Foods to Avoid if You Have Thyroid Problems

Thyroid Gland

 Clean up your diet and avoid these foods as much as possible! They all have been shown in various ways to disrupt thyroid function or cause other hormone imbalances which can wreak havoc on your thyroid.

#1. Sugar (Refined Sugar)

Sugar (in high amounts) can absolutely lead to hormone conditions such as insulin resistance and weight gain. We also know that there is a bi-directional relationship between insulin resistance and thyroid disease. Beyond these hormone problems, sugar intake can lead to food cravings, depression, and other issues.

Does this mean you need to remove sugar from your diet forever?

No way! But it does mean that you should be extra strict in avoiding sugar if you haven't for a long time. After a relatively short strict avoidance period, you may be able to add back some sugar into your diet depending on factors such as your activity level, body weight, and metabolism. After a while (the length of time varies based on your body) you may be able to introduce some natural sources of sugar such as maple syrup and honey without issue.

#2. *Gluten

While gluten is definitely a problem for a majority of people with thyroid problems, I am finding more and more that some people can tolerate gluten after a withdrawal period of 30-60 days. Gluten is often mentioned as a 'no-no' if you have thyroid disease because Celiac disease is considered an autoimmune disease.

This is a potential problem because we know that people with one autoimmune disease (such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis) tend to experience other autoimmune conditions at a very high rate. And this connection appears to be true for people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis who experience an increased risk of developing gluten intolerance by about 4x what is normal for the standard population risk of developing celiac disease with thyroid disease.

#3. *Dairy

Many individuals in the United States are considered to be lactose intolerant (meaning they can't handle the milk sugar lactose) while another group of patients are intolerant of dairy but due to proteins such as casein.

**My Food Sensitivity test showed the casein protein, so for me, any dairy bloats me and causes fluids on my joints almost immediately.

You can figure out which group you fall into by avoiding dairy all-together for a set amount of time. But, regardless of why you don't tolerate dairy, it's not a good idea to consume it if you experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, gas, bloating, etc.

But another reason to potentially avoid it has to do with the fact that patients with thyroid disease (especially those with Hashimoto's) may experience an improvement in their TSH when they avoid it. A study in 2014 showed that patients with Hashimoto's who avoided dairy for 8 weeks experienced a reduction in their TSH3.

This was only true for those people with Hashimoto's who also had lactose intolerance, but the researchers also found that people with thyroid disease tend to experience lactose intolerance at a higher rate than the normal population.

The verdict?

Consider removing dairy from your diet if you have thyroid disease and especially if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis! The worst thing that can happen is that you experience no change in your symptoms while the best thing that could happen is that you feel a lot better.

#4. Alcohol

It shouldn't come as a surprise that alcohol can potentially cause problems to organs in your body (consider the case of alcoholic liver disease if you don't believe me!).

It may surprise you to find out that alcohol also tends to cause problems directly with your thyroid gland. Alcohol has been shown to blunt your thyroid by inhibiting the release of pituitary and hypothalamic hormones due to the fact that it is toxic to certain cells in your body. Alcohol can also promote obesity through its influence on insulin resistance, and it can ultimately lead to liver damage which can further impair thyroid function and conversion. If you have thyroid disease, then you should avoid alcohol 100%.

#5. Trans-Fat

Most people know that trans-fat is bad for your overall health but what you may not know is that trans-fat may also cause thyroid dysfunction.

Some studies have linked high-fat diets to thyroid dysfunction5 - just another reason to avoid this type of fat.

#6. Industrial Seed Oils & Fats

It's pretty straightforward but there are a number of oils which fall into the category known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVO's for short) and these fats have been known to cause inflammation in your body. Inflammation is a problem for your thyroid because it blocks the conversion of T4 into T3. This is one of the reasons that people recommend that you consume healthy fats (coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, etc.) because these non-hydrogenated vegetable oils are not associated with inflammation.

#7. *Highly processed Soy

Soy is one of those foods which really fits in the middle ground of good and bad. What do I mean? Some studies have shown that soy can theoretically cause problems in your thyroid such as blocking iodine uptake and by potentially inhibiting thyroid medication absorption. The only problem is that these effects are not necessarily seen clinically in many people. So, on the basis that soy can theoretically cause thyroid dysfunction, it's probably best to avoid it. There's probably a big difference in the quality of the soy foods that you are consuming. If you find high-quality organic soy products (and you are an individual that can tolerate them) some mild use of soy is probably okay.

But if you are someone who tends to be very sensitive to foods or if your thyroid function is going haywire (with frequent fluctuations up and down) then you probably want to avoid soy all-together.

#8. Frozen and highly processed foods

Frozen foods and all-in-one meals all have one thing in common: plenty of preservatives. Preservatives help your food stay fresh for a long period of time which can be a good and bad thing. These preservatives are either man-made or naturally occurring but either way, they can potentially cause problems for your thyroid.

What isn't well known is how each of these preservatives (especially the man-made variety) impact our health over the long term. And, because you just don't need to consume a large amount of them (you can simply make fresh foods!) I recommend that you avoid them. You can find a list of how various known chemicals interact with and cause thyroid dysfunction in this study.

#9. Legumes/Beans

It turns out that legumes and beans really don't want humans to eat them.

They have a combination of naturally occurring substances such as goitrogens and lectins10 which can potentially cause problems for your thyroid.

Proper preparation and handling of these foods can limit your exposure to these

plant-based chemicals, but not everyone tolerates them the same (even after the correct preparation). Due to the fact that so many people simply don't tolerate them, and due to the fact that these chemicals can potentially cause problems to your gut health, it is probably best to avoid legumes and beans at least initially.

Re-introducing them at a later date will work well for some individuals, but you should not use them if you notice abdominal pain/gas/bloating afterward.

#10. *Coffee

There are probably many of you out there that aren't going to like this one, but you should at least hear me out!

It's not clear to me whether or not coffee is inherently good for you or bad for you because there are conflicting studies which show both sides to be true.

But let's table that discussion for today and focus solely on your thyroid.

Coffee is potentially a problem for thyroid patients because it has been shown to temporarily suppress the TSH (though this study was performed in rats).

The suppression in TSH may not necessarily be a bad thing but in this case, it was because it was also associated with a decline in both T3 and T4 levels (triiodothyronine and thyroxine) about 6 hours after ingestion. This could probably be overlooked if it wasn't the only problem. Perhaps even the biggest problem with coffee is the fact that it is primarily used (and perhaps abused) as a stimulant or energy supplement.

The continual use of coffee to increase your energy may come at a cost to your hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axes.

Constant stimulation of these axes may diminish your normal hormone response to stress and cause issues such as fatigue, insomnia, and depression.

Coffee is another one of those food groups that is probably well-tolerated by some people with varying degrees in the middle.