20 replies to this topic

[javynliz]

I have gone gluten free and started feeling much better. Then I have had some slip-ups recently. I decided I am done with gluten after diarrhea, cramps, and rashes. I am also going to go dairy free. This is huge for me. I love my dairy. I am willing to see if it doesn't help me to avoid it. The Doc told me I have some insulin resistance as well. So, I am going to avoid sugar besides the sugars in fruit. Has anyone else decided to do this? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[jmill]

I've gone gluten and dairy free but still use sugar in moderation. What I have found to be avoided is high fructose corn syrup. Sugar in moderation is easily absorbed in the upper g.i. tract and ususally doesn't cause problems. You might want to check into what is called a FODMAT diet which greatly improves intestinal problems.

[javynliz]

Thanks. I will. How has the gluten and dairy free diet been beneficial to you?

[jmill]

Thanks. I will. How has the gluten and dairy free diet been beneficial to you?

Going gluten has been very beneficial to me. I really couldn't be tested for celiac since I couldn't stay on them long enough before the testing due to how much they were bothering me. My brother is positive and I was having a LOT of problems myself. My gastro suggested I could be celiac/gluten sensitive, which for all practical purposes is just as bad. I got off the glutens and in a few months I was much better...no cramps, diarrhea, gas, etc. I also tested positive for lactose but found out that on the FODMAT diet I could eat some types of dairy such as hard cheeses since they have a very low lactose content. I have some skin problems but they're the result of malabsorption due to the glutens damaging my intestines for many years. These should improve as my vitamin/mineral absorption improves. I take a LOT of supplements in the meantime and they help a lot also. Check out and try the diet and I think you'll see a big improvement. It's not even that bad to follow, it allows a lot of really good food and no limits on quantity. It's not a weight loss diet, it's a diet to avoid gastro problems. Good luck.

[bigfoot]

Gluten-free here for about the last six months. It has been a huge piece of the puzzle and I wish I had done it sooner! Like you mentioned, I've also heard that avoiding dairy and excess sugar is a good thing. With a lot of this stuff there is potentially a tie-in with intestinal issues, candida, SIBO, IBS, etc. The bacteria and candida love to feed on the sugary & starchy foods. Since lactose breaks down into sugars, that explains that angle. Somewhere I heard a while back and was reminded of this fact: humans are the only animals to drink milk as adults. Makes sense, no wonder a lot of us have trouble with it.

I just heard recently of one individual that, after a long time of addressing and correcting things, he was able to start eating some sourdough bread. Apparently it scores lower on the glycemic index, and since it has already fermented, it presents less of a problem towards a relapse of candida and so forth.

[javynliz]

Thanks for the info!!! I have not been doing well with staying away from gluten . Dairy either. I did good today with gluten. Taking it one day at a time.

[bigfoot]

The problem with gluten, especially if you are very sensitive to it, is that it can linger in the system for days. For example, I remember eating a hamburger bun over the summer and I felt completely awful for the better part of a week. So it's kind of an "all or nothing" approach that you have to take. One slip-up can give you a lot of trouble. Thankfully, they are starting to make a lot more GF products, and some actually taste pretty darn good. Depending on your area and the stores, you can find frozen GF breads and treats, or in some cases even a fresh 'bread'. (Just have to eat it within a few days or else it dries out.) One brand is Udi's, and other stuff can even be found on Amazon.

[piggley]

Hello Javylintz, yes I have,

I had allready given up Gluten, mainly because its recommended by every Book/Website/ forum/ that you do so, so i did but didnt understand why, as I'm not allergic to it,
Yesterday i came actoss this article the sets out what some foods, mainly seeds, do our Gut via the Lectins they contain, inflammation is now being seen as the root cause of many diseases so it makes sense to limit the consumption..
Culprits appear to be mainly seeds of all types, inc Beans, rice, ect- also many fruits and vegs including particurly of course Nightshades,
Now i know why I had years of Hellish IBS, wish I had been told about Lectins decades ago.
http://www.vrp.com/d...and-weight-loss
(Why do all the tasty foods have to be inflicted with something..sigh)

Edited by piggley, 06 December 2012 - 08:16 AM.

[ButtercupSarah]

I gave up gluten first (before finding out I was hypo, although I suspected it) because at one point I was carrying pepto to go, gasx, and tums in my purse at the same time...and I realized I was being ridiculous! Since giving it up my GI has improved greatly and it has only been 1 month! I also have a history of stomach cancer, MS, and other autoimmune diseases in my family.

I have also noticed a difference in my energy level and in my mood swings. I am hoping that the combination of thyroid meds and gluten free will have me feeling ...dare I say it...NORMAL.

I would stick with the gluten free diet and give ample time for your gut to heal, don't do it 90% because I know when I screw up accidentally I PAY for it for days. I haven't gone down the dairy/casein road yet, but if I feel it necessary I will try that too. www.celiac.com has an AMAZING forum with a lot of knowledgeable folks (just like here!)

Keep on trucking and good luck to you!

[SlowGland]

I went totally refined-sugar free 12 years ago. That includes high fructose corn syrup.
The only sweetners I use are tiny amounts of raw honey, and small amounts of whole, unprocessed sugars like coconut palm sugar.
I wasn't even thinking about my thyroid at the time. I did it for a persistent cystic acne problem, and my skin improved immediately.

I am not sensitive to gluten, but I still really restrict it. I have gluten maybe once per month.

Dairy, I have given up dairy at times. But I have gone back to eating organic, hormone free dairy because it makes it easier to get adequate protein in.

[mccarthyrose]

Hi Elisabeth,

because I was diagnosed with a leaky gut as well as hashimoto, I am following an autoimmune diet:

No
Cruciferous vegetables, all grains, sugar of any kind, legumes, nightshade veggies, nuts, diary, or shell fish, no soft drinks, fruit juices or caffeinated drinks.

It's been two weeks and it was hard, still is. I must stay on this diet for 6 months to repair my gut. After that I can never go back to grains but can incorporate legumes and diary one at a time.

stick with it. I am starting to feel much better. Good luck.

[Mac409]

I had a TT 4 weeks ago and went gluten free. I still have some dairy. I did this because I heard it was better to eat like this after you have your thyroid removed. Am I mistaken??

[mackyy20]

We all enjoy something sweet now and again,but with so much in the scientific literature confirming the negative health effects of refined sugar, one of the very best things that we can do for ourselves, and for our loved ones, is to use better alternatives. 

[mackyy20]

While most people eat freely of refined foods, never imagining that refined foods are harmful, the truth is that refined foods are a major cause of physical, mental and social ills.

 

To demonstrate the effect that refined, `junk foods' have on our moods and on our behavior, Dr Alexander Schauss encouraged the staff and the pupils at a number of schools in the United States to carry out an experiment that involved feeding three different diets to three different groups of rats. In every school and in every cathe results were the same.

 

It is interesting to note that in all of the schools where this experiment was conducted, the pupils urged that the experiment be terminated because they could no longer stand to witness the effect that the poorest diet had upon the third group of rats.

[Evra]

I have gone gluten and dairy free for 3 months but my antibodies have quadrupled. So no this has not benefited me.

[dolphin32]

I have thought about doing this but I am so concerned about the diagnostics involved and I am wanting to get the entire family tested to know for sure what we are dealing with. I figure I need to get my thyroid issues/surgery or what all they want to do done and go from there, but after surgery is cutting gluten necessary? 

[Ines]

I have been eating gluten-free for years, every time I used to eat gluten I would get bowels inflammation. I eat dairy free from time to time, dairy seems to cause me acid reflux and stomach pain, yoghourts in particular. Moreover there were some interesting articles in the New Tork Times saying that people eating dairy get MORE bone fractures and higher risk of sudden death. There seem to be no health benefit from it (beside calories and proteins).

[hashimotojane]

I have gone gluten, dairy and sugar-free and it has made a WORLD of difference in the way I feel and my energy levels. I no longer suffer from brain fog and I can face the day with a smile!

[MySharon]

I was just diagnosed Hashimotos 2 wks ago but went gluten free about 2 yrs ago due to bloating, stomach issues and other physical issues(which Im sure were all my thyroid but I was undiagnosed) but eating Gluten free has alleviated many of my symptoms. 

 

I cut back my sugar a lot but as of recent really just cut it out, because when I eat it, I feel horrible after, its not worth it at this point.

 

A lot of people advise against fruit sugars, but I hear natural drs advise the opposite, I eat fruit as much as I want and veggies, along with grains, nuts, beans, and some meat but more limited then I used too

 

Ive also recently cut out dairy

 

I juice, fresh fruits and veggies with my juicer, I started that over 5 yrs ago after watching Fat Sick and Nearly Dead(Its on youtube, great film!) and it makes me feel my best when I make my own juice, also keeps my blood sugar at good levels and I dont feel moody, out of whack, hangry, etc

 

So Im juicing and eating lots of big salads full of all kinds of veggies and nuts. Breakfast I eat Acai bowl with organic granola, bananas and strawberries and chia seeds, its my fave breakfast, 

 

I want to feel better and am just at a point of being tired of feel crummy thats overriding some of my old urges to eat like I used to

[GOLGO13]

This is one of the first things I did. I will advise being careful though. When you cut gluten/dairy/sugar out, getting calories can be a challenge. I was accidentally not getting enough calories. I was getting 1200-1400 and a nutritionist said I should be getting 2200 a day. This likely slowed my progress and gave me some nutritional deficiencies.

 

While you can argue whether this is important or not, It did seem to help me. I used to almost never have good stools (last 3-4 years)...now most of my stools are pretty good (sorry for the TMI). My TPO antibodies went from 1980 to 210 to 181 in only a few months. Of course it's a debatable metric, but I do feel like my inflammation really started to calm down after doing all this. That being said, I was also adjusting thyroid medication and it's quite possible the benefits were from getting a better control on hypothyroidism. Either way, eating healthy is probably a good idea combined with exercise.

 

I now track my calories everyday using cronometer.com. Almost always I need to add extra calories and often I'm more around 2000 calories. I also take Vitamin D3 5000 ui (was deficient as most hashi folks are), Magnesium Glycinate, Whole foods mens 40+ multi, brazil nuts (1-2). This set of supplements seems to have helped me quite a bit.

 

My food avoidance goes a bit beyond the above. While this was pretty tough at first, and sometimes still is, I'm not as focused on it as I was at first. But this can be tough and if you don't have supportive friends/family it can really be hard.

 

1)Gluten (didn't have a reaction to it that I knew of, but it's called out so much I figured it wasn't worth it)

2)Dairy (I do seem to have reactions to this, as I cannot reintroduce it)

3) Refined Sugar (I try to do only fruit sugars, but sometimes I can't avoid it  but make sure it's not much).

4) Soy (because potential to block thyroid and processed)

5) processed sugar (just a little where I can't avoid it...but I eat fruit sugar from bananas/berries)

6) Corn (potential issues)

7) Garbanzo beans (reaction)

8) Onions (I try to limit these as they give me bad gas)

9) Beans (I limit these also because of bad gas)

10) Vegetable oils (I use olive and avocado oil instead)

11) processed foods (I have a limited amount, but it's something that should be limited as much as tolerated. Even gluten free processed food)

12) Caffeine (never did well with it, and it's something that is often suggested to avoid with hashis)

13) Alcohol (kind of a bummer, but I do seem to not do good with it and often suggested to avoid...glass of wine here and there)

14) Tap water (I filter all my water with a Berkey or buy bottled)