Say good bye to thyroid

In the last two decades, I have just seen an increase in the thyroid epidemic. When I see a rise in the TSH levels in my clients’ blood reports, I am quite calm, I immediately look into their diet as I know for a fact that the food one eats plays a direct role in thyroid health! There are a number of foods which, unfortunately, the major population is living on, that cause Goiter and this, in turn, blocks iodine absorption which causes the T3, T4 and TSH levels to go on a whack. 

The rise of industrialisation, corporate farming, and mass production of food, refined sugar, white flour and chemicals are very taxing on the thyroid gland. I also get my clients to get their Vitamin D3 levels checked. Low D3 levels are one of the major causes of thyroid malfunction. By simply changing the food and taking up the Vitamin D3, I am often successful in settling the thyroid gland malfunction. 

It is really very easy to reverse, retard or manage thyroid with certain dietary changes. You will be glad to know there is so much that you can eat from our local Indian foods round the year. Here is the list of some of the commonly consumed fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, cooking mediums, pulses, and animal products which are good for you and can be added to your plate daily.

Fruits: Banana, Chickoo, Guava, Strawberries, Pear, Papaya, Pineapple, Sweet Lime (Mosambi), Mango, Watermelon, Muskmelon, Orange, Grapes, Grape Fruit, Pomello, Litchi, Black Jamun, Amlas, Custard Apple, Apple, Cherries, Kiwi and Plum.

Vegetables: Tomatoes, Onions, Carrots, Eggplant (Brinjal), French Beans, Broad Beans (Papdi), Amaranth Leaves (Chauli), Gherkins (Tindli), Gluster Beans (Guvar), Red, Yellow, Green Capsicum, Bottle Gourd (Doodhi), Bitter Gourd (Karela), Pointed Gourd (Parval), Pumpkin (orange and white), Ridged Gourd (Turai), Cucumber, Zucchini, Mushroom, Ivy Gourd (Tinda and Drumstick (Shinghi) to name a few.

Grains: Rice, Amaranth (Rajgirah), Waterchestnut (Singhada), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Finger Millet (Ragi, Nachni) and Verghu (Samo) are some examples.

Nuts and seeds: Walnuts, Cashew Nuts, Pistachios, Flax Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Watermelon Seeds and Sesame Seeds (black and white).

Cooking medium: Coconut oil, cow’s ghee is two of the best cooking mediums to prepare your meals in. Olive oil can be drizzled over your salads to enhance the tastes.

Pulses: Kidney Beans, Chick Peas, Black Beans, Pigeon Peas, Peas, Moong (green and yellow), Bengal Gram Daal, Toor Daal, basically all pulses and legumes in any form. Just stay away from lima beans. 

Animal Products: Fatty fish promote metabolism in the body and supports proper thyroid functioning. Choose from the Indian fish – Rawas, Surmai, Pamphlet or Prawns.

There are certain foods that are best not eaten when your blood reports show that your thyroid levels are not stable. These foods tend to inhibit your normal metabolism as well as uptake of the mineral iodine which helps regulate the thyroid gland. We call these foods goitrogens as they have natural compounds in them which promote thyroid malfunction.

Following items cannot be consumed - Milk, Paneer, Cheese, Curd, Leafy Greens (Spinach, Fenugreek leaves), Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sweet potatoes, Maize (Makai), Wheat, White Flour (Maida), Oats, Rawa (Semolina), Barley (Java), Khus Khus, Dalia (broken wheat), Lima beans, Edamame, Soya, Tofu, Pearl Millet (Jowar), Eggs, Fats, Sugars, Salt, Red Meat, Peanuts, Almonds, Caffeine and Peach.