Food For Your Thyroid Is Food For Thought

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food”. This was of course spoken in an era where drugs were not prolific and lifestyle played a greater part in maintaining good health. His words do of course ring true today – illness is after all, not due to a deficiency of drugs, so why treat it with a drug unless you absolutely have to?

Most illnesses can be put down to an imbalance or a loss of vitamins and minerals. “But I eat a good diet”, I hear you say. Unfortunately in our modern world, this is not enough. Why are our bodies deficient of these essential nutrients? There are numerous reasons, such as the way we grow, pick and process foods as well as eating foods that decrease our body’s ability to absorb nutrients and can actually suppress thyroid function.

Before we proceed, what is thyroid?

It is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. This gland controls how quickly our body will use up energy and make protein. It also controls the sensitivity of our body to other hormones. The thyroid is found in the neck underneath the thyroid cartilage and at almost the same level as the cricoid cartilage.

Thyroid Disorder

The thyroid hormone, the hormone secreted by the thyroid, is important at a certain level. It functions as a stimulus for metabolism. It is also critical to a cell's normal function.

Excess in production of the thyroid hormone results to hyperthyroidism. It causes our body system to “speed up” thus resembling the symptoms of epinephrine overdose. Symptoms include fast heart beat, palpitations, anxiety, diarrhea and weight loss.

In contrast, insufficient production of thyroid hormone in the body results to hypothyroidism. One of the factors that cause hypothyroidism is iodine deficiency. Some of the early symptoms of hypothyroidism include:

- Fatigue

- Cold intolerance, increased sensitivity to cold

- Depression

- Muscle cramps and joint pain

- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

- Goiter

Essentials for a good thyroid function

There are essential nutrients needed for a healthy thyroid. One of which is tyrosine which is contained in foods such as avocado, banana and pumpkin seeds. Another is zinc found in foods such as seafood, nuts and a variety of meats. Other food contains one or more these essential nutrients. For example, peas are high in both iodine and zinc, turkey is rich in selenium, tyrosine and zinc. Trying to work out a healthy and balanced diet that contains all of these nutrients could be tricky.

Vivienne Savill is also the author of The Complete Guide to Fixing Hypothyroidism. This book goes one step further to ensure your food really is your medicine. It contains around 150 recipes that are delicious and easy to cook for a good thyroid health. Also contained in this great book is information about herbs and supplements that will treat your symptoms and have you feeling better real soon. You will also find a really useful acupressure program to balance your thyroid function.

So if you are sick of being told that you need a drug for the rest of your life, check this book out. This alternative treatment for your thyroid is well worth a look.