Hi Stevie85,
I’m not a doctor but I am someone suffering with Hypothyroidism (non-Hashimoto’s) induced Fibromyalgia. My docs who are more integrative docs don’t endorse a vegetarian or vegan diet. They believe firmly that the best way to health is through real bioavailable food with the least meds or supplements necessary, and veganism has to be supplemented because it doesn’t provide everything a human needs, B12 is one critical example. B12 deficiency will make fibro symptoms worse. I know that from my own life. You don’t have to do carnivore or even keto but I beg you not to give up animal based food or to add it in if you aren’t eating it.
Instead try and stay lower on the carbs but eat real food. Humans are omnivores and we need animal protein and fat. Vegetable protein and fat are nowhere near as bioavailable to the human body as animal foods are. It’s a fact that’s finally beginning to be realized by scientists, nutritionists, and the general populace. However, please, don’t take my word for it, do your own research. By all means, if you are allergic or sensitive to some animal foods don’t eat them. I gotta say, when one really does a deep dive on the whole “plant based” push by Big Food companies one will find that this plant based push means big bucks for them, and down the line, for Big Pharma, after one has made oneself sick eating a vegetarian or vegan diet.
So many plant foods are high in compounds that aren’t good for us: oxylates, phytates, salicylates, lectins, fodmaps (for those sensitive), fructose sensitivity issues, then there is gluten which is a huge problem (another plant food) plus other chemical constituents in plants that may give us some nutrients (for example when prepared with animal fat like butter) but when eaten raw they actually block the absorption of other things we need in our body, like goitrogenic veggies preventing iodine uptake in our thyroid gland. So all those kale shakes are killing peoples’ thyroids. All of this stuff can and often does cause more inflammation than eating humanely raised, grass fed or pasture raised animal foods. Don’t even get me started on seed oils. Nothing makes me feel better than a grass fed steak, or bacon and real farm eggs, or a big glass of cold raw milk. Humans are not herbivores. We don’t have 4 stomachs that can handle breaking down non- stop vegetation all day. Primarily plant based folks may feel good initially but eventually the gut problems descend upon them, Sibo, Sifo, GERD, infertility, impotence, extreme weight loss, skin problems, hair loss, psychiatric problems, chronic fatigue and muscle pain due to lack of proper protein, insulin resistance or diabetes type 2 from the sheer carb loading of plant based eating, along with collagen loss, which can be physically devastating. I’ve seen it in a long term vegan family member. I am the patient of a functional medicine doctor and a integrative psychiatrist and neither recommend any form of vegetarianism especially not for fibro, gut health, autoimmune disorders, thyroid disease, or mental health issues.
I just wanted to give you another perspective on things that have helped me get better and, in my case, moving away from plants, and even a lot of nuts, and especially avoiding gluten, has been key. I eat veggies and fruits, and even a few gluten free grains, it’s just that stuff is the minority of my diet, the majority is animal foods: meat, fowl, fish, raw milk, cheese, eggs, butter, lard, tallow. I don’t go crazy on plant foods, actually more animal based eating has been a game changer for me. Hope some of this helps.
-Rachel