Today, we live in this fast-paced world where there are certain adverse consequences which we cannot avoid. Thyroid is one of them. Nearly 60 percent of those with thyroid disease do not even know that they have it, and this is alarming! But if you know you have it, you must make diet corrections to manage thyroid levels. Read on to know a special diet for thyroid.
Before we dive into it, let’s know a little about thyroid. Below the front of your neck just above your collarbone is your thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland. Thyroid chemicals control the pace of numerous exercises in your body. These incorporate how quick you consume calories and how quick your heartbeats. It exercises your body’s metabolism. Thyroid is one such problem which is not a disease but a lifestyle disorder too.
There’s a difference between Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland develops much of thyroid hormones. Whereas, Hypothyroidism is a condition when the thyroid glands’ hormone production slows down. A person with Hypothyroidism tends to gain weight while a person with Hyperthyroidism loses a lot of weight.
Any issue with your thyroid will turn into the following aftereffects:
* Thyroid nodules: Irregularities in the thyroid organ
* Thyroiditis: Enlarging of the thyroid
* Hypothyroidism: When your thyroid organ doesn’t make an adequate number of thyroid chemicals
* Hyperthyroidism: When your thyroid organ makes more thyroid chemicals than your body needs
* Goitre: Growth of the thyroid organ
* Thyroid cancer
According to Ayurveda, too much stress, eating heavy and non-compatible foods regularly, or a sedentary lifestyle can deplete Agni (metabolic fire), which can cause thyroid.
Toxins, when piled up in the thyroid, change cellular structure. This cheats our immune intelligence to mistake our cells for a foreign body, stimulating antibodies against thyroids and the autoimmune response.
Low metabolism leads to toxins formation (Aama toxins) and dosha imbalances, especially Vata and Kapha dosha.These mucusy Aama and Kapha toxins block the TSH (parathyroid hormone) conversion into T3 & T4 (thyroid hormones), leading to high TSH & low T3 and T4.
Here is a one-day special diet for thyroid that you can follow for months to help restore healthy thyroid levels:
1. Morning drink
Fresh Turmeric juice: 1 tablespoon
Black pepper powder: 1 pinch
Coconut oil-1 teaspoon
Mix the above ingredients well and take daily on an empty stomach.
Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting functions. Pepper promotes the bioavailability of turmeric in an even better way. Coconut oil has good fats to improve thyroid functions.
2. Breakfast: Mung Chaat
Recipe:
Soak 100 gm whole green mung bean overnight. In the morning, drain the water and cook the mung with enough water, salt, and turmeric. Mung should be cooked only 80 percent.
Saute one onion finely chopped in one teaspoon of ghee or oil, add ginger garlic paste, cumin seeds, coriander powder, cinnamon powder, pepper powder for taste. Add the cooked mung in it and mix well. You can add green chilly and garam masala for more spiciness. Saute for a few minutes more and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and two teaspoons of flax seeds or pumpkin seeds.
Mung is full of protein, easy to digest, and has zero fat. Mung helps fight inflammation on the thyroid gland. You feel fuller for a long time, without any hunger. Flax seeds are loaded with omega-3 fats and iron, and so, they promote immune functions and regulates oxygen levels.
3. Mid-morning: One cup Detox Tea
Drinking detox tea is very important to improve metabolism and melt the fat toxins.
1 Teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
1 Teaspoon Coriander seeds (Dhaniya)
1 Teaspoon Fennel seeds (Variyali)
1/2 Teaspoon Dry ginger powder (Shunti)
Boil all ingredients with 5 cups of water and make 4 cups. Drink this tea 4 times a day.
You can also have one apple along with detox tea if you are feeling hungry or may drink coconut water.
4. Lunch
Gluten-free multigrain pancakes with 2 bowls of cooked vegetables
How to make gluten-free multigrain pancakes?
One cup yellow mung dal flour or 1/2 cup soaked and ground mung daal
Half cup Sorghum (jwari) flour. Mix well with enough water to make the pancake. Add 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, half teaspoon cumin seeds, and salt to taste. Make tasty pancakes!
You can add 1/2 cup grated beetroot, carrot, or bottle gourd in the batter to make it tastier and wholesome.
Recipe for cooked vegetables
You can use vegetables or any 3-4 vegetable combination from bottle gourd, snake gourd, carrots, pumpkins, zucchini, beetroot, spinach, lettuce, kohlrabi, turnip, radish, soft gourds (Turai, Galka, Tendli), ridge gourd.
Recipe: Saute one onion in very little oil or ghee. Add ginger-garlic paste, cumin-coriander powder, one pinch of asafoetida, black pepper, green chili, salt as per your taste. Cut the vegetables into medium square cubes and add. Cook in a slow flame till it is tender (do not overcook).
No need to add water for cooking as the vegetable has water content and it is enough.
Garnish with a handful of fresh coriander leaves. These boiled vegetables are tasty and easily digestible too. It will slowly improve your overall metabolism and burn the fats.
5. Drink one cup of warm detox tea after the lunch
If you feel hungry, have 5 soaked almonds with two tsp full of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
6. Dinner: Mung and vegetable soup
You should finish your dinner maximum by 8 p.m. so that your body will get enough hours to digest the food and do the repairing and cleaning process.
Recipe:
Soaked green mung or yellow mung dal one cup
Chopped vegetables 2 cups (choose any 2-3 vegetables mentioned above)
Pressure cook the mung and vegetables with enough water by adding salt, turmeric, green chili.
In a pan, add one teaspoon cumin seed, one pinch of asafoetida. Saute and add a half finely chopped onion and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well and add the cooked mung and vegetable mix to it. Boil well to make a thick soup, garnish with coriander leaves. Drink warm 1-2 bowls.
This protein and fiber-rich soup keeps you fuller.
7) Detox tea at bedtime
How will this special diet for thyroid help?
Follow the above diet daily for 1-2 months and experience the result. Reduction in 2-3 kg body weight, improved thyroid functions and hormones, balanced blood pressure and cholesterol, stable emotions, reduction in stress and anxiety, and many more health benefits.
Important: Stop taking wheat, refined flour, yogurt, dairy products, sweets, junk foods, sour foods. They are inflammation-producing foods and increase the risk of Thyroid problems, so avoid them.
If you like eating non-vegetarian food, you can eat fish curry, egg curry, or chicken curry twice a week during lunch.
