What To Eat To Support Your Thyroid

One of the best ways to support your thyroid function is to eat a healthy thyroid diet. Your food choices are especially important during stressful times or hormonal changes – when you are more vulnerable to thyroid problems.

To do its job and keep you symptom-free, the thyroid requires an adequate amount of specific vitamins and minerals. Iodine and selenium are the most important of these nutrients. But trace minerals, antioxidants and B vitamins are also critical for healthy thyroid function. While it’s possible to get too many of these nutrients, which can also cause problems, getting too few of them is more common.

lack of thyroid nutrients leads to symptoms

7 nutrients you need to improve thyroid function

1. Iodine

Your thyroid simply can’t function without iodine. If you’re deficient, your thyroid lacks a basic building block for producing its hormones – and your whole body is affected.

Top food sources for iodine:

Sea vegetables (kelp, dulse, hijiki, nori)
Seafood (clams, shrimp, haddock, oysters, salmon, sardines)
Iodized salt, preferably sea salt

In addition to the top food sources, there are good secondary sources: eggs, asparagus, lima beans, mushrooms, spinach, sesame seeds, summer squash, Swiss chard and garlic.

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2. Selenium

Selenium is essential to the thyroid because it’s used to convert T4 into T3, the most active form of thyroid hormone. Selenium and iodine are closely related, so a deficiency in selenium can lead to an iodine deficiency.

Top food sources for selenium:

Brazil nuts
Tuna
Organ meats
Mushrooms
Halibut
Beef
Soybeans
Sunflower seeds

3. Zinc

Since zinc is required for the conversion of T4 to T3, a deficiency can result in hypothyroidism. Not getting enough zinc, copper or iron causes an imbalance in the other two. So it’s important that you get enough of all 3 of these companion nutrients.

Top food sources for zinc:

Fresh oysters
Sardines
Beef
Lamb
Turkey
Soybeans
Split peas
Whole grains

Sunflower seeds
Pecans
Brazil nuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Ginger root
Maple syrup

4. Copper

Copper is also needed for the conversion of T4 to T3, so low levels can contribute to low thyroid function.

Top food sources for copper:

Beef
Oysters
Lobster
Shiitake mushrooms
Dark chocolate
Crabmeat

Tomato paste
Pearled barley
Nuts
Beans (soybeans, white beans, chickpeas)
Sunflower seeds

5. Iron

Research shows a link between iron-deficiency anemia and decreased thyroid function. Low iron can also prevent iodine from working effectively for the thyroid, while too much iron can also be a health problem. (It’s good to get levels checked if you’re not sure.)

Top food sources for iron:

Clams
Oysters
Organ meats
Soybeans
Pumpkin seeds

White beans
Blackstrap molasses
Lentils
Spinach

6. Antioxidants

Oxidative stress or inflammation from free radicals is associated with degenerative diseases, as well as the aging process.

Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E, along with iodine and selenium, are particularly important because they help your thyroid gland neutralize daily oxidative stress.

Top food sources for vitamins A, C and E:

Vitamin A (beta-carotene form)	Vitamin C	Vitamin E
Kale Sweet potatoes Carrots Winter squash/pumpkin Spinach Cantaloupe Broccoli Asparagus Liver Lettuce	Guava Peppers (chili, bell, sweet) Kiwi Citrus fruit Strawberries Broccoli Cauliflower Brussels sprouts Papaya Parsley Greens (kale, turnip, collard, mustard)	Whole grains Almonds Soybeans Beans Sunflower seeds Peanuts Liver Leafy green vegetables Asparagus

7. B vitamins

Several B vitamins (B2, B3, and B6) are important for thyroid function because they are involved in manufacturing T4.

Top food sources for vitamins B2, B3 and B6:

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)	Vitamin B3 (Niacin)	Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Organ meats Almonds Wheat germ Wild rice Mushrooms Egg yolks Brewer’s yeast Vitamin B3	Rice bran Wheat bran Peanuts (with skin) Liver Poultry (white meat) Brewer’s yeast Vitamin B6	Sunflower seeds Wheat germ Fish (tuna, salmon, trout) Liver Soybeans Beans (lentils, lima, navy, garbanzos, pinto) Walnuts Brown rice Bananas Brewer’s yeast

What foods should you avoid for good thyroid function?

Certain foods contain goitrogens, which are compounds that make it more difficult for the thyroid gland to create its hormones. Soybeans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are a few examples. But there’s no need to cut these foods out of your diet completely. Instead, we recommend you cook these foods to reduce their goitrogenic properties instead of eating them raw. Another idea is to pair these foods with the thyroid-healthy foods listed above.

One food you may want to avoid is gluten: Many women tell us when they remove gluten-containing foods from their diet, they feel much better and notice fewer problems with their thyroid, especially autoimmune thyroid disease. Learn more about goitrogens, gluten and thyroid health.

Getting enough of the right nutrients

Getting as many thyroid-supporting nutrients as possible through food is ideal, but this isn’t always easy or even possible. If you tend to grab quick meals while standing at the kitchen counter, eat while driving or in front of a computer on a regular basis, consider supplementing with thyroid-supporting ingredients.

If you already have a diagnosed thyroid imbalance, talk to your practitioner about possibly using supplements before taking prescription hormones. The problem with prescriptions like Synthroid (levothyroxine, or T4) is that once you go on them, your thyroid backs down its efforts to produce hormones. This can make it difficult to get off of thyroid replacement drugs down the line. It’s also possible to use a supplement as “adjunct” therapy alongside prescription medications — many women report good results with this protocol.

References

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¹⁶ Arem, R. 1999, 302.

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¹⁸ Kosova, W., & Wingert, P. 2009.

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References for text box: What does active thyroid hormone do?

^a Carillo Sepulveda, M., & Morais Barreto de Chaves, M. 2008. Nongenomic effects of T3 on NO production in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC). FASEB, 22 (1), 965.15. URL (abstract): http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/22/1_MeetingAbstracts/965.15 (accessed 05.12.2009).

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^c Weinstein, S., et al. 1994. Thyroid hormone increases basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport in skeletal muscle. The role of GLUT4 glucose transporter expression. Diabetes, 43 (10), 1185–1189. URL (abstract): http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/10/1185 (accessed 05.12.2009).

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