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Foods to Avoid

Junk food can impair your thyroid function

Goitrogenic foods are foods that interfere with iodine absorption, leading to an enlargement of the thyroid gland, otherwise known as the formation of a “goiter”. A steady stream of iodine is necessary to keep your thyroid running optimally.

If you are having problems with low thyroid function, you can help your thyroid work better by making some adjustments to your diet, Some foods support your thyroid, while others could be hindering its function if you eat them frquently. So a few changes in your diet could make a big difference. This applies especially to those vegetarians who substitute large quantities of soy products for meat.

Category Foods to Avoid Notes

VEGETABLES

African Cassava (used in tapioca)

Asparagus

Bamboo Shoots

Broccoli

Brussel Sprouts

Cabbage (including Kimchi and Sauerkraut)

Cauliflower

Corn

Kale

Kohlrabi

Leafy Greens (Turnip Greens, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Spinach)

Radishes

Rutabaga

Sweet Potatoes

Turnips

Wasabi

Watercress

Although these vegetables are goitrogenic, they contain important fiber, vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants, and they are too nutritious to completely avoid.

Try to eat them in moderation only.

Eat them cooked if possible - the cooking process deactivates most of the goitrogenic compounds.

NUTS

Almonds

Cashews

Flax Seed

Hemp Seed

Peanuts

Pine Nuts

Pumpkin Seed

Walnuts

Roasting and cooking reduces the thyroid inhibiting compounds.

GRAINS

Barley

Bulgur

Durham

Farina

Graham Flour

Kamut

Kasha

Matzo Meal

Rye

Semolina

Spelt

Wheat

These grains all contain gluten. New evidence has shown a link between thyroid autoimmune disease and gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Your body recognizes gluten as a foreign invader, sending antibodies to attack, subsequently attacking your thyroid gland as well.

Since gluten can cause a reaction for up to 6 months from ingestion, it is important to eliminate gluten completely from your diet to halt the attack on your thyroid.

99 percent of people who are gluten intolerant don’t know they have this condition so if you have thyroid issues it is worth getting screened for gluten intolerance, although you can test negative have in fact you have some sensitivity. A good option would be to eliminate gluten for a month and see how you feel. Gluten in widely used in processed foods.

Other items may contain gluten - cereals, pasta, bread, processed baked goods, soup mixes, salad dressings and condiments. Even toothpaste and lipstick!

Goitrogenic compounds are activated in millet when it’s cooked.

Oats are fine as long as they are labelled gluten-free. They are often cross contaminated with other gluten containing grains.

FRUIT

Grapes

Grape juice

Nectarines

Peaches

Pears

Strawberries

Wine

In California fluoride based pesticides are used on grape crops - fluoride is a goitrogen

BEANS

Garbanzo Beans

All Soy Products

Edamame

Tofu

Tempeh

Miso

Soy Milk

Soy Bean Oil

Soy Flour

Soy contains isoflavones, it’s effects are goitrogenic and unfortunately it blocks iodine absorption.

People with thyroid issues should seriously reduce or eliminate the amount of soy in their diet, as it’s a major endocrine disruptor.

JUNK FOOD

Processed Foods

Deep Fried Foods

Foods Containing Sugar

This group of “so called food" causes inflammation in the body and inhibits the thyroid hormone conversion of T4 to T3.

JUICE

Sodas

Reconstituted Juices

Citrus Flavored Sodas

Sodas and reconstituted juices are often manufactured using fluoridated water - fluoride is a goitrogen.

avoid Mountain Dew, Fresca, Gatorade and other citrus-flavored sodas and soft drinks - they contain bromine, a goitrogenic toxin.

Bromine and fluoride are two important culprits responsible for such a rapid increase in thyroid disease world wide.

TEA

Black Tea

Green Tea

Black tea and green tea leaves absorb a substantial amount of fluoride from the soil and air.

Fluoride is a very harmful toxin, interfering with fluoride absorption.

SEAFOOD

Farm Raised Salmon

Shark

Swordfish

Tilefish

King Mackerel

Farm raised salmon is really a grey color so it has to be dyed with chemicals to appeal to consumers. Studies have shown farmed salmon (like most farmed fish) contains alarming amounts of PCBs, mercury and other carcinogenic agents. Additionally, these fish are crowded with diseased water containing their own waste, chemicals and antibiotics.

Shark, swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel should never be eaten as the concentration of mercury is too high, poisoning your thyroid gland. Limit your intake of tuna to once a week - unfortunately there is no such thing as “a safe amount of mercury”.

DAIRY

Milk

Cheese

Cream

Milk Powder

Butter

Kefir

Eliminate dairy for a few months and see if you feel better.

Many people with thyroid disease have an allergy or sensitivity to dairy, and they do see an improvement in their symptoms.

If you think you are intolerant to dairy products, then either avoid them or consume them in limited amounts.

Commercial dairy products contain antibiotics and growth hormones, so its much better to go organic.


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