Heal Your Thyroid Naturally

How to Heal Your Thyroid Naturally

The thyroid gland is located at the base of your neck and is shaped a bit like a bow tie or a butterfly that bends around the bottom of the throat. It is a very important gland, producing thyroxine, a hormone that helps regulate your metabolism, your heart rate and in children, their growth and development. Imbalances in your thyroid can result in an under-functioning or overactive thyroid. You can support your thyroid’s function with proper diet, exercise, and rest and by minimizing the stress in your life.

 

Eating the Right Foods

The thyroid depends on good nutrition to get the iodine, selenium and vitamins it needs to function properly. Without the proper nutritive balance, the thyroid cannot do its job properly.

Make time for nutrition. While it is not always the simplest thing to do, you will be doing you and your family a great service by making your own food and encouraging everyone in your family to follow a healthier diet.

Limit the processed and pre-packaged food that you eat. 

Processing in general adds sugar to foods. This can worsen any thyroid problems. It takes a bit of practice and planning, but the closer you can get to cooking from scratch, the better. Using whole foods that have not been processed keeps most of their original vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. One general rule of thumb is that if the food is too white, such as white bread, white rice, white pasta, it has been overly processed. Eat whole grain bread, brown rice and whole grain pasta instead.

Increase the vegetables and fruits in your diet. 

Whenever possible, choose to eat local, seasonal, organic produce, the fresher the better. Don't worry too much about sourcing the vegetables. Any produce is better than no produce, even frozen fruits and vegetables can benefit your health.

Limit your meat intake. Try to eat less meat, particularly red meat. If you do eat meats, make sure any beef is lean (preferably grass-fed, since this has a more natural ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fats), and any poultry is skinless.

All meat you consume should be raised without hormones or antibiotics. Most meat will specify on the packaging that it is hormone-free. If it doesn’t specify that it's hormone-free, it’s probably not. Check the organic section for hormone-free meat options.

Boost your fish consumption. Fish is good quality protein and often has high amounts of the healthy omega-3 fats. Fish is usually lean and can be fairly easy to prepare.

Use caution when selecting fish. Fish that is high in mercury may be bad for your thyroid function.

Include beans and legumes in your diet. Legumes include foods like lentils and contain many of the vitamins and minerals needed by the thyroid to make thyroid hormone. They are also a good source of protein for individuals who have limited or given up meat consumption.

Reduce your sugar intake. To keep your sugar levels low, choose complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains. Avoid sugar and sugar substitutes. Simple sugar, either as granulated table sugar or as high fructose corn syrup, is much like an addictive drug. Try using the herb Stevie as a sugar substitute if you have a hard time giving up sweets.

Diabetic patients need to have their thyroid checked. Thyroid patients need to have their blood sugar monitored because commodities (people who have both diabetes and thyroid problems) are very common.

Get enough iodine. If you eat a diet that includes moderate amounts of salt and some red meat, you probably get plenty of iodine. But, if you have given up salt in order to try to control your blood pressure, make sure you have an alternate source of iodine. The thyroid needs iodine for proper function. If needed, get a high quality supplement that contains at least 50% of the iodine daily requirement. You can also supplement your diet with some of the following sources of iodine:

• Brownish Sea vegetables (kelp, wakame, dulse)
• Seafood and fish
• Yogurt
• Milk
• Eggs 

Ask your doctor about other supplements. Speak with your healthcare provider about the advantages of supplementing with zinc and selenium, minerals necessary for proper thyroid function. Also, ask about supplementing with Vitamin D3 (2000 IU every day). Autoimmune disease is correlated with low Vitamin D levels.

Drink plenty of water. Always be sure to stay hydrated with water. It helps your body function properly and will keep you feeling healthy in general.