5 Facts About Hashimoto’s Disease
Written with Ann Arbor Holistic Health Practitioner, Alma Moya
After losing her thyroid at 19, Alma turned her personal challenges into a lifelong mission to help others. She is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner with over 13 years of experience, a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and holds additional certifications in fitness and lifestyle coaching. Now settled on 22 acres, Alma combines her global experience with hands-on living, cultivating an organic farm.
Learn what Hashimoto’s is, its symptoms, causes, and natural ways to support thyroid health through nutrition, lifestyle, and holistic care.
Hashimoto’s is one of the most common thyroid concerns, but for many people it still feels like a mystery. To help break it down, we spoke with Alma Moya, FDN-P, an Ann Arbor Holistic Health practitioner.
What is Hashimoto’s?
“Hashimoto's is chronic hypothyroidism where the thyroid isn't performing optimally. It’s an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own thyroid,” explains Alma Moya, FDN-P.
Hashimoto’s Symptoms
When the thyroid slows down, daily life can feel much harder. According to Alma, “That hypothyroidism is going to make you feel sluggish, possible weight gain, lose some hair, hoarseness, puffiness, feeling down, depressed, generally feeling like someone just dimmed your lights entirely and you're not the full expression of yourself.”
Holistic Support for Thyroid Health
Nutrition can play a supportive role for the thyroid. “There are foods that support the thyroid like: asparagus, sweet potatoes, some carrots, fruit, pomegranates, and papaya is really soothing for the thyroid. Certain teas that are endocrine friendly are red raspberry and red hibiscus,” shares Alma Moya, an Ann Arbor Holistic Health practitioner.
Hashimoto’s can feel overwhelming, but understanding the connection between the immune system, viruses like EBV, and lifestyle stressors is the first step toward supporting thyroid health. As Alma Moya, FDN-P, describes it, the thyroid is like a light dimmer, and when it’s under attack, your brightness fades. Supporting it through nutrition, stress reduction, and overall immune resilience can help restore some of that light.
Understanding the basics of Hashimoto’s is the first step, but there’s more to know about how this condition shows up and evolves over time. The following article takes a closer look at the ways Hashimoto’s can change, the symptoms it can mimic, and the different approaches to finding lasting support.
5 Facts About Hashimoto’s Disease
When your body’s antibodies wage war on your thyroid gland, it causes the autoimmune disorder known as Hashimoto’s disease. Living with this condition is exhausting, draining, and can feel insurmountable. This attack on your thyroid, however, can be overcome with holistic care and support.
1. Hashimoto’s disease can change its form.
Hashimoto’s disease may sometimes begin with a temporary phase of hyperthyroidism. The chronic inflammation that results from the immune system’s attack of the thyroid gland can make the gland leak stored hormone, and the body may experience excess thyroid hormones for a short time. Over time, however, the ongoing inflammation can damage the gland and reduce its ability to produce new hormones, and that can lead to hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland.
2. Symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease can mimic other ailments.
Sometimes doctors overlook or misdiagnose Hashimoto’s disease because they’re focused on the symptoms: chronic fatigue, sensitivity to cold, unexplained weight gain, depression, muscle and joint pain. These problems could be indicators of other illnesses. When examined as a whole, however, and accompanied by thorough blood and allergy testing, these symptoms are at the root of Hashimoto’s disease.
3. You don’t always need drugs or hormones to fix Hashimoto’s disease.
In traditional medicine, the quick fix for a thyroid problem is often medication or synthetic hormones. For people who are already suffering from other health conditions or taking more pills than they would like, the addition of even more substances into their already out-of-whack system is daunting – and this solution is not necessarily the right one, or long-term. Changes in nutrition and lifestyle are the natural way to realign your system so you can truly feel better – permanently.
4. Hashimoto’s disease affects body and mind.
If your doctor tells you they’ve done all the testing possible and you’re completely fine but you know deep down that something isn’t right, you’re not crazy. Don’t let anyone tell you that what you’re feeling is all in your head. Hashimoto’s disease, like all thyroid and autoimmune conditions, can be baffling and difficult to identify. But once the source of your unwellness is diagnosed, it will become clear why you are experiencing both physical and mental distress.
5. You can beat Hashimoto’s disease.
Though you may be discouraged by the imposing-sounding name of Hashimoto’s disease, this autoimmune disorder can be overcome. You can regain your energy, vibrancy, and overall good health when you work with a holistic health expert. Targeting the thyroid gland alone is not the path to healing – your whole body must be balanced and, with the right customized holistic plan and ongoing support, you can feel like yourself again.
Wellness Begins in Your Gut
It’s important to go beyond the basic thyroid blood tests common to traditional medicine to properly check for Hashimoto’s disease. Allergy testing, a diagnosis of digestive problems, and examinations for other autoimmune conditions are critical to accurate diagnosis and healing.
Contact the holistic health specialists at Ann Arbor Holistic Health to find out what’s going on with your health, whether you’re suffering from Hashimoto’s disease, and what we can do together to help you reclaim your life.