Millions of people with Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis can benefit from a natural treatment protocol. For many of these people, complete restoration of their health is a possibility. Some people with an autoimmune thyroid disorder who follow a natural treatment protocol can’t completely recover, but will still receive some great benefits.
Unfortunately, most people with an autoimmune thyroid disorder will never even try natural treatment methods. And of the small percentage that actually will attempt to use natural treatment methods to restore their health, many of these people won’t receive optimal results. And in just about all of these cases, the primary reason why they won’t receive great results is due to a lack of compliance. In other words, most people don’t follow the recommendations of the natural doctor they consult with.
One reason for this is because many people who make the decision to begin a natural treatment protocol think that it just involves taking nutritional supplements and/or herbal remedies. And while taking supplements and herbs can be an important part of the recovery process, it takes more than this to receive optimal benefits. Believe me when I tell you that I wish restoring one’s health did involve just taking a few supplements, as it would make it much easier for people to comply.
If you’ve been reading some of the posts on this blog, then you probably realize that there are many different factors with regards to both restoring, and then maintaining one’s health. Now to be honest, you don’t need to do everything 100% perfectly to receive good results. On the other hand, those people that choose natural treatment methods thinking they only need to take supplements and can eat whatever they want, as well as neglect the other factors of health, are just wasting their time and money.
I know it’s not easy to be compliant, and I know because I personally was on such a protocol. Some people think it’s easier for me because I’m a natural doctor, and perhaps to some extent this is true. But you need to realize that like many people, I grew up eating junk food, and it was difficult to make these changes. And it still can sometimes be a challenge to resist the temptations of certain foods, to sacrifice quality sleep and instead stay up late watch television (or in my case read), etc. So it can be a challenge to make such lifestyle changes.
The day I realized I had the “willpower” to make these changes came when I first consulted with a natural doctor while I was attending chiropractic school. He put me on a natural protocol, which at the time included a purification program where I had to avoid all gluten foods. During this time there was a seminar that a friend and I wanted to attend, which took place in Orlando.
My friend’s parents lived in Daytona, which is only about one hour from Orlando. So we stayed there the night before the seminar, and my friend and his family decided to go out for pizza. Being a pizzaholic, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to resist eating a salad while everyone else ate one of my favorite foods. It was without question extremely difficult for me, but I resisted the temptation.
The point I want to make is this: if you never tried to make these types of changes in your life, then the most difficult part is getting started. And by the way, I don’t suggest that everyone who is on a natural treatment protocol immediately begin an extreme organic diet and stop eating everything you enjoy. If you can eat really healthy right from the start of a natural treatment protocol then that’s great, but some people need to take “baby steps”.
But many people aren’t even willing to make small changes in their lifestyle. Some will continue to eat junk food all of the time, will sacrifice quality sleep, won’t exercise, etc. For these people, there is just about no chance to restore their health to normal. Just remember that this is not something we do to you. You need to be proactive and take responsibility for your own health. The bad news is that this can difficult to do, and does involve some discipline. But the good news is that once you get started it becomes easier, and when you begin seeing the results you’ll wish you made these choices much sooner.
What type of Diet should a person get on to eliminate the effect of from an overactive thyroid condition in lieu of medication….doctor never mentioned the diet part – just continue taking the medication and get blood test every so often or have removed entirely etc
Hi Ellen,
For any type of thyroid condition I recommend a whole foods diet, to cut out the refined foods and sugars, and to eliminate common allergens such as gluten and dairy. Some people with hyperthyroidism will try to load up on raw goitrogenic foods in an attempt to inhibit thyroid activity, although I find that herbs and supplements such as Bugleweed and L-carnitine will do a much better job of managing the hyperthyroid symptoms. Just remember that taking these won’t address the actual cause of the overactive thyroid.
What type of diet recommendations do you have for someone with hypothyroidism?
What type of diet recommendations do you have for someone with hypothyroidism? I have many books and web blogs, which have many differing viewpoints. So confusing!
Wendy, here is a blog post I wrote on this topic:
https://www.naturalendocrinesolutions.com/what-diet-should-people-with-hypothyroidism-and-hashimotos-thyroiditis-follow/