What You Should Eat To Improve Thyroid Health

As a nutritionist under active thyroid is a condition I see very frequently. It can be caused for a number of reasons, poor diet, stress, leaky gut, emotional burn out and a demanding lifestyle. There are a number of foods you can comsune to boost thyroid health without having to resort to prescribed medication, please do not attempt to do this on your own, it need to be done along side a professional nutritional therapist, alternative Dr., or Nurse.

Here's what to eat (and why) to improve your thyroid function:1. Cruciferous vegetables.

Eat them raw, cooked or juiced. I know you've been advised not to eat them raw, but doesn't it strike you as strange that plant foods with the richest source of cancer-preventing phytonutrients would inhibit thyroid function? It did to me. If this was true, what was the mechanism behind it and where was the research on humans? So eat your green veg!  2. Brazil nuts. These are the richest dietary source of selenium, which is essential in converting thyroxine to its active form, T3. Sometimes people with Hashimoto's are advised to avoid selenium. You need selenium for glutathione production to help decrease thyroid antibodies. Snack on three Brazil nuts per day.  3. Sea vegetables. Sea vegetables are rich in iodine. Iodine attaches to tyrosine (an amino acid) to form thyroxine. If you have insufficient levels of iodine, it becomes a rate-limiting step in the production of thyroid hormones and you'll inhibit your thyroid function. Snack on nori dusted with sea salt, make nori wraps filled with avocado, wild salmon, sweet potato, sprouts and mache, add hijiki to a kale and pumpkin seed salad, eat wakame in a miso soup or add dulse to a butternut squash soup.  4. Chlorophyll. Drink a shot of chlorophyll upon waking to help boost energy levels and remove heavy metals that may be inhibiting thyroid function.   5. Maca. Helps to balance the hypothalamus and pituitary, which release TRH (thyroid-releasing hormone) and TSH respectively. These hormones regulate thyroxine levels. Maca also contains zinc, B vitamins and iron, which are all required for optimal thyroid production.  6. No gluten. If you have Hashimoto's, you must avoid gluten, because it can initiate thyroid antibody production. I've seen TPO levels drop from the 1000s to less than 30 just from removing gluten.  7. No soy protein isolate. While the research on fermented soy and thyroid function is mixed, soy protein isolate should be avoided. This means no junky soy foods like soy cheese, soy yogurt, energy bars with soy protein isolate, soy burgers and soy-based "meats." Eat clean and smart, take the right supplements, manage your stress levels and avoid environmental toxins, and you'll have the ability to potentially reverse your thyroid condition.