Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune disease and current treatment aims to manage symptoms with ongoing hormone replacement therapy. Here we present the case of a 61-year-old female who experienced a sustained decrease in symptoms of HT as well as levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone and C-reactive protein after two prolonged water-only fasts at a residential health clinic.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GarberJR, CobinRH, GharibH, et al.Clinical practice guidelines for hypothyroidism in adults: cosponsored by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Thyroid Association. Endocr Pract, 2012; 18:988–1028.
2.
DuntasLH, JonklaasJ. Levothyroxine dose adjustment to optimise therapy throughout a patient's lifetime. Adv Ther, 2019; 36:30–46.
3.
FinnellJS, SaulBC, GoldhamerAC, MyersTR. Is fasting safe? A chart review of adverse events during medically supervised, water-only fasting. BMC Complement Altern Med, 2018; 18:67.
4.
SpencerCA, LumSM, WilberJF, et al.Dynamics of serum thyrotropin and thyroid hormone changes in fasting. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 1983; 56:883–888.
5.
FazeliPK, ZhangY, O'KeefeJ, et al.Prolonged fasting drives a program of metabolic inflammation in human adipose tissue. Mol Metab, 2020; 42:101082.
6.
GabrielS, NcubeM, ZeilerE, et al.A six-week follow-up study on the sustained effects of prolonged water-only fasting and refeeding on markers of cardiometabolic risk. Nutrients, 2022; 14:4313.
7.
JanygaS, MarekB, KajdaniukD, et al.CD4+ cells in autoimmune thyroid disease. Endokrynol Pol, 2021; 72:572–583.
8.
HanK, SinghK, RodmanMJ, et al.Fasting-induced FOXO4 blunts human CD4(+) T helper cell responsiveness. Nat Metab, 2021; 3:318–326.
9.
QianJ, FangY, YuanN, et al.Innate immune remodeling by short-term intensive fasting. Aging Cell, 2021; 20:e13507.