The thyroid gland is a small gland located on your anterior neck, just below the “voicebox.” It is responsible for regulating your metabolism which affects nearly every other system in the body. The thyroid is largely responsible for your energy level and contributes to weight management and sex-hormone function. Many common health concerns can be related to thyroid function.
Signs that You May Have a Thyroid Dysfunction
The thyroid can either over-secrete or under-secrete hormones depending on your condition.
Signs of Hypothyroidism (Low Thyroid function) include:
- Excessive feelings of tiredness
- Dry skin and hair, constipation
- Feeling excessively cold
- Low libido
- Weight gain
- Irregular menstrual cycle
Signs of Hyperthyroidism (Overactive Thyroid Function) is Often Characterized by:
- Excessive hunger
- Heat intolerance
- Feelings of nervousness/anxiety
- Warm skin
- Weight loss
- Irregular menstrual cycle
Some Natural Ways to Improve Thyroid Health
What You Eat
Many health problems can be helped simply by changing what you choose to fuel your body with. As with many health problems, if you give the body the proper nutrients, it will function more efficiently. This means, eating a whole foods diet high in organic plant-based foods. Ensuring that you eat at least 2 plant-based foods from each color of the spectrum (Red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple) per day is a great place to start! Eating foods naturally high in iodine, like sea vegetables, can also support thyroid function. It is important that your food is organic and non-GMO so that the food is in a usable form and does not carry a toxic burden.
Thyroid health is dependent on adrenal health which is dependent on our stress load and sleep patterns. Sleep is a great, easy, first place to start when it comes to restoration of body functions. If you want your thyroid to function as it was designed to, then you have to give the body time to restore. This means going to bed by 10 every night and turning off your electronic devices a minimum of 1 hour prior to sleep. If you have young children, and a broken night’s sleep, consider waiting on the housework and consider a nap during downtime.
Stress has become a chronic problem for our society. We often run ourselves short on the self-care and long on obligations and find ourselves overwhelmed and in a chronic state of stress. Overcoming stress often feels like an insurmountable task. In fact, it can often feel like another stressful task to decrease stress. Although we can’t often reduce the factors that affect our stress burden, we can change the way that we perceive our stress and this can have a profound effect on our circulating stress hormone.
Easy Practices to Take Up that Affect Stress Levels:
- Take 3 deep diaphragmatic breaths at a time, 4 times per day (set an alarm on your phone). This will work wonders on decreasing circulating cortisol in your bloodstream.
- Practice gratitude. This is not a lesson on how to be grateful for your life. The practice of gratitude has been proven to reduce stress. At the end of each day, sit down with a journal, or even a phone app and think of 3 things that you are grateful for that day and write them down. This practice improves well-being and reduces circulating stress hormone.
Nutrients that support Thyroid Health
Selenium is a powerful nutrient that has been shown to support the balance of T4. It can be taken as a supplement or by eating foods rich in Selenium. Some common food sources include grass-fed beef, spinach, eggs and sardines.
Zinc is essential for immune function. It is also a vital nutrient for thyroid function. Foods rich in zinc include oysters, wheat germ, spinach and pumpkin seeds.
Vitamin D is vital to almost every process in the body. It is a powerful vitamin that can ward off cancer and chronic disease as well as improve immunity and bone health. It’s no surprise that Vitamin D is good for your thyroid too! Vitamin D is best when absorbed from the sun, and most people do not get enough sunlight to meet their vitamin D needs. It can also be found in oily fish like salmon or trout, eggs and some foods fortified with vitamin D. Most people require vitamin D3 supplementation despite exposure to sunlight. Be sure to have your healthcare provider check your level at your next visit!
Vitamin A is essential for the thyroid to function optimally. Vitamin A is the converted, and therefore more usable, form of Beta-carotene. It is also found in sweet potatoes, carrots, kale and broccoli. You can also supplement with a Vitamin A supplement (not beta-carotene).
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