What Is Hashimoto Thyroiditis?

Brittany Bowman
Aug 9, 2016
4 min read

Aloha,

The whole basis of this blog is centered around holistic healing & the AIP Paleo approach to combating the affects of my autoimmune disease, Hashimoto Thyroiditis. It is something I have been diagnosed with since my freshman year of high school. For me, it was one of those silent autoimmune diseases with mild symptoms so it was never on the forefront of my mind. That is, until I developed Alopecia Areata.

At this point, you must be thinking Hashi what? Alopt huh? What exactly is it? I will attempt to tell you in the most non-scientific way, the only way I understand it at this point. Hashimoto Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease that occurs when our immune cells attack healthy thyroid tissues. This in turn causes inflammation throughout our body resulting in multiple health issues including, but not limited too: An enlarged goiter, fatigue & drowsiness, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, heavy menstrual flow, & dry hair, nails & skin. It can also lead to other disorders like Alopecia Areata which translated in its simplest form - hair loss.

From what little research I have done (there is a sea of information and I barely scratched the surface!), one major cause for most of the autoimmune disorders out there is a leaky gut. Basically, everyone has yeast in their mouth & intestines called Candida. It is a healthy fungus that helps aid in digestion. Problems begin to arise when this yeast has an explosive overgrowth and disrupts the whole digestive system. When left unchecked, it begins to take over the gut & damages the intestinal wall. When the intestinal walls become permeable, it allows for the candida & other microbes to enter into the blood stream where the candida feeds on sugars & damaged cells. Large molecules begin to make their way into the bloodstream where they weren't before such as undigested protein, bacteria, & undigested sugars. It is at this point where things begin to take a turn for the worse. Your body begins to attack these antigens, where the immune system reacts with an inflammatory response which attacks the tissues & organs.

Hashimoto Thyroiditis is not the only autoimmune disease to respond to this. A slue of other autoimmune diseases can occur such as Celiac disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, IBS, lupus, depression, etc. This should serve as a huge wake up call to the autoimmune community to take charge of healing their guts by diet & holistic healing. I never took it seriously before I developed Alopecia Areata. I believe this is just as bad as having a pharmacy in your bathroom. I think as a society, our answer to any health problem is pills, pills & more pills. If I were to visit a doctor today, they would put me on Synthroid, or any other "synthetic" drug to bridge the gaps in my thyroid levels. That is great and all, but what is it really doing? Is it treating the symptoms or is it treating the problem? I'll let you be the judge of that for yourself but for me, I believe it is treating the symptom. It isn't getting to the root cause of the problem. The thing is, our bodies are amazing at healing & repairing itself if we just gave it the proper nutrients, the proper tools, to aid in the repair. While I'm not against medicine to help treat & bridge any gaps we have in our health, I prefer to not completely rely on it as our way to heal. For me, I feel if I live a healthier lifestyle, I may lessen the need for any medication.

I found a great article from endocrineweb.com that states Hashimoto Thyroiditis as being the most common form of thyroiditis in the United States. It affects more that 14 million people in America alone! That is an alarming number. It is safe to say many of these people have leaky guts and they do not even know it. Another astounding number is that women are 7 times more likely to have Hashimoto's than men. Why? I don't know but this question would make for some interesting research on my part.

Another topic I should discuss is the development of other autoimmune disorders. It has been found those with Hashimoto's has a higher risk of developing other autoimmune disorders such as lupus, Addison's disease, Graves disease, premature ovarian failure, etc. For me, I began developing Alopecia Areata. Though not diagnosed with Alopecia, it is hard not to say I have it when I have a large patch of hair missing. (For more information on Alopecia Areata, read my article here.). I do plan on getting tested soon as I may have developed other disorders I have no clue about. At this point, I know I have been clinically diagnosed with Hashimoto's before so my research is running on this basis. As soon as I get results, I will share them.

With many of us walking around with autoimmune disorders, it is no wonder the pharmaceutical companies have made a fortune. Just a look at the American diet should be enough to tell all of us right there where the root cause of the problem is. Though I'm still learning about autoimmune diseases, I am not blind to the problem. God has given us many natural ways & remedies to take care of many ailments. A drastic change in a lifestyle diet is not easy, I'll be the first to admit that. However, you have to ask the important questions for yourself. Is your current diet really worth the health risk? What are you willing to do to heal yourself and live the healthiest life possible? For me, the answer is a simple one. I will do everything it takes from a holistic approach to help my body repair & recover from the years of damage I have caused it.

Mahalo,