If you want your body to burn fat, your thyroid gland is the number one gland that needs to be working optimally.
Your thyroid makes and releases a hormone called Thyroid Hormone. And thyroid hormone is the accelerator pedal for your metabolism.
The more of it you have, the faster your metabolic rate and the more fat you burn. The less you have, the slower your metabolic rate and the harder it is to burn fat.
In mainstream medicine, they alter thyroid hormone levels through synthetic thyroid hormone drugs. However, as a naturopath, I take a different approach.
Thyroid hormones are made from specific nutrients, so supplying your body with ample amounts of these nutrients can naturally boost your production.
So that means you can use food, not drugs, as your medicine!
It’s indisputable that your body can only run off what you put in it. The same goes for your car. Your car can run on poor-quality fuel, but it runs much better and has less wear and tear when you use premium fuel.
So, I’ve compiled a list to ensure you eat the right foods for your thyroid.
The 15 best foods for your thyroid
- Sea vegetables like kelp (seaweed) because they contain iodine, which is critical for making thyroid hormone.
- Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, which activates your thyroid hormone.
- Cod liver oil is a naturally rich vitamin D source, an essential nutrient for healthy thyroid function.
- Proper free-range eggs because when the hens are out in the grass, they get sun on them and eat a much broader range of food like grass, works, dirt, etc. This means the eggs have a greater range of nutrients in them, too, like vitamin D, vitamin B12, omega 3’s and minerals. An easy-to-find brand of proper free-range eggs is Sunny Queen. You can find them at Woolworths and Coles.
- Pasture-fed beef contains the amino acid tyrosine, which is what you make thyroid hormone from, as well as vitamin B12, and all the minerals, like zinc and selenium, from the soil that comes through the grass the cow eats. You want 100% pasture-fed beef because that means the cow lives in the paddock like it should, eating all sorts of plants, not in a feedlot, being fed only grains.
- Sesame seeds because they contain copper and zinc, which are both essential for optimal thyroid function and hormone production. You need to ensure the seeds are broken open; otherwise, they will pass through you. So grind them before you eat them, or use tahini.
- Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of zinc, which helps your cells activate your thyroid hormones.
- Spinach is rich in minerals like magnesium, copper, iron and zinc, which are essential for optimal thyroid hormone production.
- Prawns and scallops because they have omega-3 oils and vitamin B12, but mostly, they are a rich source of iodine if you don’t like the taste of seaweed.
- Cashews because they are loaded with copper, magnesium and zinc. Important minerals if you want your thyroid to boost a sluggish thyroid.
- Fermented foods like coconut kefir (kefir is like a yogurt probiotic), coconut yogurt, sauerkraut and kombucha (a fermented probiotic drink that’s naturally fizzy and is made from tea and flowers) because they are full of beneficial bacteria that boost your gut health. While you might not be aware of it, many thyroid problems stem from poor gut health because the lousy gut bacteria levels are too high. Consuming fermented foods is a delicious way to boost your good gut bug numbers.
So there you have it: 15 medicinal foods you can start eating right now that boost thyroid function.
But in addition to increasing your consumption of foods that are good for your thyroid, you should also avoid foods that can be bad for it. Here is a list of the.
7 Worst Foods For Your Thyroid
- Wheat/Gluten-containing foods (bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, biscuits, crackers, pastries, cakes, and muffins made from wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt flour) have been implicated as an underlying cause of thyroid dysfunction, including overactive and underactive thyroid conditions. Wheat/gluten-containing foods contain a protein called gluten (which gives gluten-containing flours their ‘glue-is’), which is genetically susceptible to people and triggers inflammation and immune system dysfunction (autoimmune disease).
- Soybean products (soy milk, tofu, cheese, yogurt, protein) naturally contain anti-thyroid compounds that can slow thyroid hormone production if you overeat or are genetically susceptible. The other issue with many soy products is that they are heavily processed and refined, containing sugar and other unhealthy additives.
- Too much raw broccoli/kale/cabbage can slow your thyroid hormone output. Now you have to eat a lot to cause yourself a problem, but with the rise of the ‘Green Smoothie’ people can now eat larger amounts of these vegetables. So, a handful is okay, but only a portion is needed in your smoothie.
- Processed food could be better for your thyroid. It lacks the nutrients your thyroid needs to function optimally and often contains foods that can damage your thyroid, such as wheat, gluten, soy, and sugar. After you eat processed foods, your body causes inflammation, suppressing thyroid hormone production and activation.
- Refined vegetable oils (any oils that aren’t cold pressed like margarine, vegetable shortening and cooking oils) cause lots of inflammation in your body because they contain high levels of oxidised (rancid) omega-6 oil. Refined vegetable oils are especially harmful to your thyroid when consumed with or as an ingredient in gluten and soy products like breads, pastries, biscuits, crackers and sauces.
- While safe to drink, tap water can really interfere with your thyroid because of the chemicals used to make it safe to drink and protect your teeth. Tap water contains chlorine and fluoride, and because these two chemicals are in the same family as iodine, they compete with it for absorption. So, if you eat foods containing iodine to boost your thyroid function and drink tap water, you’re taking one step forward and two steps back.
- Sugar, refined sugar that is not fruit, is one of the worst foods for thyroid health. Not only does it cause inflammation in your body by stimulating the overproduction of insulin, but it also triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol. When you eat refined sugar or sugary products, your blood sugar spikes. Your pancreas then dumps a massive amount of insulin into your bloodstream to quickly remove the sugar overload. This then causes your blood sugar levels to plummet, which causes your adrenal glands to release cortisol to get your blood sugar levels back up to standard. The problem with this is cortisol, which signals to your brain that food might be scarce. So it triggers the famine response, slowing thyroid hormone production, slowing thyroid hormone activation, lowering metabolic rate and storing body fat.
So here’s a great start on naturally boosting your thyroid function and metabolic rate. But it would help if you looked beyond your diet to take your metabolism and fat-burning to the next level.
Addressing stress hormone imbalances like adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is best. If you have a stress hormone imbalance like adrenal fatigue, your body gets locked in the ‘famine’ state, and no matter what you eat or how much you exercise, your body won’t burn fat.