Don’t expect to hear this from your doctor, but following the right hypothyroidism diet plan.
10 Hypothyroidism Diet Tips to Help Heal Your Thyroid
1. Avoid Anti-Thyroid Foods
The first hypothyroidism diet tip that I want to share with you is one that is very important. And this is because it’s a controversial topic because there are some highly touted “health foods” that you are eating which are actually contributing to your hypothyroidism.
Some of the first foods that come to mind are any food that contains soy. This includes soybeans, edamame, soy milk, tofu, etc. Soy is very estrogenic and estrogens have been shown to inhibit the thyroid gland from secreting its thyroid hormones.
And this is disturbing because I have seen more than one, very well-respected hypothyroidism diet.
2. Increase Your Saturated Fats
Saturated fats on the other hand carry a lot of unfounded negative criticism. Criticizers of saturated fats still continue to cite outdated and poorly executed research studies from more than 50 years ago while ignoring the enormous amount of research showing their benefits.
So it’s important to include only high quality saturated fats in your diet for hypothyroidism. This includes fats from grass fed and grass finished animals, butter, and coconut oil.
3. Eat Your Fruit
Fruit can actually be one of your best friends when it comes to your hypothyroidism diet.
For starters, most fruit is very high in potassium which plays an important role in regulating your blood sugar. This helps to decrease the need of insulin which helps keeps your blood sugar more stable for longer periods of time.
4. Increase Your Salt Intake
There are a lot of myths out there regarding salt and sodium. But it’s more important than most people realize, especially when it comes to your hypothyroidism diet.
Sodium is actually a very important nutrient that your body needs to carry out a multitude of functions. For example, sodium is necessary for properly regulating blood pressure. But it also has some other important functions in dealing with hypothyroidism.
5. Get Plenty of Bone Broth
Most people don’t even know what bone broth is, let alone that it’s one of the best sources of protein that you can get. Bone broth was actually a common part of most people’s diets more than a century ago. But now, it’s become an almost entirely forgotten component of almost every hypothyroidism diet.
Bone broth is best known for being high in nutrients and very easy to digest. But it’s unique because it contains a blend of very anti-inflammatory amino acids that are lacking among most sources of meat.
6. Eat Some Shellfish
Living close to water definitely has its perks, especially when it comes to seafood. But shellfish in general are actually very beneficial to your thyroid and can play a crucial role in your hypothyroidism diet.
Another amazing benefit of shellfish is that they are naturally high in selenium. And selenium is one of the key nutrients that are required to convert the inactive T4 to the active T3 thyroid hormone in your liver.
7. Cut the Processed Foods
If it’s one thing that almost every hypothyroidism diet can agree with, it’s that processed foods have no place whatsoever in your diet.
Processed and/or packaged foods are loaded with processed grains that cause lots of problems with your blood sugar. And this causes a spike in your insulin levels which eventually leaves you with low blood sugar. And this creates yet another stress hormone response in order to raise your blood sugar levels back to normal.
8. Cook Your Veggies
This is another one of the more controversial topics when it comes to your hypothyroid diet. And that’s because there’s a lot of misconceptions out there regarding raw vs. cooked veggies.
Yes, raw veggies do contain more nutrients than cooked veggies. But it’s not about what you eat; it’s about what you digest.
9. Don’t Overdo the Water
Continuing in our long list of controversial hypothyroidism diet topics, let’s discuss water.
Most people are led to believe that they need 8 glasses of water a day or even more. But what we already know about hypothyroidism is that is causes water retention. So why does it make sense to drink even more water when your body has a problem getting rid of it in the first place?
10. Drink Your Coffee
I thought I would round out the 10 hypothyroidism diet tips with… coffee.
Believe it or not, but coffee has some amazing benefits for your thyroid. But keep in mind that it has to be taken right or else it can have some negative effects. You should never drink coffee on an empty stomach. And it’s important to add the right ratios of fat and sugar.
Studies also back up these claims showing that coffee drinkers have the lowest incidence of thyroid disease, including cancer.