Thyroid imbalance is much more common today than it was a decade ago. Despite all the information available through books, journals, and articles like this, more work needs to be done to educate the public and medical community. It has become a hidden epidemic in the United States, so learning how to eat well to support the thyroid is important.
The best eating plan for someone dealing with thyroid disease is one that contributes to their overall health. That means a low-glycemic, high-complex carbohydrate, low-fat diet. Eating foods that fall into this category will cause you to lose weight and keep it off forever. The best part is that you stay full longer, eat fewer calories and get a good amount of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and fiber.
That means staying away from refined sugars and simple sugars, which cause sugar to enter the bloodstream faster and cause blood sugar to spike more. The higher the blood sugar level after eating, the higher the insulin level. The GLYCEMIC INDEX is defined as how high your blood sugar rises in response to eating a particular food. The higher the blood sugar rise, the higher the glycemic index of the food.
You need to learn how to reduce the amount of simple sugars you eat per day and how to lower the glycemic load at each meal. Here are some tips and suggestions on how to do just that:
1. Replace white bread with 100% WHOLE GRAIN BREAD, which has a lower glycemic index.
2. Increase your consumption of OATS and BARLEY.
3. Eat foods like whole grains, barley, nuts, pumpernickel bread, and dried legumes that have a much lower glycemic index.
4. Avoid white bread, white potatoes, chips, sweetened breakfast cereals, yams, sweetcorn, white rice, crackers, crackers, and buckwheat — all of which have a medium glycemic index.
5. Choose leafy greens, whole grain breads, unsweetened rice crackers and unsweetened muffins.
6. Avoid cookies, cakes, ice cream, donuts and pastries that are full of refined sugar and fat.
Increase the fiber content to lower the glycemic index of your meals. This increases the efficiency of insulin, keeping you fuller longer and naturally reducing your calorie intake. When eating granola, choose whole grains, which provide you with more calcium, fiber, iron, folic acid, vitamin C, and zinc. They will make you eat less fat and cholesterol and help you lose weight by eating more fiber.
Although fruits are high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, they are quite high in simple sugars. For this reason, keep your fruit consumption to 2 servings per day. Eat fruits with the lowest glycemic index, i.e. apples and organic berries. When it comes to fat, you should avoid fats that come from meat and dairy, as well as fats that are solid at room temperature. If you eat too much fat, you will continue to be hungry and, as a result, you will consume more calories.
Your body can adjust its metabolism when you eat high-quality proteins and carbohydrates. It cannot do this if you eat too much fat. Fat is absorbed from your gut and goes straight to your fat cells for storage. If you reduce fat in your diet, you will lose weight even if you eat the same amount of calories. In other words, if you reduce your fat intake by 10%, you will lose about 10 pounds. Add good fats like olive oil, sesame oil, macadamia nut oil, and walnut oil.
The Mediterranean diet is a great way to eat. It’s high in green vegetables, nuts, fish, lean meats, whole grains, and olive oil, which help with weight loss and prevent weight gain. This type of diet is your first line of defense against chronic disease, heart disease, and weight loss.
Here are some more tips for a successful weight management program:
1. Don’t skip meals – plan on a 300-400 calorie meal every 3-4 hours. Increasing meal frequency promotes lower insulin levels, improves insulin efficiency, and lowers your cholesterol in the process.
2. Breakfast – this is the best way to boost your metabolism and fuel for the day.
3. Watch what you drink – avoid drinking beverages with high fructose corn syrup, which is used in many soft drinks and causes weight gain.
4. Watch portion sizes – You can fill your plate with veggies, leafy greens, etc., but the protein source should be the size of a deck of cards and whole grains should be about 1/2 – 3/4 cup.
5. Increase your calcium intake – Calcium affects and speeds up the metabolism of fat cells and helps you lose weight when consuming high amounts of branched-chain amino acids. You can get these amino acids by eating fish, whole grains, chicken, sesame seeds, mushrooms, lentils, and chickpeas.
Thanks to Sherry L. Granader
