Fatigue, brain fog, joint/muscle pain, constipation, depression, hair loss, dry skin/hair, cold sensitivity, excess weight. Does this sound like you?
1. Iodine; essential in the synthesis of thyroid hormone. Good sources of iodine include seaweed (great added to stews, soups), fresh fish, shellfish, eggs, fish oils, baked potato, turkey, and Himalayan salt.
2. Selenium; essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormone and conversion of the hormone to its active form for use in the cells. Selenium rich foods include Brazil nuts, seeds, fresh fish, shellfish, seafood, turkey, beef, and whole grains.
3. Essential fatty acids; omega 3s are essential for maintenance of healthy cell membranes, increasing thyroid hormone uptake, healthy brain function and reducing inflammation. Good sources of essential fatty acids are fresh fish, shellfish, seeds, eggs, walnuts and coconut oil.
Coconut oil is a saturated fat containing medium chain fatty acids that metabolise very quickly through the body increasing metabolism and promoting weight loss.
4. Gluten and food sensitivities; are among the most common causes of thyroid dysfunction because they cause inflammation and damage to the gastrointestinal tract, causing food particles being absorbed into the bloodstream. Your body misidentifies these as foreign bodies and produces antibodies against them, initiating an immune attack. Gluten causes autoimmune responses in many people and can be responsible for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a common autoimmune thyroid condition.
5. Exercise: Your thyroid function is intimately tied to your adrenal function, which is intimately affected by how you handle stress. When stress becomes chronic, stress chemicals (adrenalin and cortisol) produced by your adrenal glands interferes with thyroid hormones and can contribute to obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, unstable blood sugar, and more. One of the best de-stressors is exercise, which is why it is so beneficial for your thyroid. Exercise stimulates your thyroid gland to secrete more thyroid hormone increasing the sensitivity of all your tissues to thyroid hormone. It’s thought that many of the health benefits of exercise stem directly from improved thyroid function.
