Why a Gluten Free Diet can Help Thyroid Health?

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Achieve Thyroid Levels within a Short Period of Time

Is a gluten free diet just a fad, or could eliminating gluten help thyroid health and end the bloat, brain fog, and nagging indigestion?

Could a gluten free diet really help thyroid health?

What is gluten?

Gluten is the main structural protein found naturally in a variety of grains including wheat, rye, spelt, barley, oats and triticale. Triticale is a cross between wheat and rye.

Gluten is also used as a single ingredient in many processed foods as it makes an ideal binder or thickener. This means you could be consuming additional gluten without knowing it.

A gluten free diet

A gluten free diet strictly excludes all grains and packaged foods containing gluten. This means cutting the common gluten containing foods such as bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, desserts and biscuits from the daily diet.

This may not be as restrictive as it first appears as health food stores and supermarkets offer gluten free alternatives. In addition, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh fish and lean organic animal protein are all naturally gluten free.

However for most people changing to a gluten free diet plan is a big step and takes some getting used to. The restrictions can even make you feel downright deprived. But the payoff can be enormous!

Many people experience life changing transformation when they cut gluten. They lose weight, especially around the middle and they notice a dramatic improvement in their health and vitality.

Watch this Video Below Here – My Gluten Free Diet - What I Eat

The modern problem with wheat

These days highly refined wheat is the most common source of gluten as it is used in a wide variety of foods found in supermarkets. To meet ongoing demand wheat is grown on an industrial scale. Along with the development of modern agricultural methods there has also been selective breeding of wheat.

Wheat crops now yield a much higher ratio of gluten. This is not good news for those who are gluten sensitive or have diagnosed gluten-related disorders. If eating gluten causes digestive discomfort, even weight gain the culprit may actually be the modern, hybrid wheat varieties.

Dr. William Davis is a respected cardiologist and author of Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health. Dr Davis believes wheat is the single biggest contributor to the country’s obesity epidemic. In part because aggressive breeding methods and genetic manipulation have turned wheat into what Davis describes as a ‘Frankenwheat’.

There is also evidence the newer high yield wheat strains are less nutritious and lack important nutrients such as zinc, iron, copper and magnesium.

Gluten sensitivity can result in a broad range of symptoms

Gluten can easily irritate the lining of the digestive system. Once this happen the body launches a swift immune response as it reacts to gluten as something foreign.

This creates inflammation that spreads like wildfire throughout the whole body.

Gluten sensitivity symptoms can therefore be linked to specific digestive problems as well as broader health issues in other parts of the body.

Renowned neurologist David Perlmutter believes gluten can initiate reactions within the brain that can spark a range of health problems. This includes headaches, depression, anxiety and even dementia. Dr Perlumtter is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar. Your Brain’s Silent Killers. In his book Dr Perlmutter explains that gluten containing grains can be extremely destructive within the brain.

Could you be gluten intolerant?

Gluten sensitivity can result in a broad range of symptoms. Here is a checklist of the main symptoms:

·         Weight loss or weight gain, especially abdominal weight gain

·         Fatigue or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten

·         Digestive problems: bloating, pain, gas + diarrhoea

·         Weak + cracked fingernails

·         Fat in the stools due to poor breakdown of dietary fat

·         Joint + muscle pain

·         Mood swings + depression

·         Poor memory + concentration

·         Skin rashes including dermatitis herpetiformis

·         Osteoporosis due to lowered mineral absorption

·         Migraine headaches

Emotional stress can play a significant role in intensifying the symptoms.

Did you know it takes around 4 weeks of strictly avoiding gluten to discover if gluten is a problem for you?

It takes this long for your system to calm down if gluten has been causing digestive distress. If you feel far better when you exclude gluten, or feel worse when you reintroduce gluten then it’s very likely a problem for you.

The good news is that it’s much easier these days to find healthy gluten free alternatives that help thyroid health, which I will write about in my next blog post.

Can a gluten free diet help thyroid health and heal hypothyroidism?

Once gluten is removed from your diet it is very likely you will notice improvements in your health, especially if you have an autoimmune thyroid disorder.

Minor symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, brain fog and indigestion can disappear fairly quickly when gluten is excluded from the diet.

Improvements in chronic health problems made worse by gluten sensitivity such as arthritis, eczema and autoimmune diseases including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis usually take longer.

What is the gluten – thyroid link?

# Gluten can also cause your immune system to start attacking the thyroid. The molecular composition of your thyroid tissue is very similar to gluten. So for those with an autoimmune thyroid disorder it can be a case of mistaken identity.

Eliminating gluten from your diet may reduce the ongoing autoimmune attack on your thyroid. For some individuals, when they strictly eliminate gluten from their diet their thyroid antibody levels decrease.

# Gluten is destructive to the lining of the digestive tract.  A gluten intolerance reduces digestive function leading to compromised immune function and lower absorption of a wide range of vital nutrients. This is not good news for thyroid health.

Digestive health is closely linked to optimal immune system function. A large mass of lymphoid tissue including several types of specialised immune cells are located in the digestive tract. The lymphoid tissue helps defend your body against pathogens. An imbalance in digestive function can therefore impair immune activity.

# Poor digestive health leads to mal-absorption issues. The thyroid is particularly sensitive to nutritional deficiencies. For example; iodine, zinc and selenium are crucial to proper thyroid hormone activity. In addition, ongoing research confirms individuals with low selenium intake, or poor absorption of selenium are more likely to develop Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

There are two factors:

A selenium deficiency results in lower activity of the selenium dependent enzymes vital to assist ongoing activity of the thyroid hormones, including activation of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3). Low T3 is associated with the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Selenium plays a role in protecting the thyroid gland itself as this mineral boosts glutathione activity. Glutathione is naturally produced by the body using selenium and a combination of three amino acids sourced from dietary protein – cysteine, glycine and glutamine. Glutathione acts as a potent antioxidant and is highly active within the thyroid to help protect this important gland.

To help thyroid health, watch these 2 videos here - Gluten and Thyroid Health: Is It Safe for Hypothyroidism?  And Gluten Sensitivity: Thyroid And Gluten Sensitivity

Coeliac disease

For people with coeliac disease a strict gluten free diet is advocated for life as gluten damages the lining of their small intestine and prevents adsorption of essential nutrients. Even a minute amount of gluten will prompt a noticeable immune reaction.

Coeliac disease is one of the most common inflammatory conditions affecting the digestive system. The abnormal immune response caused by gluten can make a person susceptible to other autoimmune problems including autoimmune thyroid disorders. Grave’s disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are frequently diagnosed along with coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease is commonly considered to be a genetic disorder however it can be set off later in life by a stressful event, such as an infection, injury or surgery. A specific diagnostic test is used to confirm coeliac disease.

The Natural Thyroid Diet.The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly recommends excluding all gluten foods from your diet. This forms a part of a holistic plan to recover your thyroid health. If you do not have a copy of this eBook you can get instant access on the order page.

Read the following related articles:

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5 Important Steps for Hypothyroidism Treatment Success

Hormone Problem? Here’s Your Hormone Imbalance Checklist

Are Iodine Supplements For Thyroid Health Really Safe?

What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?

5 Best Ways to Protect Yourself from Iodine Toxicity

Is It Safe To Take Iodine When You Have Hashimotos Disease?

Why these Top 5 Thyroid Blood Tests are Essential?

What Causes High Reverse T3 (RT3) – a Major Driver of an Underactive Thyroid?

Why Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms are Strikingly Similar to Hypothyroidism Symptoms?

Why Testing for Viral Infections Can Solve Your Thyroid Disorder?

What can Harmful Environmental Chemicals Do to Thyroid Function and Body Weight?

Author Bio:

Louise O’ Connor, the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.

The Natural Thyroid Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details, Click on The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com

What can Harmful Environmental Chemicals Do to Thyroid Function and Body Weight?

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Achieve Thyroid Levels within a Short Period of Time

Several factors are known to influence thyroid function and health. Thyroid disorders tend to run in families, low iodine intake can depress thyroid activity, and exposure to radiation harms the thyroid.

However in addition to these established risk factors ongoing research reveals toxic environmental chemicals pose a serious threat to your thyroid function and health.

Could daily exposure to harmful environmental chemicals have negative effects on your thyroid?

Like it or not widespread global industrialisation over the last few decades has flooded the planet with a cocktail of dangerous environmental chemicals.

Contamination is widespread, and poses a serious threat to the quality of the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Environmental health experts warn exposure to even very small concentrations or a complex mixture can interfere with reproduction, immune health and nervous system function.

Over time exposure to risky environmental chemicals can lead to a diverse range of health problems such as hypothyroidism, chemical sensitivities, nervous system disorders, even some cancers.

Environmental chemicals and thyroid function

The thyroid is extremely vulnerable to the effects of hazardous environmental chemicals. It should therefore come as little surprise that thyroid problems are escalating as we become increasingly exposed to environmental pollution.

The incidence of thyroid disease, most notably thyroid cancer and thyroid autoimmune disease is increasing substantially.

There is a wide array of environmental chemicals that harm thyroid health. Termed ‘thyroid-disrupting chemicals’ these pollutants have the ability to change the way thyroid hormones act in the body.

They can also directly attack the thyroid, block uptake of iodine in the thyroid, trigger thyroid antibody production leading to an autoimmune thyroid disorder and increase the risk for serious thyroid conditions.

Watch this Video Here from Dr. Justin Marchegiani – Thyroid Toxins Causing Hypothyroidism | LowThyroid Symptoms

Does Daily Exposure to Environmental Chemicals Cause Weight Gain, and Even Obesity?

Emerging research also reveals that everyday exposure to toxins can contribute to weight gain. Termed ‘obesogens’, these potent environmental chemicals have the potential to cause weight gain, even obesity.

Dietary, pharmaceutical, and industrial compounds alter a range of processes within the body which in turn can increase the risk of being overweight and obese. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association even children are at risk.

Researchers found children exposed to high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) are five times more likely to be obese than children with low levels. BPA mimics oestrogen, the main female hormone. This means this compound is capable of having effects similar to oestrogen in the body. In excess oestrogen activity is harmful to both the male and female body.

Exposure to BPA is widespread as this toxic chemical is used in the lining of aluminium cans, baby bottles, printed store receipts, plastic containers and medical devices.

Sure an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle are certainly risk factors for obesity but studies such as this add to the evidence of a possible link between environmental chemicals and spiralling obesity rates.

Watch this Video Here from Dr. Brad Shook - How BPA, Latex and fire retardants affect Thyroid Function

The following list of the most hazardous thyroid disrupting chemicals is a little daunting but gives you an idea of what we are up against. These chemicals are all around us so we need to look at minimising our exposure as much as possible for proper thyroid function.

·         pesticides found in the food and water supply

·         polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in older paints, electrical equipment and building materials

·         heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury

·         dioxins and dioxin-like compounds from the environment

·         phthalates found in vinyl and plastic products

·         polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) flame retardants present in carpets, clothing, soft furnishings, electronics and plastics

·         polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in air pollution

·         bisphenol A (BPA) found in a variety of food and beverage packaging

·         bromides used in oils to stabilise citrus flavoured soft drinks, commercial bakery products, some flours and is also found in pesticides

·         halogens which include fluoride, chlorine, perchlorate and bromide. Halogens compete for the same receptor sites as iodine with excessive intake crowding out optimal iodine activity.

Read the following related articles:

Warnings: 4 Types of Toxic Cookware to Avoid & Why

What is really The Best Cooking Oil forThyroid Health?

5 Important Steps for Hypothyroidism Treatment Success

Hormone Problem? Here’s Your Hormone Imbalance Checklist

Are Iodine Supplements For Thyroid Health Really Safe?

What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?

5 Best Ways to Protect Yourself from IodineToxicity

Is It Safe To Take Iodine When You Have Hashimotos Disease?

Why these Top 5 Thyroid Blood Tests are Essential?

What Causes High Reverse T3 (RT3) – a Major Driver of an Underactive Thyroid?

Why Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms are Strikingly Similar to Hypothyroidism Symptoms?

Why Testing for Viral Infections Can Solve Your Thyroid Disorder?

Author Bio:

Louise O’ Connor, the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.

The Natural Thyroid Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details, Click on The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com

Why Testing for Viral Infections Can Solve Your Thyroid Disorder?

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Achieve Thyroid Levels within a Short Period of Time

Uncovering a long standing infection could offer a real solution to solving your thyroid disorder. Did you know chronic infections can easily masquerade as hypothyroidism?

In fact, there’s often an overlap between hypothyroidism and symptoms triggered by a lingering viral infection.

This article discusses testing for viral infections. Long standing infections that are active in the body are linked to chronic fatigue syndrome.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, aka myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a disease of the immune system.

There is a vast amount of research to demonstrate infections are the most likely cause of chronic fatigue syndrome.

How to Test For Viral Infections

There is no single test to diagnose a chronic viral infection, or even multiple viral infections. For this reason medical practitioners usually screen a patient for the main viruses which tend to cause long term problems. Your medical practitioner will also take into account your symptoms and health history.

Antibody Tests Are Usually Used To Check For Long Standing Viral Infections

Termed antibody tests, these types of blood tests are the obvious place to start the search for chronic infections.

Antibodies are molecules produced by the immune system to fight an infection. By doing specific antibody tests you can detect the presence of antibodies to a particular viral infection. When antibodies are discovered it will also reveal whether you were infected recently or in the past.

A stable positive result indicates past infection. In contrast, a high antibody load indicates recent infection, or reactivation of a past infection. The most consistent marker of progression of an infection within the body is a rising antibody titre. This term is used to describe the amount of antibodies that are measured within a blood sample.

Active viruses travel through the blood. These microscopic viruses are ‘non-living’ and they lack the ability to replicate on their own. To ensure their survival these viruses must take hold within the host cell. Left unchecked by the immune system they have the ability to integrate themselves into many cells of the body.

The two leading viruses that trigger chronic fatigue symptoms are Epstein – Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV).

Medical practitioners often test for these two viruses when a patient has fatigue issues. These two viruses often target the central nervous system and liver causing problems.

The tests listed here will help diagnose an infection with the viruses most commonly associated with chronic fatigue symptoms.

·         Cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies

·         Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies

·         Hepatitis B virus (HBV)) antibodies

·         Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies

·         Herpes simplex virus (HSV) antibodies

·         Varicella Zoster virus antibodies

A Viral Infection Can Give Rise to a Diverse Range of Symptoms

A virus lodged within the cell continues to replicate and by integrating itself deep within the cell it avoids detection by the immune system. The immune system therefore does not make antibodies to viruses that have become hidden within organs and other tissues of the body.

This makes identifying a viral infection a real challenge. It is possible to have a significant intracellular infection, but still show relatively low antibody levels when you take an antibody test.

A chronic viral infection can cause a range of diverse symptoms depending on the original infection involved. When a virus takes hold in the central nervous system, or enters an organ such as the liver or digestive tract it gives rise to a range of complaints such as fatigue, liver tenderness and neurological problems.

Your medical practitioner may also request a white cell count (WCC) and liver function test (LFT).

Watch this Video below - How are viral infections diagnosed and treated

Read the following related articles:

Warnings: 4 Types of Toxic Cookware to Avoid & Why

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5 Important Stepsfor Hypothyroidism Treatment Success

Hormone Problem? Here’s Your Hormone Imbalance Checklist

Are Iodine Supplements For Thyroid Health Really Safe?

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5 Best Ways to Protect Yourself from IodineToxicity

Is It Safe To Take Iodine When You Have Hashimotos Disease?

Why these Top 5 Thyroid Blood Tests are Essential?

What Causes High Reverse T3 (RT3) – a Major Driver of an Underactive Thyroid?

Why Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms are Strikingly Similar to Hypothyroidism Symptoms?

Author Bio:

Louise O’ Connor, the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.

The Natural Thyroid Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details, Click on The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com

Why Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms are Strikingly Similar to Hypothyroidism Symptoms?

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Achieve Thyroid Levels within a Short Period of Time

The hall mark symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome is overwhelming physical and mental exhaustion which is not made better with rest. It is also gives rise to a long list of debilitating symptoms.

Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms checklist

There are striking similarities between the symptoms of hypothyroidism and those listed for chronic fatigue syndrome.

The two conditions overlap, as both are associated with what is essentially a functional breakdown in the body’s ability to generate energy at a basic cell level.

Chronic fatigue syndrome takes feeling tired to a whole new debilitating level.

Spot the signs…

·         Aching joints.

·         Allergies.

·         Chemical sensitivity.

·         Digestive problems. Including nausea, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea.

·         Fibromyalgia (muscle pain).

·         Food intolerances.

·         Heart palpitations; increased heart rate or shortness of breath with exertion or on standing.

·         Low blood pressure. You may also feel dizzy if you get up too quickly.

·         Neurological symptoms. Poor memory and concentration, muscle twitching, mild electric shock sensations in the muscles and tingling in the joints or muscles.

·         Pain and tenderness of the liver

·         Persistent fatigue.

·         Reduced ability to cope with changes in temperature.

·         Sleep problems.

·         Sore throat and runny nose.

·         Tender lymph nodes.

·         Urinary problems.

·         Vision loss.

How big a role do infections play in the onset of chronic fatigue syndrome?

Some infections, once thought to only cause short lived symptoms may in fact remain active in the body giving rise to a range of diverse symptoms depending on the original infection, or multiple infections involved.

Termed ‘latent infections’, these are not necessarily dormant infections. There is mounting evidence these infections continue to play a major role in disrupting healthy immune system activity.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterised by an immune system that is continually ‘switched on’. It is commonly assumed that some type immune dysfunction is occurring. This is a theory and has not been proven conclusively.

Is it possible the immune system remains activated as it is fighting against some type of latent infection? Many of the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome closely resemble those associated with a lingering infectious illness.

Some of the infections linked to chronic fatigue syndrome include:

·         Barmah Forest virus

·         Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium (linked to Lyme disease)

·         Coxiella burnetii (linked to Q fever)

·         Coxsackievirus A + B

·         Cytomegalovirus

·         Echoviruses

·         Epstein-Barr virus

·         Hepatitis B virus

·         Herpes virus

·         Ross River virus

·         Rubella virus (linked to German measles)

·         Varicella zoster virus (linked to shingles)

·         Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV)

Due to the close connection between the thyroid and the immune system an effective treatment plan to recover your thyroid health should include a proper investigation into the possible role infections are playing on your health and vitality.

This is particularly important if you have a thyroid autoimmune disorder.

Of all the environmental factors with a potential to trigger autoimmunity, the most important seem to be viruses, bacteria, and other infectious pathogens. They have long been associated with autoimmune diseases.

Uncovering a latent infection, or even multiple infections may provide the missing pieces of the puzzle to help you recover your thyroid health. Your medical practitioner can request specific blood tests to check for viral infections commonly associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Apart from checking for chronic infections there is no single blood test or scan to accurately diagnosis chronic fatigue syndrome. The diagnosis is usually made after all other illnesses are excluded.

Watch this video below - Solutions for chronic fatigue syndrome, low thyroidactivity, digestive disorders & much more

Read the following related articles:

Warnings: 4 Types of Toxic Cookware to Avoid & Why

What is really The Best Cooking Oil for Thyroid Health?

5 Important Steps for Hypothyroidism Treatment Success

Hormone Problem? Here’s Your Hormone Imbalance Checklist

Are Iodine Supplements For Thyroid Health Really Safe?

What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?

5 Best Ways to Protect Yourself from Iodine Toxicity

Is It Safe To Take Iodine When You Have Hashimotos Disease?

Why these Top 5 Thyroid Blood Tests are Essential?

What Causes High Reverse T3(RT3) – a Major Driver of an Underactive Thyroid?

Author Bio:

Louise O’ Connor, the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.

The Natural Thyroid Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details, Click on The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com