Over the course of the last 3 years since I first found out I have Hashimoto’s, I have been exploring and trying out various things in an effort to help myself heal and thrive. However, I’ve discovered that some of the thing I thought I needed for Hashimoto’s but I really didn’t. Hashimoto’s is a complicated autoimmune condition and it can be very tricky to figure out how you got it, and what will help it go into remission.
If you are curious what things I thought I needed for Hashimoto’s but have discovered I really didn’t, keep reading. While each person’s journey is different, this list can give you some ideas of things that are commonly recommended or suggested for Hashimoto’s and sometimes for other autoimmune conditions but really aren’t needed. In fact, in some cases, these things can even cause more damage and make your condition worse.
- Iodine supplements- This tops the list as I actually found and later learned that taking these may have been the thing that increased my thyroid antibodies. Now, not only do I not take iodine but I’m actually using iodine free salt, salt- free butter and trying to watch my iodine and salt intake in order to try and lower my iodine intake.
- Lots of fancy supplements and shakes. This is one of my biggest problems with a lot of functional medicine clinics. Too often they make a lot of their money on these and so they recommend a lot of them that in reality you may or may not need. There are some things though that you probably do need like Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and a good probiotic.
- A very strict diet like the AIP diet otherwise known as the Autoimmune Protocol Diet. That said, some people do find it helpful but it is very hard to follow and I prefer to focus on healing myself so that I can tolerate more foods instead of living a life with a ton of restrictions.
- Lots of expensive toxin-free house cleaners. The reality is that you can make your own with things like essential oils, white vinegar and castille soap.
- Lots of detox pills, and other detox stuff. While you might need to detox to help heal, you don’t need a bunch of fancy and expensive things to make it happen. Try infrared sauna instead.
- Eating all organic food. While some organic food can be better, as long as you stick with eating the dirty dozen in organic most of the time, you will be fine. Organic food is usually more expensive and eating everything organic really isn’t needed for hashimotos. It just isn’t.
- Lots of extra time sleeping, not working and just laying around. While I do need adequate sleep and an occasional nap and so do you, sleeping all the time just makes it worse.
- Special jewelry and EMF blockers. While putting a few of these directly on your computer can help, you really don’t need a bunch of these most of the time. In fact, I prefer to use a grounding pad and find ways to get grounded instead.
- Lots of lab tests for everything under the sun and thyroid testing every 2 months. When you first get diagnosed you may need some additional tests or to get retested a few times during the first year or so, but getting lots of tests all the time and retesting your thyroid all the time is just a waste of time and money and isn’t really needed for hashimotos.
- Lots of money. While it can help to have some money to get some of what you need and to be able to pay for healthier foods, lots of money isn’t needed for hashimotos. This is especially true, if you avoid falling for a lot of the other things on this list. You really only need to get on the right thyroid medication, to get tested annually, to get on the right supplements for what you really need, to eat as healthy as possible including avoiding gluten and in most cases dairy and sugar.
Check out my Hashimoto’s Journal and Planner- Print on Amazon, Printable PDF from Etsy
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