hey, guys. dr. axe here, doctor of functionalmedicine and founder of draxe.com. today i'm going to share with you the three steps youneed to follow to overcome hypothyroidism and hashimoto's disease, and i'll go throughthe top diet, supplements, as well as natural treatments to do so. so the first thing you've got to do, we'vegot to know what causes hypothyroidism or hashimoto's disease. and to be honest, 90%of hypothyroidism is an autoimmune form of hashimoto's disease. that's where your bodyis autoimmune. it is attacking itself, which is causing issues with the thyroid. hippocrates is famous for saying, "all diseasebegins in the gut." and so i believe if you
have a thyroid problem, a big part of thatis starting in your gut, and it can be caused by a condition called leaky gut. so, if you'regoing to fix your thyroid, you've first got to fix and heal leaky gut. we're going todo that, again, with diet, supplements, and then removing toxins from your body. so let me talk about diet and why this isso important. when you have leaky gut, what can happen is the holes in your intestinesbecome larger, and particles like gluten can get through. this is why a lot of people withthyroid issues will notice, if they go on a gluten-free diet, they will notice immediateresults with their thyroid. so diet wise, the first thing you've got to do is removethose things that are causing inflammation
of your gut and the things that are causingmore autoimmune responses within your body. so i recommend going gluten-free and overallgrain free for a period of time, for a total of 90 days, and gluten-free just long termperiod. but gluten is one of the biggest culprits. so again, if you've got hypothyroidism orhashimoto's disease, go gluten-free to start is so important. also, look for other foodsthat can act like gluten in your body or that cause gut inflammation. regular grains areone of them, especially if they're not sprouted or fermented, like ancient grains were. thenalso, just other foods. fast foods, too much sugar. excess sugar in your diet will undoubtedlycause inflammation of the gut, which then, in turn, will cause some of those thyroidissues.
the best diet to follow if you have hypothyroidismor hashimoto's disease is a diet that's high in vegetables, fruits, as well as things likebone broth and organic meats. these are the things that are easiest for your body to digest.that's what you want to focus on, is letting your system rest and doing things that areeasy on your gut and your entire body, if you want to heal the thyroid. so the type of diet you should be trying tofollow is something very similar to what's called the gaps diet. again, it's an ancientdiet that's full of fruits, vegetables, organic meats. so doing things like bone broth soupis fantastic, as well as also eating some probiotic rich foods, like a yogurt that'sbeen fermented for 24 to 29 hours, as well
as ancient, fermented dairy products likekefir. those probiotic rich foods can really help support the healing of the gut. so again, if you want to know more about ahypothyroidism diet, what i would do is recommend looking up things like the leaky gut dietand gaps diet, and those are the sort of diets you want to follow for thyroid issues. now, the second step in helping heal and repairyour thyroid is getting specific nutrients and supplements, and there are three mainsupplements you should consider taking. the first one is a supplement that has selenium.selenium has been shown to help regulate the hormones t3 and t4 in your body. so seleniumis an essential mineral for really supporting
thyroid function and for balancing out thyroidhormones. so selenium is the first one you should take. the second supplement is called ashwagandha.ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb that's been used in asia for thousands of years,and it's known for its ability to help reduce stress. also medical research is now showingthat it also helps balance out your thyroid hormone t4, which is critical if you're goingto overcome hypothyroidism or hashimoto's disease. so again, taking a good ashwagandhasupplement is the second most important supplement. and the third most important is making sureyou're getting your b vitamins, especially vitamin b12. vitamin b12 is also known asyour energy vitamin and the vitamin that supports
cellular function. in order for your thyroidto be healthy, your cells must be healthy and functioning and working properly. so vitaminb12 is essential in terms of supplements. if i had to add one more supplement in themix, i would recommend probiotics, and the reason is probiotics really help support inrepairing your digestive lining, which, in turn, is going to help your thyroid as well. and then last, but not least, in terms ofnatural treatments for thyroid issues is you've got to detox your body. doing cleansing ona regular basis is beneficial, and then if you have silver fillings in your mouth, lookingat getting those removed by a dams certified dentist that's mercury safe. also, lookingat even your personal care products and your
cleaning products at home, get rid of those,switch over to natural cleaning products and personal care products that contain thingslike essential oils. those can definitely help your thyroid. so again, follow those steps of the naturaldiet and supplements and removing toxins from your overall diet and your life if you wantto overcome hashimoto's disease. hey, guys. this has been dr. axe with my top tips onnatural remedies for hypothyroidism and hashimoto's disease.
