Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease.
Did you know that a specific antigen can stimulate the autoimmune attack? For example, a food, mold, bacteria, a chronic virus or a parasite are all examples.
These are Hashimoto’s triggers, they instigate the attack on your tissue by your immune system.
Your immune system attacks proteins and all proteins are made of a sequence of amino acids. There aren’t that many amino acids in nature, so there are certain sequences that are the same.
If antibodies have been created to specific amino acid sequences, then anything that has this same sequence may be attacked. Sometimes, our own tissue has the same amino acid sequences as foods or other things in our environment.
Gluten, is, of course, a perfect example of a trigger. Every time someone who is gluten sensitive eats gluten, it provokes an attack on their thyroid. Gluten has also been found to be very similar in structure to cerebellar tissue. So when you eat gluten, your brain also gets attacked.
Here’s a longer blog post I wrote on this topic.
People can also develop an immune response to environmental toxins and heavy metals. In this case, your body can develop antibodies to a combination of your own tissue and this toxin.
So when you are exposed to these triggers, your immune system responds and your tissue is collateral damage. This can be true of common objects in your house like foam in your pillows or formaldehyde in your furniture.
There is a variety of testing available to find out which of these triggers you may have. With my patients I order tests to test for gluten antibodies (over 24 different proteins), antibodies for environmental toxins and antibodies for other foods that may behave like gluten.
Another thing you can do is to keep a journal. You should note what you eat, what you have been doing, what you were exposed to and how you felt. Over time you may be able to identify some of the common triggers in your diet and your immediate environment.
