"Diet for Hypothyroidism: A Natural Treatment for Hashimoto's Disease"
Autoimmune thyroiditis, also known as Hashimoto's disease, is an organ-specific
autoimmune disorder where your body attacks your own thyroid gland,
often leading to hypothyroidism due to destruction and scarring
of the gland itself.
We know there's a genetic component, since identical twins are more likely to
share the disease than fraternal twins. However, even with identical twins,
the concordance rate was only about 50%, meaning even if your identical twin,
with basically the exact same DNA as you, has the disease, there's only like
a flip of a coin's chance you'll get it, emphasizing that other important factors
other than your genes play a role in the development of the disease.
Genes load the gun, but environment may pull the trigger.
More than 90 chemicals have been noted disrupting hormonal balance
or thyroid function; however, only a few such pollutants show evidence
that they contribute to autoimmune thyroid disease.
These include polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which smokers
get a lot from their cigarettes,
but in nonsmokers, exposure comes almost entirely from food.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are primarily formed when muscle meats,
such as beef and pork, fish, or chicken, are cooked
by high temperature methods such as grilling.
PBBs are a type of flame-retardant chemical no longer manufactured
in the U.S., but still found in the aquatic food chain.
And PCBs are used in a number of industrial processes and end up
in peoples' bodies largely through the consumption of fish as well,
but also other meat and eggs.
So one might suspect those eating plant- based diets would have lower rates
of hypothyroidism, and indeed, despite their lower iodine intake,
vegan diets tended to be protective.
But they've never been put to the test in an interventional trial.
A modification of the Paleolithic diet has been tried in Hashimoto's patients,
but didn't appear to improve thyroid function.
What did, though, was Nigella Sativa.
That name should sound familiar to anyone who's read my latest book "How Not to Diet"
or watched my latest live presentation "Evidence-Based Weight Loss."
Nigella Sativa is the sciency name for black cumin, which is just
a simple spice, but it's also used for a variety of medicinal purposes.
In this study, a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of eight weeks
of a half teaspoon of powdered black cumin a day in Hashimoto's patients.
Not only was there a significant reduction in body weight,
which is why I profiled it in the book, it also significantly reduced thyroid
stimulating hormone, a sign that thyroid function was improving.
It even lowered the level of autoimmune anti-thyroid antibodies, as well as
increasing blood levels of thyroid hormone T3 in these Hashimoto's patients.
In addition, there was a significant drop in Interleukin 23,
a proinflammatory cell signal thought to help promote the autoimmune inflammation
of the thyroid, so further confirming the anti-inflammatory nature of the plant.
And what were the side effects? Well, a 17% drop in LDL bad cholesterol.
Given the fact that patients with Hashimoto's may be at particularly
high risk of developing heart disease, this is exactly
the kind of side effect we'd want.
Considering these health-promoting effects of black cumin,
it can be considered as a therapeutic approach
in the management of Hashimoto's- related metabolic abnormalities.
A similar trial failed to find a benefit though.
Same dose, same time frame, but no significant changes in thyroid function.
In contrast with the last study, though, they were not all Hashimoto's patients,
but rather hypothyroid for any reason, and that may have diluted the results.
And it's possible that telling patients to take the black cumin doses
with their thyroid hormone replacement therapy may have interfered
with its absorption, similar to other foods and drugs,
which is why patients are normally told to take it on an empty stomach.
Since there are no downsides— I mean, it's just a simple spice—
I figure, why not give it a try?
The worst that can happen is you'll have tastier food.