Foods for Managing Hypothyroidism

For any unfamiliar, hypothyroidism is the condition of having an underactive thyroid gland. The thyroid gland lives at the base of the front of your neck, and, as the name suggests, it makes and stores thyroid hormones. Those are important for many systems in the body, and a shortage typically causes fatigue, weight gain, and other symptoms.

What causes it?

This makes a difference in some cases to how it can be treated/managed. Causes include:

• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition
• Severe inflammation (end result is similar to the above, but more treatable)
• Dietary deficiencies, especially iodine deficiency
• Secondary endocrine issues, e.g. pituitary gland didn’t make enough TSH for the thyroid gland to do its thing
• Some medications (ask your pharmacist)

We can’t do a lot about those last two by leveraging diet alone, but we can make a big difference to the others.

What to eat (and what to avoid)

There is nuance here, which we’ll go into a bit, but let’s start by giving the one-line two-line summary that tends to be the dietary advice for most things:

• Eat a nutrient-dense whole-foods diet (shocking, we know)
• Avoid sugar, alcohol, flour, processed foods (ditto)

What’s the deal with meat and dairy?

• Meat: avoid red and processed meats; poultry and fish are fine or even good (unless fried; don’t do that)
• Dairy: limit/avoid milk; but unsweetened yogurt and cheese are fine or even good

What’s the deal with plants?

First, get plenty of fiber, because that’s important to ease almost any inflammation-related condition, and for general good health for most people (an exception is if you have Crohn’s Disease, for example).

If you have Hashimoto’s, then gluten (as found in wheat, barley, and rye) may be an issue, but the jury is still out, science-wise. Here’s an example study for “avoid gluten” and “don’t worry about gluten”, respectively:

• The Effect of Gluten-Free Diet on Thyroid Autoimmunity in Women with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
• Doubtful Justification of the Gluten-Free Diet in the Course of Hashimoto’s Disease

So, you might want to skip it, to be on the safe side, but that’s up to you (and the advice of your nutritionist/doctor, as applicable).

A word on goitrogens…

Goitrogens are found in cruciferous vegetables and soy, both of which are very healthy foods for most people, but need some extra awareness in the case of hypothyroidism. This means there’s no need to abstain completely, but:

• Keep serving sizes small, for example a 100g serving only
• Cook goitrogenic foods before eating them, to greatly reduce goitrogenic activity

For more details, reading even just the abstract (intro summary) of this paper will help you get healthy cruciferous veg content without having a goitrogenic effect.

(as for soy, consider just skipping that if you suffer from hypothyroidism)

What nutrients to focus on getting?

• Top tier nutrients: iodine, selenium, zinc
• Also important: vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium, iron

Enjoy!

World Menopause Day: Menopause & Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Today, the 18th of October, is World Menopause Day.

The theme for this year is cardiovascular disease (CVD), and if your first reaction is to wonder what that has to do with the menopause, then this is the reason why it’s being featured. Much of the menopause and its effects are shrouded in mystery; not because of a lack of science (though sometimes a bit of that too), but rather, because it is popularly considered an unimportant, semi-taboo topic.

So, let’s be the change we want to see, and try to fix that!

What does CVD have to do with the menopause?

To quote Dr. Anjana Nair:

❝The metabolic and clinical factors secondary to menopause, such as dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, fat redistribution and systemic hypertension, contribute to the accelerated risk for cardiovascular aging and disease.

Atherosclerosis appears to be the end result of the interaction between cardiovascular risk factors and their accentuation during the perimenopausal period.

The increased cardiovascular risk in menopause stems from the exaggerated effects of changing physiology on the cardiovascular system.❞

Source: Cardiovascular Changes in Menopause

See also: Menopause-associated risk of cardiovascular disease

Can we do anything about it?

Yes, we can! Here be science:

• Menopause Transition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Implications for Timing of Early Prevention: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
• Cardiovascular risk in menopausal women and our evolving understanding of menopausal hormone therapy: risks, benefits, and current guidelines for use

This (in few words: get your hormone levels checked, and consider HRT if appropriate) is consistent with the advice from gynecologist Dr. Jen Gunter, whom we featured back in August:

What You Should Have Been Told About The Menopause Beforehand

What about lifestyle changes?

We definitely can do some good things; here’s what the science has to say:

• Mediterranean diet: yes, evidence-based
• High soy consumption: mixed evidence, unclear. So, eat it if you want, don’t if you don’t.
• Supplements e.g. vitamins and minerals: yes, evidence-based.
• Supplements e.g. herbal preparations: many may help, but watch out for adverse interactions with meds. Check with your pharmacist or doctor.
• Supplements; specifically CBD: not enough evidence yet
• Exercise: yes, evidence-based—especially low-impact high-resistance training, for bone strength, as well as regular moderate-intensity exercise and/or High-Intensity Interval Training, to guard against CVD.

For a full low-down on all of these:

Revealing the evidence-based lifestyle solutions to managing your menopause symptoms

Want to know more?

You can get the International Menopause Society’s free downloadable booklet here:

Menopause & Cardiovascular Disease: What Women Need To Know

You may also like our previous main feature:

What Does “Balance Your Hormones” Even Mean?

Take care!