When diagnosed with Hashimoto’s you can do one of thee things. You can do nothing, leaving you in a downward spiral of declining health. You can cave and submit to the pharmaceutical companies and start taking synthetic medication (without researching), which will leave you on a roller coaster of regulating medication while experiencing additional health issues. Or you can change your lifestyle, eating, exercising, and meditating. Today I’m going to supply you with a list of foods that will support a healthy lifestyle and allow you to heal your body including your thyroid.
I discussed going gluten -in “Getting Clean with Hashimoto’s” and “Do’s and Don’ts of Diet.”
Some foods that are healthy and naturally gluten-free
- Beans, seeds, and nuts in their natural, unprocessed form
- Fresh organic cage-free eggs (if you can’t give up eggs)
- Fresh organic, grass-fed meats,
- Wild-caught fish
- Fresh Organic poultry (not breaded, batter-coated or marinated)
- Fruits and vegetables
When purchasing nuts and seeds (or any processed product) it’s important to make sure they are not processed in a facility that processes gluten or soy. They should be free from any additives or preservatives.
Grains and starches to use in a gluten-free diet
- Amaranth
- Arrowroot
- Buckwheat
- Corn and cornmeal (in moderation, watch out for sugar even in its natural state)
- Flax
- Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean)
- Hominy (corn) (in moderation, watch out for sugar even in its natural state)
- Millet
- Quinoa
- Rice
- Sorghum
- Tapioca
- Teff
Avoid all food and drinks containing
- Barley (malt, malt flavoring, and malt vinegar are usually made from barley)
- Rye
- Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)
- Wheat
It can be difficult to know what products are free from gluten. Wheat products have many aliases’ such as bromated, enriched, phosphated, plain and self-rising
Some other wheat products to avoid:
- Durum flour
- Farina
- Graham flour
- Kamut
- Semolina
- Spelt
Foods you should avoid
Avoid the following foods unless they’re labeled as gluten-free or made with corn, rice, or other gluten-free grain:
- Beer
- Bread
- Cakes and pies
- Candies
- Cereals
- Communion wafers
- Cookies and crackers
- Croutons
- French fries
- Gravies
- Imitation meat or seafood
- Matzo
- Pasta
- Processed luncheon meats
- Salad dressings
- Sauces, including soy sauce
- Seasoned rice mixes
- Seasoned snack foods, such as potato and tortilla chips
- Self-basting poultry
- Soups and soup bases
- Vegetables in sauce
- Soy – See “Eliminating Soy”
Gluten-Free Food List
The following items are safe if you’re on a gluten-free diet:
- Herbs, Seasonings, and Condiments: You can go wild here if you watch labels. Ketchup won’t be on this list. You will enjoy mustard, horseradish, tapenade, and salsa if they are free of gluten, wheat, soy, and sugar. There are virtually no restrictions on herbs and seasonings; be mindful of packaged products, however, that were made at plants that process wheat and soy.
- Vegetables: leafy greens and lettuces, collards, spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, cabbage, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, artichoke, alfalfa sprouts, green beans, celery, bok choy, radishes, watercress, turnip, asparagus, garlic, leek, fennel, shallots, scallions, ginger, jicama, parsley, water chestnuts.
- Low-sugar Fruit: avocado, bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, eggplant, lemons, limes.
- Healthy fat: extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, grass-fed tallow and organic or pasture-fed butter, avocados, coconuts, olives, nuts, and nut butters, and seeds (flaxseed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds).
- Protein: whole eggs; wild fish (salmon, black cod, trout, sardines); grass-fed meat, fowl, and poultry, (beef, lamb, bison, chicken, turkey); wild game.
Consume These Foods in Moderation
- Non-gluten grains: amaranth, buckwheat, rice (brown, white, wild), millet, quinoa, sorghum, and teff. Something to consider when purchasing non-gluten grains. When they are processed for human consumption (milling whole oats and preparing rice for packaging), their physical structure changes, and this increases the risk of an inflammatory reaction. That’s why you should use in moderation.
- Legumes (beans, lentils, peas). Exception: you can have hummus (made from chickpeas).
- Carrots and parsnips.
- Whole sweet fruit: berries are best; be extra cautious of sugary fruits such as apricots, mangos, melons, papaya, prunes, and pineapple.
It can be overwhelming to change your lifestyle overnight. But when your life depends on it, it becomes more manageable.
My suggestion to you is, start out small. You may be bored for a while, but you won’t get overwhelmed and quit. When I decided to change my diet, I put together a menu for a week. I ate the same thing for a week, only changing out certain fruits and vegetables. My menu consisted of wild-caught salmon or grass-fed organic chicken, a vegetable, and sweet potato for lunch. And grass-fed organic chicken or beef and vegetable for dinner. Most nights I stayed away from carbs for dinner. The menu was simple and manageable. By the end of the first month, I was more creative, and my menu was more expansive. Remember start small.
