12 Tips To Heal Your Thyroid Naturally

Do you have thyroid issues? When your thyroid isn’t functioning properly, it can create a real mess in your life and leave you feeling run down, stressed out, unhappy and unhealthy.

 

You see, your thyroid is responsible for a lot of things! It regulates your metabolism, keeps you at a healthy weight, makes energy, keeps your moods balanced and even, helps you get a sound night’s sleep and helps you have good digestion. In fact, your thyroid plays a part in almost every physiological process. That why, when it’s not working optimally, it can really wreck havoc on your life.

 

Unfortunately, thyroid disease is becoming an epidemic in our country. And there are still so many that have a problem and are not diagnosed.

 

If you suspect you have a thyroid problem it’s important to see a holistic practitioner so you can get the necessary lab testing. Together with your practitioner, you can work on finding the root causes of your thyroid issue. Your thyroid problem will not go away if the root causes are not addressed.

 

 

But there is hope! It is possible to heal your thyroid naturally through diet and lifestyle changes. Here are 12 great ways to get you started so you can begin to heal your thyroid naturally:

 

12 Tips To Heal Your Thyroid Naturally

 

#1 Find a good holistic practitioner to seek out the root causes of your thyroid issues.

Your thyroid problems will not go away unless the root causes are addressed. I cannot stress this enough. A good holistic practitioner will work with you to discover the underlying issues that are causing the problem and work towards a solution that works for you individually. Here is a directory to find a holistic practitioner near you.

 

#2: Have your practitioner run a GI pathogen test.

A GI Pathogen Test is a stool test for parasites. You need to make sure there is not a parasite infection in the intestinal tract because more often than not, those with elevated TPO or those that test positive to thyroid antibodies, have a parasite infection. Make sure your practictioner runs at least a 4 day test, to get the most accurate results.

 

#3: Avoid Soy

Soy is damaging to your thyroid gland because it blocks essential nutrients necessary for the thyroid to function properly. Check your labels carefully because soybean oil is used in almost every packaged product.

 

#4: Avoid Gluten

The gluten in the United States is extremely inflammatory and acidic and is a major cause of thyroid dysfunction. Gluten causes an autoimmune response in many people and is now being examined as the cause of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a common autoimmune thyroid condition. Gluten also causes immune antibody production in those with elevated TPO levels.

 

#5 Use Coconut Oil.

Coconut oil does not interfere with T4 to T3 conversion like many cooking oils do. Coconut oil increases your metabolism and helps you lose weight (read more about that HERE). It also supports GI and immune health, which are key in aiding the thyroid. Replace your cooking and baking oils with coconut oil and make sure to consume at least 1 tablespoon of Virgin Coconut Oil like THIS a day. I like to add a teaspoon or two of coconut oil to my morning tea or coffee. Adding 1 tablespoon to a smoothie is also a great way to incorporate coconut oil to your diet.

 

#6 If you have hypothyroidism, make sure to cook all vegetables containing goitrogens.

Goitrogens block thyroid hormone production. The vegetables that should always be cooked if you are dealing with thyroid problems are broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale, bok choy, rutabaga, and watercress.

 

#7 Avoid peanuts and peanut butter as they also contain goitrogens.

 

#8 Eat Seaweed and other Sea Vegetables.

Seaweed and other sea vegetables like nori, kombu, wakame should be eaten often. These foods are the highest dietary source of iodine and come loaded with many other beneficial nutrients.

 

#9 Drink Bone Broth daily.

Bone broth from healthy, pasture raised animals is a wonderful healing elixer that helps heal and seal the gut lining and also strengthens the immune system. Both of these are crucial for optimum thyroid health.  Drink 1 cup of bone broth daily and add in a pinch of sea salt and kelp flakes to further support thyroid health. Read how to make a healing bone broth here. 

 

#10 Find ways to De-Stress and Detox

Stress is one of the worst thyroid offenders. Most Americans are under chronic stress from the stresses of life, food toxins, enviromental toxins, etc. The constant supply of stress chemicals, adrenalin and cortisol, produced by your adrenal glands interferes with thyroid hormones and leads to thyroid disease. Find ways to de-stress and detox so your body isn’t as overburdened with stresses. Epsom salt baths are one of my favorite healthy ways to both de-stress and detox (find my favorite detox epsom salt bath recipe <-HERE). This turmeric tea recipe is also a delicious way to effectively help detox your liver.

 

#11 Go Natural

Our body is so overburdened by the chemical nature of today’s world. Our food is toxic, our air is toxic, our homes are filled with toxic beauty and personal care products, etc. All these toxic chemicals wreck havoc on our body and thyroid health. The more we can clear out the harmful chemicals in our food and home, the better we will feel and healthier we will be. Ditch as much packaged and processed food as you can. Look for all natural, toxic-free personal care, beauty and cleaning products.

 

#12 Optimize your Vitamin A, D and K2 levels.

These vitamins are crucial to good thyroid and hormone health and many recent studies are finding that those with thyroid disease are deficient in these crucial vitamins. 

Vitamin D can be obtained by spending 20 minutes to an hour in the sunlight each day. Make sure to use no sunscreen for at least 20 of those minutes, as sunscreen blocks Vitamin D.  Use a natural sunscreen after those 20 minutes to 1 hour. You can also supplement with a good quality Vitamin D. I like using this fermented cod liver oil or this high quality Vitamin D supplement.

Vitamin A can be obtained through the diet by incorporating organ meats from healthy pasture raised animals (I take frozen liver pills with excellent success – read my story here), full fat milk and cream from grass fed cows (only if you tolerate dairy), and high quality cod liver oil. Most fish oils on the market are low quality and are actually detrimental to your health because they are heat treated which cause the oil to go rancid. Rancid oil equals inflammation and free radicals. I recommend Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil Oslo Orange or New Chapter Wholemega Fish Oil Supplement fish oil brand.

K2 can be obtained by eating egg yolks and butter, hard cheeses and kefir from grass fed, healthy cows.

 

***Update: I came across an online holistic thyroid seminar that is absolutely incredible. There are many reputable holistic practitioners, functional medical doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists and experts that I am familiar with on the panel to answer your questions like should you take iodine, how to deal with thyroid problems naturally, what tests you need to ask your doctor for, how to lose weight if you have a thyroid problem and a lot more. If you have a thyroid problem (or know someone who does) and are seeking to heal your thyroid naturally, please check out this online thyroid event. My close friend, who has Hashimoto’s signed up for it and called me the same day crying (happy tears!) and said she learned more in the first 30 minutes of it than she did the whole 10 years of seeing doctors and specialists for her thyroid. I am very picky about what I recommend on my blog, but I feel that this particular event is that powerful and valuable and I know it has been changing people’s lives.

Click HERE to sign up or learn more about the online Thyroid Event.

 

Do you have a thyroid problem? Are you treating it with more natural options? If so, can you offer up any advice in the comments?

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