Book review - The Thyroid Diet

The Thyroid Diet by Mary Shamon - I liked this book. I think that too many people who review this book are looking for the magic pill that will not just fix their thyroid, but magically make it easy to lose weight. Let's get one thing straight - even with your thyroid meds optimized, weight loss is still something that you have to work at, just like everyone else on the earth. And if your meds aren't optimized it is even harder.

So yes, Ms. Shamon does "rehash" the diet and exercise advice - these are necessary to everyone who wants to lose weight. She has compassion for those who aren't optimized and struggling with issues that make it harder for thyroid patients to lose weight - pain and fatigue that make exercise hard, a lower metabolism than the average person no matter what you do, etc.

She does address many issues that often appear in those weight thyroid disease, such as gluten sensitivity, yeast overgrowth, and adrenal issues. She addresses facts and myths about thyroid disease, and gives a little diet test to help you decide which way of eating is going to work best for you. I scored high on the carbohydrate section which means I need to eat lower carb.

The book mostly focused on people who are hypothyroid, mostly because most people who are hyperthyroid eventually become hyper through either removal of their thyroid or radiation to kill their thyroid, plus weight gain is more common in hypothyroidism than hyper.

For those who are hyperthyroid, you would be better off with Ms. Shamon's book Living Well with Graves' Disease and Hyperthyroidism.

She starts off with basic information on what hypothyroidism is and gives a quick self-test. The more items you check, the more chance it is that you have thyroid disease (either hypo or hyper).The next chapter includes a short (too short I think) discussion on optimal TSH levels. She does not address optimal Free T3 or Free T4 levels, but does discuss these as blood tests you might want to have done.

She gives advice of supplements and herbs that might aid with weight loss (again, there is no magic pill), including prescription pills, how to get in exercise even with pain and fatigue, and an eye opening calorie worksheet that estimates your base metabolic rate. Mine is incredibly low - around just 1200 calories a day! There is a large recipe section for those who like to cook. Each recipe includes calories, and grams of fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

At the back of the book is a huge section of resources. It has everything from helpful books and magazines, diet tools, allergy testing labs, cookbooks, fitness and exercise, help finding a good doctor, and help finding a personal trainer.

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