I have low/normal thyroid function, at times I seem to be just fine and other times my hair falls out, my energy levels are lower and I gain a few pounds. It isn't really pronounced at this point, I don't have severe symptoms but I can certainly tell the difference. Basically at the point I am at I just want to prevent my thyroid from entering the clinically low stage. I have been researching ways to heal the thyroid and improve thyroid function naturally.
I do want to point out that there are TONS of articles on healing hypothyroid and these articles promote everything from taking kelp to standing on your head....okay maybe I made up the last one, but you get my point. I read articles that are well written and yet, when I reach the bottom no sources are cited to back up the claims being made. This is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves! If you are going to make a claim you need to provide sound proof that what you are claiming is TRUE!
Then I see website owners who sell particular products, I won't name any names here, and they claim that these products help with 'weight loss' and 'boost thyroid' but when you get into the scientific literature the research on this is scanty at best and has only been conducted on animals with pretty non-significant effects anyway.
I am very interested in ways I can improve my own thyroid function but I ABSOLUTELY will not spend my money on ANYTHING that is just promoted without citing some legitimate and convincing reason why it helps the thyroid or how it helps the thyroid.
There are a few recommendations out there that do have some merit, one of them being, a gluten free diet.
Gluten Free Diet for Hypothyroid?
Studies have found that celiac disease and auto-immune thyroiditis have a common genetic predisposition, the genes HLA-DQ2 and DQ8, as well as the gene encoding cytotoxic T-lymphocute associted antigen-4 or CTLA-4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2111403/
This is one reason why I recommend a gluten free diet to anyone who has auto-immune thyroid disease. If you have symptoms of low thyroid function or have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism it is a good idea to start with a gluten free diet. I will go into more detail about the reasoning behind the gluten free diet for hypothyroid as I have time to put together the research and information but I think it is important to mention in this quick article that a gluten free diet can prove to be quite beneficial. However, there are other dietary claims being made about thyroid that are NOT true.....cruciferous vegetables being one of them.
What about Cruciferous Vegetables?
This is one that absolutely drives me CRAZY, cruciferous vegetables DO NOT cause hypothyroid and they do not contribute to it either. The ONLY studies linking cruciferous vegetables to hypothyroid was conducted on animals and they used VERY HIGH amounts of cabbage and turnips. The problem with this is, in a normal diet this very high intake would probably never even occur.
According to the Linus Pauling Institute: "Increased exposure to thiocyanate ions from cruciferous vegetable consumption or, more commonly, from cigarette smoking, does not appear to increase the risk of hypothyroidism unless accompanied by iodine deficiency. One study in humans found that the consumption of 150 g/day (5 oz/day) of cooked Brussels sprouts for four weeks had no adverse effects on thyroid function(70)."
**The take home message here is that cruciferous vegetables DO NOT increase the risk of hypothyroidism unless you have an iodine deficiency!
I am researching the evidence available on
hypothyroidism
There are as many hypothyroidism articles and 'cures' out there as there are patients with hypothyroidism. One thing I have found though is that many of these 'claims' about hypothyroidism are not supported by any legitimate research, or even research on the compounds in the plant that may exert any thyroid benefit.
I have seen some studies that have actually shown detrimental effects on the thyroid from some supplements commonly recommended for hypothyroid.
It is unfortunate that there are people out there who only care about making a buck and selling products to unsuspecting consumers that may not provide any benefit and in fact could be harmful.
I plan to write an e-book detailing my own hypothyroidism protocol, however, I WILL NOT include any herbs, supplements, foods, or say to exclude foods......in that protocol unless I have specific scientific research showing the benefit or negative effects on thyroid function.
Stay tuned because I will continue to update you on my thyroid research!.
Miso Sesame Salad Dressing
Doesn't that salad look AMAZING!!!
I have to confess, this salad was SOOOOOO good that I ended up overeating a bit at lunch yesterday......I know, I know but man was it good!
It looks all fancy but it was really simple, I just used my little spiralizer and it took me like 2 minutes!!!
Miso Sesame Dressing:
1/4 c. light miso
4 dates1/4 c. mirin or rice vinegar1 tsp. sesame oil or 1 Tb. sesame seeds2 Tb. lemon juice2 tsp. fresh ginger1/4 c. cashews1/4 c. orange juice 1 Tb. tamariBlend until creamy.
Salad:
Sprialized daikon radish, spiralized radish, spiralizedcucumber, 1/4 c. soaked hijiki, 1/4 c. soaked wakame, kidney beans and 1/4 c.quinoa [I added the sea veggies, kidney beans and quinoa after the pic because they weren't as pretty :-D
You can serve this over any salad you like, I had radish and seaweed in mine as part of my thyroid protocol test but please feel free to have this dressing over any veggies you like.
It works great as a dip too!
Question for my readers?
Have any of you struggled with hypothyroidism and if so, have you tried any natural treatment and what effect have you seen from the natural or dietary treatment?
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder