So you found out your thyroid is underfunctioning, and you're likely wondering what am I supposed to do in my diet and lifestyle to help it start working a lot faster?
In this blog i've detailed the things you need to be implementing to make sure your thyroid starts firing away again.
What are the test results that might show an underactive thyroid?
Looking on a blood test, your thyroid is under-functioning if your FT4 is less than 15, and your FT3 is less than 5.0.
If this is you, what you are doing in your lifestyle is going to significantly impact how well your thyroid can start firing up again.
Gluten Free
If you are serious about helping your thyroid, we recommend going gluten-free.
This includes all pasta, wheat, bread, flours. There are plenty of gluten free options now at Coles and Woolworths
Fluoride in water
High fluoride intake can be associated with under-functioning thyroids.
As we have fluoride in our water, it is recommended you buy a fluoride water filter.
Fluoride was given to patients before thyroid treatment, to SLOW down overactive thyroids. So it's the last thing we need coming in multiple times a day.
We recommend the Southern Cross Pottery SPC Filter
You can purchase from here: https://www.southerncrosspottery.com.au
Ideal levels of thyroid hormones and all other vitamin, hormone levels are here in my blood test cheat sheet.
Don’t fast!
Eating regularly is essential. If you fast, or are prone to skipping meals… your nervous system will begin to feel it is under threat and in ‘starvation’ mode where it isn’t show when the next calorie-load (meal) is coming in.
When this happens, your nervous system will use cortisol to go and tell your thyroid to slow down to ensure it doesn’t burn too quickly through the calories that you are taking in.
So for an already slow thyroid, this is super detrimental!
I cannot rave enough about the impact of stress on the human body.
The benefits of exercise
The number one cause of a slow thyroid is physical inactivity.
But studies also show, too much high intensity exercise causes concerns with cortisol slowing your thyroid down further
So my recommendation is to go for a brisk walk (30-40 minutes) 5 days a week. This will ensure that you are getting the perfect amount of exercise to boost your thyroid's functioning and start churning that metabolism up.
