Hello Forum folks,
I am considering a ketogenic diet, but have a TSH level of 5.1 prior to starting medication recently (post neck cancer radiation). The article by a doctor at the link below causes me a lot of concern. It has a lot of cited support. I would like to get feedback from anyone knowledgeable. Please read the article by Dr. Christianson at this link:
http://drchristianson.com/is-the-ketogenic-diet-safe-for-those-with-thyroid-disease/
TIA, tacenator
As I do not have thyroid issues or thyroid cancer, its not something I have researched.
However…The first thing I do before even reading what anyone has to say, especially on blogs - is look and see if they are selling anything and what. I see he sells supplements (not cheap) including specific ones for thyroid.
So…that makes me go “hmmmm” 
and my inclination would be to file that information - and search out scholarly publications.
Now I know we have folks on forum that have thyroid issues and they will certainly chime in - and will likely provide you with solid information and their experience with keto.
No, not safe!
Dr. Berg talks about the thyroid gland and what could be the potential thyroid problems (it is mostly secondary). The thyroid symptoms include hair loss, dry hair, loss of eyebrows, abnormal thyroid glands and hormones, all these are caused due to low thyroid levels in the body.
Dr. Berg discusses about the major thyroid problems and their associated thyroid treatment. The main cause for thyroid issues is liver and gall bladder. The next possible cause of thyroid symptoms could be the adrenals. In this case you can have either high quantity of thyroid (hyper thyroid) or low quantity of thyroid (hypo thyroid), both if which are triggered by high amount of stress levels. The third most probable cause could be ovaries. In this case the estrogen depletes the activity of thyroid over time which causes a thyroid disorder.
It is very rare that you have primary thyroid problem. Dr. Berg explains the root cause and how to make your thyroid come back.
Just search this forum for Thyroid. I don’t know anything per se but there are many discussions of hypo, hyper, Hashimoto’s, thyroid removal, etc. and the impact of and on keto.
I’ve been hypothyroid for years, and been keto for 1.5 years. My endocrinologist specifically recommends keto to her patients. I’ll give my experiences based on what this article says.
My thyroid has been tested every 3-6 months for years now. Nothing ever got worse after going keto, and I had to reduce my medication at one point.
They mention that the ketogenic diet can lower insulin levels. My insulin levels are very high, so this is a good thing. Most people are not in any danger at all of having their levels go too low.
My experience has been that my thyroid has stayed approximately the same, I’ve lost weight, my A1C went from almost prediabetic to entirely normal, my cholesterol has never been better, and blood pressure is done to normal levels.
Thanks Ajax. I agree that the selling aspect is a problem (there are also many, many keto hucksters). If you dig deeper, you will see Dr. C also sells expensive reset programs an even retreats for THOUSANDS! Nevertheless, the article I linked does cite other studies and does have some disturbing information on the ketogenic diet.
Vega,
Thank for your reply and to the others whom have replied. I doubt your endocrinologist would agree to look at Dr. Christianson’s article and comment, but it would be great if that were a possibility. Your experience with this is very helpful to me in deciding if I should try keto! It appears the benefits outweigh the risks outlined in the article.
I’ve been diagnosed hypothyroid for 34 years (aged 6, along with my alopecia diagnosis) and it stopped working completely 21 years ago… I’m doing brilliantly on keto and my blood markers back it up.
I told my GP what I was planning to do and gave him a long list of blood tests that I wanted so that I could see how it affected me, and he said it was worth a shot and ordered all of them for me. I had been extremely sick and overweight for over a decade - hypertensive at one point, Inflammatory markers through the roof, abnormal kidney and liver tests, almost no Vitamin D as well as multiple autoimmune diseases.
I had to reduce my thyroxine from 150 to 100 a few months ago as my TSH dropped to almost nothing. Keto also put my Psoriatic Arthritis and exercise induced asthma into remission. Oh… and I’ve dropped 30kg despite putting on 5kg muscle.
I’d guess that there might be a lot of factors in deciding the best dietary approach to use. In my case, my thyroid has been very under control for years, but my weight and insulin resistance haven’t been at all under control until changing to keto. Maybe a person who was at a normal weight and in perfect health except for their thyroid and had a very low fasting insulin might need more carbs than someone like me who is profoundly insulin resistant.
I don’t really think I’d want to ask my doctor to read articles. I know she’s extremely busy already.
Melanie- I’ve been diagnosed as hypo for 21 years and on 300mcg of Synthroid for almost all of them! Major depression, weighing in mid 200s, hair breakage, etc… 2 years ago diagnosed with Hashimotos, but uneducated and far too depressed to look into it. Started Keto last week and loving It! Now wanting to educate myself on what specific bloodwork neds to be done to track success of keto on my thyroid to hopefully reduce level of Synthroid. Please, please, any info you can give me to help me would be a literal lifesaver!
Hi Kim
Re thyroid, I had T3, T4, TSH and Reverse T3 tested. I had to pay for the the reverse T3 test, so my doctor put it on a separate form so it could be billed separately (I’m in Australia, so everything else is covered by medicare - if it had all gone on one form, I would’ve had to pay for all of them, then claim the others back).
Also had Vitamin D, inflammatory markers (CRP and ESR), fasting blood glucose and insulin, HbA1C, lipid panel (including triglycerides), liver function, Urea, Creatinine, Electrolytes, ENA, Full Blood Count, Calcium and Phosphate.
I can relate to the uneducated and depressed side of it (plus arthritis flares and the fatigue that comes with autoimmune problems). I just happened to accompany my ex to a talk at his gym on how glucose vs ketones fuel the body (presented by a guy who was selling exogenous ketones and coaching services), then I went to a low carb event where Jimmy Moore was one of the speakers and figured I’d give it a go because I needed to lose weight - but I had no idea about the other health benefits.
Good luck with it!
Plenty of research disagrees with this and is supported by my wife’s experience - she has Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis/Hypothyroidism and the ketogenic WOE has surely saved her life in the last six months. Being anti-inflammatory, and supported by kefir probiotics and iodine supplementation, she is at last on her road to recovery after six years of struggling really badly (not just physically but in trying to understand her own condition or to get doctors to do so).
I am guessing that is between her and her doctor but is nice to hear success stories which is all for the better!
What is good for one person may be fatal to the other, the thyroid is not something to mess around with!
Has it done anything for your alopecia? Same combo of disorders here.
There are established ketogenic-based protocols for treating thyroid and adrenal dysfunction - please cite what these studies are that suggest it wouldn’t be “safe” - certainly keto in these instances is used in a supporting role - anti-inflammatory and assisting in achieving a healthy gut biome and additional attention may well be needed for the root causes of the thyroid problem itself but we have seen NO reason whatsoever to suggest that keto is incompatible with or risky for - thyroid conditions…
Protocols; not a straight out dive into ketosis!
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/thyroid-when-to-cycle-in-out-of-ketosis/34238?u=atomicspacebunny
Using A Ketogenic Diet For Hypothyroid
“…Of course, with anything pertaining to a health condition, you have to take into account unique factors per individual and per condition when designing a health plan. …More
I hadn’t actually had a noticeable bout of alopecia since I was 6 but don’t lose as much hair as I did pre-keto (judging by the amount on my hairbrush and in the shower/bathroom… not exactly scientific measurement!).
But I was also on Methotrexate pre-keto (about 10 years) and had scalp psoriasis before that (15-20 years)
I would like to update my keto experience re thyroid function. The attached pic shows my TSH levels since 1/14. The first test in 1/14 was a pre-radiation baseline. On the 1/9/18 test, I exceeded 5 and my doc prescribed Levothyroxine Sodium which did lower the TSH as per the March 18 reading. I started keto in March 2018 and ceased the Levothyroxine soon after as an experiment with my docs blessing. The 1/19 test shows that my levels have dropped into the post radiation levels of 2015-17. My doc is pleased and has not suggested to restart medication. I know this is anecdotal and may have nothing to do with keto, but at least headed in the right direction.
I lost the last 15 pounds (the tough ones) on keto and have maintained my ideal weight for over 5 months. Never felt better.
