Dietary taboos for patients with hypothyroidism

There are no foods that are 100% untouchable for hypothyroidism. The so-called "taboos" are essentially to avoid "eating behaviors that may interfere with thyroid function, aggravate complications, or affect drug absorption over a long period of time." There is absolutely no need to get to the point where you dare not eat this or touch that. You have to live your life as usual.

I have seen the most exaggerated person in the hypothyroidism patient group before, a eldest sister in her fifties. I don’t know where I read the popular science that said cruciferous vegetables can damage the thyroid gland. She didn’t even dare to touch the cold cabbage that is most commonly eaten at home. Over the past six months, her constipation became more and more serious and her face became sallow. When she went for a follow-up visit, she was scolded by the attending doctor. In fact, the glucosinolates in cruciferous foods that everyone is afraid of do produce thiocyanates during the metabolic process, which competitively inhibits the absorption of iodine by the thyroid gland. However, for this effect to really affect thyroid function, you have to eat more than 2 pounds of raw broccoli, cabbage, cabbage and other vegetables every day - what do you think? , we ordinary people can only eat one plate of fried green vegetables in one meal. After cooking, most of the glucosinolates have been destroyed, and they cannot reach the amount that can affect the indicators. There is no need to ban them altogether. On the contrary, the rich dietary fiber and vitamins in these vegetables are of great benefit in improving the constipation problem often caused by hypothyroidism.

What is more controversial than the cruciferous family is the issue of whether iodine can be eaten. There is still no completely unified statement in the industry. It really depends on the cause of your hypothyroidism and cannot be generalized. If it is hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis, most clinicians in China will recommend a low-iodine diet and try to eat as little high-iodine foods as kelp, seaweed, and wakame. It is generally okay to eat iodized salt normally. After all, high iodine will aggravate the autoimmune damage of the thyroid gland. ； Some European and American guidelines have a more relaxed view. They believe that as long as the urine iodine test is within the normal range of 100~200 μg/L, there is no need to specifically limit iodine, and you can just eat and drink normally. If you have hypothyroidism caused by iodine deficiency, you need to supplement iodine appropriately. Otherwise, you will not even have enough raw materials for thyroid hormone synthesis, and your indicators will only get worse. As for hypothyroidism caused by total thyroidectomy or iodine 131, there is no need to worry about the issue of iodine. Your thyroid no longer has the function of synthesizing hormones. Eating more or less iodine will not affect it. Just eat normally.

In addition to these foods that are directly linked to the thyroid gland, there are two other types of things that we recommend that you touch as little as possible. This does not mean that something will happen if you touch one bite. It is because the metabolism of hypothyroidism patients is slower than that of ordinary people and they are more likely to have problems. One is foods high in saturated fat and trans fat, such as animal fats, fatty meats, decorated cakes made with margarine, and fried skewers. When I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism, my low-density lipoprotein was twice as high as the normal value. The doctor specifically told me not to show off these foods, otherwise my blood lipids would not be lowered and I would have to take extra lipid-lowering drugs. This is not true. There are also foods that are too salty. Many patients with hypothyroidism will suffer from myxedema. Eating too salty food will cause the body to store more water. I used to eat pickled radishes and drink porridge every day. When I woke up in the morning, my face was swollen like freshly steamed sourdough buns, and my eyelids were too heavy to open. Later, I deliberately controlled the daily salt amount within 5g. Within two weeks, most of the edema disappeared, and I felt much refreshed.

There is another pitfall that many people have stepped on. It has nothing to do with the food itself, but the wrong time to eat it. When many people take Euthyroxine (levothyroxine sodium tablets), they drink milk or soy milk as soon as they swallow it, or take it with calcium tablets and iron supplements. This actually causes the medicine to combine with the calcium, iron, and protein in the food, affecting absorption, which means that most of the medicine is wasted. I met a young girl who had just started working. After taking Euthyrox for three consecutive months, her indicators did not reach the standard. After careful questioning, I found out that she was in a hurry every morning and grabbed soy milk and ran to the company after taking the medicine. After deliberately staggering the time of drinking soy milk and taking medicine by 2 hours, the indicators on the reexamination for two months were stable within the normal range.

In fact, if you really think about it, there are not so many restrictions on hypothyroidism's diet. The core is "not extreme, eat in moderation, and depend on your own situation." Don't believe the so-called "hypothyroidism fasting list" on the Internet. Even eggs and rice are not allowed to be eaten. It is pure nonsense. After all, we treat diseases to live a good life, not to become an ascetic. As long as we check our thyroid function regularly, adjust according to our own indicators and body reactions, and occasionally have a hot pot or drink a cup of iced milk tea, there will be no big problem at all.