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Slow Metabolism


BarryC

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BarryC Collaborator

I always thought my inability to lose weight was a slow metabolism, although my doctor said my thyroid was fine. Being gluten free for a month I am starting to lose a bit. Anybody else have this issue and does gluten affect the thyroid/metabolism?


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burdee Enthusiast

I always thought my inability to lose weight was a slow metabolism, although my doctor said my thyroid was fine. Being gluten free for a month I am starting to lose a bit. Anybody else have this issue and does gluten affect the thyroid/metabolism?

Gluten intolerance definitely affects the thyroid. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common form of hypothyroidism (low thyroid function which decreases metabolic processes). Hashimoto's is highly correlated with gluten intolerance.

Although your doctor said your thyroid was 'fine', ask for a full panel of thyroid tests (free t4, free t3, TPOab (Hashimoto's antibodies), reverse t3 and TSH). Also ask to see the 'normal' ranges for each of those test results. In 2003 endocrinologists were told to revise their normal ranges for tsh from .5 - 5.0 to .3 - 3.0, a smaller normal range. Some experts even recommend 2.5 as the upper end of the TSH normal range. If your doc was using an old outdated TSH range, you may have been misdiagnosed as 'fine', when you really had hypothyroidism, which would decrease your metabolism and make weight loss difficult.

mommida Enthusiast

You can also supplement Biotin safely.

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