Have you been feeling more tired lately or have been gaining weight even though you haven't changed your eating habits? It could be that your thyroid is not functioning as it should.
Hypothyroidism means your thyroid is not making enough thyroid hormone.
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck.
It makes hormones that control the way your body uses energy and when it slows down, you slow down.
There are a variety of things that you can do to regulate your thyroid and one is a Hypothyroidism Diet.
One way that your doctor can successfully identify if you do indeed have hypothyroidism is by a blood test.
Hopefully the blood test will come back negative, but if it has been determined that you do have hypothyroidism, your doctor will discuss with you a variety of ways in which you can regulate your thyroid and get yourself back to normal.
Your doctor will probably prescribe a medication and also have you begin some other processes to help your thyroid work as it should.
There is a great deal of information available to you today to help you understand what hypothyroidism is and what you can do to help your thyroid function as it was meant to.
Along with a Hypothyroidism diet, is that we all know that we need to exercise (and not walking to the mail box and back doesn't count) at least three times a week.
In addition, you should be drinking your eight glasses of water daily as this will not help your medication to be absorbed by your body but it will help flush your system.
We have just talked about two very simple things that anyone can do to get back on track.
A third thing that is something anyone can easily change into their schedule is to eat several smaller meals throughout the day rather than the three meals we are all used to eating.
Eating smaller portions more often, of course the food must be the right foods, will cause your body to process your food faster as it knows that food will be coming sooner and it won't have to store or hoard food.
Another process that you can easily change is by adding more Tyrosine-rich foods into your diet.
Everyone has to go grocery shopping, so why not add some of these foods to your list? Tyrosine-rich foods include low-fat yogurt and milk, bananas, lean meat, chicken or turkey breast and even avocados can be put into your shopping cart.
So far, we've discussed four easy things that you can do that don't put a huge impact on your current day to day activities.
When choosing the foods to eat, keeping in mind that your thyroid has slowed down and so has your metabolism.
With a slow metabolism, the weight slowly creeps on until it's too late and we really have to do some work.
Some foods have thought to be worsen the hypothyroidism symptoms are, but not limited to: walnuts, broccoli, cabbage, peaches, peanuts, tofu and even multivitamins which contain iodine.
It is so hard to ensure you are eating right when your day is so busy, but keeping in mind of what are the good and what are the bad carbs really can help.
A sixth suggestion is to be careful of your salt intake.
With eating on the run or heating a quick microwave meal at home, it is very easy for the amount of sodium that's ingested to go up.
Salt causes bloating and not good on your body.
Easing up on the salt shaker, especially when cooking, is a good habit to start.
As noted earlier, calcium supplements that contain iodine absorb the thyroid hormone replacement medicine.
Obviously, this counteracts the reason why you are taking the medicine in the first place.
The discussion of iodine seems a little contradictory but it is.
There isn't a problem in the United States but there is in underdeveloped countries.
The reason being is that iodine has been added to the salt sold in the United States so our intake is automatic.
Speaking of salt, using iodized salt, if your body does require iodine is something that should be included in your diet but not too much as you don't raise your sodium levels.
One of the things may be hard to do on a Hypothyroidism diet is to cut back on starchy foods.
Many of us love starchy foods and bread is a very common ingredient in most foods that we consume.
If you have a hard time cutting back on breads, rice and pasta try whole grain versions or simply cut back on the amount you consume.
I know it's hard, but I know that you can do it.
The last thing, and should actually be the first thing, is to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have with your doctor.
Have an annual check-up, have some lab work done and follow your doctor's orders.
Pay more attention to what you eat, take the stairs and smile.