Biography
Biography: Izabella Wentz
Abstract
Various studies have established a connection between Celiac disease and Hashimoto’s. The incidence rate of Celiac disease in Hashimoto’s patients has been reported to be between 1.2% and 15%. Researchers have reported that patients diagnosed with both conditions, who were started on the gluten-free diet, had improved outcomes in both Celiac disease and Hashimoto’s. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the gluten-free (GF) diet may also be helpful for Hashimoto’s patients without Celiac disease. This presentation will focus on summarizing current published research on nutritional interventions for Hashimoto’s, including the well described interventions of the gluten-free diet, Vitamin D and Selenium, as well as anecdotal results on the most helpful self-reported interventions from a survey of 2232 patients with Hashimoto’s that took place in May 2015 (publication pending). Overall, 88% of survey respondents with Hashimoto’s who attempted a GF diet felt better, with 86% reporting an improvement in digestive symptoms. Improvements in mood, energy levels and weight reduction were reported in 60%, 67%, and 52% of people with Hashimoto’s who undertook a GF diet, respectively. Notably, only 3.5% of survey respondents reported being diagnosed with celiac disease, suggesting that a person with Hashimoto’s does not have to have celiac disease to benefit from a gluten-free diet. Large scale randomized clinical trials on lifestyle interventions for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are still in their infancy, however this presentation will share the most helpful interventions from a large scale patient survey which was guided by this author’s clinical experience, that can be utilized in clinical practice.