The thyroid gland is the biggest endocrine gland in the body. It produces two hormones – triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). These hormones control our bodies' speed in energy burning and its reaction to stress hormones. While everything goes well, you can't recognize it, but if bells start to toll for the thyroid, it can get your attention. A problem in the thyroid appears in two ways: hyperthyroidism (excessive thyroid hormone production) and hypothyroidism (insufficient thyroid hormone production). If you experience an imbalance in the thyroid, it is possible to get rid of the worst symptoms of it with a healthy diet. I will tell below how you can understand if you have a problem with your thyroid glands and what you should eat to treat it. A healthy diet can be the solution for thyroid problems as it is for many other diseases.
If your skin becomes thinner or has rough tissue, be careful
The thyroid glands control the speed of your skin's peeling. The skin peels faster in patients with hyperthyroidism and often become smooth. However, it causes thin skin. Hypothyroidism makes the skin rough, slowing down the skin's speed in cell production. Hyperthyroidism makes the skin feel moist or hot and it increases the redness of the face and hands. Hypothyroidism, on the other hand makes the skin feel cold and pale. It also causes wounds to heal very slowly and an orange-yellow skin color because of carotenemia.
Putting on weight can be a sign of thyroid problems
While hyperthyroidism is related to losing weight, it can also increase your appetite. Therefore, it is possible to put on weight even if you have a fast metabolism. The same thing goes for hypothyroidism, which is related to putting on weight and poor appetite, as well. While your metabolism gets slower, your desire to eat can also decrease, and this can cause you to lose weight.
Be careful if your body temperature increases or decreases
Hyperthyroidism provides a much faster metabolism, accelerating the normal body processes. This can enable you to burn energy faster and increase your body temperature. People with hyperthyroidism can wake up at night covered in sweat, because the increasing energy burning in the body can cause a fast heartbeat.
On the other hand, your body temperature can decrease since hypothyroidism slows your metabolism. Thus, you may need a jumper.
Take your emotions into consideration
An extremely active thyroid can have a manic depressive effect on your emotions. Hyperthyroidism can be related to anxiety, overly emotional behavior and even psychosis. Besides, hypothyroidism is related to depressive feelings and makes people distant from social life. It can end with forgetfulness.
If you think your energy has decreased, it could be your thyroid
The body's way to spend it's energy differs in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, but, both of them can shake the human body seriously. If you have a thyroid which is low grade active, you almost want to do nothing. In addition, an excessively active thyroid can increase your metabolism speed to 100 percent, and this situation ends up with serious energy downfalls. Hyperthyroidism substantially increases the heartbeat speed and this accelerates people and makes them feel tired quicker.
What should we do in this situation?
In order to prevent these side effects, there are some things that we can do. The leading one of them is to eat healthy. The foods that I will mention in this article support you in fighting against the thyroid and cause a decrease in its side effects.
Choose foods which are low in calories but high in fiber
Consume more fruits and vegetables, preferring foods high in fiber and low in calories. Prunes or high-fiber foods which contain plum water make your intestine work. In the struggle against the thyroid, it is important to boost the digestion. Intestines that work slowly causes toxic accumulation. This can trigger your illness.
Decrease consuming meat and milk
Consume less meat and milk for most of the chemicals that you shouldn't consume are found in the fat of meat and milk products. The less you consume meat and milk, the less your body will expose these toxics that destroy the thyroid hormone. When you eat meat, take the half of your portion away and consume less meat in every meal. As coal can trigger cancer, prefer to cook your meat on a grill. Temperance can solve thyroid problems like it does in many things. Dairy milk is generally delicious, but, it can disturb those who have an intolerance to lactose. If you experience wind, cramps in the stomach, constipation or other disturbing symptoms, regulate your eating order.
Eat simple foods
Prefer protein sources that aren't animal products, such as avocado, olives, nuts and bean curd.
Consume fat that you trust
Instead of hydrogenated vegetable oils used in processed foods, prefer good oils. I recommend you to stay away from hydrogenated oils as they will affect your metabolism. Olive oil can help in this context.
Have snacks that you always carry
Those who have an imbalance in the sugar level can keep some nuts and walnuts to consume at the specific hours of the day. These little snacks contain sufficient amount of protein to balance your sugar level.
Read contents of the foods that are in your shopping basket
Get used to reading contents in your market shopping. If all materials aren't familiar to you, you can put the product back in its place on shelves. Chemicals that are used to protect foods can slow down your body's metabolism.
Every meal is important, but don't skip breakfast
I advise you to eat at regular intervals even if your foods are little, healthy appetizers. The body needs energy even when you sleep. Instead of a main meal that you overindulge in, eating at intervals with small snacks is much more beneficial for the metabolism; this is especially important if you have a thyroid problem.
Remove caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and sugar from your life
For the metabolism of thyroid patients, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and sugar are the most dangerous things. Remove these four from your life. A cup of coffee that you prepared in the mornings can smell perfect and helps you start the day. However, your increased energy will decrease quickly and make you feel tired through the whole day. Instead of coffee, herbal teas will be a nice preference without any caffeine. Chocolate can be indispensable for many people, but, it doesn't support your body apart from giving pleasure to you. In the content of chocolate, there are xanthines like caffeine. Medical works don't confirm that chocolate has a psychological profit.
Most of us know that alcohol needs to be fragmentized in the liver and sometimes creates stress. In wines, additional chemicals, like sulfides can prevent deterioration and ferment pressured digestion. This is why thyroid patients should avoid them.
