The Natural Thyroid Diet: The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly

By Louise O'Connor, Author. Naturopath + Wellness Coach Have you tried no-fat diets, cutting calories and even crazy fad diets... but absolutely nothing has helped you lose weight? No matter how much effort you put in or how many diets you try your weight seems to keep creeping up? You know this isn’t normal. It shouldn’t be so hard to lose weight, and you should feel better. Could your thyroid be the culprit? Thyroid problems are epidemic, fast becoming the leading cause of rapid weight gain, hair loss, depression, anxiety & ongoing fatigue. A vital step to recovering thyroid health is a natural thyroid diet. Read these eight expert tips to eliminate foods that harm the thyroid; Step 1: Avoid soy. When it comes to thyroid health processed soy foods and foods containing hidden soy ingredients should be strictly avoided. Soy is goitrogenic, a term used to describe a wide range of foods and environmental compounds that have the serious potential to disrupt normal thyroid activity. Step 2: Opt for a gluten free diet. Thyroid symptoms often improve when gluten is eliminated from the daily diet. Gluten can easily irritate the lining of the digestive system. This creates inflammation that spreads like wildfire throughout the whole body. Gluten sensitivity symptoms can therefore be linked to specific digestive problems as well as broader health issues including autoimmune thyroid disorders. Step 3: Eliminate sugary foods. This includes sugar, soft drinks, cookies, cakes, chocolate, sweets and processed breakfast cereals. These are all loaded with sugar and play havoc with blood sugar control. Blood sugar problems go hand in hand with low thyroid disorders and place greater stress on your thyroid. Step 4: Avoid refined salt. Resist liberally sprinkling table salt over your food or in cooking. Only use small amounts of Himalayan or sea salt during food preparation. Too much salt will amplify problems with fluid retention when you have an underactive thyroid. Step 5: Avoid trans fats or ‘plastic fats’. These are found in margarine, TV dinners, bakery foods, commercially prepared snack foods and deep fried food. These unhealthy man-made fats are formed when liquid vegetable oils are hardened for use in spreads such as margarine, cooking fats for deep frying and shortening for baking. These unnatural fats act like plastic in your body but are particularly damaging to the thyroid cell membranes. Step 6: Eliminate stimulants. Caffeine loaded drinks such as coffee, black tea, soft drinks & energy drinks over-stimulate the nervous system and take their toll on your energy reserves. Kicking the soft drink habit is also a critical step to achieving lasting weight loss. Step 7: Avoid foods containing dangerous artificial sweeteners. A range of artificial sweeteners are found in diet products, some medications and nutritional supplements. There is compelling evidence to say various artificial sweeteners have the potential to cause weight gain and over-eating. Step 8: Skip the alcohol. This is a well known thyroid suppressor. Not only that, alcohol is packed with empty calories and places enormous stress on your liver. This is a problem when you have low thyroid function as the liver plays an important role in thyroid hormone activity. Is It Time To Get Your Thyroid Health Back On Track? Hop over here to The Natural Thyroid Diet: The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly