Can Hashimoto’s Be Reversed With Diet Alone?

Contrary to what you’ll hear from most doctors, Hashimoto’s is a disease that can absolutely be managed and put into remission. 

And one of the best ways to do this is through the foods that you put into your mouth (AKA your diet). 

There is a big difference between “curing” Hashimoto’s and putting it into “remission”. 

Putting your disease into remission or reversing your disease means that all traces of your disease are gone. 

The big caveat is that it can still come back which is why the term cure isn’t the best way to describe it. 

Definitions aside, let’s talk about what’s more important: 

How likely are you to reverse your disease with diet alone and how to do it: 

How Important Is Your Diet to Managing Your Disease

First things first, what can you expect by changing your diet? 

I wish I could tell you that giving up unhealthy foods and making better food choices is enough for everyone reading this to put their disease into remission, but I’d be lying if I did. 

While it is true that every single person reading this will get some benefit by making healthier food choices, the degree of those benefits will vary from person to person. 

But I can tell you that there are people out there who absolutely have put their disease into remission with just dietary changes alone. 

People I have personally treated and others that I have read stories about. 

And those who do, generally have a few things in common: 

1. They have a more mild disease state. 
2. Their antibodies aren’t sky-high (greater than 1,000).
3. They are early on in their disease.
4. They don’t have many other comorbidities or diseases requiring medications.

If you want to put numbers to it, I’d say that this is possible for about 10% of patients. 

If you fit into that category then, great! But if you’re like most people who don’t, don’t worry, you can still do a lot of good by making the right changes. 

Crafting The Perfect Diet for Hashimoto’s, Here’s How to Do It

Let’s craft the perfect diet for someone with Hashimoto’s:

Choosing the right diet is more than just cutting out processed foods and eating more whole foods, though this definitely won’t hurt. 

It’s more about looking closely at how your food choices impact both your thyroid as well as your immune system. 

As a patient with Hashimoto’s, you must do both if you want to have any chance at putting your disease into remission. 

Optimizing your thyroid will help you feel better, but it will do nothing to prevent future thyroid gland damage from inflammation. 

This means that your diet must have an element of inflammation reduction. 

And hands down, the best way to do this is by avoiding certain foods and by intentionally eating others. 

Reducing Inflammation With Your Food Choices

If you want to lower inflammation then eliminate these foods: 

#1. Any food that contains Gluten

At least in the beginning!

Research has shown that patients with Hashimoto’s are more likely to have problems with gluten compared to the average person. 

This can come as either non-celiac gluten sensitivity (known as NCGS) or as full-blown celiac disease (1). 

For this reason, I often recommend that newly diagnosed patients with Hashimoto’s avoid gluten for at least 2 months. 

You may not need to be gluten-free forever, but going gluten-free forces you to avoid a lot of unhealthy food choices which means you’ll naturally clean up your diet in the process. 

And given that there’s evidence to suggest that gluten can be pro-inflammatory in the gut (2), you’ll probably notice some improvement there as well. 

#2. Dairy

Dairy is a huge problem for around 70% of patients with Hashimoto’s and most people find significant relief when they avoid it. 

One study evaluated the rate of lactose intolerance among those with Hashimoto’s and found it to be 75% (3)!

It was also found that lactose restriction improved TSH significantly among this group of people. 

On top of the milk sugars, of which lactose is one, dairy also contains proteins that can cause problems. 

The two most notable include casein and whey. 

These proteins seem to interact with the immune system by triggering an IgA response that damages the gut lining and leads to increased intestinal permeability. 

Most patients with Hashimoto’s do better when they avoid milk and dairy entirely. 

#3. Ultra-Processed Foods

Calling them food is generous because they’ve been altered so much that they barely resemble this description. 

Among processed foods, ultra-processed foods are the worst. 

Not only will their consumption cause inflammation in the entire body, they are also flush with calories and sodium and depleted in the very micronutrients (4) that your thyroid needs most. 

You couldn’t think of a worse “food” to eat if you have Hashimoto’s. 

They may taste good, but you pay the price for their consumption both in the short and long term. 

#4. Refined and processed sugar

This would include things like table sugar, brown sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. 

These are mostly found in processed foods so if you avoid those, you’ll avoid these. 

They are problematic because they increase the insulin response, promote inflammation, and lead to weight gain (5). 

Reduce Inflammation By Eating These Foods

On top of avoiding certain foods, you’ll also want to make sure that others enter your diet on a consistent basis: 

#1. Omega 3 fatty acids

Long-chain fatty acids like DHA and EPA send anti-inflammatory signals throughout the body when consumed. 

They also can get incorporated into the cell membranes of your immune cells (6) helping to maintain their function as well. 

EPA and DHA are found in fish and seafood which is why you’ll see me frequently recommend the consumption of fish 2x per week if you have a thyroid problem. 

#2. Cold-pressed cooking oils

The oils that you cook with have a profound impact on your health by contributing to inflammation and total calorie consumption. 

The most anti-inflammatory of the bunch is, without a doubt, extra virgin olive oil (7). 

Known for its high amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, its consumption can help reduce inflammation, promote better heart health, and lower cholesterol. 

If you want to use other cooking oils, you can, but stay away from highly processed oils and stick to those that are cold-pressed. 

#3. Fruits and Veggies

Both contain fiber, vitamins, and polyphenols that improve gut health and reduce inflammation. 

For better thyroid function, aim to get at least 3-5 servings per day of each. 

Improve Thyroid Function With Food Choices

Your next step is to eat foods that will increase thyroid function to make up for what your body can’t produce. 

It’s great to protect your thyroid by reducing inflammation, but more can and should be done. 

To do that you want to focus on sending the right signals to your thyroid by addressing both the quantity and the quality of the foods that you eat. 

Critical to thyroid function, you must send the signal to your body that you are not in a state of starvation. 

Doing so will result in decreased thyroid function in the form of low T3 (8). 

Thyroid patients do this far more often than they should when they restrict calories when trying to lose weight. 

But by doing so, they are sending the signal to the body to conserve energy because it’s scarce. 

Your thyroid is a major regulator of energy production in the body so when this signal gets sent, thyroid function falls in response. 

The solution? Stop restricting your calories! 

If you need to lose weight, take advantage of fasting as your preferred form of calorie restriction. 

When done correctly, fasting doesn’t reduce thyroid function like daily calorie restriction. 

Food Quality & Macromolecule Composition

Eating enough solves the quantity problem, but what about quality? 

To do that, you need to pay attention to the macromolecule composition of your diet. 

In other words, how much protein, fat, and carbohydrates you are eating each day.  

We don’t have to dive deep into biochemistry to understand how this works:

Carbohydrates represent the major substrate for energy production in the body so it’s no surprise that your thyroid likes it when you consume them. 

They may not technically be considered essential to the body, but they are certainly required for optimal thyroid health. 

And most thyroid patients avoid healthy sources of carbohydrates because they’ve been told they will lead to weight gain and insulin resistance. 

This is a problem with refined and processed sources of carbohydrates, but not whole food sources. 

Your thyroid will function better when you provide it with 100 grams of whole-food carbohydrates in the form of fruit, fruit juices, vegetables, and starchy carbs each day. 

These will not make you fat (9) and your thyroid will love them. 

The next most important macromolecule is protein. 

Eating enough protein sends the signal to your thyroid that you have what you need to create and support muscle mass. 

This is huge because your muscle mass represents a major site of thyroid hormone action (10). 

It’s very common for thyroid patients to hamstring their own metabolism because they aren’t reaching their muscle mass potential. 

You won’t be able to sustain or grow muscle if you are not eating protein at the right intervals. 

But if you do, you can expect better thyroid function, better metabolism, and a leaner physique. 

The magic number for patients with Hashimoto’s is 100 grams of high-quality protein each day preferably split it into at least 3 meals of 30 grams each. 

Animal protein is considered high quality and superior to plant protein in its bioavailability, amino acid composition, and calorie budget. 

You can get protein from plants, but you’ll have to eat more which means more calories and often, more fat. 

The final macromolecule is fat, but that plays a more important role in regulating inflammation which we’ve already discussed. 

Bottom line

Let’s wrap this up into an easy set of recommendations: 

#1. Eat to reduce inflammation. 

#2. Eat to support your thyroid

#3. Get at least 100 grams of protein each day. 

#4. Get at least 100 grams of carbohydrates each day.

#5. Eat fish twice per week and cook with extra virgin olive oil.  

#6. Eat your fruits and veggies every day. 

Within these guidelines, you can craft a diet that works best for you, but you can do so knowing that your thyroid and immune system will be optimized in the process. 

If you want to see how more structured diets compare to these recommendations then check out this article next.