If you have an auto-immune thyroid disorder you have a much higher risk of getting other auto-immune conditions particularly celiac disease, so yes, a gluten free diet is recommended. Researchers have found that patients with Grave’s disease were at a 5-fold added risk of developing celiac disease when compared to sex- and age-matched control while other research conducted shows that as many as 43% of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis carry cellular markers for celiac disease.
Standard blood tests are not always accurate hence I suggest removing gluten for 6 weeks and seeing how you feel. Thankfully, there are now a plethora of gluten free options available to us, with supermarkets and restaurants offering healthy alternative, so this is not as difficult as it seems. The most important thing to remember is to replace your usual gluten contain items (e.g. breads, cereals etc) with whole food, unprocessed alternatives as many gluten free products contain a whole lot of processed ingredients that aren’t great for your body.
Examples of gluten free options you can swap with include:
-Swap wheat containing breads for buckwheat, rice or corn bread (Naturis is my favourite brand)
-Swap gluten contain pizza bases for gluten free or even bases made on cauliflower
-Swap couscous for rice, mash potatoes, quinoa, gluten free couscous or buckwheat
-Swap cereals for buckwheat, sago or quinoa flakes
-Swap pasta/lasagne/noodles for rice noodles, gluten free pasta/lasagne sheets
Do you need help fixing your thyroid or maybe you need a tailor made gluten free meal planner made for you? To book a consultation to access your thyroid health contact me on lisa.beinbalance@gmail.com
