20 Favorite Breakfast Recipes for Hashimoto's

I’ve got 20 favorite breakfast recipes for Hashimoto’s so you can get your day going off on the right foot!

I know the popular thing to do right now is to fast, but I personally don’t recommend this for my clients.

Here’s the 30K ft view on this topic:

Research indicates that habitually skipping breakfast is associated with cortisol (“stress hormone”) over-activity in the HPA axis. This can create widespread hormonal imbalance, because when one hormone becomes dominant, it throws off the proper production and balance of other related hormones.
Research has also shown that those who skipped breakfast were less likely to eat as nutrient-dense a diet as those who consumed breakfast. And breakfast-skippers were more likely to consume empty calories at night. Chronic stress was related to poor evening eating choices, whereas breakfast eaters did not appear to be affected by this type of chronic stress.
When one has hormone imbalance, waiting too long to eat can cause blood sugar to lower. When blood sugar lowers, cortisol goes up because the body feels it needs to manufacture its own energy.
High cortisol output, over time, may increase one’s risk for cardiometabolic disease, weight gain, lower thyroid hormones, and adrenal fatigue in some people.

My suggestion is to eat within one hour of waking up.

What are the actual effects of eating breakfast within an hour of waking? Cortisol output is kept at bay, metabolism kicks into action, and blood sugar is stabilized, which sets the tone for more stable blood sugar throughout the rest of the day.

But what about intermittent fasting (IF)?

Intermittent fasting is a hot topic right now. You’ve likely seen health personalities promoting it for its fat-burning benefits.

And while I don’t believe in blanket-statement health choices for everyone, I am strong to caution women when it comes to intermittent fasting.

First of all, most of the scientific research behind the benefits of intermittent fasting has been done on male subjects. In fact, out of seventy-one studies found in Harvard’s database for intermittent fasting, only thirteen include women at all.

Historically, men experience a boost in metabolic activity during periods of fasting. Women’s bodies, however, respond differently to food scarcity. Women’s metabolisms typically slow down to conserve energy and store fat in order to survive a potential long-term famine. This means intermittent fasting may not work well for female bodies.

In fact, women may experience up to a 50 percent increase in cortisol and a decrease in insulin sensitivity as a result of intermittent fasting. This means that intermittent fasting could actually be contributing to hormonal imbalance and weight gain in women.

Particularly for women with thyroid disease or imbalance, a reduction in caloriesmay cause your thyroid to produce less thyroid hormones. This is the body’s way of protecting itself against what it thinks might be a famine. The decrease in thyroid hormone production not only causes your metabolism to slow down, but it creates further hormonal imbalance.

So, adding a nutrient-dense breakfast can make a world of difference when you’re struggling with Hashimoto’s!