), this supposed advantage disappears.
Specifically: legumes lack tryptophane and methionine - grains lack lysine, isoleucine and threonine, nuts and seeds lack lysine and isoleucine. So sure, you may get somewhat of a protection from cancer by eating only one type of plant protein - but you will have growth issues and a number of very significant problems because of this lack of essential amino acids. If you eat complete plant proteins by combining plant types, you lose this advantage. Completely.
From Mr China study "plant proteins are so great, animal proteins are evil" himself (:In his 2009 response to a critique by Joseph Mercola):
"The adverse effects of animal protein, as illustrated in our laboratory by the effects of casein, are related to their amino acid composition. … There have been many different kinds of studies for well over a half century showing that the nutritional responses of different proteins are attributed to their differing amino acid compositions. … These differences in nutritional response disappear when any limiting amino acids are restored.
Wheat protein, unlike casein for example, did not stimulate cancer development but when its limiting amino acid, lysine, was restored, it acted just like casein. There have been literally thousands of studies going back many decades showing a similar effect on body growth and other events associated with body growth—all resulting from differences in amino acid composition of different proteins."
High complete protein (of whatever source) may indeed stimulate IGF-1 (less than carbs, but still), thus stimulating every cell's growth, including cancer cells. But this is not what this diet is about: it is a LOW carb, MODERATE protein and HIGH fat., for MINIMAL stimulation of IGF-1.
And by the way, thank you Paul for all the great references to complete articles!
Marcy, you're welcome. I do hope that helps. My mother's program was designed by the researchers, so it was pretty comprehensive and she was taught how to lift. If you aren't getting the results you want you might consider consulting a good trainer just to show you how to do it. Time and/or financial constraints may not always allow all of us to indulge in regular training sessions. If nothing else, with lifting heavy weights a few times a week you won't be frail as you get older :)!!!
Death & Taxes.
Sláinte
Coconut oil and goat milk (I use goat butter rather than cow butter for consumption) are rich in capric, caprylic and lauric acids. These acids suppress growth of C. albicans.
Med Mycol J. 2012;53(4):255-61.
[Inhibition of Candida mycelia growth by a medium chain fatty acids, capric acid in vitro and its therapeutic efficacy in murine oral candidiasis].
[Article in Japanese]
Takahashi M1, Inoue S, Hayama K, Ninomiya K, Abe S.
Author information
Abstract
We assessed anti-C. albicans activities of the 4 fatty acids : caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid and lauric acid in vitro. All four inhibited not only the mycelial but also the yeast-form growth of Candida albicans. In particular, capric acid and caprylic acid inhibited Candida mycelia growth at very low concentrations. The effects of treatment of these two fatty acids on oral candidiasis were examined using a murine model. When 50 µl of capric acid (more than 48.8 µM) was administered three times into the oral cavity of Candida-infected mice, symptom scores of tongues of the mice were significantly improved. Histological studies of the capric acid-treated animals indicated that the fatty acid suppressed mycelial growth of the fungus on the tongue surface. These results suggest that all four fatty acids, and especially capric acid, have potential as substances supporting anti-Candida treatment.
I appreciate anyones input.
TSH is supposed to be kept suppressed. When I last saw specialist in Oct 2014, my levels were FT4 18.9 (range 9.8-18.8 pmol/L), TSH 0.033 (range 0.30-4.00mU/L). As I was feeling fine and had no symptoms of being hyper, I was advised it was ok to stay on current dose which was 200mcg x 3 days, and 150mcg x 4 days, but to advise if I started having hyper symptoms.
End of Mar 2015, I had a new test, with T4 being 21.7 and TSH 0.009. Was advised to reduce dose to 150mcg per day, every day. Retested end of May 2015 and T4 had increased to 24.7 and TSH was 0.011. Dose has again been reduced and now taking 100mcg per day, and will have a new test in July. I have not had symptoms of being hyper. I started LCHF start of January 2015. Could it be possible that it is the reduction in carbs that has caused my body to need less Thyroxine? I am surprised that T4 had gone up with the reduction in dose, and have been searching "Dr Google" to find an explanation. By the way, my cholesterol has reduced and is fine, and I have lost 6kgs.
Are you sure carbs did not creep in? Sometimes people don't realize this.
Another issue is insulin dynamics in your body. Have you looked at fasting protocols as described by Dr Fung on this website? Fasting can improve insulin sensitivity and metabolism. Good luck.
Protein transports thyroid hormone to all your tissues. Eating a bit of protein with every meal can help normalize thyroid function.
You can get protein from nut and nut butters, quinoa, legumes, and hormone and antibiotic-free animal products.