Keto Diet

By Terry Ryan, Health Blogger and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patient

I wasn’t too surprised to see a recent article in Woman’s World titled “Atkins Thyroid Cure.”  After all, this is a hot topic as millions of women and men are being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s thyroiditits (HT) is an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid eventually rendering it ineffective at producing thyroid hormones. Your body needs thyroid hormones T4 and T3 for proper metabolism. It controls your body temperature, energy, thinking, etc. Usually, first symptoms a HT patient will complain about is fatigue, digestive problems, weight gain, hair loss and dry skin. Your doctor can determine that you are hypothyroid (not enough thyroid hormone being produced) by a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) blood test, and a TPO (thyroidporoxide) antibodies test will detect if you have HT. I have seen many headlines on magazines whose topic is about the thyroid. People are suffering and looking for answers, so it is selling magazines.

Here is Keto Friendly Chocolate Mug Cake I made last night.

Normally a treatment plan for someone with thyroid disease is a prescription for thyroid replacement. Synthroid for example; is a synthetic hormone.. There are other medications, for example:  Armour and Tirosint. Talk to your doctor for the best prescription he/she would recommend for you.

However, while the prescription will add the missing thyroid hormone, it will not treat your autoimmune disease resulting in many patients finding no relief from their symptoms. This happened to me. Frustrating!

After many years of suffering, I started researching for unconventional ways to deal with my HT. It all came down to diet. Out went the junk food, gluten, white sugar, grains, fluoride and alcohol. Then I watched Joe Cross’ movie “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and started juicing organic vegetables and fruit with a juice extractor, and drinking 16 ounces everyday along with eating a healthy diet. I also added a good multivitamin and D3.

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It took months to feel better but slowly I started to regain the energy I once had years ago before my thyroid disease. Life was good again. However, I was not losing any weight, so I tried different diets including vegetarian but to no avail, I didn’t lose any weight. In fact, I was continuing to put on weight. I am short (5’2″) and I was wearing size 16 clothes. There seemed to be nothing I could do to lose weight.

I even tried the HCG diet. This required injecting myself with HCG, a pregnancy hormone, and reduce my calorie consumption to 600 calories per day. That was crazy and I didn’t do that long. Expensive and I felt terrible.

Next I tried going to a weight loss clinic and was prescribed phentermine, a weight loss drug. That sent me into a horrible and long HT crash, (means my symptoms intensified) and my blood pressure climbed to a dangerous level. Also, the clinic required me to come back every week, and it was very expensive. I became too ill to continue.

For a couple of more years, I continued to get heavier and heavier. My endocrinologist suggested weight loss drugs but the side affects were scary, and that was not the method I wanted to use for long term weight loss. What to do?

I discovered the ketogenic diet, a high protein, high fat, low carb diet. This diet was originally developed for children with epileptic seizures. Then doctors discovered it was a great weight loss diet. Ketogenic diet, also know as the keto diet is very close to the Atkins diet. Dr. Atkins wrote a book based on this diet called “The Atkins Diet.”  It is also great for thyroiditis and HT.

I embarked on the keto diet (Atkins) the beginning of October and not only have I lost 20 pounds (and losing) my energy level is sky high! I just had a blood test and my TSH is in the normal range (I have been too high for many years.), and my antibodies are continuing to come down. The last blood test I had my TPO was 125 (under 9 is normal) but the test before that it was 275. I heading in the right direction.

So, when at the checkout counter at the grocery store I saw this heading on the front of Woman’s World, “Atkins Thyroid Cure: Heal your “metabolism gland” and LOSE 45 LBS THIS MONTH!” (Okay, losing 45 lbs in one month is a grandiose and unrealistic statement.). I had to grab a copy. It is a two page article explaining the benefit of a low carb diet in relationship to your thyroid. I think calling it a “cure” is a bold statement.

The article has some suggestions for a thyroid-revving Atkins menu.

Breakfast: Eggs and bacon
Lunch & Dinner: Seafood, chicken with cucumber slices. Raspberries with zero-calorie sweetener
Snacks: jerky or almonds.

Page 20 in the January 22, 2018 issue is where you can find the article.

My version of the diet is a lot more liberal. I do not count calories but I do count carbs. I always looking at the carb content on the labels. For example: some pasta sauces have less carbs than others. Try to keep carbs under 21 grams.

How cutting carbs slims

Scientists have long ago known that the body converts carbs into blood sugar and then uses that sugar as its go-to fuel. Trouble is, when we eat carbs in excess – which is easy to do these days – it causes us to overproduce insulin, a hormone that promotes rapid fat storage. Restricting carbs. Atkins forces the body to stop burning blood sugar and start burning fat as its main fuel. Bonus: Burning fat as your main fuel releases natural compounds called ketones that dramatically reduces hunger!

This diet also revs up your thyroid. Possibly, that is why my TSH is in the normal range first time in a long time. You can read the article for more info.

What I eat on the keto diet:

I concentrate on eating protein, usually meat or cheese. A typical treat is to take Parmesan cheese shredded and place mounds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in a 350 degree oven for 3 minutes or until melted and brown around the edges. I let it cool for few minutes then I place a dollop of guacamole on top.Yum!

Eggs are allowed, small portions of meat, full-fat dairy, vegetables but no fruit except berries. Absolutely no grains, sugar, bread, alcohol.

Dinner is hamburger without a bun, salad with low carb dressing, a side of sauteed summer squash. For dessert I make 1 Minute Chocolate Cake Keto Friendly with lots of whipped cream sweetened with Swerve and a couple of raspberries on the side.

Keto Friendly Chocolate Almond Bark

I always have Keto Friendly Chocolate Almond Bark in the refrigerator for a quick snack. So good and so satisfying because I add a protein powder.

My Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts is a hit in my house and I serve it with zoodles. Zoodles are zucchini ribbons used in place of pasta. I saute the zoodles in butter for a couple of minutes before I serve. You can now buy these zoodles at the grocery store in the produce section or you can make them yourself with this spiralizer.

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So, I give the Atkins Thyroid Cure a thumbs up. It has worked for me and I would suggest that you give it a try if you want to feel more energy and lose weight.

Thanks for reading,

Terry Ryan