Foods to Avoid When Hypothyroid

[teyris]

Are strawberries one of the foods to avoid when hypo? Do you know of any others? I know that you should avoid turnip, cabbage, sprouts, cauli and brocolli

cheers

[sporty333]

I'd end up with nothing to eat at this rate!! Lol

[Hiphypo]

Soya, and keep the consumption of raw cabbage-family low - they are fine cooked. If I can think of any more, I'll come back.

[Mia1057]

Why do we have to avoid these? I am coeliac as lots of people who are hypothyroid are so already have to avoid wheat, rye, barley, oats, kamut etc. My diet would become dangerously low in iron and other vitamins if I cut these out too.

[shaws Administrator]

This is a list and the reason to avoid.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/search...!

[sandi in reply to shaws]

I notice strawberries aren't on this list or any other list I'd previously seen but sitting in the hairdressers flicking through mags last week I came across a piece that inferred that we should not have strawberries. Not sure if Teyris saw same article?

Must say it upset me as I love strawberries and eat loads!

[ThyroidThora in reply to shaws]

I cannot eat almonds or walnuts according to the list. I eat these all the time because they help control my cholesterol and contain omega 3. This is so unfair because I'm also a diabetic so I cannot eat choccies or sweets or other foods people take for granted. These nuts are my snacks that keep me going!

[shaws Administrator in reply to ThyroidThora]

It's bad enough having hypo never mind diabetes as well. I feel sorry for you and hope you can find some alternative.

[Hidden]

I eat loads of soya as a vegan and have noticed no difficulties. If anything is going to give you an inflammatory response, then there's loads of evidence to suggest dairy is one of the biggest culprits!

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Well I would respectfully like to suggest that you don’t know that. For the most part, people don’t react to it immediately, but of course it’s like everything else, we all react differently.

Take a look at this :

"there is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones found in soy, including genistein and equol, a metabolize of daidzen, demonstrate toxicity in estrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid. This is true for a number of species, including humans. Additionally, isoflavones are inhibitors of the thyroid peroxidase which makes T3 and T4. Inhibition can be expected to generate thyroid abnormalities, including goiter and autoimmune thyroiditis. There exists a significant body of animal data that demonstrates goitrogenic and even carcinogenic effects of soy products. Moreover, there are significant reports of goitrogenic effects from soy consumption in human infants and adults."

thyroid.about.com/cs/soyinf...

And here are a few more links on the subject :

westonaprice.org/soy-alert

westonaprice.org/soy-alert/...

westonaprice.org/soy-alert/...

alternet.org/story/143023/i...

And Dr J. Mercola writes on the subject abundantly.

Soy is bad news for everybody. It is anti-thyroid, carcinogenic, mutagenic... The soy used as 'protein' boosters in processed foods is actually a hazardous waste by-product, left after the oil is extracted from the beans. But even the oil is bad for you.

When first introduced to the food chain as a protein additive in livestock feeds the birth defects were so grotesque that the animals had to be destroyed.

But it is especially bad news if you have thyroid problems because elements in soy bind with thyroid hormone making it unusable by the body.

If your thyroid still produces hormone, it is forced to increase production to replace the hormone that the soy has made unusable, but at the same time it impedes the uptake of iodine by the gland.

If you are on thyroid hormone replacement, you have to increase your dose to maintain blood levels of hormone.

It impedes the uptake of thyroid hormone by the cell receptors, and also effects how your body is able to convert.

Soy formulas fed to infants GREATLY increases the likelihood of

developing a thyroid disorder as they age.

[Hidden]

If you google goitregenic foods you will come up with a list.

I avoid soya like the plague because it's phyto-oestrogenic and i have a history of fibroids

[Hidden]

Well i,m sorry but i have been taking soya for years and i would respectfully like to suggest that i for one get on very well with its and my 125mcgs of levothyroxine, and can equally post info about inflammation caused by dairy! But i have only posted one because i cant quite honestly be bothered! This site promotes how you feel as being very important, and i feel well on soya, and my cholesterol has significantly improved, and my GP has no problem with it. Please dont tell me what i do/and dont know, i have a degree in health studies so am not uneducated .

squidoo.com/foods-that-prom...

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

So glad I found your reply, inkedup. You didn't click on the 'reply to this' button. Not trying to tell you anything, dear, just trying to help. If you're happy then that is all that counts.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Pls stop patronising me. If you,re aim is of support to someone who has a multitude of health probs, and who is just giving their personal acct, you should be ashamed of yourself. Think I will delete myself from this as I frankly have enough to deal with without being called dear as well as the other reply you have given me. I would like to say sorry to the person who posed the question initially for hijacking your question and wish everyone a nice b/h w.end

[ecie]

greygoose has it nailed, really; avoid soya produce. In response to your question, I have no clue about strawberries. As the other posters have said, cooking goitrogenic vegetables such as broccolli and kale renders them safe(r). I also have coeliac disease and am very likely lactose intolerant. I know that whenever I eat lactose in food or drink (yes it's in my thryoid meds too but nothing I can do about that), my hypo symptoms will increase within hours or days.

It might be worth having a gluten sensitivity test to see if you have coeliac (beware though- you have to be eating gluten on a daily basis for minimum 2 weeks before taking the test). If you don't feel like doing that, try removing gluten from your diet for 6 months (yup, 6 months) and see if you feel any better. There appears to be a link between coelic disease and thyroid problems.

[greygoose in reply to ecie]

Strawberries are goitrogens, yes. Beware of the idea that cooking removes the goitrogenic properties, if you are particularly sensitive to a certain goitrogen, then cooking won't have any effect. I was particularly sensitive to walnuts, and I had to give up walnut and coffee cake! Sob. OK,now, thyroid dead. Thank's so much, Hashimoto!

Hugs, Grey

[belwom]

I also think we should not cut out cruciferous vegetables like broccoli altogether as they are said to help diminish the risk of developing bowel cancer. As long as we don't eat loads every day and they are cooked, it is probably OK for the thyroid. I used to eat a lot of soya products and at the time was feeling more tired physically than now, when I am rarely eating them, which might suggest a link with suppressing thyroid function. Soya products used to be recommended to help ward off breast cancer. Part of the reason for this was studies carried out in countries like Japan with high soy consumption, no dairy and fish rather than meat, where the incidence of breast cancer is negligible compared with Europe and the USA. However, two friends who developed breast cancer recently were told by the hospital dietician to avoid soya products as the cancer cells may feed on the phytoestrogens in them. Advice changes all the time and what is good for one thing may be bad for another. A varied diet with a wide range of fruit and veg is probably the best we can eat. Also as complementary health practitioners say about allergens: if a food does not show in tests as an allergen but you notice clear symptoms, don't take it.

[greygoose in reply to belwom]

Belwom, you probably don't have to cut out cruciferous vegetable altogether. What nobody seems to realise is that if a goitrogen is having an effect on you, you know about it! Hypo symptoms return in force and you feel really bad.

The best thing to do is to do an illimination diet, cut them all out for a couple of weeks and then reintroduce them one at a time and see how you feel in the hours after eating it. If you feel bad, then cut it out of your diet. If you feel ok, carry on eating it. But don't count on cooking to remove the goitrogenic substances. If you are particularly sensitive to a particular goitrogen, cooking won't help. And, of course, all things in moderation!

Hugs, Grey

[belwom in reply to greygoose]

hi grey goose - coming to think of it, some types of cabbage seem to make me feel sluggish. Strawberries do not seem to have that effect. We all have to find what is suitable by trial and error, don't we. I haven't bothered with an elimination diet so far. Too lazy - also thyroid symptom?

[greygoose in reply to belwom]

lol Yes, probably is!

[Clarrisa in reply to belwom]

Last I read (which has been a while) is that one only received the breast cancer protective effect from soya if you ate it as a child. It was not found helpful eating soya later on in life. I use to get breast cysts & was told by a breast surgeon to avoid soya (I was around 50 yrs. old at the time).

I think the proof of the pudding (in respect to all these dietary suggestions) is how you end up looking & feeling down the line. I don't feel (or look) great so I'm in!

[Hidden]

Wonder how they cope with thyroid problems in Japan then seeing as their diet is so high in it.......

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Well, actually, it isn't. But I'm sure you know that...

[Susieg1 in reply to Hidden]

I know this was a long time ago, 7 years, but the answer to this is the fact that the Japanese eat fermented soy. Fermented foods, including fermented soy is very good for us.

[lara1975]

I'm vegan and mainly avoid soya. I use rice and other plant milk and don't really like fake meat/cheese anyway so that makes avoiding soya easy. To be honest though, everything in moderation, especially if for example you're on a vegan diet so already eating a varied and healthy diet, should be fine.

I read (maybe in Dr Peatfield's book) that broccoli, etc can be eaten but to make sure that it's well cooked.