An investigation published in 2018 shows the sugar industry was successful in shifting the blame for heart disease to dietary fat using skewed and incomplete science; all along they knew the real culprit was sugar. This corporate deception went on to create more than 50 years of a domestic “low-fat” nutritional policy that played a significant role in making Americans the fattest and sickest nation on the planet. The low-fat diet essentially created a diet high in processed carbohydrates and sugar. The imbalanced blood sugar this diet causes plays a significant role in the explosion of autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s low thyroid.
As with tobacco companies, the sugar industry funded studies that minimized the role of sugar in raising the risk of heart disease.
Their own studies showed high-sugar diets increased triglyceride levels, thus raising the risk of heart attack and stroke, and also increased the risk of bladder cancer. They halted the study before it could be completed, citing organizational restructuring within the research foundation.
The same factors that increase the risk heart disease and other disorders also play a role in autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s low thyroid. This is because a high-sugar diet increases chronic inflammation, leaky gut, hormone imbalances, infection, and other factors that predispose the body to autoimmune disease.
The Sugar Association, which is based in Washington DC, said scientific recommendations to limit sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories are “out of bounds.”
Had the findings from the study been released, further research could have been conducted then to show the link between sugar and chronic disease. Millions of Americans could have been spared a life of obesity and chronic disease, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
The sugar-friendly policy also downplayed how vital healthy fats are to the brain, which is comprised predominantly of fat. Those with Hashimoto’s low thyroid have to pay particularly close attention to brain nutrition because Hashimoto’s increases the risk of brain degeneration and brain disorders.
Additionally, a 2018 European study shows a significant link between how much processed foods people keep in their kitchen and obesity and chronic disease. Though Americans and Europeans have always eaten roughly the same number of calories, more Americans than Europeans are obese and ill. This is because Americans have been eating foods higher in sugars.
High-sugar, low-fat foods make people fatter and trigger a hormonal cascade that increases sugar cravings while turning off the satiety hormones so that one feels constantly hungry. Studies show diets fail most people in sustained weight loss and even trigger eating disorders.
The low-fat, high-carb diet creates a vicious cycle that ends with chronic disease based on inflammation, accelerated brain degeneration, and metabolic imbalances. This predisposes the immune system toward autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s low thyroid.
In functional medicine, we often see significantly ameliorated or even reversed simply by stabilizing blood sugar, eliminating inflammatory foods, addressing chronic infection, repairing gut health, and adopting a whole foods diet.
Ask my office for advice on the best diet for your Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
How to learn if you have Hashimoto’s low thyroid
Many patients are not diagnosed with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s until after several years and going through several doctors. It is a demoralizing journey richly illustrated in my book The Truth About Low Thyroid: Stories of Hope and Healing for Those Suffering With Hashimoto’s Low Thyroid Disease, through real-life stories from patients in my practice. Managing Hashimoto’s goes far beyond using thyroid medication as you must work to stop the immune system from attacking the thyroid. For more information on identifying and managing Hashimoto’s low thyroid, contact my office.
About Dr. Josh Redd, Chiropractic Physician — Utah, Arizona, New Mexico functional medicine
Dr. Joshua J. Redd, DC, MS, DABFM, DAAIM, author of The Truth About Low Thyroid: Stories of Hope and Healing for Those Suffering With Hashimoto’s Low Thyroid Disease, is a chiropractic physician and the founder of RedRiver Health and Wellness Center with practices in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. He sees patients from around the world who suffer from challenging thyroid disorders, Hashimoto’s disease, and other autoimmune conditions. In addition to his chiropractic degree, Dr. Redd has a BS in Health and Wellness, a BS in Anatomy, and a MS in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine. He speaks across the nation, teaching physicians about functional blood chemistry, low thyroid, Hashimoto’s, and autoimmunity. You can join his Facebook page here.
