The Basics

If you’re reading this, maybe you’ve been recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, or maybe you’ve been struggling with it for a while and are hoping to find some relief.

I fall in the middle of those two camps. I was diagnosed nearly a year ago (March 2020) with Hashimoto’s, though I suspect I was struggling with it for at least two years prior to my diagnosis.

Mayo Clinic describes Hashimoto’s as, “a condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck below your Adam’s apple. The thyroid gland is part of your endocrine system, which produces hormones that coordinate many of your body’s functions.”

I describe Hashimoto’s as “holy hell, where did all of my energy and personality go?” (and my hair, and my nails, and my ability to lose weight….etc.).

Doctors don’t really know the cause of Hashimoto’s Disease (as with most Auto-Immune Diseases), but it’s believed to be a combination of factors including heredity, sex and age, which determine your likelihood of diagnosis.

My Symptoms

Weight Gain
Forgetfulness/Brain Fog
Depression
Fatigue
Dry Skin
Hair Loss
Joint Pain
Brittle Nails
Puffy Face/Eyes
Loss of Libido
Increased sweating
Irritability

Additionally, my Thyroid Antibodies climbed in the past year:

Thyroglobulin AB-
March 2020: 5.92 IU/ml, January 2021: 6.84 IU/ml
The optimal range on this test is 0-4.1

Thyroperoxidase AB-
March 2020: 189.31 IU/mL, January 2021: 284.05 IU/mL
The optimal range on this test is 0-5.6.

Why Whole30 May Help

So, I know what you’re thinking. Why are you doing this Whole30 thing to help with that?

After nearly a year of being on Thyroid medications, my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormones) have leveled out to a healthy range, but my Thyroid Antibodies have continued to elevate.

I’m not a medical professional, so please understand that the choice to follow this protocol is merely my personal journey. Any and all nutritional and dietary recommendations should always be discussed with your doctor before implementation.

My research has shown that there is a strong correlation between food sensitivities and immune response, which can also stem from a root cause of what’s called “Leaky Gut”. You can read more about that HERE in an article from Dr. Izabella Wentz, but the basic premise is that we have small tears in our intestines, which allow food particles to escape into our bloodstream. Our body then launches an attack on those food particles, since they are not in a place where they belong. But once those antibodies have been created, they continue to attack our system every time we eat that specific food.

So how do we KNOW which foods are bothersome to our immune system? Well, we really don’t know.

Enter an Elimination Diet–where we remove well known causes of inflammation from our nutrition, and then reintroduce them one at a time to monitor our body for symptoms.

That’s Where Whole30 Comes In

So what is Whole30, exactly?

“You can think of the Whole30 like pushing the reset button with your health, habits, and relationship with food,” Hartwig Urban says. “For 30 days, you’ll eliminate the foods that scientific literature and our clinical experience have shown to be commonly problematic in one of four areas — cravings and habits, blood sugar regulation and hormones, digestion, and immune system, and inflammation.”

The premise is simple: eat only real, whole foods for 30 days.

The “No-Go” list— grains, alcohol, sugar, legumes, dairy, MSG, sulfites, carrageenan, and no recreating junk foods using Whole30 Approved ingredients.

The big premise–you have to be 100% in compliance with the “rules” because you cannot truly allow your body to heal if you’re sneaking in a latte or a big old scoop of peanut butter here and there.

Read more about the Whole30 rules and the science behind them HERE.

Chronicles of my Journey

My Whole30 Journey officially began on Monday, February 22, 2021. These first couple of days have been interesting to say the least.

I was prepared, because I’ve done a Whole30 before (a few years ago when I first suspected something was wrong with the way I was feeling). But they still hit me like a ton of bricks!

Stay tuned to additional posts as I lay out what I experienced each day, leading up to the culmination and what symptom relief I feel after completing the journey.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back soon with an update!!!