Foods to avoid?

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lokisadie
lokisadie Posts: 14 Member
I am pretty new to MFP, and am annoyed with the scale that does not move. I am hypo, and have been for several years. It has just gotten worse with each pregnancy, and I am currently taking 0.125mg of Synthyroid.
I read about the coconut oil here, so I am trying that this week to see if it works for me. I was wondering what foods you all avoid due to your hypothyroidism. I was familiar with the broccoli and cauliflower (although I read they were alright cooked), but I just read something about spinach too. I guess my spinach in my morning smoothies is a no-no.
Can you guys offer any suggestions, or is there another post with this info? Thanks a bunch!

Replies

  • jadesign19
    jadesign19 Posts: 512 Member
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    Bump. For info
  • Anniel88
    Anniel88 Posts: 150 Member
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    Stop the thyroid madness has a list of goitrogenic foods to eat in moderation if you're hypothyroid. (Of course, most of them are foods that I love!) http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/goitrogens/

    Heating most of the foods helps to break down the goitrogenic properties with the exception of soy products, which maintain their goitrogenic properties even when cooked. Also, keep in mind that you can still eat them, just watch your intake.

    I've also heard that almonds have goitrogenic properties, but I love nuts and don't avoid them. I consider the nutritional benefits of certain foods outway the mildy goitrogenic properties.
  • TXBelle1174
    TXBelle1174 Posts: 615 Member
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    The only thing that has worked for me as far as weight loss is cutting out the carbs - rice, flour, potatoes, etc. I still eat healthy carbs like fruit and veggies and nuts. I eat very minimal grains. I went low carb on advice from my Dr. So far, it has been working. The weight loss is slow and I stall out from time to time, but I am getting there. I also FEEL much better. A little more energy, just generally better. Not so run down and tired all the time.
  • emstethem
    emstethem Posts: 263 Member
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    Might want to consider changing your medicine. I was taking Synthroid (synthetic T4 only) to begin with and it didn't work for me at all (my symptoms were not alleviated), so I asked my doctor to change my meds to Armour (all natural T1,2,3 &4). I am happy with Armour, and I'm FINALLY starting to see some progress. The scale is moving! Slowly, but still..it is moving :). I agree about cutting out the carbs as well. I tried this and it worked for me. I started out only allowing myself 20g of carbs a day (all from low carb vegetables and berries and I ate lots of fish and chicken) and I lost 16 lbs in 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, I started slowly adding healthy carbs to my diet until I stopped losing and I understood that this was my limit (unless I added more exercise ;) ). If you have allergies it will stall your weight loss too. Nuts and cheeses might be aggravating a mold allergy that you might now know that you have. Try cutting them out and see what happens. :) Yeast will slow weight loss. (I take a garlic clove a day to keep this issue under control and it helped.) There are so many factors to consider as far as weight loss goes as well as considering hypothyroidism. Foods to avoid? I try to avoid soy, gluten and goitrogenic foods and well as sugar. And, I limit grains as well. :) Hope this helps. Friend me if you like. :)
  • emstethem
    emstethem Posts: 263 Member
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    Oh, and I wanted to mention that you should be taking your medicine first thing in the morning (with water!) about an hour before you eat anything and NO FIBER with breakfast. This will mess with the absorbtion of your medicine. No fiber until after lunch. I get so sick of eggs for breakfast but it is what it is. ;) Hope this helps.
  • lokisadie
    lokisadie Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks everybody. I am going to start the primal/paleo way of life, and I'm hoping that will help. I think the coconut oil is helping, as I have lost 1 pound since posting...as you all know, 1 pound is like 5 to those without thyroid issues.
    I will stop with the raw spinach and almond milk in my smoothies, and will be sure to cook my broccoli and cauliflower.
    Best of luck to all of you!
  • moejo3
    moejo3 Posts: 224 Member
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    I am pretty new to MFP, and am annoyed with the scale that does not move. I am hypo, and have been for several years. It has just gotten worse with each pregnancy, and I am currently taking 0.125mg of Synthyroid.
    I read about the coconut oil here, so I am trying that this week to see if it works for me. I was wondering what foods you all avoid due to your hypothyroidism. I was familiar with the broccoli and cauliflower (although I read they were alright cooked), but I just read something about spinach too. I guess my spinach in my morning smoothies is a no-no.
    Can you guys offer any suggestions, or is there another post with this info? Thanks a bunch!

    Gluten free, coconut oil, tons of water, a good mult taken at night. I also prefer Armour thyroid over synthetic
  • BWinsto1
    BWinsto1 Posts: 46 Member
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    Low Carb, Gluten free, soy free, dairy free diet. Eat whole foods such as meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts. Exercise at least 5 times a week. Limit or eliminate sugar intake (natural sugar that comes from fruit is fine).
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I don't notice goitrogenic foods having any sort of effect on me. I think everyone is different.... either that, or I just don't eat enough of them for it to matter.

    I am more affected by the highs and lows that come with eating sugary foods. If I eat a dessert, I usually share it with someone so I only eat half. For every time I get an energy rush from sugar, I feel like crap later.
  • Cerebrus189
    Cerebrus189 Posts: 315 Member
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    Paleo/Primal gal here. Been doing this lifestyle since January of this year and have lost almost 40 lbs so far. It's easy to drop the weight and there are so many things I've learned about diet, lifestyle and my health since then. I have recently switched my meds to Armour (1 grain) and have been taking it for only about a week. Before that, I was on Synthroid for years with persistent symptoms.

    As far as foods go, people with autoimmune diseases should avoid soy (most is GMO any way and should be avoided at all costs) and flax seed (high is isoflavones and naturally estrogenic) as these interfere with medication absorption. Besides the normal goitrogenic foods including broccoli, kale, spinach, etc, nightshade vegetables should also be avoided as they tend to cause problems in people with autoimmune diseases. The nightshade vegetables include tomatoes, potatoes, chili, paprike, peppers including bell peppers, and eggplant. When I eat these foods, they tend to give me joint pain in my fingers the next day. It might be normal if I was older, but I'm 33 years old and was diagnosed with full-blown Hashi's about 6 years ago (subclinical since age 19). I have no history of RA in my family either.

    I'm new to this group and so please excuse me if this has already been discussed and mentioned. From my personal point of view, other foods that should be avoided include all grains because they tend to create an inflammatory response in the body of thyroid patients, creating Leaky Gut Syndrome. It has also been scientifically proven that gluten is a direct trigger of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
  • Juliane_
    Juliane_ Posts: 373 Member
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    I also switched my medication from Synthroid to Armour and then to NPThyroid. Armour and NPThyroid are similar. I like NPThyroid because it is sublingual and this means that I can eat/drink anything after the medication has absorbed in my mouth. I don't have to wait 30 minutes for anything. In regards to weight, I only began losing when I switched out of Synthroid. That medication didn't seem to do anything for me. I felt a little better but not enough.
  • Cerebrus189
    Cerebrus189 Posts: 315 Member
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    I also switched my medication from Synthroid to Armour and then to NPThyroid. Armour and NPThyroid are similar. I like NPThyroid because it is sublingual and this means that I can eat/drink anything after the medication has absorbed in my mouth. I don't have to wait 30 minutes for anything. In regards to weight, I only began losing when I switched out of Synthroid. That medication didn't seem to do anything for me. I felt a little better but not enough.

    I was reading about this just the other day. I'm going to have to research this some more because I tend to want to drink coffee before I head out the door, which is less than an hour after I've taken my meds. Thanks for the info.
  • tisane42
    tisane42 Posts: 46 Member
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    I've had to start taking Synthroid before I go to bed, and I don't eat for several hours before bed. My doctor okayed it. I have difficulty remembering to take a pill in the morning, and without crawling out of bed and making coffee (with milk) right away I end up crawling back in bed. I work from home so that's a constant temptation.

    The list of goitrogenic foods is basically my entire diet. I'm vegetarian so a paleo diet isn't an option for me.
  • ercarnes
    ercarnes Posts: 43 Member
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    bump
  • carolyn002
    carolyn002 Posts: 55 Member
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    :smile:
  • dbgtgirl210
    dbgtgirl210 Posts: 9 Member
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    I don't notice goitrogenic foods having any sort of effect on me. I think everyone is different.... either that, or I just don't eat enough of them for it to matter.

    I am more affected by the highs and lows that come with eating sugary foods. If I eat a dessert, I usually share it with someone so I only eat half. For every time I get an energy rush from sugar, I feel like crap later.

    I have had that same issue with sugars. They are great when I'm eating them and I feel like I could lift a bus, but afterwards when the sugar rush wears off I feel run down and a bit guilty because I'm like crap I did it again. Sharing dessert with a friend is a very smart thing to do.

    As far as the topic question goes, not sure about what foods to avoid because it is probably different for different people. A lot of us process food in different ways. For me it just depends on how much of that food I take in. I know that I cannot eat a lot of certain foods. No matter how much I like them it just doesn't benefit me.