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5 Natural Remedies for Thyroid Health
August 13, 2015
[Below is my transcript of my video on natural remedies for thyroid health, along with supplemental information on the topic.]
What I’m going to share with you today are natural remedies for thyroid health. There are more people than ever before that are struggling with hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s disease, hyperthyroidism and Grave’s disease.
If you personally are one of those people who has a sluggish thyroid, a slow metabolism, maybe you exercise and the weight doesn’t come off like it should, you struggle with adrenal fatigue or lack of energy — all of those are warning signs that you might have a thyroid issue.
I’m going to cover my top five natural remedies that are safe, healthy and effective for improving your thyroid function and helping your body heal any sort of thyroid issue.
5 Natural Remedies for Thyroid Issues
1. Ashwagandha
So for starters, the No. 1 natural remedy you need to start to support the thyroid is ashwagandha, which is proven to heal thyroid and adrenal issues. Ashwagandha is known as an adaptogenic herb. Adaptogen herbs mean they help you adapt and deal with stress, and ashwagandha has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine.
Other adaptogenic herbs can include things like tulsi or holy basil — also things like rhodiola and ginseng and licorice root. All of those are adaptogen herbs, but ashwagandha may be the most effective at naturally supporting overall thyroid health, especially as a natural treatment for hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s. In fact, in the studies on it, it was actually shown to help both hyper and hypothyroid symptoms, which is amazing.
So, you should definitely add ashwagandha to your hypothyroidism diet since it works as a way to treat hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
2. Selenium
The No. 2 thing you should consider adding in to overall improve your thyroid function is selenium. The benefits of selenium are critical — actually, selenium has very powerful antioxidant-like functions. In fact, studies have shown that selenium helps balance out T4 in your body hormones, so again, taking a therapeutic dose of selenium every day has also been shown to benefit thyroid function.
There are also foods high in selenium you can consume, including:
- Brazil nuts
- Yellowfin tuna
- Cooked halibut
- Canned sardines
- Grass-fed beef
- Boneless turkey
- Beef liver
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Spinach
3. B Vitamins
The next thing you want are certain types of B vitamins if you want to improve thyroid function. There are two specifically I want to mention: thiamine and vitamin B12. Thiamine and vitamin B12 are two B vitamins you need that can actually improve thyroid function. If somebody is on a vegan or vegetarian diet, they’re absolutely going to be deficient in vitamin B12 and also are likely to be deficient in thiamine as well.
Vitamin B12 benefits thyroid health by balancing hormones naturally and treating chronic fatigue syndrome. Some of the top vitamin B12 foods include:
- Beef liver
- Sardines
- Grass-fed beef
- Tuna
- Raw cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Lamb
- Raw milk
- Eggs
- Salmon
Thiamine has many of the same benefits for thyroid health as vitamin B12, including supporting the metabolism, and some of the top thiamine foods are:
- Green peas
- Asparagus
- Brussels sprouts
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Pistachios
- Herring
- Crimini mushrooms
- Ground flaxseed
- Spinach
4. Probiotics
Four and five include probiotics. You know probiotics are critical for digestive function. In fact, thyroid conditions have also been linked to a health problem called leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut is where a protein like gluten can leak through the gut, get in the bloodstream and cause inflammation throughout the body, but also it can cause inflammation of the thyroid gland. Thus, healing leaky gut syndrome is important and probiotics are the No. 1 supplement for that.
To overcome signs and symptoms of leaky gut, consume more probiotic foods, such as:
- Kefir
- Cultured vegetables
- Kombucha
- Coconut kefir
- Natto
- Probiotic yogurt
- Kvass
- Raw cheese
5. Proteolytic Enzymes
And then, last but not least are proteolytic enzymes. Enzymes reduce inflammation, especially if you have an autoimmune-related thyroid condition like Hashimoto’s disease; taking proteolytic enzymes like bromelain can benefit thyroid health by reducing inflammation of the thyroid.
If you can do those five natural remedies that I mentioned, you’re going to see great results in thyroid function. Sometimes you can even find a blended formula as well with all of those ingredients in it that can support thyroid and adrenal gland function.
So again, really take care of your thyroid. If you have any of those issues I mentioned, especially issues with your metabolism and energy levels, those are big warning signs you have thyroid and adrenal issues.
