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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  Thyroid: some foods can help
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Thyroid: some foods can help

Besides medication, there are certain foods that affect the functioning of the thyroid glandthey can help, or harm

Too much soy may increase a person’s risk of hypo-thyroidism. Photographs by iStockphotoPremium
Too much soy may increase a person’s risk of hypo-thyroidism. Photographs by iStockphoto

NEW DELHI :

Do you feel fatigue weighing you down? Do you experience chills, or hair loss or are you anxious all the time? Is your skin dry? Are you constipated? Have you been working hard to knock off the extra kilos but not succeeding?

If any of these are recurring symptoms, you should pay attention to your thyroid gland, for it could be the culprit.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front part of the neck. It produces hormones that control the speed of your metabolism. Thyroid disorders can slow down or speed up metabolism. When hormone levels become too low, or too high, you get hypo- or hyper-thyroidism and may experience a wide range of symptoms.

There are receptors for the thyroid hormone throughout the body, and disturbance in thyroid functioning can cause problems in almost every system—from the heart to sleep patterns, even the growth of hair and nails.

If you have any doubts, consult a doctor about the tests that need to be conducted.

Besides medication, there are certain foods that affect the functioning of the thyroid gland—they can help, or harm.

Iodine

Iodine is needed for the production of the thyroid hormone. The body does not make iodine, so it is essential to get it from one’s diet. Use iodized table salt, which is easily available.

Sea salts, and the salt used in packaged or processed foods, are usually not iodized, so read labels before you buy salt.

Seafood

Leafy greens, nuts and seeds

Brazil nuts help your thyroid in two ways. Not only are they a good source of magnesium, they are also rich in selenium, another mineral which helps in thyroid functioning. Just two Brazil nuts a day will give you as much selenium as you need.

Goitrogens

If you’re getting enough iodine in your diet, goitrogens shouldn’t be a problem for you. But if not, it can affect the intake of iodine and lead to thyroid problems.

Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale can interfere with the production of the thyroid hormone, particularly in people who have an iodine deficiency. They can block the thyroid’s ability to absorb iodine.

Cooking the vegetables, however, can reduce the effect, so if you have low levels of iodine, it’s best to consume these vegetables cooked.

Soy

Soy is loaded with plant-derived compound phyto-estrogen, and some researchers believe too much soy may increase a person’s risk of hypo-thyroidism. For oestrogen can limit the body’s ability to utilize the thyroid hormone.

Some of the chemicals found in soy products like milk, tofu or edamame could interfere with your thyroid’s ability to make hormones, but only if you’re not getting enough iodine. If your iodine levels are in control to begin with, you probably don’t need to worry about eating soy products.

Sugar

Hypo-thyroidism can cause the body’s metabolism to slow down and can result in drastic weight gain. It’s best to reduce the amount of sugar you eat or try to eliminate it completely from your diet, for most sugary foods are high in calories but very low on nutrients.

Gluten

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Unless you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, in which the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food, it’s not likely that gluten will affect your thyroid.

But if you do have this disease, then gluten can damage the small intestines. That damage could lead to an increased risk of Hashimoto’s disease, which leads to an underactive thyroid, and Graves’ disease, which leads to an overactive thyroid.

Medicines

Certain medicines interfere with the absorption of thyroid medication, especially if taken at more or less the same time. Among the culprits are iron supplements or multivitamins containing iron, calcium supplements, antacids that contain aluminium or magnesium, some ulcer medications and some cholesterol-lowering drugs.

If you are taking any of these medicines, consume them several hours after you take your thyroid medication. Consult your doctor on this.

Vishakha Shivdasani is a Mumbai-based medical doctor with a fellowship in nutrition. She specializes in controlling diabetes, cholesterol and obesity.

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Published: 27 Jul 2015, 08:06 PM IST
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