There are numerous foods and nutrients that make large contribution to the health of the thyroid. If these become part of your diet, you will successfully improve the healthy thyroid function.
Eliminate All Refined Grains, Sugar, and Substances That Tax the Thyroid
Those foods that many Americans eat on a daily basis, such as refined grains, sugar and sweets, caffeine (coffee, black tea, sodas, and chocolate), hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and alcohol are the ones that tax the most on the thyroid.
A crucial thing to do to ensure good function of the thyroid is to eliminate all refined grains such as white and wheat bread, rolls, biscuits, pancakes, pizza dough, pasta, and buns.
Avoid desserts and use stevia, an herbal sweetener, which can be found at most health food storesand avoid sugar in all forms such as white granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, molasses, fructose, and brown rice syrup.
Furthermore, there are some other factors that also cause taxing, which include: giving birth, environmental stress such as industrial pollutants, pesticides, heavy metals, Candida albicans (yeast overgrowth), and medical stress (radiation, X-rays, and drugs).
Moreover, always bear in mind that emotional stress (anger, grief, guilt, anxiety, and fear) can be very taxing on the thyroid.
Mineral and Vitamin Supplements Intake
A number of nutrients have been proved to be beneficial and effectiveto thyroid health, such as selenium, B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc, vitamin E, and vitamin A.
A paper by Margaret Ames, Ph.D. called “Thyroid Health: Do You Have Hypothyroidism?” claims that “individuals with hypothyroidism have been shown to have an impaired ability to convert beta-carotene to vitamin A, so care should be taken to include supplementation of vitamin A in addition to beta carotene.”
Moreover, her findings also prove that selenium is involved in conversion of T4 to T3 and low selenium levels could lead to low T3 levels.
Consequently, a heavy detoxification program will be of great help since mercury will displace selenium.It is especially recommended if one has had mercury amalgam fillings, have eaten a lot of tuna, or have been exposed to mercury in any other manner.
Consumption ofOnly Healthy Fats and Oils
Health experts strongly advise consumption of only coconut oil, virgin olive oil, and butter, and the best would be to eat olive oil and butter sparingly. Coconut oil is one of the most stable oils because of its medium-chain triglycerides.
It will not easily turn to trans fatty acids when heated, making it one of the best oils for cooking. For instance, butter can be replaced with coconut oil on toast.
Furthermore, avoid all other cooking oils and eliminate margarine completely. One important tip is to always read labels on packaged foods and don’t buy goods if they contain vegetable oil or soybean oil. Note that most commercial salad dressings contain soybean oil or another polyunsaturated oil.
By including two to three tablespoons of virgin coconut oil in their diet, numerous people have improved their thyroid health, have lost weight, and increased their energy. Cooking with the oil is the obvious method and it tastes great with every food.You may also want to add one or two extra tablespoons of the oil to your diet daily.
Always ask for lemon slices and olive oil and prepare your own on the spot, since the best solution is to prepare your own salad dressings if possible.
Restaurant fried foods are particularly harmful because the oils used are heated to very high temperatures constantly and often reused for deep-frying, which makes them loaded with trans fatty acids. And prepare your own healthy foods at home so that you can control the ingredients whenever possible.
Avoid Goitrogens
You should be aware that the avoidance of certain foods which if ingested excessively block iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland can be very favorable. Namely, these include turnips, cabbage, mustard, cassava root, pine nuts, millet, peanuts, and soybeans.
Completely leave out these until your thyroid health is fully restored. When your thyroid is healthy again and you no longer have symptoms, you could include them occasionally, but do not eat them on a daily basis.
Soybean oil in salad dressing, textured vegetable protein used as a filler, and peanut butter are the ones that should be avoided the most. These products are included in many commercially packaged foods.
Limit Exposure to Fluoride and Mercury
As much as possible, avoid fluoride and mercury. There are some useful tips to limit their effects: choose smaller coldwater fish such as salmon and halibut that usually have less mercury, purchase a water filtration system that removes fluoride and other chemicals, buy toothpaste from a health food store that is fluoride free and get mercury amalgam fillings removed from your mouth.
Juicing
In the struggle to restore thyroid health as well as to ensure the health of the entire body, vegetable juicing can be particularly helpful.Cranberry is an amazing thyroid helping juice.
Cranberries contain iodine—35 parts per billion according to The Journal of Biochemistry(79:409-11; 1928). You can juice cranberries with a low-sugar apple such as pippin or Granny Smith and add a squeeze of lemon for an absolutely delicious cranberry juice cocktail and it will be sugar- free, which is way better than the store-bought cranberry juice.
Radishes juices are especially helpful to the thyroid, and provide extremely good results. Namely, a sulphur compound found in the radish is a regulator of thyroixine and calcitonin (a peptide hormone). So, when enough of this sulphur compound is circulating in the bloodstream, the thyroid is less apt to over- or under-produce these hormones.
A steady diet of radishes and radish juice will do wonders to thyroid issues. The following Thyroid juice which combines carrots or cucumber, celery, radishes, and lemon is a fantastic helping miracle.You can also add a dash of powdered kelp or dulse for a boost of iodine.
Thyroid Tonic
- 1 whole bunch of radishes
- 1/2 cucumber
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 carrot
- 1 whole lemon peeled
- dash of kelp powder
Cleansing Protocols
Various cleansing programs such as colon cleansing, the liver cleanse, gallbladder cleanse, kidney cleanse, and the heavy metal detox can offer a lot of benefits to people who have thyroid issues.
Consume Plenty of Iodine-Rich Foods
Iodine is one extremely important thing to take care of in cases of restoration of thyroid health. It is most abundant in sea vegetables, fish, seafood, and eggs. You can find a variety of dried sea vegetables at most health food stores and markets.
Season foods with dulse or kelp powder in place of salt. Eat more fish, especially the smaller coldwater fish, such as salmon (avoid farm-raised), mackerel, halibut, sole, and snapper. Avoid the larger fish such as tuna and swordfish; they tend to be higher in mercury.
Choose cage-free, hormone and antibiotic-free eggs; they’re healthier. We suggest that you add a strip of kombu to soups or bean dishes, sprinkle black seaweed on salads or add to soup.
Exercise
As we state above, when we nourish our thyroid, apart from avoiding the foods and substances that can tax this important gland or interfere with nutrient absorption, some lifestyle modifications can make an important difference in thyroid health.
Exercise is also one of those that are particularly important in the healing of hypothyroidism.Whatever you do, get up and move. Your energy will improve as you do more exercising.It stimulates thyroid gland secretion and increases tissue sensitivity to thyroid hormones.
Always make sure to choose exercises that fit your energy level. Exercise has been shown to increase metabolic rate, which is an important aspect in weight loss. Moreover, jumping on a rebounder is very beneficial for the organs and lymphatic system and weight-bearing exercise is particularly important to prevent osteoporosis.
Start exercising by walking and you can perhaps take a stretch class. Work up to exercises such as step aerobics or fast walking that is excellent for the cardiovascular system.
How Much Time Is needed to Restore Thyroid Health?
These valuable advices serve in order to help you embrace your life of vibrant health, being sure you have lowered risks of degenerative disease.
Margaret Ames, Ph.D.claims that “The beneficial effects of a comprehensive treatment of hypothyroidism are usually evident within two to three weeks after starting therapy.
However, it is important to emphasize that, while symptoms may be alleviated and people with hypothyroidism may experience a greater sense of well-being, in most cases, treatment for this condition requires a life-long commitment.”
Read the full article Here: How to Help Your Thyroid
Source: articles.mercola.com
Reference and image source: complete-health-and-happiness.com