Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and the Carnivore Diet

What it feels like

You take your pill every morning and you're still tired, cold, foggy and gaining weight. Your labs are 'normal,' so you're told that's just how it is. The people below were told the same.

Real people, real stories (N=1)

Our thesis

Our thesis: We think Hashimoto's, like other autoimmune conditions, is often fueled by the modern diet, and that a simple meat-based elimination diet may calm the immune attack on the thyroid for some people. This is understudied for carnivore: we know of no controlled trial of a carnivore diet for Hashimoto's. The study cited here tested a short low-carbohydrate diet.

The bet

• A directional shift. The stories above come from real people, on camera and in their own words. They are anecdotes, but they point the same way, and we think that's worth taking seriously.
• Lower risk with your doctor in the loop. Eating meat, eggs, salt and water for a set trial period is a reversible experiment. Never stop levothyroxine on your own; if your needs change, your doctor adjusts the dose from your labs. The trial happens with your doctor in the loop, not around them; see the Safety check above for the details.
• Why the research is thin. Randomized trials are built for drugs and are expensive. No one can patent a steak, so the industry has little incentive to fund primal-diet research. A missing trial isn't proof that it works, and it isn't proof that it doesn't.
• The primal lens. The human body was shaped long before refined sugar, seed oils and ultra-processed food existed. We see the modern diet as the uncontrolled experiment, and a meat-based trial as a step back toward the conditions our biology evolved in.

Overview: the condition, holistically

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid, often leading to an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) with tiredness, weight gain, feeling cold, constipation and low mood. Commonly discussed contributors include genetics, being female, other autoimmune conditions, and iodine and selenium status. Standard care is thyroid hormone replacement, usually levothyroxine, adjusted by blood tests.

How carnivore is claimed to help

What advocates say, attributed to them:

• It's the immune system. At 1:17 Dr. Ken Berry says "this is not a problem with your thyroid, this is a problem with your immune system inappropriately attacking your thyroid gland." At 6:58 he says "it's your diet almost always," and recommends getting all grains out.
• Strict meat, and watch the antibodies. At 9:09 Dr. Anthony Chaffee says he doesn't think you need iodine to lower antibodies, and advises keeping track of them on a strict "red meat and water" diet. At 1:29 he notes the literature urges caution with iodine supplements in Hashimoto's.
• Off medication, for some. At 0:32 Dr. Shawn Baker says he has seen many people on low-carb and carnivore diets whose condition "gets much better" and who "come off medication," while calling that "anecdotal." Any medication change is your doctor's call, made from your labs.

Doctors and advocates

• Dr. Ken Berry

  Family physician; explains Hashimoto's as an immune attack on the thyroid and blames diet, especially grains.

• Dr. Anthony Chaffee

  Host of the Anthony Chaffee MD channel; discusses iodine, thyroid antibodies and a strict red meat and water diet.

• Dr. Shawn Baker

  Carnivore advocate and podcast host; says he's seen low-carb and carnivore eaters improve Hashimoto's.

Questions to ask your doctor

Ask: "When should we recheck my TSH and free T4 if I change my diet, and what would make you lower my dose?" "Should we track my thyroid antibodies, and should I take iodine or selenium?" Not sure your concerns are being heard? See when to question the advice.

Try it

• Go through the Safety check above with your doctor before you start.
• Keep taking your thyroid medication; let your labs, not how you feel, guide any dose change. Take levothyroxine on an empty stomach, 30 to 60 minutes before food or coffee, and at least 4 hours apart from calcium, iron or antacids; soy can also lower absorption.
• Eat fatty meat, eggs, salt and water. Cut grains, sugar and seed oils.
• Plan meals with the KC Meatup calculator, and find KC butchers and clinicians in the directory.
• Recheck TSH and free T4 with your doctor at about 6 to 8 weeks.

Not medical advice

Personal stories, not medical advice. If you take medication (especially for blood sugar, blood pressure or mood), change your diet with your doctor in the loop.

Related conditions

Sources

Research

• Esposito T et al. (2016). Effects of low-carbohydrate diet therapy in overweight subjects with autoimmune thyroiditis: possible synergism with ChREBP. Drug Design, Development and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.2147/DDDT.S106440. In overweight people with autoimmune thyroiditis, a 3-week diet without bread, pasta, fruit and rice was linked to lower thyroid antibodies and modest weight loss. Short, small and not carnivore.
• AbbVie Inc. SYNTHROID (levothyroxine sodium) prescribing information. DailyMed. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=1e11ad30-1041-4520-10b0-8f9d30d30fcc. Take on an empty stomach 30 to 60 minutes before breakfast, at least 4 hours apart from calcium, iron and antacids; soybean flour can lower absorption.
• Benvenga S et al. (2008). Altered intestinal absorption of L-thyroxine caused by coffee. Thyroid. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2007.0222. Coffee taken with levothyroxine lowered its absorption.
• American Thyroid Association. Thyroid hormone treatment. https://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-hormone-treatment/. Notes that iron, calcium and soy reduce absorption, and that biotin can interfere with thyroid blood tests (advises stopping it 2 to 3 days before testing).
• US Food and Drug Administration. Biotin interference with troponin lab tests. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/in-vitro-diagnostics/biotin-interference-troponin-lab-tests-assays-subject-biotin-interference. FDA warns biotin supplements can cause falsely high or low results on lab tests, including hormone tests.

Videos (all verified by oEmbed. Timestamps are confirmed against YouTube auto-captions. Quotes are from the auto-captions.)

• Stefania brought autoimmune disorders, celiac, and Hashimoto's under control with a carnivore diet, Dr. Shawn Baker Podcast, uploaded 2020-10-29
• Hashimoto's: Elimination Diet To Paleo To Ketovore | Dr. Shawn Baker & Kelly, Dr. Shawn Baker Podcast, uploaded 2022-07-14
• Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: How to Reverse It Naturally [ 5 facts...], KenDBerryMD, uploaded 2018-06-23
• 🔴 Can Extra Iodine Improve Hashimoto's Thyroiditis?, Anthony Chaffee MD, uploaded 2025-02-23
• NEW STUDY! Low carb beats hypothyroidism!!, Shawn Baker MD, uploaded 2024-04-01