30/09/2021
Interesting info for those with Hashies!
Hashimoto's Health Tip: Are You Up to Date on Goitrogens?
There are some things that are accepted as universal truths that have, in point of fact, been shown to not be all that true at all.
One important "universal truth" that has been spread is information about goitrogens.
Healthy and delicious vegetables like cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale and cauliflower have all gotten a bad name due to some old outdated ideas related to thyroid disease.
Conventional Wisdom Isn't That Wise
The conventional wisdom is that goitrogenic vegetables and iodine deficiency cause goiters.
They do, in a world that no longer exists for vast majority of us.
The standard of care for people with goiters in the mid 20th century (the 1950's and 1960's)was to take iodine and never eat goitrogenic vegetables.
"Goitrogen" is a word that was coined in the 1950's to describe something that causes the formation of a goiter, also knows as an enlarged thyroid gland.
The term is deceptive and can mean anything from suppressing the release of thyroid hormone to changing the way thyroid hormone is produced in the body to slowing the absorption of iodine.
With cruciferous vegetables, they are have been called "goitrogenic" because they have the potential to block iodine absorption.
We Don't Live in the 1950's Anymore
This was a problem in the 1950's, as then, the primary reason for hypothyroidism was due to iodine deficiency, and any further changes in iodine levels were potentially problematic.
Well, this is 2021 and the world has changed. Today, our world is awash with environmental toxins, radiation and plastics. All of which can impact our thyroids.
And public efforts have been made to add iodine to the salt supplies of most industrialized countries, Today, Hashimoto's has become the primary reason for hypothyroidism, responsible for the majority of cases of in the United States.
And the vast majority of inflammation in the thyroid is caused by Autoimmune thyroiditis (of which Hashimoto's is the most common). Thyroiditis means "inflammation of the thyroid".
Iodine deficiency is also not wide spread in people with Hashimoto's, and therefore eating cruciferous vegetables (unless a person is otherwise sensitive or allergic to them) is perfectly healthy for people and should not impact thyroid function.
And even if you do have hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency, you can still enjoy these vegetables as long as they are cooked or fermented. Cooking/fermenting will break down the iodine blocking content. Steaming and blanching are also a good way to persevere the phytonutrients that are so beneficial.
Soy Is The One Exception
There is one goitrogen that I do recommend avoiding with Hashimoto's, and that's soy. Because soy is heavily genetically modified and is a potent goitrogen.
Another thing to realize is that our food supply looks nothing like it did in the 1950's. We have unprecedented levels of preservatives, chemical additives and genetically modified ingredients. And all of these can dramatically impact our health and our immune systems.
What this all means is that old model is outdated.
While it is true that a small percentage of these may develop into thyroid cancer, but the overwhelmingly larger percentage are the result of the destructive inflammatory process that is at the root of Hashimoto's. (In fact, even those that develop into cancer share this common origin).
And for the vast majority of people living in the US or in the developed world, these are not caused by iodine deficiency or goitrogenic vegetables.
Goitrogens Aren't the Problem
The research on goitrogens or vegetables that, supposedly, cause goiters is very weak.These are mostly vegetables in the cruciferous family like kale, broccoli and their relatives.
These aren't causing your nodules, in my opinion. The autoimmune process is. Foods like gluten, dairy and soy and the preservatives, GMOs and environmental toxins are at the root of this inflammation.
The flip side of this is that these vegetables have very real anti-inflammatory properties and have proven anti-cancer effects.
So, by eliminating them from your diet, you are eliminating a major ally in the fight against cancer.
Don't buy into outdated information. Question the conventional wisdom. If you look closely, you will find that some of it is just not that wise
