Hi, all - I wanted to share with you my experience, hoping it might help some folks who might be struggling for the same reason I was struggling with raw fooding for eight years.

End of story, tow rok backwards: I developed a selenium deficiency starting 8 years ago . I went raw, stopped eating things that would give me selenium, and only inconsistently at BRAZIL NUTS. (quite vital for raw fooders who don't eat meat or grains). Selenium is essential for the production of thyroid hormone. I saw my thyroid levels bounce around, hair loss, sugar cravings. Blah blah blah. I saw a scillian doctors, even consulted with a well-known raw food naturopath. A new MD (traditional) picked it up. It's taken three months, but with a brazil nut a day, my thyroid is beginning to pick up.

Cruciferous vegetables raw (esp. if juiced) can undermine thyroid functioning as well.

So I hope this might prevent years of suffering in someone out there. I feel that I can now really imagine having that glowing health and energy that I went raw for.

Best to everyone.

I appreciate the reminder.


My favorite raw vegan

Thanks, will keep in mind.

its good to hear your thyroids picking up.

good call on the Cruciferous vegetables they contain goitergens which are inactivated when cooked but if raw/juiced and you have thyroid problems they can cause issues.

I have some symptoms of this problem - I lost some of my skin hair, and my beard is growing slower than before I switched to raw foods (5 months ago). Does the iodine intake have anything to do with it? I stopped eating salt completely.

Your description fits my symptoms, as I started with smoothies which included a lot of cruciferous veggies. This was the main difference in my diet. I don't think that I was able to properly digest those.

I feel fine otherwise, I am able to run a few miles a day, play basketball, work. The only symptom I have is the hair loss, and maybe a little fatigue, but this is since I don't really eat enough sometimes, I think.

it can be a symptom of low thyroid but is more likely to do with testosterone or an infection of of the glands around the beard.

every raw fooder should be eating seaweeds anyway in my opinion.

powerlifer, where do you get seaweed? Any links online? Or should I look locally?

I wish I lived closer to the sea, I would collect them myself, as diving is one of my hobbies.

I was reading this thread as I have Hashimoto's, which is an immune system dysfunction (and not a nutritional deficiency), marked by your immune system's attack of the thyroid gland and subsequent inflammation. I hadn't seen anything in this thread regarding autoimmune issues, so wanted to throw that out there. Also, my endocrinologist has told me that one of the theories about the origin of Hashimoto's thyroiditis -- and particularly why it's common amongst women in the postpartum period (which is when I first noticed symptoms, some years back) -- is that it's caused by HIGH levels of iodine in prenatal vitamins. I was told expressly to stay AWAY from things containing high levels of iodine, so I'm not sure about the seaweed unless you know your diet is somehow iodine deficient, which it's probably not.

In short, too much of something might very well be a very, very bad thing, so please use careful discrimination when making your decisions about such issues.

immune system dysfunction, autoimmune diseases and nutritional issues are not mutually exclusive

also, the original poster did not mention consuming iodine

secondly, too much of one thing MAY be a bad thing if it is causing problems

it MAY be a good thing if the results show that it is efficacious to do so at the time

i say "whatever works"

good luck to all

was reading this thread as I have Hashimoto's, which is an immune system dysfunction (and not a nutritional deficiency), marked by your immune system's attack of the thyroid gland and subsequent inflammation. I hadn't seen anything in this thread regarding autoimmune issues, so wanted to throw that out there. Also, my endocrinologist has told me that one of the theories about the origin of Hashimoto's thyroiditis -- and particularly why it's common amongst women in the postpartum period (which is when I first noticed symptoms, some years back) -- is that it's caused by HIGH levels of iodine in prenatal vitamins. I was told expressly to stay AWAY from things containing high levels of iodine, so I'm not sure about the seaweed unless you know your diet is somehow iodine deficient, which it's probably not.

In short, too much of something might very well be a very, very bad thing, so please use careful discrimination when making your decisions about such issues.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Novelista, thanks for posting this, it is very interesting, as there is a lot of info on line on most health forums, advising people to take high levels of iodine for thyroid problems, when actually there is some evidence to suggest that iodine is causing them.

You are right Hashimotos is an auto immune condition and Selenium does help decrease the thyroid anti bodies

[thyroid.about.com]

Selenium Supplementation in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroiditis Decreases Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies Concentrations



also this one on food sources of selenium and research done on thyroid patient with supplements and brazil nuts, selenium levels increased the best in 2 brazil nuts a day group.


[www.whfoods.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2010 05:43AM by Ariel55.

The vast majority of Americans are iodine deficient because our soil is. Iodine is an essential element necessary for proper cellular metabolism; this is one of the reasons that health forums suggest dosing with iodine--a deficiency in this manifests commonly as hypothyroidism, but is also linked to certain types of cancers and childhood cognitive disorders, among other things. Anyone interested in this should do a search for Dr. David Brownstein, MD. Quackwatch has a posting on him, apparently, so I guess he's "arrived." : )

Hashimoto's Thryroiditis, as it isn't really a glandular disorder, is not iodine dependent as far as clinical endocrinology knows. So one should not supplement with iodine in that case, certainly. It is interesting to consider whether a subclinical iodine disorder may be implicated in the onset of Hashimoto's, because iodine is essential for proper immune cell function, and Hashimoto's frequently results in hypothyroidism.