Dr. Westin Childs Podcast: Thyroid | Weight Loss | Hormones

You should eat low carb if you have a thyroid problem like hypothyroidism and want to lose weight, right? No! Cutting your carbohydrates has been shown to REDUCE thyroid function by negatively impacting thyroid lab tests like free T3 and reverse T3. The change that we see in people who go low carb for long periods of time mimics the same thyroid lab tests we see in chronically ill patients and in those who starve themselves. In other words, if you want better thyroid function and better thyroid lab tests, you need to eat more carbs. This applies if you have hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s, and even if your thyroid has been removed. But how many carbs do you need? The answer? At least 100 grams per day. These carbs should be consumed as whole food sources, NOT processed foods like pastries, cookies, cakes, donuts, etc. And don’t be stingy on fruits or 100% fruit juice either as both of these are healthy options and will not cause weight gain. Don’t worry about carbs causing weight gain either, bec