In recent years the number of health advocates promoting low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets have exploded, offering simple ways to lose weight, reduce inflammation, and control blood sugar. But are low carb and keto diets good for people who have a thyroid condition like Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s? The short answer is no, but let’s look at why this is.
For a long time, we were told that carbs were good and to avoid saturated fat as this lead to disease. But as saturated fat consumption went down and chronic disease rates skyrocketed, it became clear that the science on this was wrong and consumption of the right fats was actually good for you, and perhaps the over consumption of carbs, especially sugar was more of an issue. While there is a large degree of truth in this, the current trend of cutting almost all carbs from the diet is presenting a new set of problems.
Drastically reducing carbs has been shown to be an effective way to control weight, blood sugar, and help reduce the symptoms of some disease. When carbs are reduced to such a level that the body must find another energy source, this is called ketosis – where the liver converts fat to ketones, and this in turn is used by the body and especially brain as an alternative source of energy.
Getting the body to switch fuel sources in this way has shown great results in the control of epilepsy, and certain other diseases. The other added benefit- weight loss. Sounds great right? Well not so fast. Even though the body can and will use fat as a primary energy source, it only does so when carbohydrates are not available – your body prefers carbs as a fuel source over fat. When adequate carbs are not available, this creates a mini crisis in the body which stresses the adrenals, and down regulates the thyroid which in turn produces fewer thyroid hormones.
“Your body prefers carbs as a fuel source over fat. When adequate carbs are not available, this creates a mini crisis in the body which stresses the adrenals, and down regulates the thyroid which in turn produces fewer thyroid hormones.”
The thyroid is responsible for hormone production and regulation, it affects your mood, your body temperature, and plays an important role in metabolism and reproductive health. As many of us know, a poor functioning thyroid can affect just about every aspect of your health and life. In order for the thyroid to function correctly, and especially convert T4 into T3, it requires glucose, but when this is limited by a low carb or ketogenic diet, the thyroid in turn will produce less thyroid hormones and can potentially increase the level of Reverse T3, exacerbating any existing thyroid condition.
So, if someone already is suffering from low thyroid hormone or their thyroid is being attacked by thyroid antibodies as is the case in Hashimoto’s, drastically reducing carbs is not a great idea and could lead to bigger problems down the road.
Simply put:
- Carbohydrates are converted into glucose which in turn is used for energy by the body
- The thyroid needs glucose to function properly and produce hormones
- Very low carb, or ketogenic diets can negatively affect thyroid function and stress adrenals
In conclusion, although very low carb and ketogenic diets can be an effective way of controlling some diseases, and can provide benefits in certain circumstances, they are not suitable for everyone, especially those who have already have issues with their thyroid or adrenal glands.
Thank you for this! I have been lowering my carbs quite severely, and whereas my bloat and weight are down, I’m having many hyper symptoms. (I have no thyroid). Please blog about intermittent and long term fasts and how it may affect thyroid as well. I’d love to hear that research.
This article has been a game changer for me .I am hypothyroid and have battled on forever always trying to keep my carbs extremely low …no longer thankyou
Great article! It makes perfect sense! I was like Bonnie, now I eat healthy carbs as much as I want
Quick grammatical correction:
Here:: “potentially increase the level of Reverse T3, exasperating any existing thyroid condition.”
Should read “potentially increase the level of Reverse T3, EXACERBATING any existing thyroid condition.”
Exacerbate and exasperate are two words that sound and look similar, but have very different meanings. Exacerbate is used when describing a situation and refers to making an already bad situation worse. Exasperate refers to the emotional state of a person.
Exacerbate = to make worse, to worsen, to increase the severity of some THING (happens to conditions)
Exasperate = to infuriate, to irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely some ONE (happens to beings)
Oops! I meant I am like Helen, she’s the one who talked about always trying to severely limit her carbs.
I’ve recently changed to Thyrovanz from Levothyroxine. However my blood pressure has become very low eg 90/63, pulse rate in 70s. Temperature 36.5. And severe allergy, itching skin all over body and head and severe Itchy eyes. Is this a reaction to Thyrovanz?
I’m so thankful to have discovered Thyrovanz. It’s an excellent product and I’m seeing a huge improvement in my overall health and energy level. For years my doctors had me on levothyroxine and I felt horrible. I’m referring everyone I know on thyroid replacement to check out Thyrovanz. Thank you for making an excellent product!
Thanks for info about keto, I guess I’ll have to stop
This is a great article. It’s also great to know that it doesn’t mean full on carboholic either. Thyroid repair works best on No Gluten, low to moderate HEALTHY carbs, and if you are going to add a bit of sugar in, the best form that the thyroid loves is fructose (fruit).
The root cause of all autoimmune conditions (Hashi’s included) is insulin resistance. Once you get your blood sugar under control (with diet) the hormone imbalances will naturally correct themselves if there are no hormone secreting nodules or tumors involved, which most people do not have. The autoimmune condition is a condition of systemic inflammation, not just in the particular organ. You have just figured out where your weak link is. To fix the whole chain do whatever it takes to get your blood sugar and insulin down. For some people that means a ketogenic diet.