This is simply my experience with thyroid health and hashimoto’s. My story below is not meant to diagnose any disease or point to the exact treatment. Consult a medical professional regarding your own health. (Please view our Disclaimer’s page).
Autoimmune disorders can be a bit of an enigma since it’s challenging to find a root cause. Once I received my diagnosis, I instantly joined a Facebook group to learn from others. This was very beneficial when I was first starting to understand thyroid health. With hashimoto’s, there more or less has to be a genetic predisposition for the disease plus an environmental trigger. Or at least, that’s the usual way. For many people it can be something like food intolerances, toxic overload, parasites, stress, and more. I won’t discuss every potential catalyst, just the ones that are pretty common. Below details the path I took with my naturopathic doctor to sort out a possible cause.
Food Intolerances
One of the first steps people take is discovering if they have any food intolerances. This doesn’t necessarily mean an allergy, but more of a sensitivity to certain foods that cause your hashimoto’s symptoms to flare up. If you can’t find a doctor (holistic or medical) to do a test, you can test this out on your own through trial and error. Some of the most common food items people cut out are gluten, dairy, soy, alcohol, and sugar. The AIP (autoimmune protocol) diet is a great starting point. You can also include paleo or Whole30 foods/recipes as well. I had a blood test done through my naturopathic doctor, but I also followed a paleo diet to begin with. We discovered that I have very few food intolerances, and what I did have was likely due to leaky gut syndrome. The medical field argues the validity of leaky gut syndrome, but everything seems to add up. I had a mild sensitivity to gluten and egg whites. That was about it, and my doctor assumed it was due to gut health rather than a true intolerance. I temporarily cut gluten and eggs out for a while, but now I can eat both.
Lack of Proper Nutrition
As I started this journey, I quickly realized how much my body was lacking in proper nutrition. My body used to be unable to tolerate raw vegetables. I couldn’t eat a salad without becoming extremely bloated and feeling nauseous. I used to only be able to feed my body carbs and protein. We do a lot of cooking from scratch at home so it wasn’t completely void of nutritional value, but I was missing the mark in so many areas. Even when I did start my million supplements (a figure of speech I say), my body didn’t seem to be absorbing them properly early on. We had to double up on things like Vitamin D and Zinc to ensure I was getting to the adequate level. Ever since I started this journey, my nutrition has constantly improved and my body now loves a variety of foods. I can finally eat salads without any consequences.
Toxic Overload
I could probably write ten pages on this topic, but I’m going to keep it somewhat short and sweet. There are so many environmental toxins around us. Between synthetic ingredients in much of our food supply, water tainted with unsavory chemicals, polluted air, and so much more, we are constantly surrounded by toxins. That isn’t meant to sound so doom and gloom, we aren’t meant to hide in our basements forever. However, it’s important to be aware and take some precautionary steps when we can. As one starts to detox the body, it’s important to support the liver with any nutrients it might need. The liver is a powerhouse helping filter out toxins to keep our bodies in optimal condition. Our liver already works hard daily, but has to work even harder with so many toxins. I had already engulfed our family in natural living before my diagnosis, but focusing on liver health and better nutrition definitely helped me shed some of the toxic load.
Parasites
Another common and disgusting hashimoto’s cause is parasites. It grosses me out just thinking about it. These guys also contribute to the leaky gut problem and make it harder for the body to absorb nutrients. They also make you crave sugar way more than a person should. Then, the body becomes overwhelmed with sugar and other problems arise as a result. I can 100% attest to this. I did a gentle, herbal parasite cleanse. A test showed that I didn’t have any detectable parasites, however my doctor and I agreed that I probably had some that were a different species from what the test checked. I’d say this is correct because I saw a noticeable improvement after shedding whatever parasites I had. After a week or two, I saw a big improvement in my mood and mental clarity. A huge win I must say. Many people recommend doing a parasite cleanse every so often just to keep the body in optimal condition.
Insulin Resistance
Oh boy this is just my worst enemy. Insulin resistance is a problem I’m still trying to solve. This is an overwhelming problem in the United States, aiding in the obesity epidemic the country is facing. It’s not always a sign of “laziness” or “overeating”. In some cases, maybe, but with how quickly over time obesity became a problem there’s definitely another factor at play. Basically, high amounts of carbs, sugars, and other chemicals enter the body. To fight this, the body produces a huge spike in insulin. After this repeated cycle over time, the body becomes resistant to the insulin. This throws blood sugar levels out of whack and leads to a whole host of symptoms. Insulin resistance is the biggest reason for my rapid weight gain despite living the same lifestyle I did before hashimoto’s. Although insulin resistance isn’t a direct hashimoto’s cause, it’s definitely one of the contributors. This is getting better as I work on it but it’s surely an uphill battle.
Stress
I saved what I can only assume was my biggest trigger for last. I’ve always been a Type A perfectionist personality. With this, I often get heavily stressed and anxious about a variety of things. It’s gotten better as I’ve reached adulthood, but throughout school I was always nervous for something. Apparently, many struggling with hashimoto’s or thyroid problems are perfectionists. I don’t exactly know what type of stress worsened by symptoms, but it’s the main component I think I can contribute my hashis to.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably never know the exact cause of my hashimoto’s, which is fine with me. As I’ve healed I’ve learned that so many of these causes work with each other. Trying to fix one problem makes it easier to treat the others. Anyone with struggling thyroid health should seek medical and/or holistic guidance to figure out what will work for them.