Thyroid Supplements

Eating Properly and the Right Kind of Supplementation Can Make a Difference

For those who have suffered from the symptoms of an underactive thyroid, life can be a misery. Weight gain, lack of energy and fatigue are the most common effects, and what makes the condition even worse is sometimes you can’t get a definitive answer to the problem. The blood tests used to diagnose a thyroid insufficiency can be inaccurate, and many people leave the doctor’s office scratching their heads without a solution to their problem or turning to thyroid supplements as an answer.

Further complicating the whole situation is the fact an underactive thyroid affects fully half of women over the age of fifty. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the symptoms of hypothyroidism mimic those of menopause. Check out this list of symptoms:

• Fatigue and sluggishness
• Constipation
• Depression
• Heavy menstrual periods
• Weight gain
• Muscle aches and pains
• Puffy face
• Muscle weakness
• Joint pain
• Heightened sensitivity to cold temperatures

It would be easy to mistake these symptoms with those of menopause. Therefore, a proper diagnosis is imperative to implementing the correct treatment for an underactive thyroid.

If blood tests for thyroid function are inconclusive, which they often are, the next best approach is to consider testing for menopause. If those tests indicate you aren’t in the throes of the change of life, it might mean you indeed have an underactive thyroid that’s just not showing up at this time. Using dietary changes and some natural thyroid supplements could make you feel a whole lot better and help you get some of these symptoms under control.

Eating For Better Thyroid Health

It’s a misunderstanding by a lot of people that a sluggish thyroid is due to not enough iodized salt or iodine in the diet. The fact is this is only true in underdeveloped or third world countries. In developed countries, there’s more than enough salt in the diet – maybe even too much. So if you’re thinking you need to add salt, you probably don’t. This is becoming a topic of debate and until we hear differently our best advice where iodine is concerned is to get tested and see if you in fact have an iodine deficiency before adding an iodine supplement.

But there are some other foods you can add to a diet to support the thyroid.

1. Tuna, chicken, oatmeal, brown rice and walnuts contain selenium. Selenium is a mineral very beneficial to thyroid function. If none of these foods appeal to you, you can find selenium in daily supplement form.
2. The amino acid tyrosine is essential to thyroid function as well, and can be found in chicken, turkey, soy products, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, dairy foods, lima beans and sesame seeds.
3. Flaxseed has been found to be good for a wide variety of health problems to include hot flashes, cholesterol levels and joint pain. It contains fatty acids which combat inflammation and also supports the function of the thyroid.

Most of these foods are just everyday items you can probably find in your pantry or fridge right now. If not, put them on your next grocery list and in addition to a quality daily vitamin supplement, if you are suffering from the symptoms of a sluggish thyroid these changes should help you feel a bit better.

It is also recommended in order to support your overall thyroid health a multivitamin might not be enough. You may have to add calcium and magnesium to your regimen. Keep in mind just adding one without the other won’t work – as a matter of fact, if you don’t have the ratio right taking either or both could have a detrimental effect on your health.

If you suspect your thyroid is not acting like it should but blood tests are inconclusive, that doesn’t mean you don’t have options. Make a few tweaks to your diet and add some vitamin supplements and see if that doesn’t make a beneficial difference.