Many people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions are confused about what they should be eating with regards to the amount of proteins, carbs, and fats. A big part of the problem is that different sources will recommend different things. For example, some healthcare providers will suggest that a person avoid most fats, eat a lot of complex carbohydrates, along with a moderate amount of protein. Others will advise their patients to eat a high protein diet, with minimal carbs and fats. And some other sources actually recommend a high fat diet, consisting mainly of healthy fats, and a minimal amount of carbs.
In fact, if you visit Google right now and type in the words “high protein diet”, “high fat diet”, or “high carb diet”, you will see many different types of these diets. But which one of these diets should you follow? A lot of this really does come down to using common sense.
It Comes Down To Eating A “Balanced” Diet
Chances are you have heard or read about how you should eat a “balanced” diet. But what does this really mean? Once again, common sense comes into play here, as one shouldn’t pay too much attention to the ratios of protein, carbohydrates, and fats they eat. As I’ve mentioned in other posts and articles, you should try to eat a diet consisting mostly of whole foods, and minimize the refined foods and sugars. I recommend to eat organic meat (assuming you’re not a vegetarian), fresh organic fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and other whole foods.
If you eat mostly whole foods and don’t eat too much of one food, then this essentially is what a balanced diet is. But when you try to focus on eating one type of food (i.e. protein) and avoiding other foods (fats), this frequently leads to an unhealthy diet, which in turn can lead to numerous health issues. Many people shop based on the ingredients of the food. In other words, they will try to buy foods which are low in fat, or high in protein. Of course many times it will be processed food they buy. For example, someone might purchase fat free potato chips, and think that because it’s fat free that it’s healthy to eat these chips on a frequent basis.
But besides the fact that it’s high in carbohydrates, it also has little nutritional value. It’s much better to eat a baked potato with butter, which has fat due to the butter, but of course the potato isn’t processed. I’m not suggesting that people should eat baked potatoes on a regular basis, as I’m sure someone reading this will point out that they have a high glycemic index. On the other hand, you can’t go by glycemic index alone either.
Different Oxidation Types Require Different Ratios
Whenever I do a hair mineral analysis test, one of the things this test determines is whether someone is a slow oxidizer or fast oxidizer. I’m not going to go into great detail about this, but this basically tells us how you metabolize your food, as a slow oxidizer metabolizes their food at a slower rate, while a fast oxidizer metabolizes food at a faster rate. One of these days I’ll write an article which explains the difference in greater detail.
In any case, according to the research done by Dr. Paul Eck and Dr. Larry Wilson, different oxidation types will need to eat differently. They recommend that both slow and fast oxidizers should consume 70 to 80% cooked vegetables daily. A slow oxidizer should eat about 15% protein, 7 to 8% complex carbohydrates, and 6 to 7% high quality fats and oils. On the other hand, a fast oxidizer should consume 15% high quality fats and oils, 10% protein, and 3 to 6% complex carbohydrates. Obviously there are many who will disagree with this, as if you get fifty different doctors in a room they will each have their own opinions with regards to the “ideal” diet.
And one of the problems is that it is very challenging to keep up with how much of each type of food you consume. For example, if someone is a slow oxidizer, it can be a challenge for them to make sure they consume 15% protein each day, 7 to 8% complex carbohydrates, etc. Plus, does every single person who is a slow oxidizer really need to consume exactly 6 to 7% high quality fats and oils? Perhaps for some slow oxidizers it would be 8%. I hope you’re beginning to see why I don’t pay too much attention to the ratios, as even though keeping track of this can be done, patient compliance would be a big issue.
How Do These Foods Affect Thyroid Health?
Eating a “balanced” diet by itself doesn’t necessarily lead to optimal thyroid health. However, by eating a healthy diet consisting mostly of whole foods, along with certain nutritional supplements, this will keep the other bodily systems healthy, such as the adrenal glands, digestive system, and immune system. This in turn will help keep the thyroid gland healthy, and will minimize the chances of developing a thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition. And if you already have such a condition, then eating a “balanced” diet is important to help restore your health back to normal when following a natural treatment protocol.
In summary, if you eat a diet consisting primarily of whole foods, then you shouldn’t need to pay too much attention to the ratio of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Just make sure you don’t intentionally eat large quantities of any type of food, and you should be in good shape.
