Thyroid Diet

What is the Thyroid?

The thyroid is an endocrine gland that sits in the neck.

As you eat to supply your body with energy, the thyroid gland will control how quickly the body uses that energy.

If you have hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, that means there is an under production of thyroid hormones which could cause weight gain and you may need a thyroid diet.

Underactive Thyroid = Weight Gain

The basic fact is that an underactive thyroid can cause severe weight gain. As the gland slows down its production of hormones, the food you eat is no longer converted into energy, which has far reaching consequences for your quality of life. If you have an underactive thyroid, you should be looking into a thyroid diet.

The thyroid is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body, and it not only controls energy conversion, it creates proteins and controls the sensitivity of the body to other hormones. In part, the way it does this is by producing hormones, both T3 and T4 which regulate metabolism throughout many systems in the body. If there is a lack of one of these hormones being produced it could create what’s called hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, which, in part, calls for a change in the way you eat. Namely, getting on a thyroid diet.

Besides gaining weight with an underactive thyroid, you may have these symptoms:

• Depressed and lethargic
• Puffy hands and feet
• Pain in your joints
• Hair falling out
• Achy and weak muscles
• Low blood pressure and poor circulation

It’s common sense to eat right and exercise, and there are so many diet plans out there to make your head spin. You may have tried some of these and found they don’t work for you. In fact, you should not be doing these fad diets, but focusing on a thyroid diet.

Because you have an underactive thyroid, you need a diet tailored for your condition, specifically called a thyroid diet. There are certain foods that can help mitigate your problem, control weight, and gain your energy back. It’s not just about the foods you eat, it is the quantity and frequency in which you eat them. What you need is a thyroid diet.

It’s all about the Meal Plan

With a thyroid diet, you need to eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones and cut back on carbohydrates, while adding more fruits and vegetables. Be aware though, there are certain fruits and vegetables to avoid in a thyroid diet, some of those being:

• Brussel Spouts
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Peaches…

These can potentially suppress thyroid function and run counter to your specific thyroid diet plan, exacerbating your underactive thyroid.

With any diet plan, especially one focusing on the thyroid, you have to have discipline and follow-through. The burden of feeling lethargic and depressed because of an underactive thyroid can be a huge hindrance in beginning to change your life, but the fact is, you have to do something and you can’t just cut the calories, like all those other diets, with an underactive thyroid.

The Thyroid Diet for an Underactive Thyroid

In the realm of the thyroid diet, there is not a lot of information available. You can piece together a diet plan for an underactive thyroid, see a doctor (which you SHOULD DO anyway), or attain a comprehensive meal plan.

In the very limited world of resources for a thyroid diet, probably the best book out there is by someone who has become known as: “the natural thyroid expert”. This book lays out thyroid diet meal plans and exercise plans to boost your metabolism, so you can lose the weight while supporting your underactive thyroid.

Feel better now, and lose the fat, by taking the simple steps in this book!