Hypothyroidism is prevalent all over the world. The main symptoms of this include slower metabolism along with gradual weight gain. Low carbs and ketogenic diets have been considered as the solution for weight loss. But there are some eating patterns which need to be safely followed.
Low Carbohydrate diet or Ketogenic diet!
A low carb diet simply means that the diet focuses on limiting the carb intake. The standard Western diet roughly includes 300 grams of carbs per day. Also, there’s a clear differentiation between the low carb and Ketogenic diet. A Ketogenic diet means a diet that restricts the carb intake to a very low level as to 20-30 grams per day. This results in body shifting to ketones for energy which are prepared from fats, thus this diet is known as the Ketogenic diet.
Carbohydrates and Thyroid- the link!
Thyroid hormones are the one that regulate the energy metabolism. The glucose that is obtained from the carbohydrates is needed for the thyroid hormones. The reason being that the parts of the brain, namely hypothalamus and the pituitary gland require glucose for their functioning. The main regulatory hormone, Thyroid stimulating hormone is partly made up of glucose. There is direct effect of cutting carbs on hormone production. It is a well known fact that a condition of prolonged calorie restriction reduces the production of T3 hormone. This happens to slow down the metabolism in order to increase the chances of survival. Lower T3 is an undesirable situation for the ones who have an underactive thyroid. A Ketogenic diet mainly mimics starvation from a metabolic point of view. Studies have also shown that after a period of starvation, having proteins normalized the thyroid hormone levels.
Low carb and not Ketogenic for hypothyroid- Why!
Carbohydrate intake influences T3 that gets converted from T4 as these are both thyroid hormones. In hypothyroidism it is important as T3 is the active thyroid hormone that we need to be increased.
When carb intake is drastically reduced, conversion of T3 from T4 declines but on the contrary if you simply reduce your carb intake, and stay without ketosis, it is unlikely to affect the thyroid hormone levels. If you are a regular gym person or you exercise on a daily basis then the calorie requirement in this case shall be higher than expected. So it is recommended that before you make any major changes in your diet, you should once consult your doctor first. A low carb diet can be helpful in fat loss preferably with the people having inactive thyroid. According to the research, low carb diet is safe to be practiced however Ketogenic or very low carb diet is not recommended.
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source https://betterweightloss.info/hypothyroidism-and-low-carb-diet/
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