Goitrogens. The very term sounds alien. What are goitrogens and what does it mean to you?
Goitrogens are compounds that, if ingested, can interfere with the absorption of iodine into your body and can result in the enlargement of your thyroid gland. This, as you know, is not very good for the sufferer of hypothyroidism. It has been suggested that iodine deficiency has been linked to hypothyroidism and mental retardation in children.
For those of you who suffer from hypothyroidism ingesting goitrogens is counter productive to what your trying to accomplish through hormone therapy not to mention the stimulation of your metabolism. You want to try to induce your thyroid and metabolism to work within normal ranges, not the other way around and these compounds will have this effect.
There are several ways in which you can get these compounds into your system but the most common way is through the foods that we eat.
Some of the more common foods that contain these goitrogenic compounds are soy beans or any soy related products such as tofu, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, strawberries, peaches, pears, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, Kale, canola and canola oils, mustard greens, turnips and rutabagas. Although with broccoli, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower and collard greans you can cook the bulk of the goitrogens out of the vegetables. In other words don’t consume them raw.
When you eat these foods they interfere with and have a negative effect on your thyroid. When eating for hypothyroidism or on a hypothyroidism diet it is recommended that you eat foods rich in iodine as iodine in proper amounts contribute to good thyroid health. Seafood is one of the best natural sources of iodine as well as kelp and seaweed. I don’t know anyone personally who actually eats kelp and seaweed, except when eating sushi, but there are some supplements available that derive their iodine from kelp. However you should always consult an endocrinologist before using kelp pills as kelp pills can provide you with too much iodine causing other issues with your thyroid.
But, if you are trying to eat iodine rich food as well as these goitrogenic foods it will have a nullifying effect and you won’t get the benefits from these thyroid stimulating foods. So, eat these goods foods rich in iodine and limit those goitrogens.
Popularity: 92% [?]
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Loading ...
15. April 2009 at 2:38 pm
You learn something new every day – I never knew what Goitrogens compounds were and how they affected the body. It’s odd to think that one food is so very good for one person but that same food can be horribly wrong for another. Thanks for the information
16. April 2009 at 3:22 am
Thanks for the helpful information on Goitrogens – I find your site to be full of useful information to help with my hypothyroidism.
16. April 2009 at 8:31 am
Great info! I’m going to pass this along to a friend who was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
16. April 2009 at 10:40 am
But, if you are trying to eat iodine rich food as well as these goitrogenic foods it will have a nullifying effect and you won’t get the benefits from these thyroid stimulating foods.
How can I tell if the food is iodine rich? Great info, just learning and need help.
20. April 2009 at 4:03 pm
Great info…I get so confused as to what foods to eat to help with my diet.
23. April 2009 at 9:46 pm
I beleive peanuts may also be goitrogenic. Though cooking them (or the food listed in the article) may reduce or render them inert. We don’t know yet.
Search “goitrogen” here: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=101
2. October 2009 at 6:17 pm
I was wrongly diagnosed as a celiac 12 months ago and as much as I did the right thing, nothing changed. So this week my doctor tested for Hypothyroidism. What a lightbulb effect. All those symtpoms and more came popping to the surface. And looking at the list of Goitrogen food……they are 70% of my diet! I heard too that sweet potato is a goitrogen as well, which I was substituting for potato and carb levels.
Can’t wait for treatment to start and get things back to normal. When I think about it I’ve been this was for just under 20 years!
6. November 2009 at 11:04 pm
I am coming to believe in the idea of eating at least 30 different foods everyday which I have heard some indigenous/traditional beliefs hold. However, it seems that eating a class of foods could pose a problem too. I have been a sweet potato and cruciferous consumer about 70% too. I also am working to correct my thyroid.