FYI, this is a double post, same one is back there, posted same day,time, with more comments.
Julie, remember not all hypothyroid is autoimmune, Hashi is.
Food and diet is more likely to take part is regular non-hashi hypothyroid. In those cases hypothyroid is a temporary condition, not an actual autoimmune disease and sometimes can be corrected.
For the rest with Hashi, some peoples thyroid can be disturbed by some of those foods said to irritate but seldom all on the list. For me its soy. Goitregens or sea food (iodine) have no noticable effect on my thyroid, niether does gluten. But soy makes it feel swelled in several hours.
I agree that while diet can help you lose weight and provide necessary vitamins/minerals, etc, it can not change or cure Hashimoto's.
I would like to add, that cooking those goitrogens removes their ability to affect the thyroid, making them safe to eat. These things are all chock full of vitamins/minerals and are naturally low in calories.
The only thing I completely avoid is soy.
I'd also like to say that if your doctor is only testing TSH every 6 months, she is doing you a disservice. She should also be testing Free T3 and Free T4, which are the actual thyroid hormones. The levels of these hormones can NOT be determined via a TSH test. TSH is a pituitary hormone and changes constantly for a variety of reasons.
First of all Julie, medhelp doesn't allow publication of private emails, hence all the asterix in your post.
Secondly Hashimoto's is a thyroid disease of autoimmune response. Diet can help you feel better to cope with it but diet can not cure it.
Gluten and soy are not directly involved in thyroid production and interation, however many thyroid patients do have lower tolerance to both.
I think you are confusing what has been said in the past about certain foods and thyroid function. People with thyroid problems should avoid things that will aggrevate their thyroid. For example, lots of broccoli, kale, cabbage are known as goitregens. Meaning they can cause the thyroid to swell up and become a goitre. Too much soy can also interfere with the natural processes of the thryoid.
So really it is best to avoid foods like the above when having thyroid issues. Those who have had a thyroid removed will not have this problem.
So if you avoid those foods you might find you are helping your thyroid function better overall but Hashimoto's will not be cured by that. If you didn't have Hashi's eating a diet free of soy and goitregens can certainly benefit a poor old thyroid to produce more effectively.
Cheers
What do you mean by "change Hashimoto's Disease"? What actually is changed?
I do not agree with your answer. Diet can change hashimoto disease.
There is no real diet known really to do much of ANYTHING with regard to Thyroid problems.
Some of the cauliform veggies (like broccoli & cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts etc) are supposed to not be good for Thyroid production.
Hashi's is an auto immune problem where you body thinks your Thyroid is a foreign invader like a germ. So the body goes about attacking it until it kills the Thyroid. Over time your Thyroid will produce less and less and maybe eventually completely produces nothing. Therefore the only thing that can be done is medicine to replace the hormone. Diet is NOT going to do it. Diet can help but it is minor improvement at best and almost insignificant at worst.
People who have low thyroid typically are also low on Vit D and possibly Vit B-12. Calcium can bind with thyroid meds so you want to make sure you do not take any supplements within aout 3 or 4 hours of taking Thyroid meds. Selenium can help a little with the conversion of T4 into usable T3.