Table of contents:
- Hypothyroidism, a dangerous thyroid disease
- What nutrients are needed for people with hypothyroidism?
- Then, what foods need to be limited if you have hypothyroidism?
Food can affect the conditions you suffer from, including when you have hypothyroidism. Symptoms of this thyroid disease can be reduced by applying the right diet. Then what kind of diet is suitable for thyroid disease, especially hypothyroidism?
Hypothyroidism, a dangerous thyroid disease
In fact, thyroid disease is a condition when the thyroid gland is deficient or overproducing thyroid hormone. If the deficiency is called hypothyroidism while excessive it is known as hyperthyroidism.
Thyroid hormone is a hormone that controls the metabolic rate of a person's body. The faster the metabolism, the more calories will be burned while you are resting.
Therefore, people with hypothyroidism have a slow metabolic ability, so that not many calories are burned during rest or activity.
People with hypothyroidism will find it difficult to control their weight and fat levels tend to increase. If left untreated, this will be dangerous and can lead to other chronic diseases.
One of the efforts to prevent this thyroid disease from getting worse is by adopting a proper diet. That way people with hypothyroidism will find it easier to control their weight.
What nutrients are needed for people with hypothyroidism?
In essence, the diet of people with hypothyroidism is determined by the condition that is being experienced. There are usually two conditions, the first is eating arrangements to reduce body weight, or the second, the focus is on maintaining the function of the thyroid gland so that it can produce thyroid hormones as needed.
A study in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism in 2014 reported that people with hypothyroidism should consume more protein. High protein intake can actually speed up metabolism in the body. In addition to regulating the amount of protein eaten, pay attention to other nutrients such as:
1. Iodine
Iodine is a mineral that is essential in the body for making thyroid hormones. If a person is deficient in iodine, the risk of developing hypothyroidism is even higher.
If your hypothyroidism results from an iodine deficiency, add iodized table salt to your diet or eat more foods that are high in iodine, such as fish, milk and eggs.
2. Selenium
Selenium which in turn helps the body activate thyroid hormones so that they can be used optimally in the body. The mineral selenium also has antioxidant benefits, which means it can protect the thyroid gland from free radicals.
Add extra selenium to your diet. Selenium can be obtained from nuts, tuna, and sardines. Selenium supplements should only be taken according to doctor's instructions, you should not use them independently.
3. Zinc
In collaboration with selenium, zinc, which helps the body activate thyroid hormones. A study also exists that shows that zinc can help control TSH. TSH is a hormone that tells the thyroid gland to secrete thyroid hormone.
Zinc is found in shellfish, beef, chicken meat and liver.
Then, what foods need to be limited if you have hypothyroidism?
People with hypothyroidism should reduce their consumption of foods high in goitrogens.
Goitrogens are compounds that can interfere with the function of the thyroid gland. For people who do not have hypothyroidism, taking goitrogen compounds is not a problem. However, for people who have thyroid disease this can be a big problem. Limit or avoid the following foods to treat hypothyroidism:
- Foods containing soy, such as tofu, tempeh, real soybean extract
- Certain vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower
- Fruits and starches such as sweet potatoes, cassava, strawberry peaches
Before eating food, it should also be processed until cooked. By cooking, this will help deactivate the goitrogenic substances in a food.
The rest, there are not too many foods that you need to avoid if you have hypothyroidism. The important thing is that foods high in goitrogens compounds must be limited, and if you want to eat them, you must cook them until they are fully cooked first.
In addition, you should avoid foods that are high in fat and sugar because people with hypothyroidism are very prone to gain weight due to a slowed metabolism.
