Have you ever heard “You are what you eat?” I’m sure you have.
When I gave up Western medicine to resolve my Graves’ disease and then Hashimoto’s, I turned to diet. This was not an easy process. I struggled for a long time experimenting with food and discovered that diet can indeed influence the thyroid.
I found out what foods to eliminate from my diet and what foods were needed to heal and maintain a healthy thyroid. Now I want to cover:
Foods to ADD to my life to boost my immune system and detoxify the body and help the thyroid
NUTRITIONALLY DENSE FOODS
FOODS that are nutritionally dense and provide all the key macro and micronutrients in good proportion.
Some tips here:
o Always organic, they are more packed with nutrition and free of hormones known to disrupt our endocrine system
o Meat should be at least organic, but best is pasture-raised. We want to eliminate antibiotics and growth hormones from our diet
o Foods that are FERMENTED in the traditional way, so things like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, homemade yogurt, kombucha tea are rich in probiotics.
PROTEINS AND FATS
They are the building blocks of your digestive track and our hormones. We’re fat-phobic in America, and low-fat diets are one of the worst things we’ve invented. Europeans and Asians have high-fat diets (traditionally) and enjoy much better health than we do. Tips for good fats: avocados, nuts, coconut oil, coconut butter. Animal fats are the best for restoring troublesome digestion; Ghee (clarified butter), butter, chicken and beef fat are essential, but they must be processed and not fried/processed.
PROBIOTICS
Probiotics are key to restoring the digestive tract
Everyone has bacteria in their digestive tract, or gut, that are essential to the functioning of the human body. A healthy adult has between 1.5 and 2 kg of bacteria in the intestine, both good and bad. Normal levels of bacteria, or flora, in the gut protect against invaders, undigested food, toxins, and parasites. When the good and bad bacteria in the gut run amok (ie more bad than good), a whole host of negative reactions can occur in the body. Undigested food can leak into the bloodstream causing food allergies and intolerances, vitamins and minerals not absorbed leading to deficiency, bad bacteria produce a host of toxins and the immune system malfunctions.
Here are examples of traditionally fermented foods that you could incorporate into your diet:
o Sauerkraut (picked properly fermented, not pickled)
o Kim chee (Korean fermented vegetables)
Yogurt
o Kefir (has different bacteria than yogurt, also super beneficial)
or Kombucha tea
o Mixed vegetables (fermented)
or coconut water kefir
HERBS, SUPPLEMENTS and VITAMINS that benefits the thyroid
Although I am a fan of getting them from real food whenever possible. It’s hard to give advice here, as many people over-medicate and then feel worse. Hopefully these tips help; they apply to most autoimmune conditions (this was given by my naturopath who focuses on hormonal and thyroid health):
- most people are deficient in vitamin D, taking vitamin D in 2,000 units is safe and good, since vitamin D is actually a hormone, connected to the thyroid
- calcium is key, but must be taken with magnesium for full absorption
- for hypothyroidism: selenium, turmeric/curcumin, phytosterols, and GI support; probiotics and L-Glutamine are key.
- For hyperthyroidism: Copper and magnesium are a common deficiency in people with hyperthyroidism.
SIMPLE MEDITATION, BREATHING and VISUALIZATION Techniques that manage stress and emotions.
I cannot stress how important this is, especially for people with hyperthyroidism. We underestimate what stress and emotions do to us; every outbreak of anger, feelings of guilt, fear, hostility, jealousy, etc. they trigger the adrenal glands which release cortisol and this hormone has a detrimental impact on the thyroid.
FLAT MOVEMENT
Whether it’s sports, dancing, yoga, whatever gets you moving and doesn’t tax your adrenals or thyroid, but gives you a sense of accomplishment and joy.
BALANCE
Balance based on your bio-individuality
No diet/plan works for everyone as each person has a unique way of healing. There is a saying: “One person’s food is another person’s poison.” It’s always worth remembering that just because a diet worked for one person doesn’t mean it will work for you too. In the same way that one person could have cured their thyroid simply by changing their water filters (removing the fluoride) and another needs to make five major changes to their diet and lifestyle to start feeling a little better. Let’s respect our differences.
