A little over one
year ago, a friend of mine suggested that I read a book that was authored by a
pharmacist with Hashimoto’s Disease. The
book is called, “Hashimoto’s
Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for
Finding and Treating the Root Cause” by Izabella Wentz, PharmD. This book was the beginning of my nutritional
quest for wellness. It was the first
time since my diagnosis in 2009 that I realized so many of my symptoms were
caused by what I ate. In fact, not a
single medical person ever mentioned a correlation between food and autoimmune
disease in the six years of constant blood draws and doctors’
appointments. The assessment was always
the same; I was obviously noncompliant with my T4 medication.
So about 15 months
ago, my husband and I decided to give Dr. Wentz’ advice a try and start an
elimination diet to see if it made any difference in my symptoms (he doesn't have an autoimmune disease – he’s just my rock… he did it with me for moral
support!). Now before you decide to try
it yourself, you should know that the first few days were pure misery… we were
hungry, unhappy and highly irritable! But -- we were determined. What finally got us through that first week
turned out to be a really good blender!
We discovered smoothies and from that week on, that delicious liquid
meal became a staple in our house.
Eventually we
figured out how and what to eat. And I
have to tell you that within one week of being gluten-free, that bloated feeling
in my tummy had disappeared; and without any dairy in my diet, the aches and
pains in my hands were gone. My antibody
level went from 890 to 240 that year (before I started on a natural hormone). Yes, I know that number’s still a significant
indicator of an autoimmune disease, but it’s definitely clear that we were headed
in the right direction… for that, I was very thankful.
Have we figured
everything out? No, but we learn something new every day! In fact, my blood glucose
levels have been abnormally low with my last two lab results. My practitioner explained that even though I
was eating healthy, I had too much fruit (sugar) in my diet. I had no idea that simply eating a piece of
fruit with each meal would drop my sugar levels to that degree… so, less fruit
– more vegetables from now on. But even
with that small setback, I realize what an amazing difference the right food
has had on my wellbeing – both mentally and physically. I still don't know the names of all the
vegetables in the fresh food aisle, but I’m learning. And with your help, I hope to learn new recipes and
share them on this blog so that everybody on this journey can enjoy them!
Eat well Hashi’s.
