Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hi all. I have Hashimoto's and have been dabbling in paleo for a few months and doing it strictly for a few weeks.

As I've been cheating less, I've begun to feel a bit worse in a specific way. I have muscle pain in both arms. I had this before when I was trying to get the thyroid drugs worked out and my sense is that I get this odd muscle pain when the thyroid meds (Levoxyl) are too low or when for some reason I'm not metabolizing the meds properly. I went for quite a while without this pain but it has reappeared with a vengeance over the last couple weeks.

So, is there any reason to think that a paleo low-carb diet lowers T4 or T3? If so, why?

Thanks for your help.

edited Jun 27 2011 at 20:33

asked Jun 27 2011 at 4:34

susan
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There are some great answers down there! Great question Susan! Thanks everyone! :D – gilliebean♦ Jun 27 2011 at 20:46

ben61820 · Answer 1 · 2011-06-27 11:52:37Z UTC

There is definite reason to think that eating very low carbohydrate adversely effects thyroid health, yes.

LC people, who have consistenly done LC for extended periods like upwards of 3 months, etc, routinely have low thyroid function. How that relates to Hashimoto's is beyond me.

Tons of stuff online if you search. Chris Kresser, not that I am a sworn follower, has a lot to say bout that on his site.

Stay paleo of course, as food quality has nothing to do with your thyroid function, but eat more carbohydrate routinely.

none · Answer 2 · 2011-06-27 13:07:47Z UTC

I will echo what the other guys said.

T3 is converted from T4 in the liver. From what I understand, too few carbs forces your liver to make glucose to feed your brain. Perhaps when your liver is taxed by doing this too much, for too long a time the conversion of T4 to T3 is reduced. The result would be lower metabolism.

Also, I have read that low carb reduces TSH in order to slow metabolism which further lowers T3. I think this ends up being called the "starvation" response. I also think T3 is needed to build new muscle which is key to well functioning metabolism as well.

So, it's not the Paleo part that's the problem. It's the too low carb part.

Paleo carbs are good.The Hashi's is autoimmune and I think has been linked to gluten among other things (NOT AN EXPERT ALERT). Keep Paleo and eat some carbs and see what happens. :)

cliff · Answer 3 · 2011-06-27 10:37:38Z UTC

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Some say eating low carb lowers the conversion of t4 to t3 so maybe try upping the carb content a little via fruits/tubers.

answered Jun 27 2011 at 10:37

cliff
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Shari Bambino · Answer 4 · 2011-06-27 14:01:28Z UTC

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Are you low carb because you are trying to lose weight? If not then I would definitely raise the carbs and see what happens. Even if weight loss is the goal you may want to raise carbs slightly. Now some do absolutely fine on LC or even VLC but I know that some have had to raise their carb levels to optimize thyroid.

This thyroid board has some excellent voices who can help guide you if you want specific help from other low carber with thyroid issuses. A few of them are genius really. They are NOT paleo though so they can't help you on that front but still a great resource for you in figuring this out.

answered Jun 27 2011 at 14:01

Shari Bambino
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	Nice recommendation for those boards. Recs like that are very important. I recently got a rec for a hyperhidrosis board that has monumentally helped me n – ben61820 Jun 27 2011 at 14:11
	Thanks ben. Glad you got a great rec that is helping. I hesitate to rec this particular board in general as the main site is a huge mess (the blind leading the blind) but the thyroid board has some people on it who really know they stuff. I have watched them help scores of people get their own tests run and properly interpreted and then find a doc in their area who can work with them. Life changing stuff indeed. Just a really great group for thyroid issues. – Shari Bambino Jun 27 2011 at 15:30
	Thanks, Shari. I'll check out that board. I am low-carb to lose weight. It's really the only thing that has worked for me in the past, but it's hard to say it's workign at this point if I feel this bad. – susan Jun 27 2011 at 20:37
	Susan how low are your carbs most days? – Shari Bambino Jun 27 2011 at 21:11
	Around 20-40g..... – susan Jun 27 2011 at 21:55

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Does paleo lower thyroid function?

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