A well-balanced diet that includes the best fruits for hypothyroidism can help control the disease’s signs and symptoms. Hypothyroidism means your thyroid gland is underactive or not producing enough hormones for your body’s processes.
If your thyroid gland fails to produce enough hormones, it can result in health problems, including water weight gain. Here are five of the best fruits for hypothyroidism you should include in your diet.
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In this article:
- What Is the Relationship Between Metabolism and the Thyroid Gland?
- Which Nutrients Are Necessary for Your Thyroid?
- Lifestyle Tips for Hypothyroidism
Best Fruits for Hypothyroidism
1. Pineapples
A single pineapple contains high amounts of vitamin C and manganese, which can help defend your body from free radicals. Pineapples also contain thiamin, a B vitamin that can help boost energy levels.
Additionally, a hypothyroidism patient said pineapples helped her beat terminal cancer. Candice-Marie Fox, 31 years old, said she overhauled her hypothyroidism diet plan by eating up to three whole pineapples a day.
Fox, who had grade-four thyroid cancer, saw the tumor gone after six months of eating the super fruit. She believes that if she had eaten disease-fighting fruit earlier, she wouldn’t have cancer growing in her body in the first place.
The best way to eat it: Dash some ground, all-natural cinnamon to counterbalance the acidity and add a little sweetness to a slice of pineapple or your pineapple fruit salad.
2. Oranges
It is a widely-known fact that oranges provide a healthy dose of vitamin C. However, there is a lot more an orange fruit can give to people with hypothyroidism.
Vitamin C can disarm free radicals, keeping your cells from further damage. This is a good thing because damaged cells are a precursor to cancer.
Free radicals can also cause thyroid inflammation, and vitamin C-rich oranges can keep the gland at an optimum function.
The best way to eat it: Eat a whole orange or mix it up with other berries. Drink the juice from squeezed oranges instead of bottled orange juice sold in supermarkets.
3. Blueberries
Blueberries help keep excellent thyroid hormone production. Researchers said this is largely because of its high antioxidant content, along with other vitamins and minerals to fight off potential diseases.
Blueberries are also a superfood thanks to its high flavonoid content. Flavonoids work best along with proteins and enzymes in your brain for improved memory function.
Flavonoids Definition: A diverse group of plant chemicals present in fruits and vegetables responsible for their colors
Eating these fruits for hypothyroidism will help you keep your mind youthful, improve brain cognition, and delay cognitive decline associated with age.
The best way to eat it: Eat it raw or mix it up with the other berries. You can also mix blueberries in your oatmeal.
4. Raspberries
Raspberries are one of the best fruits for thyroid patients. Aside from a host of vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, raspberries have a high concentration of ellagic acid.
Ellagic Acid Definition: A phenolic compound that can stop the growth of and can even eliminate cancer cells
Just like blueberries, raspberries are also excellent sources of vitamin C and manganese. These fruits for hypothyroidism are great to have in your thyroid diet for weight loss.
The best way to eat it: Raspberries are great with blackberries. You can eat both as a hearty fruit salad.
5. Blackberries
Blackberries would be an excellent addition to your thyroid diet. Studies found that blackberries are great for peak brain function.
The manganese content in blackberries has helped patients with thyroid disorders improve their memory.
This fruit is also one of the best foods for thyroid disease patients. Inflammation due to free radicals is at the root of most human diseases.
Thus, a diet that consists of blackberries helps protect the body from inflammation and aids in the healing of damaged cells.
The best way to eat it: Consider mixing blackberries, acai berry, raspberry, and milk for a ready-to-go milkshake.
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What Is the Relationship Between Metabolism and the Thyroid Gland?
Metabolism is an important process in the body as it converts food to energy. Like other body processes, it is managed by an internal organ in the body, which is your thyroid gland.
An underactive thyroid gland produces less thyroid hormone, slowing down metabolism. The body then burns less amount of calories, increasing the risk of obesity, increased bad cholesterol levels, and exhaustion.
Which Nutrients Are Necessary for Your Thyroid?
The key to maintaining optimal thyroid health is to take the nutrients your thyroid needs. You can take these from foods like the fruits for hypothyroidism mentioned above.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral your body uses to regulate the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which is a hormone that signals the thyroid to release its hormones.
Aside from fruits for hypothyroidism, you can also eat foods rich in zinc like chicken, beef, oysters, and other shellfish.
Selenium
Selenium helps your body activate thyroid hormones. This mineral also contains antioxidants that may aid in protecting the thyroid from free radical damage.
Foods rich in selenium include:
- Legumes
- Eggs
- Sardines
- Tuna
- Brazil nuts
Be mindful of taking the supplement form though because they may give you large toxic doses of selenium. It’s best to consult your doctor first if you plan to take the supplement.
Iodine
Iodine is a very important mineral for your thyroid, and people with low iodine levels may be at a high risk of developing hypothyroidism. Your thyroid takes iodine from the foods you eat or supplements you consume to convert the mineral into thyroid hormones.
What’s interesting is your thyroid cells are the only cells that absorb iodine. These cells combine tyrosine, an amino acid, with iodine to create the thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4).
You can easily increase iodine intake by using iodized salt in your recipes. You can also eat eggs, dairy products, fish, and seaweed.
Lifestyle Tips for Hypothyroidism
1. Listen to Your Body
Hypothyroidism may affect a lot of people, but each individual responds to the condition differently. If you’re taking medications for hypothyroidism, learn how to listen to your body when it needs a dosage change.
This means if you feel chronic fatigue or experience weight gain even with the medication, talk to your doctor for proper changes to your medication.
2. Practice Having Restful Sleep Every Day
Good sleep helps your body heal and recharge, repair damaged tissues, and relax. Sleep primarily is vital for optimizing your thyroid function.
Follow bedtime routines that promote quality sleep like reading a book or listening to soft music. Also, avoid taking drinks or eating foods with caffeine or sugar before sleeping.
3. Manage Stress
Stress is always harmful to your overall health and wellness. It can weaken your immune system and increase the thyroid receptor cells’ resistance to the thyroid hormones.
The good thing about this is you can always fight or manage stress through meditation. Mindfulness exercises help your mind and body to relax and stay calm in difficult situations.
4. Keep a Healthy Body Weight
Excess weight can slow down the production of your T3 and T4.
To avoid gaining weight, eat a well-balanced diet with the proper amounts of carbs, fat, and protein and follow a regular exercise routine. Remember not to overdo your workout routine though as it may affect the ability of your body to turn the inactive thyroid hormone into the active one.
This effect can increase or worsen hypothyroidism symptoms. If you are a beginner, start with a light exercise like 30-minute walking to allow your body to adjust to the physical activity and then increase the intensity as you go.
5. Avoid Cruciferous Vegetables
Vegetables provide great benefits to your health as they contain nutrients beneficial for your body. But, there are varieties you may want to avoid as they may block the production of thyroid hormones, and these are the cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and turnips.
6. Take Thyroid Supplements
Thyroid support supplements are great a support for the hypothyroidism diet. But before taking any health supplement, make sure to consult your doctor.
Some supplements interact directly with medications, defeating the purpose of both.
Hypothyroidism, unfortunately, is a lifelong disease and cannot be cured. But, you can certainly control the disease by choosing which thyroid healing foods are best for you and being consistent about it.
As every patient is unique, you still need to consult with your doctor on the best fruits for hypothyroidism you should include in your thyroid diet. Living with thyroid issues doesn’t mean you have to restrict yourself from delicious fruits and vegetables.
Which of these best fruits for hypothyroidism would you like to include in your diet first? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 23, 2018, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.