Supplements to Help with Hashimoto’s Symptoms

IMPORTANT NOTE — PLEASE READ: This article was written in hopes of helping those who struggle with Hashimoto’s disease. Due to the FDA and FTC laws regarding health claims, I am unable to offer any brand recommendations for the products I use. Doing so violates their laws and could get myself and this site in trouble. All of the products discussed in this post can be found at your health food store or online. I also have a wide range of thyroid health posts on this site that are a great starting place for anyone with thyroid disease.

Read all of my thyroid health articles here.

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{Note from Jessica: Today’s post is shared by my sweet friend Jess Kuh. Jess is a fellow real food lover with a passion for natural living, herbs, and anything that keeps her family and home healthy.}

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A diagnosis of Hashimoto’s can be quite overwhelming. For me, at first, I was relieved to finally know what was wrong with my body. But, I quickly became overwhelmed when I looked at all the information I could online.

The tricky thing about Hashi’s is that your body is swinging between hyper and hypothyroidism. One day you can be exhausted, full of pain and brain fog….then the next day you are having heart palpitations and major panic attacks. It  can be a scary place to be.

Have hope though, there is a great movement to bring thyroid awareness to the medical community on properly treating thyroid disease, more particularly autoimmune conditions, which require not only require thyroid support, but healing of the immune system (your gut!). 

You can check out some of Jessica’s post on gut health here.

But, what about now? How do you deal with your symptoms to be able to function day to day? I can tell you that finding the right supplements for your symptoms can be so helpful! The key, at least for me, has been to pay attention to my body and what the symptoms are telling me it needs.

DISCLAIMER: The content shared in this post is for informational and educational purposes only. Statements/products discussed have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult your own certified health care practitioner before making changes to your current diet or before beginning any herbal or vitamin supplement regimen or exercise program. For a full disclaimer, please read the site’s Terms and Conditions. The following post is ALL my own, personal experience.

Cell Salts (Homeopathic)

Cell salts are amazing for people with Hashimoto’s (actually anyone that needs help absorbing minerals). They aren’t mineral supplements but help your body use the minerals that are already present. These just make the supplements and your body work a bit more optimally. I use them on an as-needed basis but keep certain varieties on hand for daily use. Think of them as the multi-vitamin of the cell salt world. They contains a bit of all the main minerals and helps your body balance them.

Herbal Bitters

Most of us with Hashi’s have digestive issues such as gas, bloating, belching…should I go on? A way to help with some of that is to help your body work to digest your food better.

Enzymes can be great but our body becomes reliant on them so using something food-based (herbs) is easier for the body to assimilate. Bitters also re-teach your body how to digest properly. This is a great read on bitters, by Jim McDonald.

Probioitcs

Repopulating our gut and keep it full of good bacteria is going to help with digestion issues as well as anxiety. Yes, you heard me anxiety!

Our guts and our brains are directly connected and the health of one effects the other. Keeping your gut happy is going to help with some of the anxiety symptoms that many people with thyroid issues face (not all, I’m not going to be handing out false hope today, but it can help ease some of it, for sure).

You can supplement with fermented beverages and foods but a good quality supplement can be helpful when you have known issues.

Note From Editor: The best probiotics are the ones you get from properly fermented foods. We didn’t offer specific brand recommendations for that section because there are so many out there and not all of them work for everyone. Sometimes you have to try specific strains to get any results. I rotate through probiotics regularly. It’s best to just do some research on the various probiotics out there and find one that works for you. I’ve used A LOT over the years that did nothing. The best results I’ve ever had is from eating lots of cultured foods, so that is a great place to start — it’s easy and inexpensive. I have lots of recipes on my site here.

B-Complex

A good B-complex is going to go a long way to feeding your body properly. B vitamins help your brain and your adrenals.

A lot of times people with Hashi’s have a genetic predisposition to not absorbing B’s well. The key to overcoming this is finding a methyl version of a B complex.

Liver Support

I can’t emphasize this one enough….keeping your liver clean! The liver helps filter our toxins and hormones from your body, keeping those channels clean are key in helping to resolve gut issues. This post contains a more in-depth look at why you should love your liver.

The great thing about supplementing to help your liver is that there are many options. One of my favorites is beet kvass. Jessica also has the yummy Love your Liver  Herbal Coffee recipe.

If you are not a tea drinker, there are many options of capsules such a milk thistle. You can fit what works for you.

While I can’t tell you just what will help all of your Hashimoto’s symptoms, I can tell you that by using the five listed above in a fashion that works for your lifestyle, you may find some relief. Be mindful of your body and the swings it takes and listen. Trial and error is how I’ve been able to maintain my health while working on healing my gut.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend the book Root Cause by Dr. Wentz. You can read my full review of why I love this book on my blog, here.

Do you live with Hashimoto’s? Tell me what supplements have been helpful to you! 

Supporting the Thyroid & Adrenals Through Herbs

When it comes to supporting the adrenals and thyroid (because they are very closely linked), caffeine may not be your best friend. While those with sluggish adrenal glands tend to feel run down and in need of a regular pick-me-up (like coffee and other caffeinated beverages), in the long run, caffeine can do more harm than good while you are healing. I go into the “whys” around caffeine and your adrenals in this detailed post here. In addition to the caffeine, there are other constituents, molds, and mycotoxins that can show up in coffee that some people find they react to.

When I was diagnosed with autoimmune disease and adrenal fatigue, one of the first things that had to go was coffee. To be honest, I never drank coffee because of the caffeine. I drank coffee for the taste and aroma, as well as the emotional experience I felt to my morning cup of joe. For me, it was a ritual that I looked forward to every day (and sometimes multiple times a day). Whether I was brewing it at home or going to my local coffee shops, the experience was one that I clung to tightly.

But, when I was faced with new health struggles, I knew I had to do whatever I could to support my body and give it the tools it needed to heal. Giving up coffee and caffeine was one step in this direction.

And it sucked.

I turned to the coffee substitutes on the market in a desperate attempt to recreate the ritual I had grown so fond of, but nothing ever tasted the way I wanted it to. Nothing ever gave me that same experience that my cup of “real” coffee did. I knew there had to be something better, but I simply could not find it on my health food store’s shelves.

Necessity is the mother of invention so that is why I created my own coffee substitutes. They were made with organic, sustainably harvested herbs with zero grains, zero gluten, and zero caffeine. Just herbs. Herbs that not only tasted delicious but supported my body’s function, like liver detox, bile production, digestion, etc. In my mind, if I can get something to not only taste amazing but do amazing things for my body, then it’s a no brainer!

I sold these pre-made blends on Etsy for awhile and the demand was more than I could keep up with. People literally LOVED these blends and were stunned at how much like coffee they actually tasted. Customers who had been dealing with a variety of chronic illnesses had given up coffee to heal their bodies, but like me were deeply missing their morning cup of joe ritual.

After careful consideration and work with some highly experienced advisors, I decided to stop selling the pre-made blends and instead share my proprietary recipes in the form of an eBook. That way I could arm people with the knowledge and recipes they needed to make their own caffeine-free, gluten-free, grain-free blends in the comfort of their own home. 

That is why I created the best-selling DIY Herbal Coffees eBook: A Complete Guide To Making Delicious Herbal Coffees to Support Healing & Stress Relief. Now in its second edition, this ebook features all of my proprietary herbal blend recipes to you can craft a homemade herbal cup of “coffee” at home.

In addition, you get a ton of researched information about coffee’s impact on the health of those dealing with issues like adrenal fatigue, blood sugar dysregulation, autoimmune disease, thyroid disease, and any other chronic illness.

Lastly, you get access to your own personal coffee shop. I show you how to recreate your favorite coffee shop drinks and pastries with wholesome, nourishing real food ingredients. No junk here.

This book truly is a comprehensive guide to supporting your health, reducing your stress, and bringing a little something special back into your healing journey. You can learn more and download your own copy of this revolutionary wellness guide here, or simply click on the image below.