I quit sugar to manage my autoimmune disease. And after almost five years of being off the sweet stuff, I can say this: Quitting sugar had the biggest impact on my disease (Hashimotos) more so than any other medical “fix”.
I have zero thyroid antibodies now, am on the minimum dosage of thyroxin and my hormone levels have fallen back into the right range. My doctors and endocrinologist confirm that the concerted changes I’ve made to my diet are the most probable cause. Which is high praise indeed (you’d know what I mean if you have an endo in your life!).
So will quitting sugar help you if you have an autoimmune disease? I can confidently say, yes.
Mostly because since doing the experiment for myself, I’ve looked into the science behind it all. It goes a little something like this…
Sugar mucks up your gut
Blood sugar imbalances inflame the digestive tract, causing leaky gut (literally, a perforated gut lining). In turn, leaky gut triggers the development of AI. Toxins are able to pass through the perforations into the bloodstream triggering an autoimmune reaction as our antibodies head out to attack the foreign invaders. These little antibody soldiers can then get confused and head off to attack parts of our bodies, such as the thyroid.
Sugar causes inflammation
The process above obviously creates inflammation, which compromises immune function. In addition, sugar