Diet taboos for thyroid patients

There are no universal absolute dietary taboos for thyroid patients. All taboos should be determined based on your thyroid function status and specific causes. There is no list of foods that everyone cannot eat. This is the conclusion I want to tell everyone after working in the endocrinology department for 8 years and seeing thousands of thyroid patients.

Seriously, don’t be so frightened that you quit iodized salt, seafood, or even eggs and milk as soon as you are diagnosed with thyroid nodules, Hashimoto’s or hyperthyroidism. There is really no need. Let’s talk about the iodine issue that everyone is most concerned about. This is also the most controversial point at present: the mainstream view of Western medicine is to adjust iodine intake according to the situation. If you are in the hyperthyroidism stage or Hashimoto’s hyperthyroidism stage, and your thyroid hormones have been excessively secreted, you must strictly limit iodine. Try to use iodine-free salt. Avoid high-iodine foods such as dried kelp, seaweed, and seaweed, which contain dozens or hundreds of times more iodine than ordinary foods. Otherwise, it will easily aggravate the symptoms of palpitation and hand tremors. ； However, if you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism or just simple benign nodules, your thyroid function is completely normal. It is completely fine to eat iodized salt normally and eat low-iodine seafood such as small yellow croakers and hairtail fish once or twice a week. I met a 26-year-old girl before. After she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, she didn't even dare to touch pure milk with added iodine. Her thyroid stimulating hormone was checked soared from 4.7 to 8.9 in half a month, which was caused by insufficient iodine intake. However, some schools of traditional Chinese medicine hold a different view. They believe that as long as you have thyroid nodules, even if your thyroid function is completely normal, you should try to avoid high-iodine foods to avoid stimulating the growth of nodules. You can refer to it based on your own medical needs, and there is no need to argue about right or wrong.

Let’s talk about the myth that “cruciferous foods cause swelling” that has been widely circulated. Broccoli, cabbage, radish, and bok choy will cause nodules when eaten. This is purely about toxicity regardless of dosage. The glucosinolates in this type of food will metabolize substances that inhibit the synthesis of thyroid hormones when eaten raw, but they will only have an impact if you eat them raw every day and eat one or two pounds at a time. There used to be a young man who was working out and ate a pound of raw broccoli with chicken breasts for three consecutive months in order to reduce body fat. His body fat dropped from 18% to 9%. During the physical examination, his thyroid nodules also grew from 2mm to 7mm. Later, he replaced the raw broccoli with blanching and ate it, which also reduced his intake. After half a year, the nodules shrunk back to 3mm. So if your thyroid gland function is under stable control and you only occasionally eat stir-fried cabbage or make radish soup, you don’t need to feel any psychological burden at all.

Oh, by the way, there is another question that many people ask every day: Can I eat spicy food? Can I have milk tea? Can I have coffee?

There is really no need to avoid spicy food. Unless your nodules are so big that they are compressing your throat and esophagus, you will feel uncomfortable eating spicy food. Otherwise, there are so many thyroid patients in Sichuan and Hunan who have been eating spicy food all their lives, and few of them have worsened their condition due to eating spicy food. On the contrary, foods that are high in sugar, oil, and trans fatty acids, such as milk tea, fried skewers, and shortbread, should be eaten as little as possible. Especially Hashimoto's patients have autoimmune inflammation, and high sugar and oil will aggravate the inflammatory reaction. I used to have a designer who drank two cups of milk tea with water every day, and her thyroid peroxidase antibody soared to 2800. Three months after quitting milk tea and eating less sweets, the antibody dropped directly to 1100, and the effect was more obvious than taking medicine. There is no problem with coffee. As long as you take Euthyrox at least 1 hour apart from coffee, don’t add too much creamer or syrup, and drink a cup of black coffee in the morning to refresh yourself. On the contrary, it can alleviate the fatigue and sleepiness problems that thyroid patients often suffer from.

Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to mention, if you are taking Euthyrox to supplement thyroid hormone, remember not to drink milk, soy milk, or take supplements containing iron or calcium 4 hours before and after taking the medicine, otherwise it will affect the absorption of the medicine, which is equivalent to eating in vain. There used to be an aunt who took Euthyrox with freshly ground soy milk every morning, but her thyroid stimulating hormone did not drop to normal for half a year. After changing her medication habit, it reached the standard half a month later.

Some patients have also asked me whether they should avoid soy products and whether they should avoid beef and mutton. It really doesn’t matter that much. As long as you don’t eat soybeans every day, and eat soy products and Euthyrox at staggered times, it’s totally fine. ； Beef and mutton are sources of high-quality protein. Eating it will only supplement nutrients to the body and has nothing to do with thyroid disease.

After all, thyroid disease is actually a very "emotional" disease. Instead of worrying about the details of your diet, stay up less late, be less sulky, and have regular check-ups are more effective than any dietary taboos. Before you are really unsure about what to eat, asking your attending doctor with your latest thyroid function report is more reliable than reading 10 health posts.