Carnivore diet possibly triggering thyroid issues

[chococat]

I’ve been adhering to a carnivore diet for the past 2 months ( I am planning to transition off of it very soon), and within the past three weeks or so, I have noticed that about 20-30 minutes after I eat I have a tenderness around my throat that migrates to the ears and I get extremely fatigued for hours. Headaches and high body temperature as well.
These symptoms strike me as thyroid related. This is odd to me because if anything I’ve heard that carnivore diets help people improve their thyroid conditions, at least initially. I can’t really find anyone online that had an experience like this with the carnivore diet besides myself. In any case, this experience is reinforcing the importance of carbs to me.

 

[chococat]

Small update: I had leftovers from the meal that triggered this episode earlier ( ground turkey cheese and sour cream), but I also had a bit of cooked kale ( my first vegetable in months) and I’m feeling alright.

 

[wzuo]

Carnivore/keto/paleo diet whatever you call it ruined my thyroid completely. And I was avoiding PUFAs by coincidence anyway - used only butter and coconut oil. Also I have avoided pork.
Wish I was never on that shitty diet…

 

[Greyfox]

I did carnivore for 3 months once and while i did have improvements, I now attribute the improvements to the removal of starches. Not carbs in general. Also after a while I started noticing alarming signs of aging, especially in my hands. the skin was thinner and had more wrinkles. It was the chronically low insulin and sugar levels, causing my skin to look less plump. After I permitted myself some junk food with sugar for the first time one christmas, I'm pretty sure I came close to having a stroke. My skin did fill back out again after resuming sugar though.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Carnivore/keto/paleo diet whatever you call it ruined my thyroid completely

How do you know that?

 

[HumanLife]

Was it a carnivore diet without milk and honey?

 

[Blossom]

@chococat, I think it can be doable short term if a person includes gelatin (or collagen) and eggshell calcium. I was personally never able to stop thyroid for any length of time while eating carnivore. I had preexisting thyroid issues though but maybe some people have helped their thyroid eating that way? I do respect that we are all a bit different. I think there are a lot of different experiences (and approaches) with the carnivore diet and on social media you’ll mainly hear only the positive ones so this place is nice if you want a more balanced perspective and people are also free to share the pros and cons without being censored which is helpful. The worst form of carnivore in my personal opinion is KetoAF (animal foods) because people don’t get enough protein and nutrients long term eating that way. I’d really encourage you to slowly add back whatever carb foods you find you can tolerate though. It seems a woman’s hormones specifically need some carbs to be optimal although not everyone believes this is true. I’m sure you’ll find a lot of support here.

 

[wzuo]

How do you know that?

Can't really confirm (it can't be measured) but I have started with mild symptoms of hypothyroidism I think due to workplace stress and drinking too much beer, having too poor diet. After going with no sugar/no gluten/carnivore diet I have managed to get thyroid results only worse and my a-TPO antibodies raised. No symptoms of my ilness disappeared, only new ones came. I was stupid enough to think that such a diet will starve Candida/Lyme whatever you call it.

Was it a carnivore diet without milk and honey?

in my case yes, completely no sugar, no lactose

I'm still eating meat for nutritious purpose like once a week but balance it with proper amount of sugar and gelatin. I don't crave for more and it has a plenty of fat so you have to be very careful as I found that for me it's super easy to exceed fat supply and have too less carbohydrates and proteins.

 

[chococat]

Small complaint that’s tangentially related. I just got off a video appointment trying to get thyroid levels tested. The nurse kept telling me that I need to get a full appointment and that my symptoms don’t really seem consistent. Why are doctors so stingy with the blood test sometimes?

 

[chococat]

@chococat, I think it can be doable short term if a person includes gelatin (or collagen) and eggshell calcium. I was personally never able to stop thyroid for any length of time while eating carnivore. I had preexisting thyroid issues though but maybe some people have helped their thyroid eating that way? I do respect that we are all a bit different. I think there are a lot of different experiences (and approaches) with the carnivore diet and on social media you’ll mainly hear only the positive ones so this place is nice if you want a more balanced perspective and people are also free to share the pros and cons without being censored which is helpful. The worst form of carnivore in my personal opinion is KetoAF (animal foods) because people don’t get enough protein and nutrients long term eating that way. I’d really encourage you to slowly add back whatever carb foods you find you can tolerate though. It seems a woman’s hormones specifically need some carbs to be optimal although not everyone believes this is true. I’m sure you’ll find a lot of support here.

I’m on my second day reintroducing carbs now and I’ll probably start a log soon. I’ve had spinach and kale. Not the best I know but I cooked them down throughouly. Taking my usual carnivore meals with a little bit of leafy greens has stopped the illness after eating! I’m keeping it under 30 carbs a day right now because I don’t want to shock my system.

 

[Blossom]

I’m on my second day reintroducing carbs now and I’ll probably start a log soon. I’ve had spinach and kale. Not the best I know but I cooked them down throughouly. Taking my usual carnivore meals with a little bit of leafy greens has stopped the illness after eating! I’m keeping it under 30 carbs a day right now because I don’t want to shock my system.

Sounds like a good and sensible plan.

 

[Doublecapricorn]

Your symptoms could be oxalate dumping. Keep us posted!

 

[animalcule]

I did carnivore for 3 months once and while i did have improvements, I now attribute the improvements to the removal of starches. Not carbs in general. Also after a while I started noticing alarming signs of aging, especially in my hands. the skin was thinner and had more wrinkles. It was the chronically low insulin and sugar levels, causing my skin to look less plump. After I permitted myself some junk food with sugar for the first time one christmas, I'm pretty sure I came close to having a stroke. My skin did fill back out again after resuming sugar though.

I also experienced skin feeling thinner and drier (odd considering the fat I was eating). And yet I also received compliments from strangers on my skin. It was vey weird. I guess there was a “glow” from the collagen and animal fat, but to me my skin felt dry and prone to bruising.