Did you know that being low in certain nutrients is a common cause of the development of an underactive thyroid, aka hypothyroidism?
To produce optimal amounts of thyroid hormones and respond to them appropriately, your body must have the right building blocks.
If you are dealing with hypothyroidism symptoms, such as fatigue, hair loss, brain fog, weight gain, low body temperature, or anxiety, you may be able to begin restoration of your thyroid function simply by increasing your levels of these key nutrients. Many patients are able to reduce their dose of supplemental thyroid hormone or even get off of it entirely just by increasing their nutrient levels through diet and supplements.
Below is a list of the nine most common nutrient deficiencies linked to thyroid dysfunction and how to slowly increase your intake of each one.
- Iodine
Iodine is the most important mineral when it comes to thyroid health. It is one of the building blocks your body uses to produce thyroid hormones. It also supports the process of converting T4, the storage form of thyroid hormones, into free T3, the usable form of the hormone.
The best dietary sources of iodide, which is the food version of iodine that the body converts into iodine, are seaweed and saltwater fish. However, I like to see my hypothyroid patients add a small amount of supplemental iodine as well unless urine analysis indicates they have a sufficient amount. I recommend having your iodine and selenium levels tested by a functional medicine specialist, like myself, before deciding to supplement with iodine. If your body already has enough, giving it more can worsen a hypothryoidic condition.
- Selenium
The second most important mineral for thyroid health is selenium. It also plays a role in converting T4 to T3, giving us usable thyroid hormone. For those with autoimmune thyroid dysfunction, aka Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, selenium has also been shown to drastically reduce antibody levels, reversing autoimmune activity. For more detailed information about Hashimoto’s, I have several articles in the Blog section about the condition.
You can get this much-needed mineral through your diet with liver, chicken and turkey, fish and shellfish, spinach, and a high-quality supplement. Much like with iodine, do not take more than 200 micrograms of selenium if urinalysis indicates your levels are adequate.
- Tyrosine
Tyrosine, an amino acid (building block of proteins), is yet another building block of thyroid hormones. Your thyroid converts tyrosine into thyroglobulin and then attaches between one and four iodine atoms to create the four forms of thyroid hormone – T1, T2, T3 and T4.
You need sufficient protein in your diet to offer enough tyrosine to produce adequate amounts of thyroid hormone. Tyrosine is abundant in red meat, chicken, fish, seafood, and seaweed. But beware of using seafood and seaweeds for tyrosine as these are also high in iodine, and if your levels of iodine are sufficient, you do not want to increase levels too much.
- B Vitamins
Your thyroid relies on many of the B vitamins, but in particular B12. Vitamin B12 is the transporter that brings iodine to the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone. Vitamin B12 is also needed to produce thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which signals your thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones. A vitamin B12 deficiency commonly results in hypothyroidism symptoms, such as fatigue, depression, and brain fog, and studies have shown that vitamin B12 deficiency is common among hypothyroid patients.
Great sources of B vitamins include leafy green vegetables (be sure to cook kale, cabbage, broccoli and bok choy to counteract their goitrogenic effects), beets, red meat, and liver. I often recommend that my thyroid patients also take a supplemental B-complex or high-quality multivitamin with adequate levels of B12.
If your stomach acid is low, your body will struggle to absorb B12 from food sources. There is an easy way to determine if your acid is low. If acid is low, it can be remedied fairly easily. Ask a functional medicine practitioner for advice. B12 can also be taken in a sublingual form (under tongue) so it bypasses the stomach for absorption.
- Iron
Without iron, iodide from food cannot be converted into its usable form of iodine. Iron also supports the conversion of T4 to T3. More severe iron deficiency or anemia can exacerbate the most common thyroid disease symptoms of fatigue and weakness.
Many of my female patients, regardless if they are vegan/vegetarian or eat a meat rich diet, are iron-deficient. I like to determine if there is a patient has sub optimum levels of iron stores in the body before moving on to more complicated treatments as remedying the iron deficiency is often enough to give the body a major boost in health.
Quality food sources of iron include organic or grass-fed beef and beef liver, pork, poultry, seafood, and dark leafy vegetables. Like B12, iron requires adequate stomach acid for best absorption into your body. There are some easier to absorb formulations available that also do not cause typical constipation associated with iron supplementation.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids support the integrity of your cell’s wall to help get active thyroid hormones (T3) into cells to power them. Some studies have even linked omega-3 fatty acids to increased T3 uptake by cells, as uptake can be a problem in hypothyroid and Hashimoto’s patients.
Omega-3 fatty acids also support good gut health and the integrity of the gut lining (important for those with autoimmunity and permeable intestines (leaky gut)), they decrease overall inflammation, and support the immune system.
You can get these essential fatty acids from fatty fish like salmon and even krill. But ensure you purchase a quality supplement that is free of mercury and not gone rancid.
- Vitamin A
Vitamin A is another one of the many nutrients needed to convert T4 to T3. It helps thyroid hormone T3 get into your cells by helping it bind to thyroid hormone receptors. And it supports a healthy immune system, which is important for those with Hashimoto’s in particular.
I encourage getting the majority of your vitamin A from beta-carotene-rich foods like orange fruits and vegetables: carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, mangoes, apricots, as well as liver and cooked kale as supplementation can have its drawbacks. Ask for advice about dosing.
- Vitamin D3
Like with vitamin A, vitamin D3 is required to get T3 safely into cells and very importantly, supports a healthy immune system. Low levels of vitamin D3 have been linked to both autoimmune thyroid diseases – Hashimoto’s and Graves’, as well as thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules.
An easy way to support your immune system and protect your thyroid is to supplement with vitamin D3 each day. However, you’ll want to make sure that your supplement includes vitamin K2 because they work together. Your body uses vitamin D to absorb calcium, and it needs vitamin K to ensure that the calcium ends up in your bones instead of in your arteries.
You can also get vitamin D from adequate amounts of sun exposure, fatty fish, pork, and quality fish oil.
- Zinc
Zinc plays a crucial role at both the beginning of the thyroid hormone production process and its journey to your cells. It is particularly important as a trigger of thyroid hormone receptors in the hypothalamus – the endocrine system’s control center, which then can accurately gauge your levels of thyroid hormone in your blood. If too low, the hypothalamus signals the thyroid to produce more T4, and if too high, to decrease production of T4. Once the T4 is produced, it then helps convert them to their active form, T3.
You can include more zinc in your diet with red meat and liver, pork, chicken, spinach, seafood, or a multivitamin or supplement. Just remember to pair your zinc supplement with copper; otherwise, it can deplete your body’s copper supply. Be cautious adding zinc into your body using supplements though. Ideally, your food sources would be adequate suppliers.
Always keep in mind that food is fuel for all your body functions. You eat to live. You eat well to live well. So, providing your thyroid with the fuel it needs to function properly is a key step in restoring thyroid function, eliminating symptoms, and restoring your health and vitality. And remember, taking supplements should commence slowly so as not to overwhelm the digestive system all at once.
To be sure you need these supplements for a confirmed thyroid condition, it is best to consult a qualified therapist trained in dealing with thyroid issues. As someone who has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, I am well versed in how to manage hypothyroid symptoms. Give me a call and let’s see if we can work together to help you manage yours.