429: When a Thyroid-Friendly Diet Backfires: The Common Mistake That Can Stand in the Way of Healthy Thyroid Function w/ Ginny Mahar

Last Updated on October 5, 2026

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When you have Hashimoto’s or hypothyroidism (low thyroid), it’s SO easy to focus on everything you’re supposedly not allowed to eat.

Gluten. Dairy. Eggs. Goitrogens. Maybe even entire food groups.

But what if constantly asking, “What should I cut out?” is the wrong question?

A thyroid-friendly diet shouldn’t automatically mean a restrictive diet. In fact, focusing too heavily on restriction can distract you from something your body desperately needs: Nourishment.

And this matters for your skin, too!

Thyroid dysfunction can show up alongside dry, flaky skin and may overlap with chronic skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, chronic hives, dermatographia, and vitiligo.

So rather than obsessing over a “perfect” list of foods, what if you focused on building meals with quality protein, colorful plants, healthy fats, fiber, micronutrients, and plenty of flavor?

Joining me to discuss is Ginny Mahar, FMCHC, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, and author of the THYROID30® Cookbook (Fair Winds Press, 2026).

After being diagnosed with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, she combined her culinary expertise with evidence-based nutrition and coaching to help others reduce symptoms and reclaim their energy through delicious, nourishing food. As the creator of Hypothyroid Chef, Ginny shares thyroid-friendly recipes and practical lifestyle strategies that help people live well, eat well, and feel well. She lives in western Montana with her husband and son.

In this episode, we’re talking about how to make a hypothyroidism diet practical, delicious, and sustainable without turning food into another source of stress. Let’s dive in!

Or, listen on your favorite app: iTunes (Apple Podcasts) | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | Subscribe on Android

In This Episode:

• Why a “normal” TSH result doesn’t give you the full picture of your thyroid health
• Links between thyroid dysfunction and chronic skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, hives and dermatographia
• Do you still need thyroid medication if you follow a thyroid-friendly diet?
• How the “thyroid trifecta” makes your thyroid healing journey easier
• What foods should you avoid on a Hashimoto’s diet
• How to create easy thyroid-friendly meals without cooking all day
• Is dairy bad for everyone with thyroid problems?

Quotes

“Saying ‘food is medicine’, there’s truth in that, but it’s not literal. Food is not a replacement for needed thyroid medication.”

“What defines a thyroid-friendly meal to me is more about what it contains, because vibrant health and energy doesn’t come from restriction; it comes from being nourished.”

Links

Find Ginny online | Instagram | Facebook | Tiktok | YouTube

Download Ginny’s Thyroid-Friendly Grocery Guide. It features over 130 colorful, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods to inspire simple, delicious thyroid-friendly meals.

Get the THYROID30® Cookbook

Healthy Skin Show ep. 277: Rethinking Thyroid Problems (And What They Mean) w/ Dr. Eric Balcavage

Healthy Skin Show ep. 101: Psoriasis-Thyroid Connection

Healthy Skin Show ep. 023: How Low Thyroid Plays A Role In Skin Rashes w/ Dr. Izabella Wentz

The story of the woman who ate bok choy (Myxedema Coma Induced by Ingestion of Raw Bok Choy)

429: When a Thyroid-Friendly Diet Backfires: The Common Mistake That Can Stand in the Way of Healthy Thyroid Function w/ Ginny Maher {FULL TRANSCRIPT}

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (00:17.232)

Ginny, it is such an honor to have you here to talk about all things thyroid, and especially when it comes to foods for thyroid health and a thyroid-friendly diet. So thank you so much for joining us today.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (00:30.014)

I’m so happy to be here with you. Thanks for having me.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (00:33.23)

I wanted to ask you first and foremost, because I think sometimes that’s important, do you have any type of personal story that prompted you to even want to help people who are struggling with Hashimoto’s and other thyroid conditions to manage and support their thyroid health? Was this something that is personal for you?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (00:56.09)

Oh, yes, very personal to me. I was diagnosed in 2011 very soon after the birth of my son, so it was postpartum. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and just given the standard advice of it’s not really a big deal, we’ll just monitor your TSH. Here’s your prescription for levothyroxine, take it daily, probably for, maybe long term, for the rest of your life, we’ll see. But we’ll just monitor you once a year, and that’s it, it’s pretty easy to treat. No big deal, right? But then for the next four years, my health just was on this slow but very definite downward spiral.

I had no energy from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. I had sometimes debilitating brain fog to the point where I was like, I’m not sure I should be operating a vehicle. Lots of different symptoms that alerted me to the fact that my body was just not thriving. Like one thing was I would get, that was just so weird, was I would get these bouts of laryngitis that would last three weeks at a time. And this would happen chronically, like I’d get over one and a couple months later it’d happen again. And these are the first four years of my son’s life, so I’m powering through, I’m doing the best I can, and I’m also having this inner dialogue of like, I know something’s wrong. But when I go, you know, I wait and wait for these appointments, and I go in and I’m like, please, what can I do? I do not feel like myself, I’m so tired, I can’t lose a pound to save my life, something’s off. And I was just reassured over and over, oh, well, it doesn’t have anything to do with your thyroid because your TSH is normal, you know.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (02:53.86)

Wow.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (02:54.644)

Yeah, and so after four years of that, I just hit rock bottom and started looking for better answers, and found them. Discovered soon after that, oh, I actually need to ask for a complete thyroid panel, discovered I indeed did have Hashimoto’s, as most of us with hypothyroidism do in the US and other developed countries. I finally decided to look outside the conventional realm, pay out of pocket to get some better help, advice, and support with the help of someone in the more holistic functional realm. I worked with a naturopath here in Montana where I live, and she was wonderful and helped me so much in doing some root cause testing, uncovering things like some micronutrient deficiencies, some gut dysbiosis.

So we’re doing lots of different things, we’re optimizing my medication, but the first thing she talked to me about was food and anti-inflammatory eating, and what that means. And it was like, oh, okay, there actually are things I can do. She’s like, yeah, it’s not normal in your mid-30s to feel tired all day, every day. And I had been told, oh, you’re just getting older, you’re just a new mom, you’re fine. Yeah, I wasn’t fine. And really, in starting that process, it wasn’t even several months, it was like weeks before I got my energy back. And that experience was so stark that the way I always describe it, it was like a light switch had been turned off in my body for four years and I had completely forgotten what it felt like to wake up with energy. And then we start doing all this stuff, and I’m eating differently, and I’m learning all this about all the things I can do. I’m getting empowered as a patient. And literally it was like one day I woke up, and the light switch was back on. And I was so relieved to be getting my life back.

But Jen, when I got that Hashimoto’s test, my TPO antibodies, I’ll never forget this. I was in the lab and there was this series of photos on the wall, wildlife photos. I live in Missoula, Montana, and it’s like, you know, lots of beautiful nature, and someone had done this series of photos. And at the end of the series was a letter from the photographer saying, I have an autoimmune disease and it prevents me from working a normal job, much of the time I’m bedridden, but when I do have energy to do this, this is what I enjoy doing, is my wildlife photography. And they mentioned at the end, the disease I have is Hashimoto’s.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (05:56.459)

Wow.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (06:16.074)

And I’m like, okay, what is up with this disconnect where I haven’t been tested for this? I’ve basically been told it wasn’t necessary to test me for this autoimmune disease that most people with hypothyroidism have, and here’s this person who clearly is not functioning, their quality of life has been severely disabled. It made me know that I’m not alone in this, but it also made me think about all the other people that were out there like me, suffering alone and in the dark. And I’m thinking, has anyone talked to this person, or that person, or that person, about things that we can do?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (06:37.616)

Yeah.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (06:51.846)

That we do have agency over when it comes to our health and energy, and understanding what’s really going on in our body here? And that just lit a fire in me that has not gone out, and it really just drives me to serve this community and to try and help empower people, give them hope, let them know they’re not alone, and let them know that there are things you can do to feel better.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (07:05.69)

I was gonna say, because it sounds, I think the one thing that I’m pulling from your story and I’m hearing, is that it wasn’t just one thing that you did, which I think is really important.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (07:14.892)

Yes.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (07:34.341)

It’s easy for people to latch on and say, well, she did this, and kind of pull one thread and leave the rest. That’s not how this works. I think that’s a really important point that your story illustrates, is that oftentimes, maybe diet changes can have a substantial impact, but there likely are other factors that could improve your quality of life even more, and long-term. I oftentimes find that some of the symptoms we experience, it’s like the check engine light of your car. It comes on, the car might still seem to operate correctly for a while, until it doesn’t, and then you really have to bring it in or you have to call AAA or something. And so you don’t want to get to that place. And by doing things together, that ultimately is probably the better avenue, more efficient, more, I don’t know, I just think you have more potential for overall better quality of health long-term, as opposed to just the here and now. Which I really appreciate that you shared that.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (08:19.554)

Yeah. I’m glad you pointed that out. And I do think that’s a really important point because, as Hypothyroid Chef, right, people come to me and they’re like, oh, I want to use food instead of medication. That’s not what this is. This is a support. I always say, food is an essential piece of the puzzle, it’s a big piece of the puzzle, it’s one that people tend to need a lot of help with. It is not the only piece of the puzzle. And saying food is medicine, there’s truth in that, but it’s not literal. Food is not a replacement for needed thyroid medication. So I always talk about the thyroid trifecta, it’s needed medication, if necessary, food, and lifestyle. When we get those things humming, that’s where people tend to thrive, even with a chronic thyroid diagnosis.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (09:19.78)

Yeah. Another thing that comes up for me as you were saying that is that this potentially could be an invitation to becoming, to really step into the role of being a steward of your body and of your health. Because we really only get one. We don’t have another, like, sometimes people call it like a flesh suit. We don’t get a second. We don’t get to step into another. You only have this. And when this starts to give out, there are some things that sometimes we can come back from, and there are other things that we cannot.

And so I think that’s an important reminder, is it might feel like a burden, but is it possible that your body is trying to come into partnership with you, to ask you for help? Unfortunately, there’s no, I always like to joke of like, how, what if you tapped your nose and you spit out a tape and it told you exactly what was wrong. It’s not how the body communicates. It tends to communicate in these very sometimes frustrating, aggravating symptoms that could look like energy and GI issues, but in my world, it also can look like skin issues, which there’s a lot of overlap between thyroid dysfunction and chronic skin problems.

But the other thing that I want to point out for anybody who would like push back on you, and I love the fact that you’ve shared that about like, food is medicine, but it’s not a replacement for medication. They’re different. I think both serve a role. And here’s the other part of that equation that I think a lot of people who’ve 100% bought into the idea that food is 100% the way, they’re not gonna do anything else, even if it’s for a period of time, is that you can do too much of something that’s very healthy and it can cause you harm. So, many years ago, and I wish that I still had the link to this article, I have tried to search for it in the past, but it was in The New York Times, I believe, a long time ago, maybe 15, 20 years ago. There was this older woman who had, I think she was diagnosed with either metabolic syndrome or diabetes. And so she went online, she read if you ate a pound of raw bok choy every single day, that it would help your blood sugar and diabetes. So that’s what she did.

Well, the reason this article came out is because this woman was found unconscious in her apartment because her thyroid function, due to the goitrogens naturally occurring in bok choy, and she was eating so much of it in her diet, caused her thyroid function to plummet. Thus, she ended up unconscious. So, does that make bok choy bad? No. Bok choy is a very, very healthy green, dark leafy green. But this is the point, if you have the mindset that all medication is bad, isn’t it equally possible that in certain instances, I mean, even water, if you consume too much water, it will do you harm. So is it about finding, like you’re suggesting, the balance that the body needs, the pathway that’s right for you, blending potentially both, and also considering the fact, and I’m gonna say this as a clinical nutritionist who does work with people who have skin issues and other health issues, including Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism due to subclinical reasons, but the medication is a supplement. It’s just regulated by the FDA and other governmental bodies throughout the world, because if you take too much, it can cause major, major problems. But it actually is a supplement, and it’s not addictive.

So that means that if you use all the tools we’re gonna talk about today, you could potentially reduce your dependency on that medication. I’ve seen clients actually be able to stop thyroid medication. Sometimes it’s too far gone, there’s too much damage to tissue, you may need that hormone replacement for life, but that’s not everybody. And so I just think that there’s important things to consider along the way of finding a sensible approach that’s not based on fear and all of the fear-driven stuff, and really making sure that if somebody says a claim, whether it’s on a YouTube video, it’s in an article, that you go and look that up. And if you can’t read research, then you find somebody who can read that research and explain it to you. Because not everything that you read or hear online is correct.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (14:07.042)

You know, many, if not most of us are gonna require some thyroid medication if we have hypothyroidism and/or Hashimoto’s. And there is no shame in taking that. One of the best ways I’ve heard it put is, and you know what, I understand some of the mistrust that’s out there of the pharmaceutical industry, and I think some of that, there’s reason for that, right? But we have to stay grounded in what we can know from the evidence that’s out there.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (14:41.807)

Correct.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (15:02.434)

And denying yourself that, it can really make things so much harder for your body. And the best way I’ve heard it put is, it’s like wearing glasses. Glasses may not be, quote, natural, but if you need them to see, why not give yourself the gift of glasses?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (15:04.685)

Yes. I was gonna say, my unfortunate graduation to readers now. I cannot read the labels on the supplement bottles, I cannot see the fine print. So it doesn’t necessarily mean something bad. It just is what it is.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (15:17.356)

Right. And there’s a lot there too, you know, there’s of course so much of this. I really lean into the nuance, levothyroxine isn’t necessarily right for everyone. I think patients deserve to know about the full menu of treatment options out there and to have those conversations, informed conversations with their doctors about what different options are. For me, levothyroxine wasn’t enough, I needed to add in a supplemental T3 thyroid hormone, which is the active form, because I’m one of those people that doesn’t necessarily convert that T4 medication really well. So, I don’t want to go too far down that rabbit hole, but, you know.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (16:02.416)

100%. But it’s important for people to hear that from you so that they understand that this is not a black-and-white conversation. And if you’re thinking in that fashion, I assure you, you will miss very important steps in your healing journey that will hinder you potentially, because you’re just like, it’s either this or this. And that’s not true. As you say, there’s a lot of gray in between. There’s a lot of nuance, and it’s important to think like that.

And so I wanted to ask you, especially because your experience with food and foods for thyroid health, this change for you changed a lot of different parts of your life. And while I don’t personally love elimination diets, I’m not gonna pretend like I do, I do think there’s a time and a place to make mindful, appropriate changes that could be beneficial depending on what’s going on. And so, a lot of times I think with most people who look things up, I mentioned the goitrogen thing already, there’s a lot of demonization of gluten, which I unfortunately contributed to 10 years ago, and I am very sorry that I did that. But it’s all about what you shouldn’t eat. So can you give us a little bit of, if you were to maybe shift the narrative a little bit around what a thyroid-type or thyroid-friendly diet, healthy, you call it thyroid 30-type diet would look like, how would you describe it to everybody listening?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (17:44.205)

Yeah, so I think you touch on a great kind of unlock here, where instead of focusing on what should I cut out, which is what most people are thinking when they sort of come to this conversation, the better question is how am I nourishing myself? How am I nourishing myself? What I consider a thyroid-friendly meal is not necessarily defined by what it leaves out. I think some of us do have things that we have good reason to avoid, where we’ve clearly identified these foods cause inflammation or symptoms in me, and at least for now I need to avoid certain things.

But really what defines a thyroid-friendly meal to me is more about what it contains, because vibrant health and energy doesn’t come from restriction, it comes from being nourished. Not just the right balance of macronutrients, I think that’s, it’s good to understand how to balance our macros, right? But we can’t forget about things like the micronutrients as well, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients. What about things like amino acids? There’s so many different things that our bodies get from having a diverse, colorful, whole food diet. I try to use the term eating style because I know, diet, we are rightly undoing some of our thinking around what’s embedded in so many of us as like toxic diet culture ideals and things like that. But really just thinking about how are we nourishing ourselves? Because living with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s, it’s not just about the thyroid.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (19:38.286)

That is true.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (19:46.8)

It affects every system and cell in the body. The list of associated symptoms are, it’s like hundreds of items long. It can affect everything from our brain all the way down to our toes, our feet, and everything in between.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (19:53.765)

Yeah. And I’ll point out too, I’ll link it up in the show notes because this was a long time ago on the Healthy Skin Show. I interviewed a former client of mine who, she had come in with really severe psoriasis, she was severely anxious, severely depressed. Like, the type of person where you’re talking to them, and you’re like, I feel like this person, if there was a ledge, they would be on it. It made me very nervous, and I really encouraged her to go get, you know, I do a case review, asked her to go get a bunch of labs. Her doctors had never run an extensive panel, and one of the things I asked for was a full thyroid panel. Her TSH came back at 33. I had never seen somebody with a TSH that high, ever. Like maybe 7, 8, 9, not 33. And I know I’ve heard stories of other clinicians where they’ve seen even higher, I know somebody, I think, whose is up in the 50s and they’re working to get it down.

Her starting medication for her thyroid was, I would argue, probably life-saving. It was like you described, like the lights came back on. Even her skin started to respond better and was less painful, less severe with all the plaques that she had. But it was also her mindset because all of a sudden she wasn’t crying, she wasn’t anxious and severely depressed. It was just like, I was talking to the real Lisa.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (21:51.51)

Wow.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (21:58.767)

And so I’ll link that up just as like, if somebody doesn’t realize, just like how that could show up in a skin case. I think that’s really important. What you’re saying is 100% true. Your thyroid impacts so many different body systems. Even in your own story, you shared how it impacted you. And it may look totally, like with eczema, one of the symptoms is dry, flaky skin. Which is like, eczema, essentially. So it absolutely can worsen eczema. There’s deep connections with chronic urticaria, hives, dermatographia. I’ve seen it with vitiligo. I’ve seen this issue with all sorts, definitely psoriasis. So if you’re really struggling and you know for sure that you’ve got a thyroid problem, I think that this conversation, at least about these thyroid-friendly diet tweaks we’re gonna talk about, could be incredibly helpful for somebody.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (22:27.53)

Yes, absolutely. That’s such a good point. It just is such a, it’s like low-hanging fruit, to help your body, to give your body that support while you’re doing these other therapeutic supports to help get you to where you need to be. And it is incredible how it can affect people to be so hypothyroid, you know, it can be dangerous and scary, and really affect people’s ability to function.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (23:04.516)

Yeah. And also too, I mean, there’s the flip side of, I think Hashimoto’s was one of the conditions back in like the 2010s that oftentimes got described, I mean, a lot of autoimmune conditions you don’t necessarily see on the outside that something’s overtly wrong. And so it’s considered sort of like a hidden condition, right? Because somebody could look at you, maybe your doctors did, and they would probably say, what do you mean there’s something wrong with you? I don’t see anything wrong.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (23:36.717)

Yeah. It’s an invisible illness, yeah. Which makes support so important too. That’s why there are people like us, right? Because it’s really hard to get all the information and support and hand-holding that you need when you’re living with something like this at a 15-minute appointment.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (23:57.976)

True.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (23:58.093)

And we can help with that education, with the support. My community lets people, it connects people and lets people know you are not alone, there are other people on this shared path. We inspire each other so much with the steps we’re taking to feel our best, just doing those healthy basics, moving well, eating well, sleeping well, taking care of our gut health, all the things we need to learn along the way about things like gut health or skin health, there’s so many different things that pop up. The medication piece is a big one, testing. What are my options if I’m not getting what I need from my doctor’s appointments, where do I find a good doctor? There’s so much to this.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (24:47.193)

There really is.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (24:51.232)

So, my background is in food. And when this happened, when this shift happened in my life, I was teaching cooking classes, and it was really affecting me.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (24:59.332)

Wow.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (25:13.548)

Yeah, I was actually having to turn down cooking classes because my health was deteriorating. So it was affecting my work. But also I just, I come to this with that lens of being a chef and a food lover. And so that’s really why I kind of specialize in that aspect of it. Not because it’s the only piece of the puzzle, but because it’s one people need a lot of help with. And so I just, along the way, thought, I’m on this journey, I’m going to be doing this, maybe I could share the recipes I’m creating, and maybe I have something to offer here, along those lines. And just cooking more.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (25:42.177)

Yeah.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (25:43.645)

It’s something that’s good for all of us. It’s not just, I always say to friends who are like, oh, your book, but I don’t have thyroid issues. I’m like, it’s not just thyroid-friendly. It’s good for your gut, it’s anti-inflammatory, it’s nutrient dense. It’s just for anyone who wants to eat more healthy whole foods that are prepared in a way that’s yummy, but also kind of simple, where it’s not an all day in the kitchen type of thing.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (26:10.724)

Yeah.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (26:13.328)

Because to get real benefit from healthy whole food meals, we need to be eating that way on a more regular basis. So how do we do that?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (26:22.702)

That is true. I do wanna share, first of all, your book is amazing.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (26:29.074)

Oh, thank you.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (26:56.59)

The THYROID30 Cookbook, I’m so grateful to have gotten this. First of all, it’s really easy to make a lot of these recipes. I was very impressed because sometimes people will send me books and I’m like, I will never make any of this, like this is way too complicated. But you did make this simple. Because I think that is a barrier for a lot of, especially my clients, they don’t have, so there’s the energy factor, right? You’re already tired. You don’t have a ton of time. And on top of it, if you have a family, what are you gonna do, cook your own food and make food for everybody else? So how do you make this as simple as humanly possible to get it done and move forward? So is there, what’s kind of the framework that you go by that has spawned the idea for all of these different recipes?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (27:27.308)

Yeah, so the framework of like, kind of how I define thyroid-friendly eating?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (27:31.768)

Yeah, what is a thyroid-friendly diet?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (27:53.287)

Okay, so it’s nutrient dense, it’s blood sugar supportive, it’s gut healthy, it’s anti-inflammatory, so just the building blocks are basically a lot of healthy whole foods. So high-quality proteins, lots of colorful plant foods that are gonna give us lots of those micronutrients, phytonutrients, fiber to support so many things, especially that we struggle with as thyroid patients, like digestion, gut dysbiosis, constipation, all that stuff. So high-quality proteins, lots of colorful produce, healthy fats. And I always like to mention we should also be staying hydrated, that’s very important for feeling our best, having energy, having good digestion, all the things, right? Skin health.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (28:32.471)

Absolutely.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (28:43.062)

So those are just kind of the simple building blocks, and that’s what I’m doing here on the Hypothyroid Chef recipe blog, in the cookbook. I realized really early on, Jen, that when I started the Hypothyroid Chef blog, I had actually had like four previous blogs before that, because I love to write and I love to make recipes, and it was just like this fun thing. But they were all more chefy, foodie oriented, you know? And I quickly realized when I started recipe blogging as Hypothyroid Chef, I am no longer necessarily talking to foodies. Like you said, I’m talking to people who maybe don’t feel well, they don’t have a lot of energy, they want to feel better, they want to cook more, they want to eat healthier and eat better. But how are they gonna do that on a regular daily basis?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (29:29.028)

And that is a challenge, yeah.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (29:32.555)

And so instead of trying to impress people with fancy recipes, what I really just try to do is use my background as a chef. I’ve been cooking professionally since I was like 18. I try to use all those chef skills and secrets, and flavor-boosting hacks, and time-saving tricks to make this easier, to make simple food taste good. How can we take these simple whole food ingredients, put them together in a way that is simple, repeatable, sustainable, but also delicious?

Because I am a food lover, I’ve always been that way, I’ve wanted to make recipes and write cookbooks since I was nine years old. This is my thing. This is what I do. And I am not willing, even though I know how powerful food has been on my healing journey, and I see it every day in my community, and hear it from other experts and people who come to me, like this has made such a difference for me, even though there’s that, like it still needs to taste good. I’m not willing, you know, we’re not gonna eat dreary meals just for the sake of health. It needs to taste good, it needs to be appealing, it needs to be celebratory, something we would feel good serving our friends, our families. I’m cooking for a teenager who, he gives me very unedited feedback.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (31:00.024)

I’m sure that’s fun.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (31:01.25)

He was one of my main recipe testers for the book, so I get it. It needs to be doable, easy, and yummy.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (31:10.902)

It does. I also loved the section in it that you have called “How Not to Do AIP.”

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (31:18.881)

Yeah.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (31:33.82)

Which I did chuckle at. AIP is, there’s some pros, and there’s definitely cons to it. So I appreciated that you have this scale also, or like, kind of like level one, level two, level three of strictness, that way it gives people more flexibility.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (31:40.983)

Yeah.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (31:55.786)

Because what I tend to hear, and this makes me sad because I personally think food is nourishment, it’s community, there’s also enjoyment with food. It makes me deeply sad when someone says, well, I just hate that I have to eat. Like, I wish I didn’t have to eat because of how much I hate food at this point, because of, you know, whether it’s histamine issues or whatever they have going on, that they’ve cut out so much and that is now where they’re left.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (32:18.87)

Yeah.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (32:19.513)

Because food is so, I don’t know, I like food. I think you like food, right?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (32:24.638)

I love food. And just like you said, yes, food isn’t just nourishment. It’s connection, it’s community, it should be celebratory, it’s all those things. Food is awesome. We should enjoy it. And yes, I hear a lot of people come to me, and they say, well, I can only eat like six things. There’s a lot of pitfalls to avoid around this stuff, isn’t there, and that’s why that support is so important. I just feel like it’s so easy to get really rigid in our thinking around how this has to be, and really it’s about diversity, it’s about abundance, and we can find our way back to that even if there’s some things that need to be dealt with. I know a lot of people deal with gut health issues, and that can really compromise what we can tolerate, but there is always hope in getting back to that.

And I think I also should mention here that there is no one-size-fits-all thyroid diet. And that’s why, in The THYROID30 Cookbook, there’s gluten-free, dairy-free recipes, there’s paleo recipes, there’s AIP recipes. Not because I think everyone needs to be on those, but because that’s what most of the people that are in my community and the experts I’ve interviewed, those are the kind of the therapeutic templates a lot of people use and find success from. But if someone feels good eating gluten, I’m not one of the people who has a big problem with that. I know there’s a lot of very hard-and-fast messaging from some experts around that, I don’t see that in my community, that everyone needs to be gluten-free, or even dairy-free, or this, or that. It really depends on you and tuning into your body, listening to your body, listening to what it’s asking for, so that you can kind of figure out and personalize, like, what are the foods I thrive on? What is the eating style I thrive on? Even, what’s the macro balance I thrive on? How do I feel when I’m eating a lot of different colorful plants foods, or when I’m not eating hardly any, as most people are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. And then just honing in and connecting those dots between when I eat this way, I feel this way.

That’s where that eternal source of inspiration comes from to eat well, when we understand, like, oh, I’ve been eating a bunch of sugar or this or that, most of us are gonna feel that. We’re gonna feel that. And then when we’re honed in on how we feel when we’re eating in a way that’s personalized, that’s nutrient dense, that’s whole food-based, it’s all the things, we’re gonna feel that and we’re gonna be more driven to make those healthy choices over and over and over. I have no interest in giving someone a 30-day diet.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (35:52.593)

Yeah.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (35:58.113)

I want people to understand how to nourish themselves for life, long after they’ve unsubscribed from my email list or whatever. I want people to have these lifelong skills because just cooking more is, hands down, one of the best things we can do for our health. It lowers our risk of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, several types of cancer, and all-cause mortality decreases significantly when we just cook more. So it’s like, just start there, just start cooking more, if nothing else.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (36:15.483)

I wanted to ask you just some practical things, since you are a chef and that’s your background. And in terms of, we’ll say, through the THYROID30 lens. Are there maybe two or three veggies that, if we walked into almost any grocery store, we probably don’t know what they are, we don’t probably gravitate toward them, but they could be really great additions to add to a hypothyroidism diet in that maybe we find in some of your recipes?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (36:51.214)

Oh, okay, this is such a fun question. Okay, the sleeper veggie hits that might be worth trying. Okay, number one, this is probably one of the ugliest vegetables out there. Celery root.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (36:53.986)

Oh, yeah, it is. Yep.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (37:07.287)

It’s hairy, it’s knobbly, it’s got all these roots. It’s just the root ball of the celery plant.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (37:16.209)

Okay.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (37:18.562)

Once you cut all that furry stuff off the outside and get to the center, it’s so delicious. It’s silky. It’s like a starchy root vegetable, so we could use it as a substitute for potatoes. I love to make a breakfast hash with carrots, celery root, and ground lamb, and I throw in turmeric and cinnamon, some parsley. It’s simple. It’s so delicious. I love, love, love celery root.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (37:28.964)

And is that also called celeriac or is that something different?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (37:47.89)

Yeah, celeriac, yeah, goes by two names. Yes, thank you.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (37:50.679)

Celeriac. Okay, interesting, interesting. What would be another one that we might overlook or avoid that maybe we should give a second chance?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (38:05.61)

Yes. Okay, this is like my special vegetable. I don’t know if everyone has a special vegetable, but artichokes. My husband and I both love them, it’s like part of our love story. Like, he made me, I called my mom, I was like, mom, he made me artichokes. So we love artichokes. But artichokes, they intimidate people because it’s like, what is that? It’s a giant thistle, right?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (38:32.689)

Oh. It’s a thistle.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (38:45.152)

Yeah. So they’re actually quite simple to cook. They do take time, but you cut off the top, you cut off the bottom stem, you can trim the leaves, I rub mine all over with lemon juice because they kind of oxidize, and you just steam them for about an hour.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (38:48.689)

Wow.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (38:50.152)

Yeah, I’ve got a recipe for this on the Hypothyroid Chef blog that walks you through step by step, like how do I cut it, how do I steam it, how do I eat it. You get all the way to the heart. It’s like this tender, oh my gosh, it’s so hard to describe the flavor of artichokes. It’s actually one of the most difficult foods to pair with wines because it does things to your tastebuds, it’s sweet.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (39:12.401)

Interesting.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (39:27.742)

It’s so good. But why I love artichokes, and they’re actually on my business cards, like a little artichoke drawing, is because they are so supportive to digestion, they help stimulate bile, they help with, they support the liver. Like you see a lot of liver-supportive supplements that just help kind of move things through. And so many of us with hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid, for whatever reason, we are often struggling with low digestive juices, slow digestion, poor digestion, which means we’re not going to assimilate as many nutrients. So artichokes just give you a lot of oomph there, and they’re so delicious. I have a really yummy, it’s a toasted garlic and fennel aioli, that’s in that blog post, just a very simple little dipping sauce. Yum, so good.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (40:13.522)

I have another, so a similar but different. What about, okay, I grew up in an Italian family. My husband says I just am obsessed with spices, and I probably overspice at times. So we’ll just put that over here so people know where I’m coming from, because then I have other clients who are like, I don’t know what to do, I have salt, and I have pepper, and that’s pretty much it. So if you’re in that camp where you don’t know, what would be like two or three easy spices or spice blends that somebody could pick up at the grocery store to get started with?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (40:42.573)

Mm-hmm. Mm hmm. Yes, that’s a very good question. Okay, so thinking about like, kind of desert island spices and seasonings here. I think garlic powder and onion powder are just basic, really good to have.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (40:59.43)

Okay.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (41:14.888)

You can season that breakfast hash, you can put them in your ground grass-fed beef to make your burger patties. Just a simple flavor booster where, especially if people don’t have great knife skills or chopping is a deterrent, you don’t have to chop garlic and onions. You can use the cheat code of garlic powder and onion powder. I also really like, you’ll like this, just the Italian herb blend. I think it can be really good in a lot of different things to just add that sort of herbal flavor, it’s a mixture of usually like basil, oregano, parsley. Another one I’m very fond of is Herbes de Provence. It’s a little more delicate, sometimes has a little bit of lavender in it, maybe a little more tarragon, fennel. So a couple different herb blends I think could be fun depending on what kind of cooking you’re doing.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (41:58.99)

Wait, I have another question that’s slightly, we’ll go back slightly. So you said garlic powder. I usually, so there’s garlic granules, and then there’s garlic powder, which I recently replenished myself because I put garlic on everything, including my eggs in the morning, because I love garlic that much. And my husband’s like, you do too much garlic.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (42:22.049)

Never.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (42:23.565)

But it is there a pro and a con, if somebody’s going to buy this, they’ve never bought it before, should they, like the powder is like a very light powder versus the granules, which I tend to like to work with a little bit better. Do you have a preference between the two?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (42:31.682)

You like the granules.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (42:33.565)

I do.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (42:36.224)

I think they both can work. Most recipes will specify granulated garlic or garlic powder. I think I see garlic powder and onion powder more in recipes. One thing I’m always looking at is the ingredient list, because even those spices that might look like a single spice, like granulated garlic, check the ingredient list because there might be some little things in there, processed food ingredients, anti-caking stuff, or whatever. I always kind of err towards what’s the most simple, single-ingredient, you know, I recognize everything in there. And I find that the powder typically has that single-ingredient list. And also I feel like it tastes better, personally.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (43:15.889)

Hmm, interesting. I’ll look at this tomorrow.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (43:23.333)

But it might be worth playing with.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (43:32.113)

When I make my eggs, I’m gonna sit with, does this taste more garlicky?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (43:41.333)

Yeah, yeah. It might be worth playing with. But we don’t have to overcomplicate it either, use what you like, use what you have on hand. If you have a soft spot for your granulated garlic, or there’s the flakes too, like the dried flakes. I feel like the powder’s probably the most versatile, personally.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (44:00.838)

Alright. Well, see, I love conversations like this because it helps with practicality. Like, where should you start? What are the things that you’re overlooking? Especially, you walk in the grocery store, everybody shops maybe once a week. Some people I know shop more than once a week, they got kids that just eat through everything. But it’s great because I always think of it as, like, every time I go to the grocery store, I’m allowed to buy one thing that I’m not familiar with. And by being inspired from this conversation, perhaps now I might actually buy some artichoke. Because I don’t tend to, I think about it in the marinated form, but then I don’t always like the oils that it’s marinated in. Yeah, because a lot of times, they don’t use pure olive oil anymore.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (44:51.063)

Right.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (44:54.416)

They add like sunflower oil and all these other oils that I’m, not that I’m, that’s a whole other conversation. But I just feel like if I’m gonna have something that’s marinated, I want it marinated in just olive oil. That’s just my personal preference.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (45:02.186)

Okay, you can also look for frozen artichoke, which don’t have anything, they’re not marinated, or sometimes canned will just be packed in like a salt water. So if you don’t like, just as a tip, if you don’t like the oils in the marinated ones, you can find that.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (45:20.69)

So would I marinate them myself, then?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (45:24.414)

I mean, if you really want them marinated, but like we just had gluten-free pizza night, or, you know, gluten-free for me, my son and husband eat gluten. And so we had homemade pizza night last night, right? So I take my cauliflower crust that I really like, and I love these little water-packed baby artichokes, and I don’t marinate them on that, there’s other flavors there. So I guess it depends on how you’re using it.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (45:28.082)

Okay.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (45:48.788)

They don’t have to be marinated.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (45:52.986)

This is the benefit of knowing somebody that is a chef. You’re probably way more creative than I am. But I appreciate conversations like this because it gives us ideas, and sometimes it takes away that fear of going, I don’t know what to do with that. We all have that.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (45:59.961)

Yeah.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (46:21.355)

Well, maybe you don’t, I don’t know. I do. There’s moments when I’m like, I don’t know what to do with that. Although, I will argue, learning how to use a food scale, well, mine is an espresso, I use my little espresso scale because I’m like, I don’t want multiple scales. But it works. And learning how to actually weigh things has made recipes taste so much better because I could go by the grams, not by, I learned, there’s a difference between, what is it, volume and weight.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (46:46.838)

Yeah, liquid measure versus dry measure. Yeah, great to have a kitchen scale.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (46:49.889)

Yes. When I learned how to make sourdough bread, I had to learn this skill. I did, that has been very helpful.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (46:58.392)

Especially with baking, yeah.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (47:07.257)

Yes, yes. So anyway, I just thank you so much. Like these, I mean, aside from the fact that, like, I love the fact that you included eggs and all sorts of things, there’s a variety of foods in here, and that your recipes are not like some canned, it’s not like you just tweaked two things and handed somebody a totally different recipe. They are all different, so that way you’re hitting on a bunch of different cuisines, a bunch of different flavor palettes. There’s different foods, so that if somebody, for example, loves eggs like me, great, there’s a bunch of options in there, versus somebody who might not tolerate eggs or might have an egg allergy, and there’s alternatives for that. So I really appreciate the length that you went to make, like this is one of the best varied diets that to me does not look like you’re on a diet. So I appreciate you for that. If people, aside from your book, tell us where your book is available and how can they get in touch with you?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (48:03.506)

Oh, thank you so much for that, Jen. Yeah, that’s one of the best compliments I could possibly get. I did not set out to create a diet. I set out to inspire people to eat and to make them feel like you can do this too, and it can actually be really delicious to eat meals that support your health. So The THYROID30 Cookbook, it is available pretty much anywhere books are sold, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. There’s a link on my website at hypothyroidchef.com/cookbook that’ll take you to a page where you can choose who you order it from, I know there’s, like some of those go to small booksellers and stuff if that’s important to you. So I’ll just put that out there.

But yeah, hypothyroidchef.com is a great way to get in touch with me. I have a free thyroid-friendly grocery guide. It’s just a simple one-page download, and it’s got 130 colorful nutrient-dense foods that you can just mix and match to start imagining and building delicious, nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory meals. And I think of it as like a fire starter for your culinary imagination, right? So it’s like the grocery guide really, I think, helps you think differently. And the cookbook is more like, here’s your recipes, let’s help you cook differently. So lots of options there for anybody who needs a little extra help and inspiration, getting started, even just trying a new recipe, making one meal is a step in the right direction. We do not have to do this perfectly. We don’t have to eat perfectly. We just have to care enough about ourselves to nourish ourselves, you know, and that’s where we started, right?

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (49:50.232)

Absolutely. Absolutely. I love it.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (49:53.232)

It’s not about what we’re cutting out or restricting, it’s how are we nourishing ourselves? And that’s a good question, I think, for anyone to ask themselves, thyroid issues or not.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (50:02.234)

Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Ginny, for being here. I really appreciate you, and I am personally inspired by some of your, what did you call them? The lazy foods? What was that? The sleeper foods.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (50:19.319)

Oh, the sleeper vegetables.

Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN (50:27.452)

The sleeper vegetables! I’m gonna start looking at the sleeper vegetables in the grocery store and trying some different things. So thank you so much for being here, and I hope we can have some more of these conversations.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC (50:35.026)

I would love that, and please let me know, send me an Instagram story or something if you try something. Nothing makes me happier than people saying, look what I picked up at the farmer’s market and tried cooking today, or you know, whatever. So anyways, thank you so much for having me.

Frequently Asked Questions: Thyroid-Friendly Diet

What is a thyroid-friendly diet?

A thyroid-friendly diet focuses on providing your body with adequate nourishment rather than simply eliminating more foods.

In general, this means emphasizing nutrient-dense whole foods, quality protein, colorful plant foods, healthy fats, fiber, and adequate hydration. It should also be personalized based on your individual needs, symptoms, food tolerances, and overall health.

What foods should you eat on a thyroid-friendly diet?

A thyroid-friendly diet can include high-quality protein, a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and other nutrient-dense whole foods.

Rather than searching for one perfect “thyroid superfood,” consider the overall diversity of your diet. Vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids, and fiber all play different roles in supporting your health.

Do you have to avoid gluten if you have Hashimoto’s?

Not everyone with Hashimoto’s needs to avoid gluten. Some people may have a medical or individual reason to remove it, while others may tolerate gluten without a problem.

This is one reason a Hashimoto’s diet shouldn’t automatically be based on a universal list of forbidden foods. Dietary changes should make sense for your individual circumstances rather than simply becoming more restrictive.

Should you avoid dairy if you have hypothyroidism?

Having hypothyroidism does not automatically mean that you need to eliminate dairy. Some people may have individual reasons for avoiding it, while others may tolerate dairy well.

There is no single hypothyroidism diet that works for everyone. Food choices should be personalized based on your needs rather than assuming that every food commonly eliminated in the thyroid community is a problem for you.

Are goitrogenic foods bad for your thyroid?

Goitrogen-containing foods are not automatically bad for your thyroid. Foods such as cruciferous vegetables can still be part of a nutrient-dense diet.

Dose and context matter. Consuming extreme quantities of a particular food is very different from including reasonable amounts as part of a varied diet. You don’t necessarily need to fear otherwise nutritious foods simply because they contain naturally occurring goitrogenic compounds.

Can diet replace thyroid medication?

Food can support thyroid health, but it is not a replacement for thyroid medication when medication is medically necessary.

Thyroid hormone replacement can be an important part of treatment for people with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s. Diet, lifestyle, appropriate testing, and medical treatment can each play different roles in supporting thyroid health.

Can a thyroid-friendly diet become too restrictive?

Yes. One potential problem with a thyroid-friendly diet is becoming so focused on foods to avoid that you lose sight of whether you’re adequately nourishing your body.

Elimination diets can have a place in certain circumstances, but more restriction is not automatically better. Ideally, your long-term eating pattern should provide enough nutrients, diversity, and enjoyment while taking your individual food tolerances into account.

Is the AIP diet necessary for Hashimoto’s?

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is not automatically necessary for everyone with Hashimoto’s. It is one dietary approach that some people may choose to explore, but it should not be treated as a universal requirement.

AIP can also be quite restrictive, which is why it’s important to consider whether that level of elimination is appropriate for your individual circumstances and what the long-term plan will be.

What are the best foods for thyroid health?

There isn’t one food that can single-handedly support healthy thyroid function. It’s more helpful to look at the overall quality and diversity of your diet.

Foods for thyroid health can include quality sources of protein, colorful plant foods, healthy fats, and fiber-rich whole foods. The larger goal is to provide your body with a broad range of nutrients rather than becoming overly focused on one particular food or nutrient.

Is there one best diet for Hashimoto’s or hypothyroidism?

No. There is no one-size-fits-all Hashimoto’s diet or hypothyroidism diet.

Two people with the same thyroid diagnosis may have very different nutritional needs, food tolerances, symptoms, and health histories. A sustainable thyroid-friendly diet should therefore be personalized rather than based on rigid rules about what everyone with thyroid disease should or shouldn’t eat.