Your really never know the true role the food industry has in your journey.

Have you ever stopped to think what the underlying reason why you have hypothyroidism?

Many different underlying reasons can play a role. We do know that hypothyroidism is a chronic condition of an underactive thyroid and affects millions of Americans. Environmental chemicals and toxins, pesticides, BPA, thyroid endocrine disruptors, iodine imbalance, other medications, fluoride, overuse of soy products, cigarette smoking, and gluten intolerance. All of these play a very important role in your thyroid health. A nonprofit group called Beyond Pesticides warns that some 60 percent of pesticides used today have been shown to affect the thyroid gland’s production of T3 and T4 hormones. Commercially available insecticides and fungicides have also been involved. Even dental x-rays have been linked to an increased risk of thyroid disorders.

Hypothyroidism means what exactly?

Hypothyroidism means your thyroid is not making enough thyroid hormone. Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your throat. It makes the hormones that control the way your body uses energy. Basically, our thyroid hormone tells all the cells in our bodies how busy they should be. Our bodies will go into overdrive with too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism) and our bodies slow down with too little thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism). The most common causes of hypothyroidism worldwide is dietary and environmental. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is dietary and environmental! What does that mean exactly? That means you need to be eat to cater to your thyroid and stop using all these harmful chemicals to clean your home with and put on your body! It’s not hard. Yes, a little adjustment will be needed but isn’t everything we do in life for the better of our health worth a little inconvenience until it becomes a habit?

“You must realize that the thyroid has a relationship with all the hormones. It’s a very complex balance and there is no straight forward treatment of just treating your thyroid alone. 1st you must make sure your adrenal glands are in total support. Adrenal fatigue is a very common amongst people with hypothyroidism.  Next you have to get your cortisol levels stabilized. Having hypothyroidism your cortisol levels are already above average. Next finding the right medication for you. Everyone is different it isn’t an easy one size fits all task.”  

One cannot think well, love well, and sleep well if one has not dined well.

—Virginia Woolf 1882-1941, A Room of One’s Own

A diet for hypothyroidism should include whole foods rich in iodine:

whole baked organic potatoes with skin, cod, dried seaweed, shrimp, Himalayan crystal salt, baked turkey breast, dried prunes, navy beans, tuna, boiled eggs, lobster, cranberries, and green beans. Niacin-rich foods (required for normal manufacture of thyroid hormone) are tuna, chicken, prunes, bananas, turkey, salmon, sardines, and brown rice.

Riboflavin-rich foods:

Raw almonds, eggs, mushrooms, sesame seeds, salmon, and tuna.

Zinc: (as well as vitamins B6, C, and E, iodine) is a major component of thyroid hormone balance and is antimicrobial. Zinc-rich foods (boost thyroid function) are white cooked button mushrooms, chickpeas, kidney beans, dark chocolate (70 percent or higher), pumpkin, squash seeds, and almonds.

Selenium-rich foods: (helps to convert T-4 to T-3) are Brazil nuts and tuna.

High-polyphenols foods: (acts as an anti-fungal) are cocoa powder, dark chocolate, coffee, tea, flaxseed meal, red raspberries, blueberries, black currants.

Vitamin B6–rich foods: (required for normal manufacture of thyroid hormone) are raw unsalted sunflower seeds, quinoa, raw pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, pistachio nuts, cashews, tuna, halibut, salmon, dried prunes, bananas, avocados,  dried apricots, and raisins.

Vitamin C–rich foods: (boost thyroid gland function) are bell peppers, dark leafy greens, kiwis, broccoli, berries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, peas, and papayas.

Riboflavin-rich foods: (or vitamin b2—essential for normal manufacture of thyroid hormone) are frozen peas, beets, crimini mushrooms, eggs, asparagus, almonds, and turkey.

Vitamin E–rich foods: (work with zinc and vitamin A to produce thyroid hormone) are raw almonds, shrimp, avocados, quinoa, salmon, extra-virgin olive oil, and cooked butternut squash.

See you are NOT limited to what you can eat with hypothyroidism. You have many options to what you can eat and why you need to be eating this. Here are more foods and YES you may read repeats from the paragraph above but I want you to see what an abundance of foods that you can eat. The only limit you have in the kitchen is your imagination. My recipes are a starting point. You can start to creating your favorite recipes and healing your thyroid as you eat! Your diet is part of the solution.

Fatty fish like wild salmon, trout, halibut, cod, albacore tuna, flounder, cod or sardines (omega-3s and selenium) only a few times per week….

No farmed fish, period!

No gluten.

Split peas, lentils, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, artichokes, raspberries, blackberries, chia seeds, red apples with skin, prunes, green peas, raw almonds, garbanzo beans, winter squash, spaghetti squash, summer squash, butternut squash, zucchini, popcorn (no microwave-ready, bagged popcorn), cherries, citrus fruits, kiwi, cantaloupe, papaya, mango, plums and red grapes, tomatoes, carrots, gluten-free, steel-cut oats or gluten-free rolled oats, watermelon, green tea, organic apple cider vinegar, lemon, garlic, leeks, parsley, celery, ginger root, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, asparagus, organic whole baked potatoes with skin, shrimp, Himalayan crystal salt, Celtic sea salt, baked turkey breast, dried prunes, navy beans, gluten free steel cut or rolled oats, cranberries and green beans, organic no hormone chicken, brown rice, raw almonds, eggs, sesame seeds,, chickpeas, kidney beans, dark chocolate 70 percent or higher, walnuts, cocoa powder, hempseeds, red raspberries, blueberries, black currants, brazil nuts, raw unsalted sunflower seeds, quinoa, raw pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, pistachio nuts, cashews, dried prunes, bananas, avocados, dried apricots, and raisins, red, green and orange bell peppers, romaine lettuce, kiwis, papayas, beets, all mushrooms, quinoa, extra-virgin olive oil and cooked butter nut squash. sea vegetables, dried seaweed, kelp, dulse, nori, arame, wakame, kombu, tomato paste, brewer’s yeast, brown rice, algae, healing spices (Ceylon cinnamon, turmeric, gloves, cayenne pepper, garlic, oregano, sage, ginger .

You want more information check out my book Hypothyroidism Clarity : How to transition your family.

I want to thank you  for reading my latest blog.  Please let me know if you need any support with it.  Otherwise, are we friends on Facebook yet?  If not let’s do that now, healing Hypothyroidism.   I like to connect on a more personal level there and often; offer social media only products that can only be accessed on my page and share daily updates along with recipes. Remember sharing is caring. Please share and post a comment to this blog! I would love to hear from you. Sign up for my blogs @ thehypothyroidismchick.com .  You can also  Follow me on instagram @ Thyroidismchick or Follow me on twitter @Thyroidismchick.

Health and Happiness,