
Lose weight with Hashimoto
Inside: Learn what you can do to lose weight when you have Hashimoto's disease. These tips will help you eat healthily and follow the right things to keep yourself healthy.
Known as one of the most common Thyroid disorders, Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition that gradually destroys thyroid tissues via lymphocytes.
These are white blood cells that are part of the immune system. When it creates an imbalance in your body, a person suffers from various symptoms that significantly affect the quality of life.
Although it can be treated with medication for an effective solution to this condition, diet and lifestyle modifications are recommended. It is an individualized approach where every person reacts differently to different things, hence, a hit and trial should be done to analyze what suits your body the best.
Hence, if you are suffering from Hashimoto’s and want to lose some weight and control the symptoms then you need to control Hashimoto’s first.
These are the few diets that you should follow along with some useful tips that will aid your weight loss journey and treat Hashimoto’s effectively.
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Gluten and Grain-Free Diet
People suffering from Hashimoto’s have seen significant improvement in their condition by following Gluten and Grain-Free Diet. A gluten-Free Diet helps reduce thyroid antibody levels while improving thyroid function and vitamin D levels.
Adapting to a Gluten-Free Diet means avoiding wheat, barley, and rye products. For example, most pasta, bread, and soy sauces contain gluten while Grain-Free Diet means avoiding all the grains.
It not only helps in controlling Hashimoto's but also provides numerous benefits to the body.
Autoimmune Protocol Diet
For people suffering from Autoimmune Diseases, Autoimmune Protocol Diet is assigned by the Practitioners. It removes potentially harmful foods like grains, dairy, nightshades, added sugar, coffee, legumes, eggs, alcohol, nuts, seeds, refined sugars, oils, and food additives.
Adapting Autoimmune Protocol Diet helps in improving quality of life and significantly decreased levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP).
Avoid Dairy
People suffering from Hashimoto’s generally have lactose intolerance.
Hence, it is recommended to avoid all dairy products as consumption of dairy products may lead to digestive issues, and disturbs thyroid function and medication absorption.
Again, few people do not have lactose intolerance even after suffering from Hashimoto’s.
So, one should keep a check on what foods trigger the symptoms of Hashimoto’s and that should be avoided.
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Focus on Anti-Inflammatory Products
Inflammation may be a driving factor behind Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
Hence, following an Anti-Inflammatory Diet takes charge of Hashimoto’s which includes the consumption of fruits and vegetables that significantly improves the symptoms. It lowers the levels of oxidative stress, hence controlling chronic inflammation.
Fruits, Vegetables, Spices and Fatty Fish are known as the most powerful foods with anti-inflammatory properties.
Nutrient-Dense, Whole Food Diet
Adapting a Whole Food Diet is always a great option as it excludes sugar and highly processed foods from your diet and allows you to eat only nutrient-dense whole food which has high antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
Hence, eating a home-cooked meal using nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, proteins, healthy fats, and fibre-rich carbs improves your overall health while managing your weight and improving the symptoms of Hashimoto’s.
Low Carb Diet
To reduce weight and thyroid antibodies, one should incorporate a low-carb diet.
In this diet, 12-15% of calories are derived from carbs and goitrogenic foods are restricted as goitrogens are the substances found in cruciferous vegetables and soy products that may interfere with thyroid hormone production.
Supplements
People suffering from Hashimoto’s are more likely to be deficient in certain nutrients.
Hence, supplements play a major role in providing deficient nutrients and may help lower inflammation and thyroid antibodies. Selenium, Zinc, Curcumin, Vitamin D, B Complex, Magnesium and Iron are some of the beneficial supplements.
Other supplements like fish oil, alpha-lipoic acid, and N-acetyl cysteine have also proved to be beneficial for Hashimoto’s and its symptoms.
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Foods to Eat
There are certain fruits and vegetables which are highly recommended for people suffering from Hashimoto’s. It will help the person to balance their weight, reduce the symptoms and improve their overall health. Hence, one should focus on the following foods:
- Fruits: berries, pears, apples, peaches, citrus fruits, pineapple, bananas, etc.
- Non-starchy vegetables: zucchini, artichokes, tomatoes, asparagus, carrots, peppers, broccoli, arugula, mushrooms, etc.
- Starchy vegetables: sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas, acorn and butternut squash, etc.
- Healthy fats: avocados, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, unsweetened coconut flakes, full-fat yoghurt, coconut yoghurt, etc.
- Animal protein: salmon, eggs, cod, turkey, shrimp, chicken, etc.
- Gluten-free grains: brown rice, rolled oats, quinoa, brown rice pasta, etc.
- Seeds, nuts, and nut butter: cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, natural peanut butter, almond butter, etc.
- Beans and lentils: chickpeas, black beans, lentils, etc.
- Dairy and non-dairy substitutes (fortified with calcium and/or vitamin D): coconut milk, coconut yoghurt, almond milk, cashew milk, full-fat unsweetened yoghurt, goat cheese, etc.
- Spices, herbs, and condiments: turmeric, basil, rosemary, paprika, saffron, black pepper, salsa, tahini, honey, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, etc.
- Beverages: water, unsweetened tea, sparkling water, etc.
Out of the above-mentioned foods, grains and dairy are not suited for everyone hence one should experiment with their diet to know what works for them.
Foods to avoid
There is a certain food that triggers Hashimoto’s and makes the symptoms worse. Hence, these foods should be avoided to maintain a healthy body. These are:
- Added sugars and sweets: soda, energy drinks, cakes, ice cream, pastries, cookies, candy, sugary cereals, table sugar, etc.
- Fast food and fried foods: french fries, hot dogs, fried chicken, etc.
- Refined grains: white pasta, white bread, white flour tortillas, bagels, etc.
- Highly processed foods and meats: frozen dinners, margarine, microwave dinners, bacon, sausage, etc.
- Gluten-containing grains and foods: wheat, barley, rye, crackers, bread, etc.
Lifestyle Modifications
Along with a healthy diet, maintaining a proper lifestyle is a must. Hence, one should monitor their lifestyle and adapt to plenty of sleep, stress reduction practices and self-care.
Let your body rest when you feel fatigued and control your stress levels to improve the overall quality of life and lower thyroid antibodies.
Hence, these are certain steps that you can follow to control your weight and symptoms of Hashimoto’s. Treating Hashimoto’s will itself resolve all the problems, so focus on the root cause and adapt to these changes to see the significant result.
Also, it is an individualized approach, so things may vary with different individuals, hence, listening to your body and analyzing what suits it the best always works.
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