The Best Diet for Hypothyroidism - Part One
Part 1 - Purging portion, eliminating foods to make space for healing.
Okay, so let me clarify - when I say "diet", I mean "lifestyle change". Meaning, this isn't a fad that you hop and hop off for a couple of months. This is a life altering change that will affect your life immensely. This is the biggest thing that you can do for your health and for your thyroid. I can't stress this enough, this is paramount to your health. I attribute 70% of my healing towards my dietary change.
“This is a life altering change that will affect your life immensely.”
Purging your pantry - things you will have to let go of.
This is gonna be hard for some people, to let go of their favorite foods, their snacky snacks, their yummy pop tarts, or the sugar loaded rhubarb pie that their grandmother makes. But you'll have to let go of a lot of things.
1. Processed foods and sugar.
This one is hard because so many people depend on a quick meal to satisfy them. Why? they are missing so many nutrients and fats that your thyroid needs, they're full of sugar and other substitutes that will make you full but they won't feed your body. Processed food coffee creamer, bleached white flour, fruit juice, carbonated drinks (coke, sprite..etc), deep fried foods, bacon, sausage, sugary cereal, frozen entree dinners, restaurant desserts, white sugar, high fructose corn syrup (found in so many things! ALWAYS check the label), anything from fast food stops (McD, Carl's Jr), energy drinks, margarine, frozen pizza, soybean oil, candy, American cheese (the cheese that comes in singles at the store), most granola bars, and chips!
Here are some substitutes:
If you absolutely need carbonation - instead of diet coke, try Lacroix.
If you need a sweeter for a recipe - instead of white sugar, use organic honey (sparingly - it still has fructose in it).
If you need coffee creamer - try using Silk Almond Milk (vanilla& unsweetened flavor) - I use this daily!
If you absolutely need a fast food - try the salads at Wendy's!
If you absolutely need bacon - get high quality bacon, without nitrates! Make sure it's organic and grass fed. Not the one that comes in a little cardboard box at room temperature.
If you absolutely need sausages - get bratz instead! You can get them organic and grass fed.
If you're going to get candy - try organic and pick the one with the most dark chocolate - try to scan the ingredients and go for the one that has the least amount of sugar.
If you need cheese (as do I) - go for organic whole fat cheese, don't go for anything that has "less fat", "half fat" - your thyroid needs fat!
If you need an energy drink - try some organic green tea! It does the trick!
If you absolutely need chips - try the organic sweet potato ones.
I know this all may seem overwhelming, it took me months to figure it out and implement it. I know you can do it, I believe in you! You've heard that sugar is "bad for you", that line is so overused and exhausted. But here's why : Imagine your body is a 6 lane highway/freeway - fast and consistent! Now because of hypothyroidism, they close down 3 lanes - things are still moving but slower. Now add sugar, and that closes down 2 lanes - the traffic is now crawling and things are moving bumper to bumper. Do you feel like your metabolism is moving bumper to bumper? You have a snickers, and your sugar levels will spike; but it's not "real" energy, it's not a permanent fix, and it crashes your energy lower than before! Another way to see it is that healing your thyroid may take a year without sugar, OR 3 years with processed sugar in your diet. You get what I'm saying? Prioritizing the health and wellness of your thyroid is paramount. There will be slip ups, heck, I had slip ups! But getting back on the horse, and staying focused is key. This will be the most challenging part because habits are hard to break, but if you can get this then you got everything! You're a warrior!
2. Dairy
You don't need to get rid of it, but you will have to limit it. Substituting milk with almond milk/coconut milk/cashew milk will be sufficient. I love cheese (and I'm sure you do too), but we have to be careful in choosing organic cheeses. Non-organic cheese has extra hormones that our thyroid does not need. So why dairy? Well, dairy causes inflammation. When you have a cold, wanna know what's the worst thing you can eat? Diary! Because it will clog you up even more! If you're thyroid is grumpy and inflammed, easy off the dairy, have a tuna taco instead of a tuna melt.
3. Meat
I, personally, eliminated poultry, pork, and beef from my diet for the 4 years that I was intensively trying to heal my thyroid holistically. Yup, 4 years. The first reason is that it's going to occupy space in your system that should be reserved for healing - pork and beef are pretty filling and you're just filling yourself with meats instead of nutrients that you actually need! Second, meat is packed full of hormones, hormones that your body doesn't need, in fact, they could be preventative to your healing. I introduced meat back into my diet last year, first with chicken (I love hot wings!), then turkey. I still don't indulge in pork, it tastes rubbery to me. And as for beef, I eat it sparingly - maybe once a month. But, I understand that many of you shop and cook for big families, and don't have the luxury of curating every dish. My best advice is to eat fish whenever you can, and if you're going to eat meat - eat it in small portions, and be sure that it is organic.
4. Oils
Yup, your thyroid needs the right type of oils. Oils to let go: canola, safflower, sesame oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, and cottonseed oil.
Reasoning: Some vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids. Scientists have discovered that eating too much omega-6 can lead to increased inflammation in the body and potentially contribute to disease.
Substitutes: Extra Virgin Olive oil for medium heat, cold pressed virgin Coconut oil for high heat. And whenever I feel adventurous, I occasionally use butter to cook.
Coconut oil I use: https://rstyle.me/+i4OKQ1_9b5hb42ToKUUglA - it's a huge tub that lasts a LONG time.
Olive oil I use: https://rstyle.me/+xO8dPTRku7G36g3qphp2uQ - it's yummy even as a salad dressing!
This ends part 1. I'm curious, did you learn anything new? Send me an email, or drop a line in the comments. I've loved reading and responding to all the notes I've been getting. We're on this journey together!
Next on the series is Part 2 - Foods to feast on!
(Disclaimer - I am not a nutritionist, I am merely communicating what I learned from the hours I poured into research. I am sharing the diet of my healed thyroid, and I am not liable for the dietary decision you make.)
