Keto & Your Thyroid
Don’t Keto Your Thyro
Hypothyroidism in a Nut Shell
Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone and this affects nearly every part of your body, including your metabolism, brain, heart, muscles, and skin. Without enough thyroid hormone (which is partially comprised of glucose molecules) all of your bodily processes slow down to a sluggish crawl (ugh). Research shows that women with autoimmune disease are more likely to develop hypothyroidism…which is even a heavier burden on the body.
How Your Adrenals are Involved
Your adrenals produce stress hormones, such as cortisol. When you experience stress, a cascade of stress hormones signals your body to slow down all processes that are unnecessary for overcoming the stressor in front of you, including thyroid hormone production. Chronic stress overworks your adrenals, which are unable to keep up with the constant demand for more and more stress hormones, inevitably leaving you in a state of adrenal fatigue…basically feeling tired all the time, no matter how many cups of coffee or scoops of maca you down!
How Keto Affects Your Adrenals & Thyroid
The core of ketogenic diet is to significantly reduce the intake of sugars and starches because these foods are broken down into glucose and insulin in the blood once we eat them. It was specifically created to mimic fasting or starvation from a metabolic perspective. However, ketosis can be a major strain on the adrenals. Reduced carb intake, leads to a decrease in thyroid hormone levels and an increase in cortisol—which decreases thyroid function further and means more work for your adrenals too.
But did you know caloric restriction lowers the concentration of T3 hormone? Yup! Here’s a recent study about exactly that. The primary reason why the lower calorie consumption decreases T3 is to improve the chances of survival when our ancestors, back in time, were dealing with food shortage. As a result, metabolism slows down, and the body burns fewer calories. The body is truly perfectly smart!
Hashimotos and Keto
The biggest problem with keto if you have Hashimotos is that the areas of the brain which regulate the function HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis needs glucose to work properly, and remember the adrenals respond poorly to a low caloric state too! To add fuel to the fire, severe carb restriction decreases T3 levels while increasing reverse T3.
Determining Which Diet Is Right For YOU
Every body is different, so it’s important to listen to your body and know what you do or do not tolerate. You may do perfectly fine on a keto diet, or you might find your body doesn’t respond well to it. Either way, if you have hypothyroidism and are looking to experiment don’t!
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