Question on Spinach being bad for Thyroid -- ?? T or F

IsMollyReallyHungry · March 2011

QUESTION TO ALL WITH THYROID ISSUES:

Does anyone know if it is true that more than 4 cups of spinach raw is bad for your thyroid. Does this apply to anyone? I am going to verify this with a doctor and nutrionist. I already sent an email to her today but it may take her a miunte to reply. Just wondering if any of you have heard of this before, see below snapshot. Before I start cutting back on raw spinach I wanted to see if this is common knowledge and/or accurate information. Thanks.

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Bad Foods for Thyroid

Have you heard of goitrogens? A Goitrogen is a substance in some foods that prevents the thyroid gland from working correctly by blocking the uptake of iodine. Iodine is essential for the production and activation of thyroid hormone and is one of the main minerals that helps speed up cellular metabolism.

Goitrogens get their name from the term "goiter," which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland lies just above the collar bone in the neck area. If the thyroid gland is having difficulty making thyroid hormone, it may enlarge as a way of trying to compensate for inadequate hormone production and can be seen or felt as a soft pad about 2-5 inches in diameter on the neck, usually on one side but occasionally on both sides.

Goitrogens can induce hypothyroidism and goiter. I bring it up this month because often diet foods contains goitrogens. When eaten in large amounts, the dieter wonders what they are doing wrong and why they are not losing weight.

More than four cups/week of the following foods—in the RAW form only—will interfere with your thyroid gland function. You can eat as much of these foods cooked as you want to—except tofu and soy products which we will talk about later. The foods are: Brussels sprouts, cabbage of all kinds, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, peaches, pears, rapini (a vegetable similar to broccoli,) spinach, strawberries, radishes, rutabagas and turnips.

MJ5898 · March 2011

Wow, no I had not heard that. I will be curious to know what the nutritionist says!

tinalina81 · March 2011

wow, there are a bunch of foods on there that I eat about 4 cups a week, off and on

brendalyne · March 2011

I sure hope it's wrong, because I love spinach salads!

coronalime · March 2011

I have never been told that..Doesnt mean its not true. I was battling my arthritis and went to a naturepathic as my last resort..She gave me all these supplements and told me to not eat night shade veggies (tomatoes, potatoes.peppers etc..) I didnt do it since I started getting relief..Doesnt mean it wouldnt work. I just cant give up tomatoes and peppers..I am already gluten free.
With that in mind. I have been hypo for at least 4 yrs diagnosed and on meds. I eat spinach daily and juice spinach and eat strawberries like you wouldnt believe...I havent noticed an issue. But then again sometimes I may not put it all together. As the "dr" said to me about my PA. You can or should try anything for about 30-90 days. If you see results stick with it. If not move on to something else.

halphord · March 2011

Let me now what you find out. I am hypo and I eat spinach a lot.

MaureenCreates · March 2011

http://www.annecollins.com/hypothyroidism-weight-gain.htm
This source says spinach is GOOD for your thyroid.
Who the hell knows.
With or without spinach I'm hypothyroid anyway. Meh.

Grokette · March 2011

QUESTION TO ALL WITH THYROID ISSUES:

Does anyone know if it is true that more than 4 cups of spinach raw is bad for your thyroid. Does this apply to anyone? I am going to verify this with a doctor and nutrionist. I already sent an email to her today but it may take her a miunte to reply. Just wondering if any of you have heard of this before, see below snapshot. Before I start cutting back on raw spinach I wanted to see if this is common knowledge and/or accurate information. Thanks.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************
Bad Foods for Thyroid

Have you heard of goitrogens? A Goitrogen is a substance in some foods that prevents the thyroid gland from working correctly by blocking the uptake of iodine. Iodine is essential for the production and activation of thyroid hormone and is one of the main minerals that helps speed up cellular metabolism.

Goitrogens get their name from the term "goiter," which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland lies just above the collar bone in the neck area. If the thyroid gland is having difficulty making thyroid hormone, it may enlarge as a way of trying to compensate for inadequate hormone production and can be seen or felt as a soft pad about 2-5 inches in diameter on the neck, usually on one side but occasionally on both sides.

Goitrogens can induce hypothyroidism and goiter. I bring it up this month because often diet foods contains goitrogens. When eaten in large amounts, the dieter wonders what they are doing wrong and why they are not losing weight.

More than four cups/week of the following foods—in the RAW form only—will interfere with your thyroid gland function. You can eat as much of these foods cooked as you want to—except tofu and soy products which we will talk about later. The foods are: Brussels sprouts, cabbage of all kinds, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, peaches, pears, rapini (a vegetable similar to broccoli,) spinach, strawberries, radishes, rutabagas and turnips.

I limit the brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard, kale, spinach and I don't eat much fruit.............My naturopathic Dr told me to limit these foods to no more than 2-4 servings per week de to the fact that these foods are goitregenic and some of these foods are estrogenic also..........

abyssfully · March 2011

I can't live without at least 3 of those foods * dot dot dot *

johnthefatman · March 2011

Where did you find that information?

Grokette · March 2011

I can't live without at least 3 of those foods * dot dot dot *

Some of those foods was very hard for me to do. However, it makes sense for what my Dr told me. She told me that many times when you crave certain foods and have to have them that there is at least a mild intolerance to them........

She told me to remove the cruciferous vegetables from my eating for at least 9 months and then slowly add them back in but no more than 2-4 servings a week.

I have had no further issues and my Armour Thyroid prescription is being decreased. I posted some tips and foods in another thread that I make sure to get into my eating plan that are healing to the thyroid.

Steph_135 · March 2011

I have never been told that..Doesnt mean its not true. I was battling my arthritis and went to a naturepathic as my last resort..She gave me all these supplements and told me to not eat night shade veggies (tomatoes, potatoes.peppers etc..) I didnt do it since I started getting relief..Doesnt mean it wouldnt work. I just cant give up tomatoes and peppers..I am already gluten free.

I was gonna comment about the night shade veggies as well. Most of the ones you listed, Mollie, are night shades (meaning they grow mostly at night). My mom should be avoiding them for arthritis as well, but I don't know about Thyroid... I think spinach is great for you (in organic form, cause of the pesticides... I can't afford organic, but it's still the best way to go!!). If you wanna avoid spinach, there are tons of other things you can have instead: watercress, kale, romain lettuce, dandelion, etc etc etc. As long as you think it's the right choice, and feel positive about making the change, then you will be fine, as long as you are still getting healthy veggies. :bigsmile:

bugnbeansmom · March 2011

I was looking into this as well just this morning! I read the same article and it was listed in several other places as well. The Mayo Clinic said that diet would not impact you at all. So I don't know. The only thing that seemed the same everywhere was to take you pills on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and to avoid caffine and calcium for at least an hour after taking it. I have decided to cut out the veggies listed in raw form (I read somewhere that steamed is still fine) and see how things go. I figure it can't hurt and if I don't feel any better I will just add it back in.

I am a true believer in diet and ongoing conditions. My daughter is Autistic and we moved her to a gluten free, casein free, soy free diet. It is amazing how she seems to be coming out of a fog. I have seen small miracles in her with limiting/changing her diet that are too hard to dismiss. If cutting these items from her diet can bring words to a previously silent 8 year old, surely cutting spinach and a few other veggies won't hurt and can only help when it comes to my thyroid challenges.

I am going to keep an eye on this one and see what shakes out! Thanks for bringing this up for discussion!

BTW- always looking for Hypo friends. It is tough as we all know!

IsMollyReallyHungry · March 2011

I have never been told that..Doesnt mean its not true. I was battling my arthritis and went to a naturepathic as my last resort..She gave me all these supplements and told me to not eat night shade veggies (tomatoes, potatoes.peppers etc..) I didnt do it since I started getting relief..Doesnt mean it wouldnt work. I just cant give up tomatoes and peppers..I am already gluten free.

I was gonna comment about the night shade veggies as well. Most of the ones you listed, Mollie, are night shades (meaning they grow mostly at night). My mom should be avoiding them for arthritis as well, but I don't know about Thyroid... I think spinach is great for you (in organic form, cause of the pesticides... I can't afford organic, but it's still the best way to go!!). If you wanna avoid spinach, there are tons of other things you can have instead: watercress, kale, romain lettuce, dandelion, etc etc etc. As long as you think it's the right choice, and feel positive about making the change, then you will be fine, as long as you are still getting healthy veggies. :bigsmile:

Thanks Steph! Your Mom avoids spinach or night shade veggies for artritis? That is a new one too.

IsMollyReallyHungry · March 2011

I have not seen it myself but below sounds more accurate for sure. The reason I asked this question is because a friend of mines said she was told this by her doctor. Well I know she was doing this RAW diet which consisted of making spinach shakes with other stuff daily so she very well might of eaten spinach every day for 3 meals a day.

I don't think spinach is bad for us and it has huge benefits like fighting cancer. Goes back to the old saying too much of a good thing is not good for us....:-)

This was a post on a chat room a reliable source came across:

In "Thyroid for Dummies", It's states high amounts of Spinach, like EVERYDAY, THREE MEALS A DAY, can affect your thyroid.

i dont think any of us are likely to be doing this! lol! Sorry to alarm everyone.

k_b_fit · March 2011

I like spinach but if I think you have to worry about eating over 4 cups at a time... you might be eating too much spinach.

Steph_135 · March 2011

Thanks Steph! Your Mom avoids spinach or night shade veggies for artritis? That is a new one too.

She avoids nightshade for arthritis. ("Avoids" as in she knows about it, but doesn't really follow it.)

Spinach is not a nightshade as far as I know.

In "Thyroid for Dummies", It's states high amounts of Spinach, like EVERYDAY, THREE MEALS A DAY, can affect your thyroid.

i dont think any of us are likely to be doing this! lol! Sorry to alarm everyone.

:laugh:

kent4j · March 2011

Interesting

bugnbeansmom · March 2011

Just got home from the Endo. She said spinach, Brocolli and califlower are all fine. Just don't eat anything for an hour after taking your meds and be sure it is on an empty stomach. She also stressed the importance of drinking a whole glass of water with you pills. So I am going to assume it is fine as she has never led me wrong!

IsMollyReallyHungry · March 2011

Just got home from the Endo. She said spinach, Brocolli and califlower are all fine. Just don't eat anything for an hour after taking your meds and be sure it is on an empty stomach. She also stressed the importance of drinking a whole glass of water with you pills. So I am going to assume it is fine as she has never led me wrong!

Thanks! I am getting ready to eat some raw spinach now......:-)

susanswan · April 2011

Hmm...I have been hypothyroid for over 30 years. I take synthroid for probably over 20 years (used to take Armour thyroid) and have been on the same dose of 75mcg forever. I get my blood tested every year. Even in menopause my doc expected me to need a change in the dose, but I have been holding steady. I eat whole foods and cook all meals so I eat lots of all of these veggies in rotation of sorts and probably not 4 cups of any of them in one day, but possibly a combo, but that is still a large amount, I think. I eat tomatoes, peppers daily, kale, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli regularly and potatoes rarely. Even when I didn't watch the food intake with my pills or take vitamins too close, I still remained steady, but now I definitely take lots of water with the pill each morning, wait for a good 30 minutes before I eat or drink anything and wait 4 hours before taking any vitamins after the med. That's my 2 cents.

IsMollyReallyHungry · April 2011

Here is the answer from my nutritionist on the spinach and thyroid:

If you have NO thyroid problems, there is NO research evidence that goitrogenic foods will negatively impact your health. or prevent you from losing weight. If you do not have any thyroid problems, you can continue to eat as much of these foods as you want.

If you do have a thyroid hormone deficiency, since no controlled research studies have yet to take place, current practice is to avoid "overconsumption" or "excessive" intake of these foods. I would not consider 4x/week over consumption and once again, Yolanda, if you do not have a documented thyroid hormone deficiency, this does not apply. You can eat as much as you want.

Cooking does appear to help inactivate the goitrogenic compounds found in food, but once again research is limited in this area. Your peaches, pears, broccoli, spinach and strawberries are all very healthy foods and have a multitude of health benefits, so go ahead and enjoy them.

loriepaulin · October 2013

Thank you for this information. I have started making my own green smoothies in the mornings and it's good to know I can still do my spinach and kale

Question on Spinach being bad for Thyroid -- ?? T or F

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