iThei mdcdaelcinfd o c elllllrllll o tclhdfliThei mdcdaeWorking with a nutritionist or coach specially trained in thyroid/auto-
immune diets may be extremely helpful in developing an individualized
healing diet.
The principles of a healing dietary protocol are as follows. The
dietary protocol should:
- Take the person’s individuality into account
- Remove triggering foods
- Add healing foods
- Replenish nutrients
The following diets are intended for healing but may not necessarily need
to be followed indefinitely. For some, components of otherwise healthful
diets such as fruit and fiber might need to be temporarily limited to help
with healing.
Considerations for Individualizing the Dietary Approach
The limitation of the FODMAPs and Paleo diets is they do not take into
account the individuality of each person. One person may do just fine with
dairy, while another may react terribly to it. These diets should thus be
used as a guide for developing a personalized approach to overcoming an
autoimmune thyroid disorder.
The SCD, GAPS, and Body Ecology diets are programs focus on healing
and sealing the intestinal lining by first removing offending agents and
then adding back nutritious foods and probiotics, allowing our digestion
to catch up.
The programs start with an Introduction Phase. Think of the introduc-
tion phase as a “baby food phase” as these types of “introduction” diets
are also fed to babies, who have increased intestinal permeability.
The diets start with easy-to-digest broths, soups, and purées. They ad-
vance to well-cooked meats and vegetables, cooked fruits, fruit juices,
and eventually raw fruits and vegetables, introducing one new food every
four days or so. The GAPS diet starts off like “low-residue diets,” low in
indigestible fiber to starve the pathogenic bacteria.
Even with the use of diet and probiotics, changes in bacterial flora happen
gradually, and it may take up to two years for the beneficial bacteria to re-
place the pathogenic bacteria. The GAPS and SCD diets need to be contin-
ued for one year after the last symptoms before new foods are introduced.