The risk of a thyroid malfunction increases with the age and women are more likely to be diagnosed with thyroid issues than men.
Hypothyroidism, or an under-active thyroid, is when your thyroid gland doesn’t work properly and doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone. Hyperthyroidism on the other hand is when your thyroid gland goes in overdrive and produces too much of its regulatory hormone. You can find information about the Top 13 Signs That You May Have a Thyroid Disorder and this post will be all about hypothyroidism and on how to treat it naturally as it is becoming a major problem for many Americans.
Common Causes Of Thyroid issues
- Radiation and heavy metal exposure
- Food intolerances
- Hormone imbalances
Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism
Symptoms can be vague and are often overlooked by many doctors and health care providers.
- Extreme fatigue
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Weight Gain (I have already written a few articles that will help you to lose weight by increasing your metabolism and by eating these foods.)
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Dry Skin
- Constipation (there are natural remedies for constipation)
- Heavy or irregular menstruation
- Forgetfulness
- Chills in extremities and sensitive for cold
How To Treat Hypothyroidism Naturally
Curing hypothyroidism is a slow process that can take up to a year, or longer. Treatments involve assisting your thyroid to heal and avoiding possible triggers. Hypothyroid drugs are highly addictive and most people are advised to take them forever. So for those who have been taking those for years, you must slowly reduce the intake. Abruptly stopping your medication can even push you further down the lane and cause extreme fatigue and additional thyroid problems. So make sure to contact your doctor or health care provider first.
1. Healthy, Whole Food Diet
Reduce or eliminate caffeine, sugar, artificial sweeteners, refined carbohydrates, refined grains, and processed foods. Increase your intake of healthy sources of protein and healthy fats, such as nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut oil, nut butters, quinoa, legumes, organic grass meats, and sustainable farmed fish. Proteins help your body to transport thyroid hormone to all your organs and tissues.
2. Eliminate Soy And Balance Estrogen Levels
Too much estrogen slows down the thyroid gland. Avoid birth control medication, all non-organic meat (the growth hormone in meat can cause hormone imbalances), reduce dairy intake, and increase fiber in the diet. All soy-products should be eliminated as they contain phytoestrogen that cause major hormone imbalances and can also cause an enlargement, or goiter, which disrupts the iodine usage.
3. Eliminate Following Thyroid Disruptors
- Eliminate Non-Stick Cookware
- BPA’s found in plastic bottles
- Heavy metals: you could use a combination of milk thistle, turmeric, chlorella, and cilantro to eliminate heavy metals from your body
4. Address Vitamin And Nutrient Deficiencies
Although vitamin and nutrient deficiencies are not the cause of hypothyroidism, not having enough of some of these essential nutrients can worsen the symptoms or even disable you body’s recovery systems. You can read the post about 5 Common Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies That Can Harm Your Health.
- Iodine: our thyroid needs iodine to function properly. If you are planning to take iodine supplements make sure to contact your doctor first. Natural iodine can be found in fish, shell fish, krill, sea veggies, eggs, Swiss chard, asparagus, Lima beans, mushrooms, sesame seed, garlic, and summer squash.
- Vitamin D: make sure to spend some time in the sun. Normal vitamin D levels are between 50-80ng/ml. Anything below 32ng/ml can cause hormone disruption.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3’s are the building blocks of your hormones that control growth and immune function. Both are super important for a good working thyroid gland. Omega-3 can be found in fish, organic grass fed meat, seeds, and nuts.
- Glutathione: is a powerful antioxidant known to strengthen the immune system and protects and heals thyroid tissue. Foods that increase glutathione are asparagus, peaches, avocado, spinach, garlic, squash, eggs, and grapefruit.
Other important vitamin and nutrients to watch are selenium, iron, zinc, copper, vitamin A, and B12.
5. Probiotics
Some studies link immune system issues, like thyroid malfunctions, with the digestives system. Therefore a healthy gut flora is very important for people who face hypothyroidism. A balanced gut flora may help your body to reduce attacks on the gland. You can find information in a previous post about probiotics and why they are so good for you,
6. Be Mindful Of Goitrogens
Goitrogens can interfere with the thyroid function and enlarge the thyroid gland. Foods that contain goitrogens include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, turnips, millet, spinach, strawberries, peaches, watercress, peanuts, radishes, and soybeans.
I’m not saying you can’t eat those foods altogether, except for soybeans, those must be avoided at all times. Cooking inactivates those compounds so be mindful of eating goitrogen rich foods raw.
7. Go Gluten Free
The molecular composition of gluten is almost identical to the thyroid tissue. Especially when you have Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune condition of the thyroid, gluten should be eliminate to avoid an increase of autoimmune attacks on the thyroid gland.
8. Consume Healthy Fats
Insufficient consummation of healthy fats and cholesterol can lead to hormone imbalances, including thyroid hormones. Both are important precursors or building blocks of most hormones. Healthy fats include avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, flax seed, fish, yogurt, cheese, nuts, nut butters, and nut milks.
Hydrogenated or processed oils like canola oil should be avoided at all times as they interfere with the production of thyroid hormones.
