Our poor little thyroids are not only at the mercy of all sorts of pesticides and other chemicals encountered in daily life, but also all sorts of our favourite foods - or not as the case may be!
Brassicas affect thyroid function so yay! no more cabbage or broccoli for me. I do love mustard greens but don't get to have them very often so they get to stay on my menu. Interestingly, I'm one of those thyroid people who generally find brassicas bitter and unpalatable.
OH NO!!! THIS CAN'T BE TRUE...recent research has discovered that coffee reduces the absorption of levothyroxine. [sobs into empty coffee cup] On the bright side, it's thought that if you wait an hour after taking levo (as soon as you wake up), you can then have coffee. I generally try to wait an hour after taking levo to ingest anything other than water but my tummy often leads me into forgetting this really, really, really important tactic for thyroid happiness.
Soy products are nature's little n'bomb for the thyroid. Fermented soy products like soy sauce and tempeh are better for anyone anyway so a little of these is OK. Unfermented soy products should only be eaten in combination with a diet that includes animal protein, and not by people with thyroid disease. No more endame beans at The Sushi Bar for me...
Mild goitrogens include pine nuts however, there really are so few in a teaspoon of pesto that I can't believe they would have any effect [embodies furious denial]. Pesto is the only pine nut product on my menu and it's staying. Others mild g's are millet (huh? couldn't care less about that one), peaches, which I love but are largely unavailable here thus saving me from a dilemma, and bamboo shoots, peanuts, radishes, strawberries and sweet potatoes, all of which make it on to the least consumed but still consumed section of my menu. I really hope okra is bad for the thyroid. I recently read a description of this..um..stuff.. that I couldn't agree with more - snot from the ground.
Then there is the good-for-your-thyroid-but-watch-out-with-meds category. Iodine rich foods like the various dried seaweeds and iodine enriched salt belong here. These are on my menu but I could have more than I do.
Some meds are not good as well as fluoride, bromide and chlorine so stop eating the toothpaste and drinking the bleach - they're bad for your thyroid!
Finally, it's said that cooking foods that contain goitrogens reduces the negative effect but I suspect you would have to cook until ridiculously mushy. Broccoli soup, anyone?
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