Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Meta-Anal. Mar 18, 2025; 13(1): 100523
Published online Mar 18, 2025. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v13.i1.100523
Nutritional interventions in the treatment of Hashimoto’s disease: A systematic review
Carolina S Santos, Randhall B Carteri, Chaline Coghetto, Juliana Czermainski, Carolina B Rosa
Carolina S Santos, Randhall B Carteri, Chaline Coghetto, Carolina B Rosa, Department of Nutrition, Centro Universitário CESUCA, Cachoeirinha 94935-630, Brazil
Juliana Czermainski, Postgraduate Program in Hepatology, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90430-080, Brazil
Author contributions: Santos CS and Rosa CB were responsible for the conception and design, data collection, and manuscript writing; Rosa CB, Coghetto C, Czermainski J and Carteri RB were responsible for manuscript writing, and critical revision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Randhall B Carteri, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Professor, Department of Nutrition, Centro Universitário CESUCA, Silvério Manoel da Silva, 160- Colinas, Cachoeirinha 94935-630, Brazil. randhallcarteri@gmail.com
Received: August 19, 2024
Revised: November 13, 2024
Accepted: December 9, 2024
Published online: March 18, 2025
Processing time: 207 Days and 0.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune dysfunction caused by genetic and environmental changes that attack the thyroid gland. HT affects approximately 2% to 5% of the population, being more prevalent in women. It is diagnosed through a blood test (anti-thyroid peroxidase). Pharmacological treatment consists of daily administration of the synthetic hormone levothyroxine on an empty stomach. The most common signs and symptoms are: Tissue resistance to triiodothyronine T3, weight gain, dry skin, hair loss, tiredness/fatigue, and constipation, and nutritional therapy appears to help reduce these symptoms.

AIM

To analyze nutritional interventions for treating HT.

METHODS

This is an integrative review of original studies on nutritional interventions for treating Hashimoto’s disease. Articles were searched in the MEDLINE/PubMed and Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) databases via virtual health library, using controlled vocabulary and free terms. A total of 70 articles were found: 67 from PubMed and 3 from LILACS. After exclusions, 9 articles met the eligibility criteria, including dietary interventions for maintaining and restoring the patient’s quality of life.

RESULTS

The reviewed articles evaluated the nutritional treatment of HT through supplementation of deficient micronutrients, anti-inflammatory diets, gluten-free diets, exclusion of foods that cause food sensitivities, lactose-free diet, paleo diet, and calorie restriction diets. However, some results were controversial regarding the beneficial effects of HT.

CONCLUSION

In general, it was observed that nutritional interventions for HT are based on the recovery of micronutrient deficiencies, treatment of the intestinal microbiota, diet rich in foods with anti-inflammatory properties, lifestyle changes, and encouragement of healthy habits.

Keywords: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; Nutrition; Health; Autoimmune diseases; Inflammation

Core Tip: The review addresses the efficacy of different dietary approaches in treating Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). Although gluten and lactose-free diets may benefit some patients, the evidence is controversial and varies according to individual sensitivity and other associated conditions. Paleo diets, which include lifestyle changes and micronutrient supplementation, have improved inflammatory and metabolic interventions in patients with HT. Nutritional interventions focused on anti-inflammatory diets and management of nutritional deficiencies are recommended as complementary alternatives to drug treatment.