Are you taking enough care of your thyroid?
The butterfly-shaped gland located in your throat is an extremely important part of your body, yet often overlooked. The thyroid is responsible for metabolism, regulating your body temperature, important hormones, and even how you consume energy. It also affects the functioning of other vital organs such as your brain, heart, kidneys, and liver.
If your thyroid hormones are thrown off balance, your body can manifest some negative symptoms. An underactive thyroid may cause weight gain and intolerance to cold temperatures. An overactive thyroid may be marked by anxiety, nervousness, heartbeat irregularities, and sudden weight loss.
Diagnosing thyroid problems will require a trip to your doctor’s office, but there arecertainly non-medical ways you can take care of your thyroid better – and itstarts with your diet.
Here are 10 of the best foods to eat to give your thyroid a reboot:
1. Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts are high in selenium, an antioxidant which many people with thyroid issues aredeficient in. Selenium helps convert thyroxine to T3, its active hormone form.These nuts are extremely delicious and make a good pair with berries.
2. Iodized salt
Without iodine, our thyroid gland won’t have the basic building blocks to produce hormones normally and support all of the parts of the body. One of the easiest ways to get iodine is through iodized salt. Female adults are recommended toconsume 150 micrograms of iodine per day.
3. Sea veggies
Another great source of iodine are sea veggies – or more commonly known as seaweed. Kelp and nori are a few of the more popular types and can easily be purchased off your local grocery shops.
4. Eggs
Eggs pack healthy doses of iodine and protein. They are also super easy to incorporate into any dish. A nutritionist says you can get about 16% of your daily iodine needs from a single large egg.
5. Plain Low-Fat Yogurt
You’d have probably noticed by now that iodine is important to your thyroid’s optimal functioning. Another healthy source of iodine is a cup of low-fat, plain yogurt that will give you 50% of your recommended daily iodine needs.
6. Spinach
Many people who suffer from elevated thyroid hormones can also become anemic, or iron deficient. With this in mind, incorporating spinach into your diet will help you keep your body’s iron levels in check. A serving of spinach contains about 4% of a female adult’s daily recommended iron intake. Iron is best absorbed with vitamin C; a delicious way to do this is to pair your greens with some orange juice.
7. Beans
Beans are packed with iron. A cup of chickpeas, for example, contain about 5 mg of iron. Nutritionists recommend the combining chickpeas and broccoli for an iron and vitamin C combo to maximize absorption.
8. Oysters
Zinc is also essential to healthy thyroid function. Low zinc levels in the body cancause a drop in your thyroid hormones.
9. Less Sugar
Sugar has inflammatory effects that can disrupt your thyroid hormones. It increases cortisol levels in the body which can lead to unwanted weight gain.
10. Alaskan King Crab
Copper is another metal necessary for a healthy functioning thyroid gland. The Alaskan King Crab is an excellent source of copper, containing 50% of your daily recommended copper intake in just 3 ounces. It also packs 44% of your daily recommended zinc intake in the same 3-ounce serving.
Read Eat This’ original article here for more foodsto eat or avoid to give your thyroid a much-needed reboot.
