In this episode, Dr. Eric Osansky discusses an important reality many people with hyperthyroidism and Graves’ disease eventually face: doing everything “right” with diet and lifestyle, yet still not experiencing complete healing. Dr. Eric explains why foundational practices like following an anti-inflammatory diet, reducing stress, improving sleep, and taking nutritional supplements are essential—but often only part of the solution.
He dives into the deeper root causes commonly overlooked in conventional and even natural approaches to thyroid healing. Topics include gut infections such as H. pylori, parasites, SIBO, and candida overgrowth, along with environmental toxins and toxicants like mold, microplastics, glyphosate, and heavy metals. Dr. Eric also explores the importance of vagus nerve support, nervous system regulation, oral health, and reducing toxic burden through cleaner living environments and healthier daily habits.
Throughout the episode, Dr. Eric emphasizes the importance of functional medicine testing and individualized care while also discussing common mistakes people make during their healing journey—such as relying solely on diet, avoiding testing altogether, or jumping from protocol to protocol. If you feel stuck despite making major lifestyle changes, this episode will help you better understand what may be missing and what steps to consider next in your healing journey.
Click Here to listen to it on the Save My Thyroid podcast
If you have been dealing with hyperthyroidism for a while, there is a good chance you have already made some changes to your diet. Maybe you have cut out gluten, dairy, processed foods. You might be doing your best to manage stress, improve your sleep, and perhaps even take some nutritional supplements. While all of these are important, and they are foundational, in most cases, diet and lifestyle aren’t enough to fully retore your health.
This is something I see all the time. In fact, this describes many people who work with me 1:1 in my hyperthyroid healing program. It is not uncommon for someone to join my program who has been doing everything right from a diet and lifestyle standpoint. They’re eating clean, trying to reduce stress, taking certain supplements they have heard myself and other practitioners discuss. Yet they are still struggling with symptoms. Their antibodies are still elevated. They don’t feel like themselves.
It can be incredibly frustrating. In this episode, we will talk about why this happens. We will talk about what is often missing when it comes to healing with hyperthyroidism, and more importantly, what you can do if you feel like you’ve hit a plateau. In many cases, there are underlying factors that simply are not addressed through diet and lifestyle alone.
That being said, I want to acknowledge the importance of eating a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet; blocking out time for stress management; getting sufficient sleep. You will hear me and others talk about this over and over again. The reason is because it is an important piece of the hyperthyroid healing puzzle.
It’s not the only piece. That’s why usually just doing these things alone isn’t going to completely restore your health, but it’s not like they won’t help at all. Even if you’re not experiencing an improvement in your symptoms and/or blood test or other tests, it doesn’t mean they aren’t helping. These are foundational.
Once again, the problem is that these usually aren’t addressing root causes. Diet and lifestyle. Food could be a trigger. Stress is definitely a trigger. Usually, there are other factors. You need to keep in mind, even those with Graves’, when we talk about triggers, and even non-autoimmune hyperthyroid conditions, there are triggers like underlying imbalances. Even when food and stress are triggers, there are usually other factors as well.
Let’s go ahead and talk about some of these other triggers that many people overlook. I do talk about this in my book The Hyperthyroid Healing Diet. Even though the emphasis of the diet is to focus on diet and lifestyle, there is an entire section where I talk about going beyond diet and lifestyle, going beyond the hyperthyroid healing diet.
I go into greater detail in my other book Natural Treatment Solutions for Hyperthyroidism and Graves’. If you have read my book The Hyperthyroid Healing Diet but haven’t read this other book, you might want to do so. It’s now in its third edition. If you have an older edition, that’s still okay. If you haven’t purchased it yet and are thinking about investing in it, get the third edition.
Let’s talk about some of these triggers. Let’s start with gut infections. I see a lot of people with H-pylori. In the literature, there is a correlation between H-pylori and Graves’. I understand a correlation doesn’t always mean causation, which means if someone has H-pylori, we don’t know for sure if it’s going to be the trigger. Maybe it is a trigger, but not the trigger, the only trigger. Most people do have multiple triggers.
If I see H-pylori in a Graves’ patient or Hashimoto’s patient, honestly, even a non-autoimmune thyroid patient, I will recommend a natural protocol. I won’t recommend antibiotics. That’s up to the person. If the person wants to get antibiotics, then they can get a prescription from their doctor. I don’t have prescribing rights.
Not only that, but the conventional treatment protocol for H-pylori involves not one but two antibiotics, triple therapies, sometimes quadruple therapy. Triple therapy doesn’t necessarily mean three antibiotics; it’s two antibiotics and a PPI (proton pump inhibitor). Quadruple therapy adds bismuth, which acts as a biofilm disruptor. I haven’t heard of a scenario where someone is taking three antibiotics. Maybe that’s out there. Two antibiotics is bad enough.
H-pylori could be a factor. Parasites can be a factor. SIBO as well as candida overgrowth. These aren’t really infections, but they’re overgrowths of bacteria or yeast. These can affect permeability of the gut, which can be a factor, especially with autoimmune thyroid conditions.
These can be factors even if you don’t have digestive symptoms. That is a trap a lot of people fall into. They may say, “Well, my digestion feels fine. I don’t feel any indigestion. I don’t feel any heartburn. I’m not experiencing any bloating or gas.”
To be fair, certain symptoms might lead me to think someone is more likely to have a certain condition. For example, if someone has a lot of bloating and gas, especially when eating certain foods like higher FODMAP foods, fermented foods, higher fiber foods, I might suspect they have SIBO. Whilewe certainly can just guess and say, “They probably have SIBO,” I prefer to test, like a SIBO breath test.
If someone has reflux and heartburn, it doesn’t mean they have H-pylori. Other things can cause them. It makes sense to at least rule it out through testing. You could have H-pylori or parasites with no symptoms.
SIBO, less likely. I have seen it, but it is less common to have no symptoms.
Candida overgrowth, you might have no symptoms. You might not have digestive symptoms, but you might have other symptoms such as fatigue. Same thing with H-pylori. It can affect stomach acid production. You need healthy stomach acid levels for certain minerals, such as iron. You might have low iron because of H-pylori, which can lead to certain symptoms such as fatigue. Don’t think just because you are not experiencing any digestive symptoms that you absolutely don’t have any gut infections.
The problem with gut infections, as I mentioned, is they could increase permeability of the gut. Some studies show they could be direct triggers. H-pylori can do both. According to the literature, it could potentially be a direct trigger, maybe through a molecular mimicry mechanism. It can also affect permeability. I don’t see any evidence of SIBO being a direct trigger, but it can also cause an increase in intestinal permeability, also known as a leaky gut.
When I see parasites, H-pylori, SIBO, candida overgrowth, I am going to address all of these. There are others. Organic acids testing, especially the one from Mosaic Diagnostics, looks at clostridia, which can be a factor in some people. These are triggers that are overlooked. Another reason why people need to go beyond diet and lifestyle. If you have H-pylori, parasites, SIBO, typically, just changing your diet and lifestyle isn’t going to get rid of these.
With SIBO, if you follow a low FODMAP diet, from a symptomatic standpoint, that can certainly help, but it won’t get rid of the SIBO.
Next, environmental toxins and toxicants. Things like heavy metals, microplastics; glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup; mycotoxins from mold, all of these things can be factors. Some of these will be direct triggers. Others will affect gut permeability. Unfortunately, toxins and toxicants such as those listed above can all disrupt the gut microbiome. Most immune system cells are located in the gut. Even if you have anon-autoimmune thyroid condition, with toxic multinodular goiter, one of the more common causes is problems with estrogen metabolism. You need a healthy gut for that. Another reason to look into gut infections and toxins.
It doesn’t mean you need to do expensive testing for toxins and toxicants. It does depend on the situation. If we’re suspecting mold, then maybe you want to do some testing for mold, whether it’s your house or urinary mycotoxins tests or heavy metals. I like hair testing, but it’s not perfect. Urine testing also isn’t perfect. There are tests for other chemicals.
I won’t go into great detail with testing. I actually have a previous episode on functional medicine testing, episode #245. I just want to make you aware that environmental toxins and toxicants can be a big factor. We all are exposed to these, so we can make the argument that they’re a factor in everyone. Everyone does a different job of eliminating toxins. We’re all exposed to different extents. Some people have really moldy homes, and some don’t. Some people drink out of plastic water bottles on a regular basis, and others don’t.
Some people do a really good job, but their detox pathways, they have certain genetic variations that affect detoxification, so they might need to do an even better job of supporting detoxification.
Food is another trigger. That really falls into diet and lifestyle. You know you should probably be avoiding gluten and other foods that are included in AIP or level 3, for those who read my book. I won’t go into detail with the diets. You can read the book, or I have another podcast episode where I talk about the different levels of diets. Food can be a trigger. That really does fall into diet and lifestyle.
Same thing with stress. With stress, I will say this. Stress is not just about stress management. That is important, and I talk about it a lot, blocking out time for stress management. That’s what I did when I dealt with Graves’. My adrenal saliva test looked horrible. It made me realize that stress was a factor, so I did take adrenal support supplements and also did a really good job from that point on of managing stress.
It’s always a work in progress. I say “really good job.” Even these days, I’m better than I was then. Hopefully in the future, I’ll continue to improve.
Sometimes, practicing mind/body medicine alone isn’t enough. You might need to incorporate vagus nerve exercises such as vigorous gargling, humming, singing out loud. You might need to incorporate nervous system retraining. Maybe look into companies such as Primal Trust or the Gupta Method. A lot of us are stuck in that fight or flight mode, that sympathetic mode, and we want to make that shift to a rest and digest state, a parasympathetic state.
Of course, there is a time and place for fight or flight. If we are constantly in fight or flight, it really will be difficult to heal. This will dysregulate our nervous system. Our nervous system controls everything, including the immune system and the thyroid gland. You might need to go beyond mind/body medicine.
There are other factors. Oral health is something I could mention, too. A lot of people don’t make the connection between oral health and their immune health, which could affect thyroid health. Having a healthy oral microbiome is also important for optimal health.
Talking about environmental toxins and toxicants, electronic pollution. That’s something that’s overlooked. It’s something we can’t completely escape, just like we can’t completely escape plastics and other toxins and toxicants, but we can do things to minimize our exposure. Even simple things like unplugging the wifi at night, just to give us a break.
Maybe not carrying your cell phone everywhere you go. If your job requires you having your phone everywhere, I understand. Assuming that’s not the case, then is there a reason to have your phone everywhere? Maybe keep it on airplane mode sometimes. Definitely at night, if you keep your phone in your bedroom, keep it on airplane mode.
Another thing we can do is use clean products in our home. Most of the things we can do will be within our own home. There are some things we can do outside our home, like carrying our cell phone on airplane mode. Some people do that inside their home as well. When you’re inside your home, not only eating organic food, but using natural cleaners, natural cosmetics. Maybe even some of your furniture.
I can’t say I have all natural and organic furniture, but we do have a more natural mattress. We have an Avocado mattress. There was some controversy a number of years ago here, but I think that’s behind them now. I think everything’s okay. Maybe it’s not Avocado. Maybe you do a Naturepedic mattress. I am not saying to do that now. If you have a relatively new mattress, in order to deal with off gassing, you just get an air purifier in your bedroom, which is not a bad idea anyway.
Make sure you’re filtering your water or drinking spring water out of a glass bottle. Not tap water or water out of plastic bottles.
I am not going to spend too much time on testing. I have this in my notes here. I have an entire episode that I recently recorded, episode #245, on functional medicine testing. The title was “Functional Medicine Testing in Graves’ and Hashimoto’s.”
Even if you have a non-autoimmune thyroid condition, you can learn about different types of testing. I talk about adrenal testing; gut testing, including stool testing; SIBO breath testing; testing for environmental toxins and toxicants. If you haven’t listened to that yet, you might want to check that out.
I realize that these tests can be expensive. I tend to be more conservative when it comes to recommending functional medicine testing, but it depends on the person, their health history. It’s ultimately up to the person I’m working with. If someone wants more comprehensive testing than I’m recommending, they can order it. If I’m recommending more comprehensive testing than someone can afford, we can start with one or two.
The key is you don’t need every functional medicine test I mention in episode #245. You do need the right tests for you.
One common story. I don’t know if I gave it in that episode. I don’t want to repeat myself over and over again. One of the more common stories I share is a male patient who had a parasite. I didn’t pick it up. Long story short, I didn’t do a comprehensive stool test because I didn’t think he had a parasite. He had no digestive symptoms. He went elsewhere.
Another practitioner who did a comprehensive stool test found the parasite. He was dealing with Graves’, and his Graves’ antibodies normalized after following an antiparasitic protocol. I only know this because I followed up with this person.
That was many years ago, a little after I started helping people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions. I started practicing chiropractic back in 2000 after graduating in 1999. In 2009, I started working with thyroid patients based on my personal experience.
Just wanted to bring this up because once again, you can’t just go by symptoms.
When it comes to talking about a comprehensive healing approach, diet and lifestyle are important. They are foundational. You definitely want to start with diet and lifestyle. That’s why I released the book The Hyperthyroid Healing Diet. There is a lot that you can do on your own from a diet and lifestyle standpoint. You need to go beyond diet and lifestyle usually. Remove other triggers, not just food and stress, but some of the other things I mentioned. You need to do things to heal the gut. You need to support detox pathways. Sometimes, balance the nervous system.
I also have what’s called the SAVED Thyroid Method. If you’ve read the book, you should know everything you need to do from a diet and lifestyle standpoint. Like I said, there is a separate section, where I talk about going beyond diet and lifestyle, beyond the hyperthyroid healing diet.
As I also mentioned, I talk about that more in my other book Natural Treatment Solutions for Hyperthyroidism and Graves’.
I also want to reinforce some common mistakes to avoid. Avoid only focusing on diet and lifestyle. That’s mistake #1.
#2 is not testing. I spoke about different factors. You don’t have to do testing for every single one of these potential triggers. You don’t have to do testing for toxins and toxicants and all the different gut testing. Some people don’t do any testing at all. They just do blood testing, just the basics. I understand it can be expensive. Start with one test. If that’s all you can afford, that’s better than doing no tests. Not doing any testing, to me, is a mistake.
Another mistake is ignoring environmental factors, especially having the perspective of, “Well, there’s nothing we can do. We live in a toxic world, so why bother?” The reason is because the higher the toxic burden, the bigger the risk you have of developing a condition such as Graves’ or another nonautoimmune thyroid condition. Or not healing if you currently have Graves’ or a different type of condition, which is probably the case if you’re listening to this.
You want todo everything you can to reduce your toxic burden. Yes, you will never get it down to zero, but you do want to lower it as much as you can.
Another common mistake is following random protocols, jumping from protocol to protocol. I will be biased and recommend working with someone, which is another common mistake, trying to do it on your own.
Work with someone. Stick with that person. I’m not saying it has to be with me. Quite frankly, I don’t have the capacity to handle everybody listening to this podcast. There are plenty of practitioners. Admittedly, there is not enough who focus on hyperthyroidism/Graves’. Hopefully, that will change in the future.
How can you go beyond diet and lifestyle? You want to dig deeper into root causes. I mentioned my books. Even listening to some of the other episodes on this podcast could give you some great information. I will encourage you, if you are not currently working with a natural healthcare practitioner, not an endocrinologist because they won’t do anything to improve your health, in most cases. There are some good alternative endocrinologists, but they’re unfortunately rare. I’m talking about more of a natural healthcare/functional medicine practitioner.
This does not mean me, like I said. That being said, we do offer hyperthyroid healing strategy calls with a member of my team for those who are interested in working with me to see if you’re a good fit. To join my Hyperthyroid Health Restoration and Optimal Health program. If this is something you’re interested in, visit SaveMyThyroid.com/Strategy Call.
I talk about this a lot, but I wanted to have a dedicated episode talking about going beyond diet and lifestyle. There are still so many people who purchase my books, which I’m grateful for, and they follow the recommendations, but they are still stuck. They maybe are seeing some progress, but they haven’t fully restored their health. The reason is because you probably need to go beyond diet and lifestyle.
Hopefully, you found this episode to be valuable. As I mentioned, you definitely want to do things from a diet and lifestyle standpoint, so that’s a great starting point. If you feel like you have done everything from a diet and lifestyle standpoint, and you still aren’t where you need to be, definitely do what you can to go beyond diet and lifestyle.
Thanks again for tuning in. Hope you found this episode to be valuable. Look forward to catching you in the next one.
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Hopefully, you found this episode to be valuable. Talking about going beyond the hyperthyroid healing diet, beyond lifestyle.
We spoke about H-pylori. Is H-pylori your main trigger? It’s something I commonly see in people with Graves’, as well as Hashimoto’s, even people with non-autoimmune thyroid conditions. Literature shows there is a correlation between H-pylori and Graves’ and to some extent Hashimoto’s. As I mentioned, correlation doesn’t always mean causation. If someone has H-pylori, I will look to address it, ideally through a natural approach.
There is no way to know if H-pylori is the main trigger, if it is present. As I mentioned, since it could be a potential trigger, I do recommend doing things to eradicate it if you test positive for it.
Concerns with other gut infections and overgrowths. Parasites can be a concern with some people. SIBO, candida overgrowth. Some of these potentially could be direct triggers.
Getting back to H-pylori, there is supposedly a molecular mimicry mechanism, where it could directly trigger Graves’. When it comes to many of these gut infections and overgrowths, we’re looking more at the impact that they have on the intestinal barrier, where they can cause that leaky gut. Remember, a leaky gut is part of the triad of autoimmunity.
Similar with toxins and toxicants in the gut microbiome. Certain toxins and toxicants can be direct triggers as well in different ways. They can disrupt the gut microbiome and cause what’s called intestinal dysbiosis, imbalance of the gut flora, and also in some cases a leaky gut.
We spoke about going beyond mind/body medicine, not just going beyond diet, but going beyond basic stress management techniques. Some people do need to incorporate vagus nerve exercises, such as vigorous gargling and humming. Doesn’t have to be anything special. For some people, that’s not enough. They might need to incorporate nervous system retraining. There is some overlap with mind/body medicine and nervous system retraining. If you’re doing breathwork, that is a type of mind/body medicine but also can help with the nervous system. There are other techniques too.
I also briefly mentioned having a healthy oral microbiome. Mercury in the mouth, potentially root canals in the mouth, inflammation due to gingivitis for example can all potentially be a problem. Maybe in some cases, they could be a factor when it comes to autoimmune conditions.
Toward the end, I discuss some hyperthyroidism healing mistakes. I forgot if I have a separate episode where I talk about the mistakes. If not, this might be a good solo episode to focus on some of the different mistakes.
I briefly spoke about only focusing on diet and lifestyle, which was the main topic. Also not doing enough testing.
Another mistake is ignoring environmental factors such as toxins and toxicants. A lot of people figure there is nothing they can do. We live in a toxic world. No matter how they try, their toxic burden is not going to be zero, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to have it as low as you can.
I know it’s becoming more challenging every single day to do that, but I think it’s still important. I would not have that mindset, “If there is nothing I can do, I won’t do anything.” I would have the opposite mindset, “I can’t be perfect, but there is a lot I can do, especially in my own home, so I will try to do everything I can.” Maybe not doing everything you can at once, but over time. Over a period of weeks or months or years, keep on working in this area.
I mentioned another mistake is not working with a natural healthcare practitioner. Of course, I am biased because I am one. Over the years, I have seen many people join my program after trying to do it on their own.
Some people work with someone else, but they didn’t have a lot of experience with hyperthyroidism. I think that does make a difference in many cases. Even if you do see a natural healthcare practitioner who doesn’t have a lot of experience, because it’s not easy to find someone who has experience with hyperthyroidism, it’s still better than trying to treat it on your own.
That’s it. As usual, thanks for listening. Hope you found this episode to be super valuable. I look forward to catching you in the next one.
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