Healing with Hashimoto's

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in Nov 2018, but most likely I have had it for a while. In an earlier blog I mentioned going through some illnesses one of them being the Epstein Barr Virus (Glandular Fever), which may be a causing factor to my autoimmune dis-ease, as it had already weakened my body.

So after my diagnosis it took me a few weeks to get my head around it all. I couldn't believe that I had this illness as I eat wholefoods (from the JBT Program, check out earlier blog for details) and am gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, but due to old illnesses, chronic adrenal fatigue and daily stress it weakened my gut lining causing dysbiosis which caused my immune system to become over-reactive where it began to attack my thyroid.

Hashitmoto's causes extreme tiredness/exhaustion, muscle and body weakness, unexplained weight gain, brain fog, digestive issues, menstrual discomfort, sinus problems, headaches, sensitivity to cold weather, rashes, skin blemishes, bruises, sore throat and swollen glands and can affect blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. Not to mention the stress it puts on the other organs not just the thyroid.

As the thyroid is a major hormone producer it affects mainly women, yay just another thing for us women to go through!

I got serious about doing the Auto-immune protocol, which meant cutting out everything from the "Nightshade" family - tomatoes, white potatoes, chillies,

capsicum, paprika, peppers, cayenne, eggplants, goji berries; corn as the body may think it's gluten; eggs (eekk these are an absolute fave of mine), nuts and seeds (again I used to eat daily), ancient grains such as spelt, quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, millet; and also anything from the legume family (was there anything I could eat?); and most fruits had to be cut out with the exception of berries and dates. Oh plus I had to cut out goitrogenic veggies (leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, sprouts), as they may cause a goiter, life sucked....

Another thing I learnt was no raw foods as it is harder on the body and takes more energy to digest, so warm meals are the only way to go!

See why I had a little melt down?

So at the start of the year I did it.. I completely cut out the foods causing inflammation throughout my body and added in more healing foods. Lucky I had my magic beans, otherwise I would not have been getting enough nutrition!!

I ate gut healing foods made with bone broth, collagen, turmeric, ginger, garlic (no vamps would get near me..haha!) almost every meal.. I also had to add more meat into my diet, as it helps heal the gut lining too. And topped it off with my plant based Omega's to get rid of that brain fog and inflammation.

I even tried celery juice and noticed a vast improvement ( I haven't had it for a while and have noticed a slight set back, but this is also do to being busy and not resting as I should).

I used lots of nutritional yeast as it is high in Vitamin B's, coconut amino's for added flavour and lots of salt, as iodine is generally depleted in Hashimoto's. So the AIP diet sounds super boring, but as you heal you get to add certain foods back into your diet.. So all is not lost!

My daily musts:

Juice Plus (Magic Beans)

Plant based Omega's

Magnesium

Vit C with Zinc

B12 spray

Vit D (Sunlight is the best source, but with the colder months I will have to get a D3 Spray)

Selenium

Iodine (I pop some drops onto my belly and see how quickly it absorbs, I started off daily, but have found I don't need to use as often)

Bone broth

Collagen

Slippery elm (Helps soothe and heal the gastrointestinal tract)

I also get acupuncture weekly and take Chinese herbs which are specific to how I am feeling at the time.

I also try to meditate daily, even if it's just a quick breathing technique, or before I get out of bed, sometimes I do a shower meditation. Yoga has also been helpful and walking in nature. Oh and I make up some Australian Bush Flower essences, which work on a vibrational level and are amazing!!

Living with Hashimoto's and adrenal fatigue is hard, I struggle every day in different ways. But I always try to smile lots and look for the beauty in me and around me. I may look "normal" on the outside, but I'm a bit of a mess on the inside.

My number 1 rule is: Never give up on me!!

If I don't show up, no-one's gonna show up for me.. If I don't eat right, my body will never heal... If I don't smile, I feel hollow.... If I don't embrace my journey, I won't learn from it... If I don't inspire myself, I can't inspire others!!

If you have an autoimmune dis-ease I'd love to hear from you and how your journey is going.. What autoimmune do you have and how are you healing?

Jen xx