Update on my Hashimoto's Antibodies
Over the past several months, I've been experimenting with my diet to see if I could (selfishly) relax my strict eating habits without compromising the progress I've made in reversing my autoimmune condition.
Additionally, I adjusted my Vitamin D dosage, aiming to maintain my progress with a "safer" amount, since taking 50-100k IUs of Vitamin D requires more monitoring than I'd prefer.
What I ultimately discovered is that while diet plays a role in reducing antibodies, it is significantly less impactful compared to the direct effect of maximizing Vitamin D absorption. Below are my latest blood test results:
If we use PTH (parathyroid hormone) as a proxy for vitamin D absorption, a clear correlation emerges between vitamin D absorption and antibody reduction. Between March and May, I temporarily stopped taking Vitamin D and reintroduced carbs into my diet, though I still avoided gluten. As a result, my antibody levels increased, rising from 300 IU/mL to 438 IU/mL. When I resumed taking 50,000 IUs of Vitamin D, I noticed some progress, though it was slow. By August, my tests revealed that the reduction in antibodies was modest, and my PTH levels suggested that 50,000 IUs might not be sufficient. Consequently, I doubled my intake to 100,000 IUs/day from August 7th to August 29th, without changing my diet (continuing to consume carbohydrates but avoiding inflammatory foods).
The result was a reduction of 50 IU/mL in my TPO antibodies. While this may not seem like a significant drop, the timeframe is crucial.
If you’ve read my Depletion Theory of Nutrition article, you'll see how the components of the Moony Protocol work together to create an optimal environment for rapid healing. My ongoing experiments consistently reinforce that vitamin D absorption is the most critical indicator of overall health. Everything else serves to support this primary objective.
So does this mean I will always need to be on super high doses of Vitamin D? My hunch is that the answer is no, however in order to completely mitigate the need for high doses of Vitamin D, we will likely need to eat a low inflammatory diet (eg. PKD carnivore) for long enough to provide our bodies the ability to heal damaged Vitamin D receptors. To that aim the Moony Protocol seems to be the best bet for accomplishing this, so long as we can maintain adherence 😅