# What is a Thyroid Diet?



## molonese (Jul 20, 2011)

You might find this post interesting if you are interested in diet and healing, and believe there could be a connection between food, lifestyle and the thyroid.

The author of this post is a Thyroid Diet Coach (runs her own coaching practice and is a sponsor on this website) who was diagnosed with Graves' Disease about 15 years ago which later became Hashimoto's Disease (hypothyroid). Having made significant lifestyle and dietary changes (including going to a nutrition school to get a good grasp on nutrition), she has been in remission for the past 3 years and enjoys great health.

There are many people who say that there is "no scientific evidence between food and thyroid or healing". It's a choice we make on how we want to view things. I would offer a re-frame from "there is no evidence" to "what if I just try something else for 3 weeks and see how I feel". Because really, what have you got to lose? Especially if you have been sick for a long time&#8230; You might learn something new and have fun along the way!

Doctors dismiss a connection between diet and thyroid. This is not surprising; after all, they received a 60-min class on clinical nutrition so how are they supposed to help us here?

Before you read on, it's key to know that 90% of hypo- and hyperthyroidism are autoimmune disorder. It means that your immune system started attacking the thyroid. Since the immune system resides in the gut, or our intestine, (did you know that?!), a lot of what you will read here is about rebuilding the digestive system.

To explain the Thyroid Diet, let me talk about 3 pillars:

Pillar 1: what to REMOVE from your diet 
Pillar 2: what to ADD to your diet 
Pillar 3: how to find a BALANCE.

Here we go:

*Pillar 1: REMOVE what is detrimental and toxic to your thyroid health*

*a). SUGAR FLUCTUATIONS* (cravings, hypoglycemia or insulin resistance) and normalizing these first is key. Without fixing your sugar issues, your thyroid will never improve. This is because the pancreas is responsible for sugar metabolism and same as the thyroid, the pancreas is also part of the endocrine system. These glands are all intricately interconnected. A few tips for you here:

- start reading product labels to see how much sugar is in your food; 4g = 1 teaspoon. F.eg a Caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks has 64g of sugar = 16 spoons. Activia's yoghurt has 7 spoons. Try not to consume more than 5 spoons of sugar is you have a sugar problem.

- start the day with a high-protein, high-fat breakfast. It will help you stabilize your sugar levels for the day, you won't crush at 11am and won't crave sugar and snacks during the day.

- reduce carbs: we are a carbs-obsessed and addicted nation with carbs constituting 50-60% of our diet, much of which is coming from grains. Grains contain starch that feeds the pathogenic bacteria (read below about your digestive system) in your gut and worsen the problem

- reduce starch; again, this is sugar too, especially from potatoes, sweet potatoes, and processed food.

*b). FOOD INTOLERANCES *
Do you see "gluten-free", "dairy-free" etc popping up at the health stores today? This is because many people get off the "big five"; gluten, dairy, corn, eggs and soy and experience significant changes. To find the culprits, I always start off with an Elimination Diet and this produces clear, unbiased results. You can also get a food intolerance test (not allergy, it's different) done but they are far from accurate. Gluten is an infamous food if you have a thyroid condition and eliminating it is key. However, often times, you would need to cut out more than just gluten.

*c). FIX YOUR DIGESTIVE TRACK (aka GUT).* As mentioned above, most thyroid conditions are auto-immune diseases and the immune system starts in the gut. "All disease begins in the gut", said Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine and I'm not sure why this is not taught in school today.

*c). REDUCE TOXICITY*; from additives, preservatives, artificial sweeteners (!), trans-fats, etc, Water toxicity is HUGE in thyroid conditions; we add fluoride in the US that is now linked to slowing down the thyroid; fluoride is believed to be leaching on to the thyroid cells, slowing it down.

*d). DETOX* your liver and your gut as this is where the T4 hormone (inactive hormone) gets converted to T3, the active hormone which is actually the one that powers us up. Most of our body cells need T3, not just T4. If you are taking Synthroid, you are taking a synthetic version of T4 that still needs to be converted to T3. If you have a sluggish liver and gut, you won't convert properly. Look into doing a yearly, bi-yearly detox by fasting, juicing, etc to give your body a break.

*e). ADRESS STRESS and ADRENAL FATIGUE.* This is huge topic, especially with women. You won't be able to fix your thyroid without fixing the adrenals. The adrenals are also part of the endocrine system and fire up when you are stressed out. I recommend looking up adrenal fatigue symptoms to see if you have them. De-stressing by working with a therapist, life coach, getting into meditation, breathing, positive thinking; whatever work for you - is key.

*f). REMOVE GOITROUS FOOD* if you suffer from hypothyroidism. Goiter is a substance that slows down the thyroid. It is found in bok choy, broccoli, Brussels' sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, radishes, soy, soy milk, soy lecithin (often used as a filler in vegetarian food) and tofu. Cooking them reduces their goitrous properties but you should still limit them in the recovery phase.

*Pillar 2: ADD what your thyroid needs to start healing*

*a). FOOD that is nutritionally-dense* and provides all the key macro- and micro-nutrients in good ratio. Some tips here: 
- always organic, they are more nutrition-packed and free of hormones that are known to interrupting our endocrine system 
- meat must be at least organic but pasture-raised is best. We want to eliminate antibiotics and growth hormones from our diet
- food that is FERMENTED the traditional way, so things like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, homemade yoghurt, kombucha tea are all rich in probiotics.

*b). PROTEINS and FATS* as they are the building blocks of your digestive track and our hormones. Good fat tips: avocados, walnuts, coconut oil, coconut butter. Animal fats are the best in restoring a troubled digestion; ghee (clarified butter), butter, chicken and beef fat are essential but need to be rendered and not in fried/processed form.

*d). PROBIOTICS* are key in restoring your digestive track. Everyone has bacteria in their digestive tract, or gut, that is essential to the function of the human body.

Here are examples of traditionally fermented food you could incorporate to your diet: 
o	Sauerkraut (pick properly fermented, not in vinegar) 
o	Kim chee (Korean fermented veggies) 
o	Yoghurt (this is my recipe to make your own yoghurt) 
o	Kefir (has different bacteria than yoghurt, also super beneficial) 
o	Kombucha tea
o	Vegetable medley (fermented) 
o	Coconut water kefir

*c). HERBS, SUPPLEMENTS and VITAMINS *that benefit the thyroid; although I'm a fan of getting these from real food whenever possible. It's hard to give tips here as many people over-medicate and feel worse later.

Hopefully these tips help; they apply to most auto-immune conditions (this was given by my naturopath who focuses on hormonal and thyroid health):
- most people are Vit D deficient, taking Vit D in 2,000 units is safe and good to do as Vit D is actually a hormone, connected to the thyroid 
- calcium is key but needs to be taken with magnesium for full absorption 
- for hypothyroidism: iron/ferritin, selenium, turmeric/curcumin, phytosterols and for GI support; probiotics and L-Glutamine are key. 
- for hyperthyroidism: copper and magnesium are a common deficiency in people with hyper.

*e). SIMPLE MEDITATION, BREATHING and VISUALIZATION* techniques that manage stress and emotions. I cannot emphasis how important this is, especially for people with hyperthyroidism. We underestimate what stress and emotions do to us; each flare-up of anger, feelings of guilt, fear, hostility, jealousy, etc fire up the adrenals which release cortisol and this hormone has a detrimental impact on the thyroid.

*d). MOVEMENT PLAN* - whether it is sports, dancing, yoga that gets you moving that does not drain your adrenals and your thyroid, yet gives you a sense of accomplishment and joy.

*Pillar 3: BALANCE based on your bio-individuality*

No one diet/plan works for everybody as each person has a unique way of healing. There is a saying: "One person's food is another's poison." It's always worth remembering that just because one diet worked for one person it does not mean it will work for you too. The same way one person could have healed their thyroid by just changing the water filters (by getting rid of fluoride) alone and another needs to implement five major diet and lifestyle changes to start feeling just a little better. Let's respect our differences.

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Our body has an amazing ability to heal; just give it the right environment and tools and it will do all the work for you. ☺

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