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!

Keeping your kidneys happy: it’s more than just hydration!

Your kidneys are very busy organs. They filter waste products, balance hydration, pH, salt, and potassium. They also make some of our hormones, and are responsible for regulating red blood cell production too. They also handle vitamin D in a way our bodies would not work without, making them essential for calcium absorption and the health of our bones, and even muscular function.

So, how to keep them in good working order?

Yes, hydrate

This is obvious and may go without saying, but we try to not leave important things without saying. So yes, get plenty of water, spread out over the day (you can only usefully absorb so much at once!). If you feel thirsty, you’re probably already dehydrated, so have a little (hydrating!) drink.

Don’t smoke

It’s bad for everything, including your kidneys.

Look after your blood

Not just “try to keep it inside your body”, but also:

• Keep your blood sugar levels healthy (hyperglycemia can cause kidney damage)
• Keep your blood pressure healthy (hypertension can cause kidney damage)

Basically, your kidneys’ primary job of filtering blood will go much more smoothly if that blood is less problematic on the way in.

Watch your over-the-counter pill intake

A lot of PRN OTC NSAIDs (PRN = pro re nata, i.e. you take them as and when symptoms arise) (NSAIDs = Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, such as ibuprofen for example) can cause kidney damage if taken regularly.

Many people take ibuprofen (for example) constantly for chronic pain, especially the kind cause by chronic inflammation, including many autoimmune diseases.

It is recommended to not take them for more than 10 days, nor more than 8 per day. Taking more than that, or taking them for longer, could damage your kidneys temporarily or permanently.

Read more: National Kidney Foundation: Advice About Pain Medicines

See also: Which Drugs Are Harmful To Your Kidneys?

Get a regular kidney function checkup if you’re in a high risk group

Who’s in a high risk group?

• If you’re over 60
• If you have diabetes
• If you have cardiovascular disease
• If you have high blood pressure
• If you believe, or know, you have existing kidney damage

The tests are very noninvasive, and will be a urine and/or blood test.

For more information, see:

Kidney Testing: Everything You Need to Know

Take care!