Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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seems like paleo can easily cause hypo-thyroid in people if they're not specific enough - can we do better?

can we tweak the paleo principles to maximize thyroid health?

please leave suggestions and i will edit as we go, thanks

flag	asked Feb 23 2012 at 19:33 dsohei 1,923●1●7●19

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Hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto's will probably require a different plan from non-Hashi hypothyroid. – air_hadoken Feb 23 2012 at 21:56

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askthelowcarbexperts.com/2012/02/… – Atkins-witha-loincloth Feb 24 2012 at 21:01

is there evidence that paleo would increase incidence of hypothyroidism? – meta Jul 3 at 1:55

there's plenty of anecdotal evidence, in the same way there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that the paleo diet is god's gift. – dsohei Jul 10 at 21:50

RolandPlain · Answer 1 · 2012-02-23 19:41:14Z UTC

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Where have you heard or seen evidence of this? I've never heard this. saturated fat is a metabolism booster if anything. and seeing as when your insulin is low, your levels of glucagon are higher... the body would be consistently burning fuel, and not storing. I don't see how the would in any way create a hypo-thyroid condition.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 19:41

RolandPlain
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For example Ray Peat recommends eating carb and dairy at the same time as red muscle meat as he claims that the amino acid profile of muscle meat is anti thyroid. – Poisson Feb 23 2012 at 19:45

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Wow! That's totally incompatible with koshrut laws. Blah. – primallykosher Feb 23 2012 at 19:49

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Here's a thread about why Paleo can lead to hypo. It's not the Paleo, so much as the low-carb, which many Paleo eaters do: paleohacks.com/questions/47760/… – Soporificat Mar 7 2012 at 2:58

Wayne daniels · Answer 2 · 2012-02-23 19:56:34Z UTC

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Take kelp every other day and make sure you get 100carbs a day.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 19:56

Wayne daniels

community wiki

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Funny you say that. Just got my blood work done, and my t3 levels are low (free t4 and tsh were fine). I am thinking it is an iodine deficiency, so bought myself a bottle of kelp. We'll see if my numbers improve next time. I think many people on paleo can become low on iodine (see Chris Kressers last podcast w/ Chris Masterjohn), which can issues with the thyroid. – pbo Feb 23 2012 at 20:20

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chriskresser.com/… Just being the good guy greg. – primallykosher Feb 23 2012 at 21:21

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The advice to take kelp at all could indeed be very bad advice, depending on the type of thyroid trouble one has. – Christopher Gagnon Feb 23 2012 at 23:48

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Maybe but it might be negligible if you take selenium. – primallykosher Feb 24 2012 at 3:22

Staci · Answer 3 · 2012-02-23 21:54:56Z UTC

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Been paleo for a year and saw my endocrinologist yesterday. He said he knew "caveman" eating style was the best 20 yrs ago. He was very pleased with all my numbers. 5 other family members have similar good results.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 21:54

Staci
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wow thats great for you and has NOTHING to do with the topic. – dsohei Feb 26 2012 at 20:11

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The point was that paleo has helped me manage my thyroid issues, thus the input of the endocrinologist. I did not need to tweak my paleo approach. Sorry that I didn't make that clear. – Staci Feb 27 2012 at 20:38

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That reminds me of my endo commenting that MOST of her patients (mostly diabetic) were gluten intolerant and the ones who hadn't quit it sure ought to. Somehow a light went on for me. She saw me after about 3 months of paleo/primal and was just delighted with the results. – syrahna Mar 7 2012 at 4:36

(I was gluten free before primal/paleo - but the gluten thing really made me look harder at grains and other empty carbs) – syrahna Mar 7 2012 at 4:37

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Staci your answer was clear to me, and on topic, the first time I read it! – Crowlover Jul 31 at 6:53

JayJay · Answer 4 · 2012-02-23 22:08:29Z UTC

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I deny the premise that hypothyroid is any more prevelant in paleo eaters......but if you do have hypothyroid symptoms I found this book very good http://www.amazon.com/Still-Thyroid-Symptoms-Tests-Normal/dp/1600376703 He actually promotes a paleo like diet and categorizes 22 patterns of low thyroid function.

The book is very well researched and quite detailed approach to discovering and treating these different patterns.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 22:08

JayJay
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i agree that excluding grains, legumes, and dairy would not incline anyone to thyroid issues. grains, legumes, and dairy are not magic foods that make your thyroid healthier – ben61820 Feb 23 2012 at 22:41

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It's not the exclusion of grains, etc... that can be a problem, it is eating low-carb, and many Paleo folks do conflate Paleo with low-carb: paleohacks.com/questions/47760/… – Soporificat Mar 7 2012 at 3:00

Soporificat....while i'm not gonna argue what your macronutrient ratio should be, I will state that I feel the same way about LC. Some people on paleo have hypothyroid....some people on LC have hypothyroid....I believe there is no causation in either case. Anecdotes of those curing hypothyroid symptoms with both are as prevalent as those saying these eating styles cause them if not more so. – JayJay Mar 7 2012 at 3:18

primallykosher · Answer 5 · 2012-02-23 22:18:39Z UTC

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Your going to have to have a handle on the ratio of selenium, iodine and cruciferious vegetables too.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 22:18

primallykosher
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How does one start this, though? What are the questions to ask? I know my region has selenium deficient soil - livestock is supplemented. But neither my regular doc nor my endocrinologist have ever even mentioned any of those three things. – syrahna Mar 7 2012 at 4:39

Christopher Gagnon · Answer 6 · 2012-02-23 23:57:02Z UTC

This question asserts an unsubstantiated premise that paleo causes (or can cause) hypothyroidism. Without evidence supporting this premise, I'm not sure I would take seriously ANY advice offered in response. I am a person with hypothyroidism, by the way.

sue · Answer 7 · 2012-03-07 01:48:25Z UTC

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I started eating paleo a couple weeks ago. I was Dx with hypothyoidism 10 years ago. I have a blood test for thyroid panel in two weeks so I should have an idea if paleo affects the thyroid. I will post results.

answered Mar 7 2012 at 1:48

sue
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great! let us know – dsohei Jul 10 at 21:53

Jean · Answer 8 · 2012-07-02 23:32:28Z UTC

Hypothyroidism is present in a very large number of Americans, particularly females. I was diagnosed with it at age 41. The frequency I remember hearing was something like 30% of women over the age of 45 have it and most take meds (synthroid). I've never been too concerned with it because the medication I take is fairly simple and cheap and doesn't have any side effete. I had a bunch of health crises around the time I was diagnosed so that was the least of my worries.

But I am very curious to see if after a few months or more, my thyroid function might return to normal levels. That would be a big sign of health for me, and I would love to be medication-free!

Ryan · Answer 9 · 2012-07-03 02:48:59Z UTC

Consume enough carbs (at least 200 grams a day). The absolute best carbohydrate for your thyroid is going to be from sugar. Half gallon of OJ a day is simple.
Avoid unsatured fats and stick with saturated. Milk, butter, coconut oil, beef are the best sources.
Consume enough protein, mainly from dairy sources.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=419742

That link explains most of it. After trying everything, this diet was the one that absolutely turned my thyroid issues around.

scottts · Answer 10 · 2012-07-03 03:40:38Z UTC

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I'm hypothyroid. I've done VLC at 25gms veg carbs per day and my T3 was reduced and TSH rose. I went to 80+ gms starch carb per day and T3 rose and TSH fell.

I think for some hypos higher glucose producing carb intake is beneficial.

answered Jul 3 at 3:40

scottts
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yeah ive heard this as well but i cannot digest starches well. – dsohei Jul 10 at 21:53

help design a pro-thyroid paleo diet?

10 Answers