epocrates

Podcast Recap |The Exam Room: Power up your thyroid with foods for a healthy thyroid

February 8, 2024

The thyroid gland is vital to producing energy. If it stops working in the way that it’s meant to—by creating too much or too little thyroid hormones—your entire body can be impacted. Chuck Carroll, podcast host of The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee, sits down with Dr. Neal Barnard, a physician and nutrition researcher, to talk about thyroid dysfunction and what diet and supplements can do for the thyroid gland.

Podcast length: 42 minutes

4 Key Takeaways

1. Worldwide, lack of iodine is the number one factor for thyroid dysfunction. While iodine deficiency is not common in the U.S., numbers are increasing due to changes in diets.

In the mid-1920s, the Morton Salt Company put small amounts of iodine in salt, nearly eliminating iodine deficiency in the U.S. However, with the increase in processed food consumption in the U.S. today, we are seeing a rise in iodine deficiency. While high in sodium, processed foods often don't contain iodized salt. This, coupled with the standard recommendation that individuals limit sodium intake, has led to increased iodine deficiency. In addition, various types of salt used in cooking, such as Himalayan salts, kosher salts, or sea salts, may not be iodized. Dr. Barnard urges consumers to check labels to confirm.

Iodine deficiency can be offset by looking to other demographics that don't have this problem. In Japan, it’s rare to see iodine deficiency because of the high consumption of sea vegetables loaded with iodine. Foods like seaweed contain a high amount of iodine and are abundant in their diet. While overconsumption of iodine can lead to issues related to hyperthyroidism or GI problems, including these foods in our diet can help to enhance thyroid function.

2. Although switching to a whole-food diet can improve overall health, it can still create an iodine deficiency.

While whole-food diets can decrease health risks and diseases such as strokes and heart attacks, these diets can contribute to iodine deficiency. Switching to a whole-food diet means using iodized salt less often to season food. However, clinicians can recommend iodine and seaweed-derived supplements and some dairy products that contain iodine (a byproduct of cleaning agents used in the collection of milk) to reduce the risk of iodine deficiency while ensuring patients consume less sodium.

3. For most people in the U.S. with thyroiditis, antibodies—not iodine deficiency—are the culprit behind hypothyroidism.

While iodine deficiency is the main cause of hypothyroidism worldwide, in the U.S., antibodies are more often to blame. Normally, the immune system protects the body by attacking bacteria and viruses. In Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the most common type of thyroiditis, the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. This condition can be easily diagnosed, but because of the nonspecific symptoms associated with Hashimoto’s – weight gain, fatigue, depression – the disorder frequently goes undiagnosed for an extended period.

4. Research shows that cinnamon can positively affect metabolism.

Studies of cinnamon have repeatedly revealed positive side effects from the spice. A randomized control trial followed a group of people over 16 weeks. The participants were either given a placebo or a Ceylon cinnamon capsule. Both groups of participants received the same information, and researchers encouraged a balanced diet and physical activity. At the end of the study, participants receiving the cinnamon capsule had lost an average of eight pounds compared to the control group. The aldehyde compound that is contained in cinnamon, known as cinnamaldehyde, is believed to trigger the release of natural hormones that boosts metabolism.

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this podcast recap are solely that of the host and guests and do not reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of epocrates and athenahealth.

Source:

Carroll, C (Host). (2024, January 25). Foods for a healthy thyroid: Hyperthyroid and hypothyroidism [Audio podcast episode]. In The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-exam-room-by-the-physicians-committee/id1312957138?i=1000642882073