thyroid and diet
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thyroid and diet
| Sun, 03-18-2007 - 2:31am |
For those of you who have knowledge to share. Please share nutrition tips for those of us diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
Rose
| Sun, 03-18-2007 - 2:31am |
For those of you who have knowledge to share. Please share nutrition tips for those of us diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
Rose
For those with hypo symptoms,
I would recommend alot of fiber in your diet. Make sure you take vitamins every day. Iron would be good too. Stay away from stuff that will stop you up or make you retain water. Decrease the salt intake and things like alot of cheese (moderation is key). Keep an eye on iodine intake and just make sure you get your daily recommended doses in your vitamins. Also keep an eye on your cholesterol, wacky thyroids can effect your cholesterol. (mine was once 270, wonder if the test was accurate)
For hyper probably some of the opposite would apply but still stay away from the salt. With increased heart rate you don't want to add volume to your blood by adding salt. But you can supplement with drinks that have electrolytes like power aide every once in a while. More carbs and protien, less fiber (without taking away from your fruits and veggies, still eat balanced you know?).
The best source for information would be at your doctors visit when you have to get blood work anyway. S/he could tell you what your falling short on.
My advise comes from years of being hypo, so don't have as much personal experience with hyper (only about 6 months now). Mainly listen to your body after meals. Aches and pains here and there will tell you what went wrong. Also keeping a diet diary might help decipher what your body didn't like that day.
Since I try to do as much as I can nutritionally, I've collected information from various reputable sources. Besides the usual about refined sugar and flour, their recommendations include avoiding raw broccoli, cabbage and vegetables in that family as well as soy products and peanuts. Since chlorine, flourine and bromine interfere with iodine, try to get shower and kitchen filters to remove chlorine, choose unbrominated bread and baked goods, use non-floride toothpaste, and avoid tea since it has floride in it. Most of that has been pretty easy for me - except the tea.
Since I am also hypo adrenal (which is very often in combination with hypothyroid and is a fairly common condition, especially among women) I do not limit salt. I don't use commercial salt though - but unrefined sea salt. I add quite a lot of salt to my food, and if I need extra salt, I add some to a glass of water in the morning and possibly afternoon as well. If I am drinking a lot of water, I add a bit of salt to that. My adrenals have improved enough that I don't need as much salt as I did a few months ago. It sounds weird, I know, but it works :). I also have plenty of good fats, including coconut oil and butter.
"The diet-heart idea (the notion that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. This idea has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit and