Diet Plan for Hypothyroidism

The thyroid gland is a major gland located in lower neck region in human body that is responsible for secretion of Thyroid hormones. The hormone plays a pivotal role in regulating various functions in human body. If the gland does not function as it should, thyroid disorders can happen. Hypothyroidism or under active thyroid is a condition in which the thyroid gland’s endocrine system does not generate required amount of thyroid hormone. The results include tiredness, susceptibility to cold, depression, constipation and weight gain. Along with treatment, sticking to suitable hypothyroidism diet plan is advisable for the victims of the ailment.

Dietary Interventions and its Importance in Coping with Hypothyroidism

Usually, those affected by Hypothyroidism require specialized treatment for entire life, diet plays a major role. Along with undergoing treatment and taking necessary medications, you need to adhere to specific dietary plans to get the best results. When you are diagnosed with this thyroid disorder, including certain foods from your diet can help and same is true about excluding specific types of foods. This is necessary because your body metabolism gets hit and losing weight becomes tough.

Foods to Avoid When You have Hypothyroidism

There are certain types of foods that you should avoid when you are diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

• Soy:

  Studies have revealed the phytoestrogens in soy based foods may thwart an enzyme’s activity that creates the thyroid hormones.

• Iodine-Rich Foods

  While this condition is caused by inadequate iodine intake, taking excess amount of iodine based food can actually be counterproductive.

• Fiber Rich Foods:

  While high fiber diet is usually good for health these can sometimes interfere with thyroid medications.

• Certain vegetables:

  Some Cruciferous vegetables with high fiber content such as cabbage, broccoli, kale, and spinach may interfere with thyroid medication absorption.

• Gluten:

  Wheat type grains and foods that contain gluten should not be in your meals if you have lower than adequate level of thyroid levels.

• Fatty and Fried Foods:

  Those burgers, pastas and junk food dishes should be off your platter if you are detected with this disorder. Fat disrupts your body’s capacity to soak in thyroid hormone replacement medications.

• Processed and Packaged Foods:

  Processed foods often contain a lot of sodium. People with thyroid deficit should not intake too much of sodium. Underactive thyroid gland can hike your risk of high blood pressure and in taking sodium can worsen the condition eventually.

Apart from these, you also need to control intake of Caffeine, tobacco and liquor to ensure efficacy of thyroid medication is not hampered.

Food to Eat When You have Hypothyroidism

There are some foods that you should include in diet after being diagnosed with hypothyroidism. These include:

• Antioxidant-rich produce: Eating fruits and vegetables that are replete with antioxidants can be good when you are suffering from hypothyroidism. Examples include bell peppers, tomatoes and blueberries.
• Selenium: If you eat foods that contain small amount of selenium that can be useful for fighting symptoms of thyroid deficit in body. You may eat Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds for this.
• Beans: All types of beans can be eaten to cope better with thyroid deficit. They offer you enough energy.

Using Diet Plans and Herbal Supplements

A lot of people dealing with hypothyroidism have found better results after trying out certain herbs and supplements. Now, the same stuff may not work wonder for everyone afflicted with the condition. Not enough scientific evidence is available on all such herbs as far as their safety and efficacy to treat thyroid gland problems are concerned. It is not advisable to start using such herbal supplements without consulting your doctor.

Keeping Some Things in Mind

While making changes to diet to tackle hypothyroidism better, a few things should be kept in mind. Some foods can be beneficial for coping with this condition but you should be careful about eating them in right quantity. This is particularly true about foods containing fiber and iodine. Care should be adopted to evade including foods and beverages in hypothyroidism diet plan that can thwart working mechanism of thyroid medications. You also need to be aware of foods you are allergic to when planning a diet to cope with impact of hypothyroidism.