Foods That Cause Thyroid Dysfunction

Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

Thyroid dysfunction may be defined as the malfunctioning of the thyroid gland. A thyroid gland malfunction is in terms of secretion of the thyroid hormone. As a result, it can over produce the hormone or under produce the hormone. Over production may be called as hyper thyroidism and under production is termed medically as hypothyroidism.

As we all know, iodine is required for the production of the thyroid hormone and any kind of imbalance in the dietary supplementation of iodine hampers the thyroid hormone secretion. But did you know another fact that there are some substances that inhibit the thyroid hormone production. These substances are called as the goitrogens. The normal source of goitrogens is the food itself. There are some foods that are rich in goitrogens and consumption of these foods can result in thyroid gland dysfunctioning.

The goitrogens hampers the thyroid hormone secretion by actively competing in the uptake of iodine molecule in the blood by the thyroid gland cells. Finally as a result, since iodine absorption is disrupted, the hormone secretion is also affected.

Interestingly the mane goitrogen came to existence from the word goitre. Goitre is the enlargement of the thyroid gland due to excessive thyroid hormone secretion. They get enlarged and can be easily visible as a small lump under the neck region. They are approximately 3 cms in diameter lying towards both the sides extensively.

Goitrogen can cause both hypothyroidism as well as hyperthyroidism. Many foods like tofu, soy products, pine nuts, pea nuts, millet, rape seed, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale. Kohlrabi, pear, peaches, spinach, strawberry, radishes, turnips when eaten raw, uncooked can produce goitrogens. It is better to cook all the vegetables at least till tender. This can greatly help to reduce the hypo thyroidism. Chemically, these foods are rich in sulphur and sulphur compounds. As a known fact, copper, sulphur and iron are essential for maintaining the body metabolism and have to be in optimal limits.

In soy foods, the isoflavones cause many kinds of thyroid dysfunctions. They act by blocking the activity of thyroid peroxidase which is responsible for adding the iodine molecule to the thyroid gland for the production of thyroid hormone. Fortunately, studies have found out that the goitrogens are in activated by heat. Thus cooking the food helps to inactivate the goitrogens.

Hyperthyroidism occurs due to the enlargement of the thyroid gland. When the iodine responsible for excess production of the hormone has taken in large amount even unknowingly, can result in further enlargement of the thyroid gland and as a result hyper thyroidism becomes all the more severe.

In addition, caffeine, avocado, coconut and coconut products and saturated fats have known to stimulate thyroid gland. It can be especially useful for persons who are suffering from hypothyroidism. Many thyroid medications and some simple thyroid surgery have also known to correct the disease. In addition to the thyroid treatment, some may also require additional vitamin and mineral supplements to overcome the problem.

Best Thyroid Supplement

Foods that worsen the thyroid functions