My Carb Sane-Asylum: Low Carb & Hypothyroid ~ Healthy?
nb: ties in with the Matt Stone thesis and the role of carbs in stimulating metabolism
Extract:
It is very difficult to find peer review studies on thyroid function and the effects of a low carbohydrate diet. I've found a few short term studies, but nothing long term. What I'm particularly interested in is the second half of the first year - e.g. months 7-12 - and beyond. Because anecdotally, this is the time frame when hypothyroids seem to react rather poorly to a VLC diet.
I think the information available from reasonably reliable sources demonstrate that carbohydrate restriction reduces T3, reduces T4-to-T3 conversion and increases reverse T3 (rT3). The latter happens with all diets but the T4-to-T3 conversion differences I've seen reported are reductions in the 25-35% range with VLC diets.
Part of my issue with the "low carb is inherently healthy" mantra is that I see a lot of people report on discussion forums, and contact me via email or in the comments here, some serious health complications. The hypothyroids will report having symptoms of low thyroid and run to the doctor to get their meds increased.
I'm not in the business of giving out medical advice here, but on a personal level I would only encourage those with thyroid issues who experience worsening of those issues with low carb dieting to consider this: Is the diet working for you? There's more to diet than weight loss. If you are having worsening symptoms or needing to increase medications, I would suggest not. I'd even go so far as to suggest that the diet is not a healthy one for you.
