Diet Tips for Graves’ Disease You Probably Don’t Know About

Before I talk about some dietary tips for Graves disease that can help you restore your health to normal, let me tell you that I am not only a licensed healthcare professional, but I was personally diagnosed with Graves disease. And nutrition definitely played a huge role in restoring my health to normal. I will warn you that as a holistic practitioner, I lean towards natural treatment methods, so although most endocrinologists label Graves ‘disease as “incurable,” based on my own personal experience, I believe that Graves’ disease Graves can be cured and diet is important in restoring your health.

So if you are looking for Graves disease dietary tips to help you restore your health to normal, then you will enjoy reading the following information. As I just mentioned, diet can play an important role in the natural treatment of Graves’ disease. However, I will tell you that while eating healthy and incorporating nutritional supplements can be beneficial, there are other factors that will also play a role in your recovery, which I will mention briefly in this article.

I will also warn you that different doctors will have different opinions on what is considered “healthy” in regards to diet. And let’s be honest for a moment … no one eats the “perfect” diet, as in my opinion it’s okay to be “bad” once in a while. For example, I once consulted with a patient who loved smoothies, which, as you might guess, are not very healthy. And although it would be ideal for this person to completely eliminate shakes from their diet, consuming one from time to time is usually not a big problem. And the same goes for other foods.

Of course there are exceptions. For example, someone with celiac disease will probably not be able to eat a gluten-based food “once in a while” without having a bad reaction. Another example involves someone who cannot “settle” for an occasional shake, or an occasional slice of pizza, and so on. In other words, some are better off completely staying away from “bad” foods, or else they start consuming too much.

Testing for food allergies is a good idea

Anyway, one of the first things I’ll recommend before someone changes their eating habits is to get a food allergy test. Seeing an allergy doctor may not be the best option, as they will generally only test for IgE antibodies. You may want to visit a comprehensive physician and receive an ELISA / EIA panel, which also measures IgG antibodies and is generally more accurate (although this depends on the laboratory performing the test).

Another alternative is to consider a GI Health Panel. Diagnos-Techs offers this type of test, which measures the health of the gastrointestinal tract and includes more than a dozen tests that use saliva and stool samples. They also offer a FIP Food Intolerance Panel, which will determine if you are allergic to four of the most common foods (gluten, soy, milk, and egg proteins).

A less expensive method is to go on an elimination diet, in which all common food allergens (wheat, soy, dairy, etc.) are removed and then a potential allergen is slowly introduced, one at a time. There are different ways to do this, but here is an example. You can follow a purification program (briefly described) and then once the purification program is complete, introduce wheat for 3 days and see how your body reacts. Just make sure you don’t add more than one potential allergen, as if you were to add wheat and dairy, for example, and you had a bad reaction, you wouldn’t know which allergen is responsible.

A purification program can be beneficial

As I just mentioned, many people can benefit from a purification program. There are different types of these programs, and when undertaking one, it is advisable to be under the guidance of a competent healthcare professional. When I put one of my patients on a purification program, I prefer that they avoid gluten, dairy, soy, and other common allergens for at least twenty-one days. Again, the reason for this is that they are common allergens.

On the other hand, I encourage you to eat lots of vegetables, some fruits, as well as chicken, turkey, and certain types of fish. I recommend buying organic food, at least when it comes to meats. While it would be great if they could buy everything organic I realize some people can’t afford this so if you must choose I would recommend eating organic meat and trying to stay away from non-organic veggies. and fruits with high pesticide content. These are not necessarily the only foods that I recommend, as most people can consume a small amount of raw nuts (sunflower seeds, almonds, etc.), as well as some other foods.

A real example of a Graves disease diet:

Here is an example of a daily protocol when I first started my diet for Graves’ Disease. Note that this is just an example, and it is not a diet that I permanently stick to (although it did train me to eat better and I continue to eat healthily to this day):

Breakfast:

• Protein drink containing 2 cups of purified water, 1 cup of mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries), a healthy form of protein powder, and 1 teaspoon of flax seed oil (after one month I added a raw organic egg this).

Mid-morning snack:

• Organic apples and raw sunflower seeds

Food:

• Grilled Chicken Salad: Organic Mixed Vegetables and Spinach, Organic Grilled Chicken

Mid-afternoon snack:

• Another protein drink (very filling and actually tastes pretty good)

Dinner:

• Organic roast turkey

• Some type of vegetable (ie pumpkin)

Snack after dinner:

• 1 cup of raw nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, cashews)

Although this diet is relatively healthy, you will notice that it is not perfect. It probably should have incorporated more veggies, but overall it was a healthy diet. Today I still eat healthy, but from time to time I incorporate some whole grains (for example, I will have a turkey wrap or a sandwich with whole wheat bread), and every now and then I even go out to buy a pizza, I will eat some. chocolate, etc.

If you currently eat a lot of junk food and / or have strong cravings for sweets and carbohydrates, you wouldn’t expect it to change overnight. In such circumstances, it is best to take it easy, and when I first consult with a patient who has strong cravings for sweets and carbohydrates, I set out a protocol to help him get rid of these cravings, and thus transition to a state healthier. much easier diet. Personally, I grew up eating foods like Fruit Loops, Burger King Whoppers, and French fries, and I drank a lot of Hawaiian punch. And while I was already eating a lot healthier when I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, when I started trying to eat healthy it took some time.

Drink lots of purified water

You also want to drink plenty of purified water during this time and avoid sodas and even most juices, which can be high in sugar. Regarding the type of water you should drink, different doctors have different opinions, but I recommend water that has gone through a process of reverse osmosis or distillation and then enriched with minerals. Some will disagree with me, preferring water without added minerals. Either way, stay away from tap water, and you would also be cautious when drinking spring water unless you know the source is of good quality.

What are goitrogens?

There are also certain goitrogens that you should do your best to avoid. Goitrogens interfere with the function of the thyroid gland, which is certainly not as important a factor in someone with a hyperthyroid condition like Graves’ disease as it would be with someone with a hypothyroid condition. But still, you want to at least minimize the following foods, and some of them you’ll want to avoid altogether. I personally ate some of the following goitrogens in moderation (ie, spinach and broccoli), while completely avoiding others (ie soy). Anyway, these are some of the goitrogens to watch out for:

• Soy

• Broccoli

• Brussels sprouts

• Cauliflower

• Kale

• Spinach

• Turnips

• Peaches

• Strawberries

Where should you buy?

As for where you should shop, although you can shop at your local health food store, I personally like Trader Joes, which is a national chain that has a lot of natural and organic foods at affordable prices. Some “regular” grocery stores and even places like Wal-Mart also sell some natural and organic foods. While my wife and I love to buy most of our items at Trader Joes, we buy some of our food from a local health food store and some items from a “regular” supermarket.

Factors besides diet can affect your health

Besides eating healthy, there are other factors that can affect your health. Since it is difficult to get all the vitamins and minerals you need through your diet, taking some quality nutritional supplements can be beneficial (i.e. B vitamins, vitamin D, iodine, essential fatty acids, a multi-mineral supplement, etc.) . As I’m sure you know, having a regular exercise program is also beneficial. Another important factor for people with Graves disease is managing stress in their lives, because while almost everyone has to deal with stress, we all have different coping mechanisms. And those who don’t do a good job of managing stress in their lives are more likely to have stressed adrenal glands, which can lead to and exacerbate an autoimmune disease.

Should I Consult With A Natural Endocrine Physician?

While many endocrinologists label Graves’ disease incurable, the truth is that many people like me are turning to natural treatment methods to help restore thyroid gland function to avoid antithyroid medications and radioactive iodine. A competent natural practitioner who focuses on endocrine disorders can help you with your diet, recommend quality supplements, and put you on a comprehensive program that can potentially restore your health to normal. While not everyone is a candidate for natural treatment methods, most people can benefit from following a natural treatment protocol.

So for those looking for an ideal diet for Graves’ disease, hopefully they will have a better idea of ​​what foods to eat when diagnosed with this condition. Truth be told, most people should eat a healthy diet consisting of whole foods, regardless of whether or not they have an autoimmune thyroid disorder. Doing so can actually help prevent such conditions from developing, along with incorporating other lifestyle factors like exercising regularly, getting a good night’s sleep, and doing a good job of managing stress. But for someone with Graves disease, eating healthy can definitely help improve their health and is therefore extremely important.