A nice cup of tea and a biscuit?

[Oneinthehand]

Ahhh, that great British institution, a cup of tea and a biscuit. (Yes, I dunk.) However, as a hypo person, should I be having the tea containing Flouride? What about the biscuit? Refined, high in fat and I’ll pay for the jump in blood sugar later too.

We all know about healthy eating, five a day, low in saturated fats, whole grains, oily fish, low GI blah, blah. The reality? We all have busy lives and want to cook and eat with the minimum of fuss generally. Veg, “good” you think but what about Goitoroids? Make sure you cook them well.

It’s lunch time, I’ll nip out and get something, only, a lot of foods contain hidden soya. It’s Isoflavones are thought to inhibit enzymes involved in the T3/T4 formation process, therefore best avoided by hypos. However, fermented Soy (as traditionally eaten in Asia) is thought to be okay.

Dark chocolate, good for you? Lots of the 70% plus coco content bars have soy lecithin. Is that okay or not? (Please someone tell me!!!)

What about that great social lubricant, alcohol. Should hypos have it? Is red wine good for us or bad? Iron, do we get enough? To I2 or not to I2? Some books say yes to Iodine, others no.

Vitamin supplements. Calcium and Iron should be taken at least 4hrs after your meds. Hang on, my cereal (eaten with milk of course) is fortified with iron. I take my meds after breakfast but just before heading off to work, I need the half hour asleep in bed before I start the day after all.

**Euurrrhh, it’s a nightmare!!!**

My solution: Eat what I enjoy, stick to mainly healthy stuff and keep the bad things in as much moderation as my will power will allow.

Anyone for a cup?

Your turn! What changes have you made in your diet to reduce the impact of your thyroid condition? What aspect of your diet do you struggle with? Do you dunk? What's your favourite biscuit?

Footnote: Don’t be shy, please do leave a comment. I’d really, really like to know what you think. You’re the only people who understand!

[Chippysue]

I love your blogs!

Yes it is a total nightmare!

At the weekend OH asks me if I want a cuppa and I say "no I can't yet because I have just taken my tablets"

I have decaffeinated tea and tried to give that up for a week once but felt so fed up as I am on a weight loss programme (don't want to use the words diet).

I also use duraphate toothpaste for my very sensitive teeth (wonder if my thyroid is to blame for that?) and this is high in fluoride but I don't swallow any so is it harmful?

I gave up diet coke and hardly drink and the other day when all I really wanted was chocolate .... I had a boiled egg! I have a lot of weight to lose and just feel so miserable if I haven't lost at the slimming club meeting!

Raw cabbage - this is in coleslaw, so we are not supposed to have that either ???

[JaneS]

crikey, after faffing about with diabetes for years, I cannot even begin to start thinking about food for thyroid! I've just put back on all the weight I lost through being hyperthyroid (booooo!) so have to watch what I eat now (booooo!) little and often seems to be the key.

[Jude]

Personally I definitely would not drink diet coke as it has got aspartate in it.

Toothpaste - personally I wouldn't use anything with fluoride in it. I use something based on aloe vera.

Are you following a low glycemic diet? I think the trick is to find food that you enjoy but which is healthy. Raw vegetables are very good for you as long as they are not covered in mayonnaise. I eat a lot of houmus because I happen to like that.

Hope that helps a tiny bit.

[Oneinthehand]

Suze, love your blogs too! I used to drink tea every day but now, only on weekends or if I'm desperate. Teas are grown in flouride rich areas and I've not seen a flouride free tea. Like Jude, I use a flouride free toothpaste. I've never swallowed toothpaste so not sure on this aspect. I get mine from Asian grocers (almost half the price it is in Health shops). Like you Suze, I hardly drink and only drink normal coke if I'm out having a meal and feel like it. Ummmm, love boiled eggs but I think they're high in iron. I give up, I really do, I won't let this stupid condition determine every little thing on my plate. Just whipped out my copy of "Living Well with Hypothyroidism" (Shoman) and sadly, cabbage is a goitoroid, fine cooked but bit more of an issue if raw. (Eat v small amounts???)

Jane S, sorry to learn you're dealing with diabetes also. The food control on that must take an immense amount of will power. Don't blame you at all for not thinking of the thyroid side of diet, you've ummmm, got enough on your plate I think.

Jude, yum, hummous. Just had a salad for dinner, including some hummous. I do try to get the low fat versions. I find raw veg difficult to eat as I get weird reactions such as an itchy throat and worse, itchy ears!! I like my steamer for this reason.

I'm really pleased to see my blog is prompting comment, more welcome!

[nanniejan]

OMG what Tea ,coleslaw ,toothpaste ,boiled eggs ,it just is getting worse ,what else will there be that i dont know about ,and how come they know all these things but dont know how to make us really better ?? and why cant someone find a diet that works that would be more usefull than telling us what is bad for us tell me what is good for me that is all i really want to know boo hoo OK end of rant xx