Eat These to Keep Hypothyroidism in Check

If you are suffering from hypothyroidism, you know what a huge toll it takes on all the major functions of your body. Your body is essentially unable to produce enough thyroid hormones to keep your growth, repair and metabolism processes going normally. The most obvious and common symptom of hypothyroidism is weight gain. Other symptoms like tiredness, hair loss, feeling cold, feeling low etc are not so easily noticeable and only felt by the patient alone, hence they are not much talked about.

While the right diet or medication alone will not control hypothyroidism, the right combination of both will go a long way in keeping these symptoms at bay. While you should completely abide by your doctor’s prescription, here are a few things you should watch out for in your daily diet to help accelerate the process of curing hypothyroidism, the natural way.

Important nutrients you must incorporate into your diet:

Iodine: This essential mineral helps make thyroid hormones. In fact, a deficiency in iodine is one of the major causes of hypothyroidism. You can add iodized table salt to your food for your daily source of iodine. You can also incorporate iodine-rich foods in your diet like seaweed, fish, dairy and eggs

Selenium: Apart from being packed with multiple antioxidants, this essential mineral helps the body “activate” thyroid hormones so they can be used by the body. Some great sources of selenium are Brazil nuts, tuna, sardines, eggs, and legumes.

Zinc: this mineral functions in a similar manner as selenium to activate thyroid hormones. Although zinc is abundant in our food, if you are suffering from hypothyroidism, you should aim to eat more zinc-rich foods like oysters and other shellfish, beef and chicken.

What to avoid in your diet?                                           

Goitrogens: They get their name from the term “goitre,” which is an enlarged thyroid gland that may occur with hypothyroidism. These may interfere with the normal function of the thyroid gland and is best avoided from your diet. A lot of food we commonly consume have goitrogens in them, so be careful with your food choices to avoid them. Avoid soy-based foods like tofu, tempeh, edamame, and nuts like pine nuts and peanuts.

Gluten: This is another commonly found protein in food grains like wheat, rye and barley, and food items made from them like bread, pasta etc. This may also affect the proper functioning of your thyroid gland and should be avoided.

By being mindful of the food choices you make daily, you can control your hypothyroidism to a great extent and live a happy, healthy life.