Ep. 117 – Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Disease and AIP Diet – with Ryan

Tips on Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet and other ways to deal with Hashimoto’s – from our own personal experiences.

Ryan Mitchel Brown joins me again as we talk about my/our experiences with autoimmune disease. Ryan was on the podcast in Ep. 94 – Thriving and Overcoming Autoimmune Disease.

I decided to record an episode on my Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease and restarting the AIP diet, and Ryan was the perfect guest to join me to discuss it.

I have Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Disease – where the body attacks the thyroid.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune thyroid disease leading to progressive damage and inflammation of the thyroid gland. The resulting damage from Hashimoto’s prevents the thyroid from producing adequate levels of thyroid hormones. It originally presents with hypothyroid symptoms – extremely tired, weight gain, sometimes muscle cramps. It then extended to brain fog – even to the point where i would go to type in my password and, for a moment, I hesitated with a moment of indecision. I “see” words, and the letters or numbers seemed to be uncertain, like it would be if I were speaking and they were on the tip of my tongue.

Just treating the hypothyroid symptoms with thyroid medicine did not help very much. I struggled many years with it and then took a Functional Medicine approach with a lab workup, which showed high TPO (thyroid antibodies) and messed up values that were not being treated by the regular thyroid meds.

AIP Diet

Most of us have some form of inflammation, and many of us have a food allergy and are allergic to at least some of the foods that we are eating.

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet has helped me in the past. This is an elimination diet where you cut out and grains, legumes, dairy, nightshades (peppers and potatoes), sugar, carbs (including pasta) and other things that may cause inflammation, for at least a month. Then add back in foods, one at a time, to determine what you may have issues with.

It is also to see what clears up. Often your IBS-type symptoms, eczema, sinus issues, and other problems will clear up or improve.

In addition, cutting out wheat and grains also removes glyphosate (Roundup). Farmers are even spraying corn late in the season to hurry drying and prevent mold. This is really bad because the herbicide will not wash off by the time they process it.

Tip: Keep a food diary and write down how you feel after eating certain things. Then you can track your wins – what worked and what didn’t, or what made you feel poor, or what foods or situations that you had a reaction to.

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What about Supplements?

Recommend mostly digestive enzymes. Most people have suppressed their stomach HCL acid production with antiacids (despite feeling like they have an acidic stomach). Digestive enzyme supplements seem to make a big difference for me. Magnesium: Most Functional meds recommend Magnesium Citrate, but I use Magnesium Glycinate.

Light therapy

We discuss supplements – what seems to work and what doesn’t. We also discuss having good light therapy and practices – blocking blue light as much as possible in the evening by using blue blocking glasses or red lights.

These are the Sleep ZM blue blocking glasses that I use. I try (as much as possible) to go look at the sunset. Then I put these glasses on for the rest of evening. The result: I feel much more ready for sleep when it is bedtime.

Let’s face it – we were made to look at candles and firelight in the evening. These blue lights from LEDs, TVs, and phones are likely messing up our circadian rhythms.

Disclaimer – We share our own personal experiences and should not be taken as primary medical advice. Please check with your medical or health practitioner.

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