Transcription
Let's talk about the foods that you definitely need to avoid if you have a thyroid problem, specifically a hypothyroid condition. And so, the biggest thing that you need to be aware of are these things called goitrogens.
Now, what is a goitrogen? It's things that cause a goiter, okay? Now, what is a goiter? Basically, a goiter is an enlarged thyroid gland. And the thyroid gland is right at the bottom of your neck, about two and a half inches wide. So when that thing starts swelling up, that's called the goiter.
And there are foods that cause that, and those are the foods that you need to avoid because what they do is they interfere with certain enzymes, and they stimulate certain enzymes, and they increase certain other hormones. Like, they increase the thyroid stimulating hormone, which comes down from the pituitary, and then it makes the thyroid actually get bigger. So there are many different aspects to what a goiter can do for the thyroid, but I'm just going to make you aware of what these goiter foods are specifically. All right.
Number one, cassava. Okay, cassava is a goitrogenic food. Number two, lima beans. Number three, sorghum, okay, which is a type of grain. Number four, sweet potato. Number five, flaxseed. Number six, cruciferous vegetables. And that would include broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, radish, watercress, bok choy, cauliflower, horseradish, and arugula.
But you do want to avoid consuming a lot of cruciferous. But if you're consuming like small amounts, like less than five ounces, you're not going to have a problem, okay? I'm talking about large amounts. And even if you do have cruciferous, if you cook them or steam them or ferment them, as in sauerkraut, you're going to reduce the amount of this effect. And also, if you have a little kelp, that will also help as well. I mean, if you look at the research, you would have to consume a good amount of this over a period of time to create a goiter. I'm just bringing up all the foods because you may be consuming a lot of these foods, maybe not individually in large amounts, but across the board.
Another one is a grain called millet. The next big one is soy, tofu, soy milk, especially soy protein isolates, any soy. Now, the next one might surprise you, but onions are the food that have the most quercetin, and quercetin can give you a goitrogenic effect. So if you have a goiter, you probably should be careful about consuming too many onions.
Now, this last thing I'm going to talk about isn't classically, you know, considered a, uh, goitrogen, but it definitely destroys the thyroid, especially the autoimmune thyroid, Hashimoto's. In fact, ninety percent of all hypothyroid cases are Hashimoto's. And the biggest culprit is this gluten, okay, in grains, a lot of different grains. So gluten is something you have to avoid.
Now, the question is, why? This is related to an area called molecular mimicry. If you have antibodies to gluten, which a lot of people do, those antibodies can cross over and start to attack the thyroid because of this molecular similarity.
Now, when dealing with the thyroid, you would also want to avoid anything that depletes selenium, iodine, iron, and vitamin A. These are key nutrients that you want sufficient amounts. So to get enough iodine and selenium, that would be all the seafood. That would be also the kelp. Brazil nuts. And also, you can get both of these if you do sea salt, of course. Iron is pretty easy to get if you're doing like red meat or animal products. And vitamin A, you can get that from egg yolks, butter, cod liver oil, beef liver, things like that.
Now that I talked about what foods to avoid, let's talk about what you should eat. And for that, check this video out.