Why 20% fats allowance with hypothyroidism?

I think this is the section of the article you are referencing:

Reduce your use of stimulants. When trying to fight fatigue, stimulants like caffeine may be a way of life. Hypothyroidism makes the adrenal glands susceptible to overwork and burnout. The adrenal glands can only take so much stimulation before they begin to under-function. Weaning off of stimulants, including coffee, soda and tea, can help the adrenal system heal and recharge.

Notice that the article says "reduce". From your post, you indicate only having a cup of coffee 1-2 times weekly. This would be a very, very low caffeine intake with minimal stimulating effect on your body. I see nothing to worry about.

Becky
your SP Registered Dietitian

can any dietitian from sparkpeople answer my question?

I have a question regarding same article which mentions that caffeine has bad effect on adrenals of hypothyroid patients so its intake should be reduced. I use coffee around once or twice a week. I use 3 in 1 coffee sachet in water. Calories in such sachet is usually 90 kcal per sachet.

I also have Hashimoto's and I am a vegetarian. My doctor told me to eat 1200 calories a day without any other guidance. I struggled for over 6 months with any significant weight loss but once I eliminated the goitrogenic foods, reduced my carbs & increased my protein, I have lost 50lbs.

I know everyone is different but when I decided to research the matter myself, several other people online have stated that reducing carbs & goitrogenic foods have help them lose weight & alleviate the symptoms of Hashimoto's.

Hope that helps. :)

This eating structure of Ramadan should not effect your weight loss.
If you do a message board search on our site using "Ramadan"...you will discover that this topic has been discussed in the past. You may gain some helpful tips as well by reading through these previous message board threads.

Becky

Another question.
I am fasting in month of Ramadan (as all muslims do). I can eat before 3 am in the morning and break my fast at 7 pm in the evening. Does this pattern affect weight loss, keeping my calorie ranges and nutrient allowance ranges in normal limits cuz I feel I start gaining weight despite all efforts.
Exercise is limited due to weakness though.
We have to fast for 30 days

Thanks a billion Becky, stay blessed:)

Here is the link to the article:
www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_art
icles.asp?id=635

I assume that this is the section of the article that is in reference:

Decrease the amount of carbohydrates you eat. The SparkPeople plan recommends a range of 45-60% carbohydrates for its members. However, research shows that individuals with hypothyroidism are more successful when eating slightly less—about 45-50% of total calories coming from carbs. Limiting your intake to the low end of your SparkPeople range (about 50% carbs) will help you accomplish this. At 50% carbs, your diet will probably result in about 30% protein and 20% fat.


Tanya is suggesting that one decrease carbs slightly to about 45-50% of total calories. This is supported by research. This then leaves the other 2 calorie providing nutrients on the middle to upper end of the range. She uses "probably" about 30% protein and 20% fat. However, if you find your exact % to be slightly different---yet still within your SP ranges---this would not be a health problem or concern.

Hope this helps.

Becky
SP Registered Dietitian

Edited by: DIETITIANBECKY at: 7/17/2013 (07:00)

I saw these recommendations in an article "Eating with Hypothyroidism" by Tanya Jolliffe, on Sparkpeople page. Please see it and comment.

Often it will be about:
40-45% carbs (the lower end of your SP range or slightly lower)
30% protein (within your SP range)
30% fat (within your SP range)

Becky

I have primary hypothyroidism AND Hashimoto's disease. What I have been told (and what seems to work for me) is that people with any/all metabolic issues should eat more protein, fewer carbohydrates (especially whole-grain/vegetable carbohydrates and little to no processed white carbs) and that it is OK to go over on fats a bit. A great deal of my fat consumption comes from olive oil.

Neither my endocrinologist nor my neuroendocrinologist have ever mentioned reducing fats. What I hear over and over again is Mediterranean diet, but no Americanized Italian food. :) If you are really eating that way, the majority of your fats will be unsaturated.

1. Our SP ranges for fat, carbohydrates and protein are much larger than the numbers you provided. This SP article will give more (see below for the link). Notice that fat is 20-35% of total calories, carbs is 45-65% and protein is 10-35% with a lower cap for females of 60 grams.

2. I am not sure where you received your info on amount for thyroid disease---can you share more. At SP, we do not use the number you suggested. Perhaps this came from your health provider??

Becky
SP Registered Dietitian

www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_art
icles.asp?id=372

Do you have Hashimoto's hypothyroidism? If so, because this is an auto-immune disorder, caused by inflammation in the body, you may need to reduce your SATURATED fat intake (think fat from 4-legged critters here - beef, pork, ham, butter, cheese). Saturated fat can cause inflammation, which causes more damage to your thyroid. I have Hashimoto's, and I have limited my saturated fat intake, and have seem dramatic results. I agree with PPs about finding other sources of lean proteins to help you minimize your fat intake, and would add that a focus on healthy fats will be helpful to you.

Firstly, where are you getting this information that "fat has to be reduced"?

Secondly, I'm living proof that it doesn't have to be :) as I am hypothyroid and I use the 50/30/20 (carb/fat/protein) ratio recommended by Spark. And I am having no problem losing weight so long as I stick to my overall calorie ranges.

Third - if you don't like plain chicken breast all the time - branch out! Have some beef or pork or fish, have beans or lentils... find things that you enjoy, figure out the calories, and serve them in appropriate portion sizes. I personally am not a fan of plain boneless skinless chicken breast - but it's ok if i slice it into filets and barbeque, or turn into "chicken fingers" with panko bread crumb coating. I would go CRAZY if i had to rely on plain boneless chicken.

Fourth - eggs, if you want to add extra whites for the protein, the most convenient/least wasteful way would be to purchase "just egg whites" - you can find them in the dairy/egg section of the grocery. I personally just eat the yolk - yes a few extra calories and fat grams, but, i can fit the whole egg into my daily meal planning, so I do. No waste, more taste, more nutrition.

Thanks for the reply

Thanks for the reply. Just curious why fat has to be reduced? Another thing, i hate to eat too much chicken breast.I am really fed up of it. For egg whites, what should be done with egg yolks then?

I have no information on hypothyroidism to share, but I wanted to echo BUNNYKICKS. There are plenty of low-fat protein sources that you can use to supplement or replace your current choices.

Chicken breast is pretty lean, as are many varieties of fish, so they can easily replace a fattier protein source. Egg whites are essentially pure protein, and they are very low calorie so they are easy to incorporate into almost any diet. Lowfat or fat-free dairy, like Greek yogurt, is another good option that adds minimal or no fat. You can also just replace some of your carbohydrate sources with higher protein options, like beans or quinoa, without adding any additional fat *or* carbs.

Edited by: BITTERQUILL at: 7/16/2013 (12:49)

I was unaware there was a different recommendation for hypothyroid dieters (and I'm hypothyroid).

I just follow normal Spark ranges.

Incidentally, I have increased my protein consumption quite a lot over the past few months (from about 45 grams/day to 60-80/day on average) and yet my fat intake has been pretty stable throughout. You can add a lot of protein from low-fat sources (egg whites, lower-fat dairy, lean meat, fish & shellfish, beans and legumes), or if you are adding fattier protein sources you can cut back on your fat in other areas (i.e. more steak, less salad dressing).

Edited by: BUNNYKICKS at: 7/16/2013 (12:38)

I have a question. For regular diet, fat allowance is 30%. For someone with hypothyroidism, Carbohydrate allowance is reduced to 50% and protein allowance is increased to 30%.
The question is 'what is the harm in keeping fat allowance to 30% and increasing protein allowance only which will automatically reduce carbs allowance. The reason for asking the question is that increasing protein allowance automatically increases fat intake. It is very difficult to keep fat allowance to 20% while increasing protein intake.