Surely you know or have recently been told the news: hypothyroidism affects many women and, although it can occur at any age, it becomes more common with pregnancy and after 40 since we are exposed to more hormonal changes.
If this is your case, it is possible that they have recommended you to avoid some foods and take care of your diet with others, since you usually gain weight easily and losing it is quite difficult. That’s why in this article we offer you some diet tips for women with hypothyroidism. We tell you what type of diet you should follow and what foods not to eat if you are in that affected population group.
What is hypothyroidism?
- We’ve heard it a thousand times, but do we really know what hypothyroidism is? Well, it is simply the destabilization of the thyroid gland. We explain it to you in a simpler way. This gland (located below the larynx, in the neck) is in charge of secreting hormones that regulate metabolism. When it becomes destabilized, it can produce changes in it and, therefore, sudden rises and falls in prisoner.
- In the case of hypothyroidism, the activity of the gland is reduced and, as a consequence, the metabolism becomes slow. Therefore, weight gains usually occur.
- People who suffer from it tend to gain weight easily and lose it much more difficult. For this reason, it is possible that if you start following a specific diet for hypothyroidism, the first few weeks you will not notice much result, but the important thing is to continue with it and not skip it. As a rule, beating metabolism usually takes a bit of time, so it’s very important to be consistent.
How should your diet be?
To begin with, it is important that our diet is based on 5 meals. Because? To help our metabolism not stop working (we will repeat this more times throughout the article). For this reason, we must have breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as a mid-morning snack and afternoon snack. From here, you must take into account:
- The food base on which our diet must be based are those rich in iodine (they are called hyperthyroid foods) because they increase the activity of the thyroid.
- In breakfasts and snacks, include oats, nuts such as pistachios and hazelnuts, and fruits such as strawberries, apples, mangoes, or apricots.
- As far as first courses and unique dishes are concerned, you can count on lentils, tomatoes, spinach, peas, broad beans, broccoli… which can be done both in summer and winter, giving rise to incredible variety in the diet. The excuse of getting tired will not work for you!
- For the latter, you can think of meat (better white than red) and fish, as long as the cooking method is grilled, steamed, seasoned with spices (to avoid salt) and avoiding batters and fried foods.
- Add seeds, spices, and herbs whenever you can. Fennel, pumpkin seeds, sesame, basil, cinnamon are good…
- It is also important that you drink water (surely you have heard it many times) because this way (we repeat ourselves) you will help speed up metabolism and burn fat.
- Combine all this with regular daily exercise which will also reduce stress.
What foods should you avoid?
- In general, (and as in any balanced diet), industrial pastries, sugars and batters are foods that you should eliminate from your daily meals. Also reduce (especially in the first weeks), dairy products, fatty cheeses, egg yolks and yogurts.
- It is important that you avoid foods with caffeic and chlorogenic acids, such as radish, Brussels sprouts, pomegranate, orange, grapes, potato, lettuce or asparagus, as it reduces the activity of the thyroid gland.
- Do not mix starches in the same meal either, that is: pasta and potato, or rice and corn, bread and pumpkin… Try to separate them and eat a maximum of one at each meal.
- But above all, do not forget that a diet must be personalized and, for that, you need to go to a specialist who will help you individually and also follow up on your case.