Thyroid diet information needed.
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Hello, i've recently been experiencing hypothyroid related symptoms and TSH levels were high. I'm awaiting more tests and have been refered to an endocrinologist. But i've been doing a lot of research and found out I am eating a lot of foods that are horrible for your thyroid. Can someone post a link with info on diets and foods to avoid and that are healthy for your thyroid? I've also been diagnosed with Hepatitis C recently, and i've read that there is a link between Hep C and hypothyroidism, is there any truth to that? Also, I am confused about cruciferous vegetables, are they good or bad? I've been drinking a store bought smoothie full of green fruits and cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, ect. Should I avoid that or is that ok? Also heard that omega3/6 is good, should I add omega tablets or do they have to be from foods itself? As much information as possible would be great, i'm surprised how many types of food I was eating that is horrible for your thyroid. Thank you.
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MtViewCatherine Hades10109
Posted
My personal approach is a gluten free paleo style diet, with well cooked, rather than raw vegetables and limited fruit. Absolutely no cheating on the gluten. You’ll need to do some research on this.
Avoid dairy. If you must do dairy choose hard cheeses and yogurt.
No processed or prepared foods of any sort.
Absolutely no soy.
No processed sugar.
Avoid sugars in general.
Get enough meat in your diet
Choose clean, fresh foods, organic, pesticide free.
I’ve tried kale and didn’t really benefit from it. I do limited cruciferous vegetables because I know they can be hard on my system. Though sometimes I feel really good when I eat them. Always well cooked. I’m not super strict on the crucifetous stuff. Also, I suspect, it’s the sulpher in these vegetables that’s problematic, and that it’s likely that these are good foods for a healthy functioning thyroid. So I’m not quite sold on the dogma that all cruciferous vegetables are completely bad.
The bigger problem is that the smoothies you buy are loaded with sugar. Even if it’s sweetened with fruit juices, too much sugar isn’t healthy.
Strawberries are another thing they say to avoid. But if you’re eating limited fruit, you aren’t going to eat tons of strawberries anyway. I’ve found strawberries do tend to trigger thyroid infkammation in large quantities, but small quantities are ok, as long as they are pesticide free.
The reason for the well cooked foods is that many thyroid patients have gut issues, making raw foods difficult to digest.
Along with gut issues, there are recommended probiotics. Some people swear by them. They just make me sicker. If you use them, be sure to use ones that are not dairy probiotics. You’ll know because the names of the dairy probiotics have lacto- or acidophilus type words in the names. These only work with dairy products.
MtViewCatherine Hades10109
Posted
When the thyroid gets low, body temp drops and the fat that circulates between your liver, gallbladder and gut, cannot stay solublized in the bile solution. Bile is a strong acid. Think of when you cook a wine sauce, you use butter, wine and heat it on the stove so that it makes a beautiful creamy sauce. In this case, the butter is fat, the wine is the bile (a solvent), and the heat of the stove is your warm body. When you cool your sauce it gets lumpy bits of fat. Well, the same thing happens in your body and when your body temp drops, the fat normally present in liquid bile, comes out of solution and forms fat globules that can block the gallbladder bile ducts.
Blocked gallbladder bile duct can make it very difficult to digest fats. In addition, a blocked bile duct can cause pancreatitis as well as a sluggishsnd fatty liver. This is where your hepatitis question comes in. If your liver’s junked up, blood circulation can’t filter through. Think of muddy stream water through a coffee filter. Your liver is the filter for your blood. If it’s jammed up with fats, it’s flows blood flow and you get big problems, tendency to infection etc. all of this jammed up stuff results in autoimmune disease and poor digestion.
I have read some on autoimmune hepatitis and I suspect this could be related to thyroid disease. Certainly, if you have sluggishness in your liver, your body will have a hard time getting antibodies to access infection. So yes, I would think that hypothyroid disease would leave your body more susceptible to liver disease, including hepatitis.
Tutu123 Hades10109
Posted
I went to see a thyroid specialist and he said the paleo diet is really good for your thyroid. Catherine has given a really detailed outlook on what's good and bad. Gluten and soy are big ones to avoid and I've heard dairy can also be another good thing to cut out.
I've always been confused about cruciferous vegetables as there is so much conflicting information. To my knowledge eating them raw could be a problem but if they are cooked I think it's better for people with thyroid disorders.
Sugar and alcohol consumption should also be kept to a minimum ideally.
I was told to go on the paleo diet but I am struggling as it's a very restrictive diet so I wish you all the luck trying to get your diet and thyroid better. It's not easy x
MtViewCatherine Tutu123
Posted
- Know that the choices you’re making are to help you feel good. Remember that cheating doesn’t feel good, and really, whatever that “must have food” is, really isn’t worth it if it’s going to throw your system out of whack, cause you to fall off the wagon, whatever.
- On substitutions- we have all sorts of cheats to stay on diets. Vegans make a turkey out of tofu for Thanksgiving, the gluten-free folks have brown rice bread, etc.
When transitioning to Paleo, consider transition foods. Wean yourself off store bought dressings, the homemade ones are so much better! Use nut products in place of grains. Use stevia and honey as sweeteners if you must. But eventually, let go of the substitutes and realize that it’s ok to have low carb root vegetables instead of bread.
-Transitioning also includes having foods in your house that you can eat. This is tough for Paleo because we’re used to all the grains and we stockpile spaghetti and other items. I never had the one day where I got rid of all the “wrong” foods. I found it difficult to throw perfectly good stuff away. However, as I got used to eating differently, I no longer bought the prohibited foods and my home is now completely gluten free, void of processed salad dressings, cane sugar, corn oil, bread and other unhealthy items. (Once a friend visited and was shocked that I didn’t have a toaster.) I admit, I do periodically keep a stash of chocolates in case of (emotional) craving emergency.
- On eating with others. This can be very challenging. I never liked the idea of eating before I go to a social event. This is suggested so you aren’t tempted to eat junk. That never worked for me because I’d eat before I go, then I’d eat again with friends. So I ate twice as much! Better to either bring your own food or scope out the situation before you start eating and make conscious decisions as to what items you’d like to eat that are within restrictions.
- One bite is enough. If you must cheat remember that a whole bag of (gf) cookies doesn’t solve anything more than one bite of a cookie can solve. Truly even a bite of junk never solved anything. But if you’re an emotional eater, like we all are, remembering that one bite is enough can really help you stay on track.
- Stress plays a huge role in emotional eating, and can wreak havoc with your hormonal system, causing worse cravings. Use your substitutes to help with emergency cravings. Realize that when you’re stressed, is the time you need healthy foods the most!
Good luck!