Ever since I restored my health back to normal, I have regularly admitted that I don’t eat a perfect diet. Don’t get me wrong, as I definitely eat much better than I did before I got diagnosed, and overall eat healthy foods. Before I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease I thought I was eating well when compared to most other people, but I now realize I was also eating a lot of junk food…just not as much as most people. In any case, the main reason I decided to write this article is because I wanted people to realize that it’s not necessary to eat a perfect diet after restoring your back to normal.
In fact, even when following a natural treatment protocol for your thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition it isn’t necessary to be “perfect”. Don’t get me wrong, as you definitely need to be more strict when you are first following a natural treatment protocol. But as an example, when I first began following a natural treatment protocol, I ate mostly whole foods, but I had Standard Process protein bars a few days each week. While they are healthier than most other protein bars sold on the market, they still have a couple of questionable ingredients, one of which is soy lecithin. Even though I ate these protein bars I still received great results, mainly because I was strict with just about everything else.
To be frank, at that time I wasn’t as aware of the ” health risks” of consuming products like soy and gluten. In the past I regularly ate soy-based chicken nuggets, and other processed foods which contained soy on a frequent basis. And I also ate foods with gluten reguarly as well. These days I of course eat much better, but I still eat some Standard Process protein bars every now and then, and I also eat some foods with gluten, etc. Of course some people do need to avoid gluten and other common allergens on a permanent basis, but that’s not the point of this post. The point is that if perfection in eating and lifestyle were required to restore one’s health back to normal, most people following a natural treatment protocol wouldn’t receive good results. In February of this year my family and I went on a Disney Cruise, and while I tried eating well and attempted not to trash my good eating habits, I knew I was going to eat some junk food while I was on vacation. So while I eat well most of the time, I’m not an extremist by any means.
In fact, I’m not afraid to admit that some of my patients who have restored their health back to normal eat better than I do. Once again, I eat better than most other people reading this post, but whereas I will go out every now and then for a slice of non-organic, non gluten-free pizza, some people are strict and will eat everything organic and gluten free. Of course some people are forced to eat better than me, as for example, someone with a severe gluten sensitivity will need to avoid gluten on a permanent basis.
Would I be better off eating organic 100% of the time and completely avoiding foods with soy lecithin and gluten? Probably, but that’s my choice. I could lie and claim I eat everything organic, avoid gluten and dairy completely, even when on vacation, but I don’t want people to think they have to eat a perfect diet and live a perfect lifestyle to overcome their thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition, and then maintain a perfect diet and lifestyle thereafter. Plus, it would of course be embarrassing to tell everyone I ate perfect, and then bump into someone while I had a slice of pizza in my hand, or perhaps someone would come across a digital photo posted on the internet that was taken of me on the Disney Cruise eating ice cream with Mickey Mouse!
Speaking of the cruise, I was pleasantly surprised that some of the restaurants on the Disney Cruise offered organic chicken. So I did have some healthy meals, but of course ate some unhealthy food too. Normally I do a detoxification shortly after vacation, but this time I took a different approach and decided to do one about 6 weeks before the cruise.
In any case, if you are hesitant to follow a natural treatment protocol because you think it is going to be challenging, then you are correct. However, if you think you need to be perfect in order to receive great results, then you are mistaken. And for those who don’t want to begin such a protocol because they fear they will need to avoid all junk food for the rest of their life, this definitely isn’t true, although you will need to eat well most of the time. But for many people, eating foods with soy lecithin, gluten, and dairy every now and then won’t be a big issue, although there without questions are exceptions.