Is the apparent protection of plant-based diets for thyroid health due to the exclusion of animal foods, the benefits of plant foods, or both? There are several autoimmune diseases that affect the thyroid gland, the most common being Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Graves’ disease results in hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland. Though slaughterhouses are supposed to remove thyroid glands, should some neck meat slip in, you can suffer a similar syndrome, called hamburger thyrotoxicosis. But that’s not from your body making too much thyroid hormone, but your body eating too much thyroid hormone. Graves’ disease is much more common, and meat-free diets may be able to help with both, as plant-based diets may be associated with a low prevalence of autoimmune disease in general––as observed, for example, in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Maybe it’s because plants are packed with antioxidants, which are possible protective factors against autoimmune diseases. Maybe it’s because plants are packed with anti-inflammatory compounds. After all, a whole food plant-based diet is basically synonymous with an anti-inflammatory diet. But you don’t know, until you put it to the test….