Thyroid Health
Thyroid issues are quite common these days, we see quite a few on the shop floor whose thyroid is under active (hypothyroid) and on medication for it. Whereas over active (hyperthyroid) we don’t see as often but it’s still present.
If you missed Jayne and Clair on the radio this week here is a synopsis of what we discussed.
On the radio we mainly aimed our conversation at hypothyroidism, from what the thyroid is, to causes of hyperthyroidism and what we can do to help it.
What is the thyroid
Butterfly shaped organ to front of your lower neck
Releases hormones T3 & T4. These hormones are messengers to basically tell most cells and processes in our body to get to work.
If we release too little of these (Hypothyroid) then our body doesn’t get the memo to work and slows down, which results in a slow metabolism (weight gain), low energy/fatigue, brain fog, low mood.
If we release too much (hyperthyroid) it speeds up processes too much so we lose too much weight, over active mind and body, anxious, nervous and much more. (You can still be tired from all this, you can imagine your body is just worn out).
What causes hypothyroidism
Poor diet
Deficiency in iodine
Non active lifestyle
Exposure to toxins inside and out
Stress
Gut issues
Auto immunity
Sometimes medications
How it’s diagnosed is generally through blood test, a normal blood panel will check for your TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone), but it’s always worth it to ask for your T3 and T4 levels to be checked also.
What foods should you not eat
Watch out for Goitrogen containing foods, see image of a list of these:
Goitrogens interfere with the function of the thyroid
These foods don’t have to be avoided but do avoid excess consumption
Cooking them usually lowers the rate of interference from the goitrogen compound
Foods in store that can help you support your thyroid function
Seaweed - rich in iodine
Snacks such as SeaVeg are tasty and provide us with a hit of that important iodine
There’s also Nori, Dillisk, Seaweed salad & more
A Vogel Herbamare - a salt which contains seaweed and iodine to add to our food.
Healthy zinc rich regimes such as
Lentils, chickpeas and beans
Chamomile tea - thought to be very beneficial for thyroid health
What supplements can help
If you are looking for a more natural way of helping your thyroid, under the supervision of your GP we recommend any (not all) of the following supplements:
Bio Care Thyroid Complex (TH207)
Viridian Kelp powder
Pharmanord Selenium & Zinc
Bio care Nutriguard
Nutri Advanced Thyro Complex
Viridian Thyroid Complex.
These are all wonderful supplements but it’s best to come and chat to us in store to see which one would suit you best. As everyone is individual we all have individual needs and individual causes for our thyroid problem.
If you have any further questions please let me know, info@naturalhealthstore.ie
Jayne Whitty is our in store Nutritional Therapist in our Kilkenny store, find out more about Jayne here
