Thyroid issues come in many different flavors. High, low, with antibodies and without. Therefore diagnosing your specific condition and treating you with an individualized plan is very important to get you feeling your best! I already talked about the foods known as goitrogens and how to prepare those foods to help your thyroid function at its best (see link at the bottom of the article to learn more).
One of the other big ways that diet can affect your thyroid health is through food sensitivities (not allergies). Food sensitivities increase the activation of your immune system and produce inflammation. Usually how this happens is that your gut is damaged and “leaky”. This allows bigger than normal food particles to slip in between the cells that line your digestive tract. Then your body forms antibodies to those food particles. This is an increase in inflammation. Some of these antibodies are likely to cross react with your thyroid, increasing tissue damage there.
The good news is there is a simple blood test to help identify what foods your body is sensitive to. We also have evidence that tells us what the common offenders for thyroid cross reactivity tend to be, but knowing what is actually happening in your own body is very valuable. When we then remove those foods from your diet for a period of time and add some supplements to help heal your gut, we can get an improvement in thyroid function!
Thyroid hormone affects almost every cell in your body and so when things are off, you feel it. By addressing your individual sensitivities, symptoms and other health concerns, we can make a big difference in how you feel. If you would like to explore food sensitivity testing for yourself, ask your Revolutions Naturopathic doctor about it at your next appointment. New to our office? Schedule a coordination meeting to find out if this is the right testing for you.
Click here to go to “Hypothyroidism: Does diet make a difference? Part 1”