What is Thyroid ?

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits low on the front of the neck. Thyroid is rich with blood vessels. Nerves important for voice quality also pass through the thyroid. It secretes several hormones, collectively called thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones act throughout the body, influencing metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature.Slow metabolism increases your blood cholesterol levels and makes it harder for you to lose weight.

What are the main symptoms common man can consider?

  •  Weight gain is perhaps one of the first noticeable symptoms of Hypothyroidism in patients. This is related to a slower than normal metabolism. Your metabolism is responsible for converting calories into energy, when the process slows down, your body doesn’t use the extra calories and then stores them as fat.
  • Excessive fatigue is another common symptom of Hypothyroidism
  • Excess sensitivity to hot/cold Menstrual irregularities, infertility etc. 
  • Mood Swings: Symptoms of depression Hair loss and thinning Loose skin under upper armIndentations on tongue

Why does the current generation face this?

  • Nutrition or unhealthy food intake plays a major role. 
  • Avoid crash dieting
  • Toxic environmental factors such as Estrogen mimics like plastic
  • Inability to deal with stress or wrong stress management
  • Insensible exercise - like overdoing exercise 
  • Insensible dieting or crash dieting or following online dieting with self analysis
  • Lack of the sweetest thing in the world - SLEEP
  • Exposure to radiation
  • Pesticide sprayed fruits and vegetables
  • Low calorie dieting with less nutritional food. 
  • Mismanaged intermittent fasting. 
  • Hormone injected non-vegetarian food
  • Chemical inhalations from the environment
  • Post Gall Bladder removal 

Sluggish Thyroid

  • These people face slow metabolism which results very slow weight reduction
  • Depression , lethargy , low sexual drive or it may even lead to complete loss of sexual drive 
  • Wears socks before bed at night 
  • Need extra carbs or fats to satisfy their tummy
  • Craving for bread and sugary contents  

What are the simple Diet & Lifestyle corrections we can make?

  1. Eating right and working out regularly will help you support your fat metabolism and thyroid function. 
  2. Post Pregnancy Care: Variation in hormones during pregnancy can make you prone to Thyroid dysfunctions. But post pregnancy if you have followed a healthy diet, slept well and exercised well, Thyroid will bounce back to normalcy.
  3. Menopause - Estrogen dominance happens. Take a proper advise on what are the excess nutrients you need in this phase of life. Than immediately jumping into medication, try and do the early corrections with diet. If you are already on medication, try and taper the dosage, while doing diet corrections in parallel and then finally stop it with medical guidance.
  4. Iodine rich food: (Please check with your physician if you are advised to take Iodine rich or avoid Iodine rich food) - Banana, Milk, Strawberry, Carrot, Peach and Pear, in limited quantities. 
  5. Eat more wholesome food - Avoid processed refined food. Or in simple words - take food that has life in it. For example: If we put handful or whole wheat or whole grain in mud it will start budding. That’s called whole food. 
  6. Peanut, Cauliflower and Soya - avoid consuming them in RAW form.  Cooking these foods reduces the antagonist property of food against Iodine absorption.
  7. Cruciferous Vegetables: Cabbage, Cauliflower, Turnips, Radish, Broccoli, Lettuce, Kale, Mustard green - Never eat them raw. Cook properly (not fried) for few mins (40mins is best recommended) - for enzyme deactivation, drain the water that is used for cooking and then you can use them. Do not combine Mustard and Broccoli. 
  8. Including raw coconut or virgin coconut oil in salads is extremely beneficial for thyroid functioning. 
  9. Among nuts Pista and Brazilian Nuts is beneficial for thyroid function.
  10. Avoid using plastic lunch boxes - replace them with steel or glass boxes. They easily mimic Estrogen.
  11. Avoid Cakes, Biscuits, Pizza, Burgers, Mayonnaise,  White Sugar, Maida items,  Cheese, Aerated drinks etc.
  12. Exercise: Do not overdo exercise. Take a proper guidance from fitness consultants for the same. Cardio or stamina building exercises are the best. Avoid stress on weight bearing joints as low thyroid function may risk your Calcium metabolism and creates risk for joints.  Cycling or swimming would be best recommended exercise for thyroid patients.
  13. Do Yoga only under properly trained yoga teachers. Always ask for their certification details before you choose them. Yoga postures have a lot of interaction with hormones wrong postures or asanas will unnecessarily invite other diseases. Asanas done under proper guidance creates a fine balance in the entire system. 
  14. If under Thyroid medication: Consume the medicines within 10 minutes of rising. Take vitamin rich food or supplements only after 2 hours of taking tablets. 
  15. Cut down on Red wines and alcohol. 
  16. Sleep: Maintain proper undisturbed refreshed sleep of 6-7 hours. A short nap of 10-20 mins between 1pm to 3pm will help your energy levels and productivity in further half of the day. 
  17. Fat Scan Analysis: Keep a check on your body fat, metabolism level and muscle mass. Do not go roughly by BMI. It varies for each individual based on their stature. Keep check on your body fat inches and waist hip ratios. This will help you analyse in a better way. 
  18. Strict NO to Meal Replacement Drinks. Natural Protein powder or natural supplements will be best recommended. Any protein powder company which lists down all 18 amino acid names in their ingredient list. USDA approved and PGDCA score 1 .
  19. Natural Supplements or food rich in like Vit B complex, Omega 3, Selenium, inc is best recommended.  
  20. Selenium-rich foods - Brazil nuts, tuna, sardines, eggs, and legumes.
  21. Zinc-rich foods like oysters and other shellfish. organic grass fed chicken.

Am I getting benefited from any Diet Control? How do I analyze?

  1. Improvement in mood and state of well being. 
  2. No more fatigues, energy levels are boosted up.
  3. Good Inch Loss, which means you start fitting back into your old dresses!
  4. Increased energy levels and feel stronger.
  5. More muscle strength.
  6. Reduction in craving for junk foods and sweets.
  7. No immediate weight gain.
  8. Being nutritionally complete.
  9. Feeling satisfied after eating.
  10. Can go a long time without eating or being hungry, if unavoidable.
  11. Help prevent common health concerns, like heart disease and Diabetes.
  12. Be safe and pose no long-term health risks.