The thyroid is a small organ that is situated in the neck region of your body. The thyroid is also a gland, glands help your body to specific things by creating and releasing certain substances.
Follow These 10 Tips For Healthy Thyroid
If this gland creates too much or too little of these substances also called hormones then this leads to thyroid disease. Different types of thyroid diseases are hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and many more.
- Amp your Iodine intake – Iodine is the most essential nutrient for keeping your thyroid healthy. The basic thyroid hormone Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3) are firstly as the name suggest possesses iodine molecules in them. T3 has 3 molecules of iodine while T3 has 4 molecules of iodine in them. Without good intake of iodine our body cannot produce these iodine molecules and if these are not produced many complications arises. Iodine rich foods are dairy products, seafood and seaweed.
- Brassicas should be properly cooked – Vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower come under the family of brassica and have good nutritional value. However, if they are raw or not cooked properly, they hamper the thyroid gland. The brassica is known to have goitogens which can block the intake of iodine causing issues. This Brassicas should be cooked properly and should not be consumed raw in large quantities.
- Always carry Nuts – Nuts are considered to have high amount of selenium contents in them and selenium is used for converting the T4 hormone to T3 hormone. Brazil nut has high amount of selenium. Selenium acts as a anti oxidant. Other form of selenium rich foods are broccoli, sea food, sea weeds etc. Un salted Brazil nuts are the best to have for your body.
- Do Not Starve Yourself – Many people prefer starving to loose their weight quickly, but this should never be done. If you consult a doctor or any professional everyone is against starving your body. When you skip or starve the calorie intake for the body decreases which gets noticed by the thyroid. Thyroid then releases a reverse T3 enzyme which slows down ones metabolism so as to not die because of deficient calorie.
- Put a break on Soy – Soy also acts as a blocker to thyroid gland just like brassica. If you consume soy on a large basis daily, then you should get your iodine levels tested and see if your body is able to keep up with this Soy.
- Go low on the Gluten – In today’s world there are many gluten free products and rightfully there should be more. The gluten has similar protein which is present in thyroid and when this gluten mixes with our blood our immune system destroys it. Now as gluten has same molecular structure of thyroid, the immune system also destroys the thyroid hormones leading to new issues.
- More of Anti-oxidants – Our thyroid gland is very susceptible to oxidative stress and adding more of the anti-oxidants helps our thyroid gland. Green tea is the best source of anti-oxidant and also has anti-ageing properties. Also having food which are rich in vitamin B also help in reducing the oxidative stress on the thyroids.
- Stay away from phone – In a study conducted by Oman Medical Journal it was observed that people who use cell phone more than usual have irregular thyroid release hormones. This is due to the phone being so close to your throat it alters the flow of hormones; you could use earphones or speaker to carry out the lengthy phone calls and not stick the phone to your face.
- Check your soap – In many soaps and body wash there is a thing known as Triclosan which is a very common ingredient. In a study by the EPA it showed that triclosan has affected the hormone released by the thyroid gland creating irregular hormone balance. However, in 2017 the FDA banned the use of triclosan but its still used in many of the soaps so keep an eye out for it.
- Lower your stress – Stress is found to have an adverse effect on thyroid. Thyroid seems to be functioning slow when a person is in stress creating hormonal imbalance.
By keeping a check on the above points one can keep their thyroid healthy and avoid any major complications.
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