The Best Foods to Choose and Avoid

A Hashimoto’s diet should include foods such as berries, nuts, seeds, and beans that help reduce inflammation. Avoiding fast foods and food and foods with added sugar is generally recommended as well. By adding foods with anti-inflammatory properties, along with certain vitamins and minerals, you may be able to better manage the condition.

Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). There’s no way to cure or reverse Hashimoto’s disease, and there isn’t a specific diet that has been proven to prevent or treat it. But researchers continue to examine the role of diet in thyroid function.

Foods to Eat

A nutritious, balanced diet provides a host of health benefits, but if you have Hashimoto’s disease, a diet full of whole, nutrient-rich foods can be especially helpful. Initially, however, it may take some time and effort to find the best foods for you.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

The types of foods that make up a balanced diet with anti-inflammatory benefits include:

• Fruits: berries, apples, cherries, oranges, grapes, and avocados
• Vegetables: spinach, kale, tomatoes, broccoli, beets, and bell peppers
• Whole grains: oats, quinoa, whole wheat, brown rice, barley, and buckwheat
• Beans: kidney, pinto, navy, black, and garbanzo (chickpeas)
• Nuts: walnuts, peanuts, almonds, cashews
• Seeds: sunflower, flax, and chia seeds
• Oily fish: salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and anchovies
• Healthy fats: olive, canola, peanut, and sunflower oils
• Lean protein: chicken breast and all types of fish

A diet based on these foods can help you get the vital nutrients you need to maintain a healthy weight and boost overall wellness. Alternatively, a diet lacking these foods may do the opposite.

Antioxidant Foods

Research also suggests foods high in antioxidants, such as polyphenols and phytosterols, which may offer benefits for people living with Hashimoto’s disease.

Foods high in polyphenols include:

• Berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries)
• Grapes
• Cherries
• Citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges, lemon)
• Stone fruits (pear, apple, peach, and plum)
• Olives and olive oil
• Nuts
• Beans and lentils
• Herbs and spices
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Tomatoes

Phytosterols are found in many of the same foods, as well as bananas, corn, and Brussels sprouts. Phytosterol supplements are also available.

Supplements to Consider

Research suggests that certain nutrients may affect Hashimoto’s disease:

• Vitamin D: A 2015 study found that 85% of Greek Caucasian people with Hashimoto’s disease had low vitamin D levels and high thyroid antibody levels. After four months of vitamin D supplementation, there was a significant decrease in thyroid antibody levels. The study authors concluded that vitamin D supplementation could contribute to treatment.
• Selenium: Selenium concentration in the body is highest in the thyroid gland. Selenium has important functions in thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. A review of seven studies found supplementing with selenium lowered thyroid antibodies after six months, but the authors noted more studies are needed to evaluate selenium’s effects on quality of life and disease progression.

Foods to Avoid

A Hashimoto’s diet isn’t one-size-fits-all, and research is still exploring how diet helps people manage their disease. What works for one person with Hashimoto’s disease may or may not help another.

Generally, foods to avoid with Hashimoto’s may include:

• Foods with added sugar
• Foods high in animal fats, such as beef, lamb, pork, and butter
• Fried foods
• Fast food
• Refined grains, such as white bread, white rice, and products made with white flour
• Highly processed meats, such as salami, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, bologna and other deli meats
• Processed foods, such as sweet drinks, salty snacks, and baked goods (cookies, cakes, pastries, etc.)
• Foods with iodine, such as kelp, dulse, or other kinds of seaweed (medications and supplements with iodine may also be problematic).
• Dairy products, such as milk, may promote inflammation. But evidence regarding this effect is mixed with some studies showing an anti-inflammatory effect.
• Gluten is another controversial dietary component, with some studies supporting a gluten-free diet for Hashimoto’s disease and other studies saying that a gluten-free diet is not helpful in managing the condition.

Preparation and cooking methods can also affect the health effects of certain foods. For example, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale are good sources of phytosterols and selenium, but there are concerns about the impact on thyroid function. Consuming a lot of these foods is not recommended, but eating them in moderation should not be a problem as long as they are cooked.

How Foods Help Manage Hashimoto’s Disease

Numerous studies have investigated the benefits of diet for autoimmune diseases. The focus is usually on avoiding foods that can contribute to inflammation and eating foods that can reduce inflammation. When there is inflammation in your body, more antibodies are produced, leading to increased autoimmune disease activity.

With Hashimoto’s disease, your body makes antibodies to your thyroid hormones and attacks them causing inflammation. This impairs your thyroid’s ability to produce hormones, leading to a gradual decline in function and eventually an underactive thyroid.

Treatment for Hashimoto’s disease involves replenishing hormones with the medication levothyroxine. If diagnosed with a thyroid disease that lowers your natural hormone levels, you will need to take replacement medication for the rest of your life.

What you eat and how you eat can have a big impact on the success of your Hashimoto’s disease treatment plan. Dietary changes can potentially improve the overall quality of life for people living with Hashimoto’s disease.

Best Diets for Hashimoto’s Disease

A Hashimoto’s diet is an anti-inflammatory diet. This type of eating plan helps reduce inflammation in the body and provides relief for many autoimmune diseases.

If you have chosen to follow a diet that focuses on limiting certain foods, like gluten or soy, or increasing others, keep in mind that these dietary changes won’t cure your condition, but may reduce or improve symptoms.

Although there is no formal Hashimoto’s diet, the recommendations for dietary changes to support hypothyroidism have commonalities with a few other diets.

Gluten-Free or Grain-Free Diets

Diets that are low in or avoid gluten altogether may be helpful in managing thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s. However, these diets can be difficult and costly to follow, and packaged gluten-free foods often have other added ingredients like sugar and are low in fiber.

Studies continue to investigate the benefits of gluten-free diets or their use along with nutrients like selenium. So far, the data on managing Hashimoto’s disease with a gluten-free or grain-free diet is inconclusive.

Anti-Inflammatory Diets

There are several eating plans considered to be anti-inflammatory diets, including the following:

• DASH diet: emphasizes fresh, whole foods and avoiding processed and sugary foods
• Mediterranean diet: rich in plant-based foods and omega-3 fatty acids from fish and olive oil
• MIND diet: a combination of the Mediterranean diet and DASH diet 

Autoimmune Protocol Diet

The autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet aligns closely with an anti-inflammatory diet. However, it consists of two phases: the elimination phase and the reintroduction phase.

During the elimination phase, many foods are removed temporarily to help reduce inflammation and autoimmune activity in the body that may trigger dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

Foods and beverages eliminated include grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, nightshade vegetables, eggs, dairy, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, oils, food additives, and refined foods and sugars.

In the reintroduction phase, the avoided foods are gradually added back into the diet, one at a time. The goal is to identify which foods trigger symptoms and reintroduce all foods that don’t cause symptoms while continuing to avoid those that cause symptoms.

This diet may require a lot of trial and error, and specific food tolerances may vary from person to person. Eliminating entire food groups or a long list of foods can lead to nutrition deficiencies over time. Talk with a registered dietitian or other healthcare provider if you are considering this eating plan.

Lactose-Free Diet

Some studies have found that the sugar found in dairy products, called lactose, may increase TSH levels. Research shows that about 58% of people with Hashimoto’s disease have lactose intolerance.

If you have lactose intolerance, choosing a lactose-free diet, even if you make no other changes, may help improve your symptoms. Since dairy provides important nutrients, choose lactose-free milk, as well as lactose-free yogurts and plant-based milk that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D.

Other Dietary Tips to Manage Hashimoto’s Disease

Following a healthy, balanced, anti-inflammatory diet is likely to boost your sense of overall wellness, allowing you to focus on other aspects of managing Hashimoto’s disease.

These general nutritional tips can help you to improve your health with evidence-based habits such as:

• Reducing sodium and sugar intake
• Limiting ultra-processed foods and choosing whole foods or foods closer to their whole form
• Choose foods with fiber to help lower cholesterol levels and control blood sugar
• Find foods with calcium and vitamin D (such as milk or sardines) to promote optimal bone health
• Look for potassium-rich foods (like lima beans or potatoes) to help your kidneys, heart, muscles, and nerves function properly.
• Eat the rainbow! When shopping in the produce aisle, try to pick foods with a variety of colors. These are usually foods that are full of nutrients.

Summary

A Hashimoto diet may offer benefits to people living with hypothyroidism, but there is not one specific diet for the condition. Choosing anti-inflammatory foods that are high in polyphenols and phytosterols may help while foods that are high in fat and sugar or highly processed may hinder thyroid function.

More research is needed to understand the benefits of dietary changes for individuals seeking to manage a thyroid condition. If you are considering making big changes to your diet, ask your healthcare provider for suggestions that take into account your overall health.