Tanya Milin

If you have been diagnosed with Hashimoto disease, you might be wondering what exactly this disease is and how it can be treated. Let's take a closer look at what Hashimoto's is and how the AIP diet can help you control this disease.
What is Hashimoto Disease?
Hashimoto disease is sometimes called Hashimoto thyroiditis and is an autoimmune disease. This means your body's immune system mistakenly attacks itself. In the case of Hashimoto's, your immune system sends white blood cells to attack the thyroid gland. The thyroid is crucial because it regulates your hormones. Two of the most critical hormones it regulates are thyroxine and triiodothyronine. These hormones affect your energy levels, temperature regulation, growth, and metabolism. As a result, those who have Hashimoto's often suffer from weight gain, fatigue, depression, constipation, high cholesterol levels, and goiters.
How is Hashimoto Disease Treated?
Hashimoto's is a serious disease that must be treated so that your symptoms do not affect your quality of life. Most patients take a prescription drug called levothyroxine. This mimics the hormone thyroxine and allows your body to function as if your thyroid was producing this hormone. In addition to medication, maintaining a healthy diet can help control symptoms. This is where the AIP diet comes in.
What is the AIP Diet? AIP stands for autoimmune protocol and is designed for people who have autoimmune diseases, like Hashimoto's. This diet is based on the paleo diet but is much stricter. The goal of the diet is to reset your immune system, which will then reduce inflammation in your body. This should reduce symptoms of the disease and help you feel better. You can then reintroduce some of the foods you have eliminated to see if they cause pain or other unwanted symptoms.
How to Eat the AIP Diet
The list of foods you must avoid on the AIP diet is very long! Remember, not all of these foods have to be eliminated from your diet forever. However, for the first several weeks of this diet, it's vital to remove all of these foods.
Here are the foods to avoid on the AIP diet:
Legumes
Grains
Dairy
Eggs
Nuts and Seeds
Coffee
Chocolate
Nightshade Vegetables
Gum
Refined Sugars
Vegetable and Canola Oil
Processed Foods
Artificial Sweeteners
Emulsifiers and Food Thickeners
Alcohol
This means your diet will be full of meat, non-nightshade vegetables, coconut products, fermented foods, herbs, vinegar, and olive oil. You may also eat fruit, but should limit your consumption. There are no calorie restrictions on this diet, so you don't have to worry about portion control. Instead, just focus on eating the foods you can enjoy!
AIP and Hashimoto’s
While the AIP diet can seem overwhelming, it can make a big difference in how you look and feel. For many people, the benefits of the diet far outweigh the inconvenience. And remember, you can slowly reintroduce foods to see how they affect your body. Just make sure to only introduce one food at a time every 3 – 7 days and closely monitor your symptoms. If you start to feel worse or have a flare-up, then take that food back out of your diet. Many people with Hashimoto's have found that they can add many different foods back into their diet and suffer no ill effects!
In addition to changing your diet, you can control your Hashimoto's symptoms by living a healthy lifestyle, using a good quality CBD Tincture (preferably one high with CBDA as it reduces inflammation amazingly well) , getting plenty of sleep, and decreasing stress.
Hashimoto's doesn't have to control your life.
So, start making healthy choices today!
https://www.healthline.com/health/hashimoto-diet#targetText=The%20paleo%20diet%20is%20a,lean%20meat
https://www.healthline.com/health/aip-diet