The standard treatment for hypothyroidism is to take thyroid hormone replacement medications every day. Of course, medications often have side effects, and forgetting to take a pill can lead to more symptoms.
In some cases, natural remedies may cause fewer side effects and better suit your overall lifestyle.
Alternative Medicine is to fix the root cause of the thyroid problem.
- poor diet
- stress
- lack of nutrients in your body
Changing your diet and taking an herbal supplement are two ways that you can help with your thyroid condition. These options may have fewer side effects than taking thyroid medications.
Also, taking a herbal supplement to help treat a low or underactive thyroid can be helpful for people who don’t respond well to medications.
Many foods contain selenium, including:
- tuna
- Turkey
- Brazil nuts
- grass fed beef
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an attack by the immune system on the thyroid, often reduces the body’s supply of selenium. Supplementing this trace mineral has been shown to help balance thyroxine, or T4, levels in some people.
It is important to talk to your doctor about the amount of selenium that may be right for you, since everyone is different.
Sugar and processed foods can lead to increased inflammation in the body.
Inflammation can slow down the conversion of T4 to triiodothyronine or T3, another thyroid hormone. This can make your symptoms and thyroid disease worse.
Also, sugar only increases your energy level in the short term, eliminating it from your diet can help regulate your energy levels. Also, eliminating sugar from your diet can help with your stress levels and your skin.
It’s not easy to go on a sugar-free diet, but the thyroid health benefit may be worth it.
Taking certain vitamin supplements can affect thyroid health.
Low thyroid hormones can affect your body’s levels of vitamin B-12. Taking a vitamin B-12 supplement can help you repair some of the damage caused by hypothyroidism.
Vitamin B-12 can help with the tiredness that thyroid disease can cause. The disease also affects your vitamin B-1 levels. You can add more B vitamins to your diet with the following foods:
- peas and beans
- asparagus
- Sesame seeds
- tuna
- cheese
- Milk
- eggs
Vitamin B-12 is generally safe for most healthy people at recommended levels. Talk to your doctor about how much vitamin B-12 may be right for you.
It was found that the altered gastrointestinal (GI) motility commonly seen with hypothyroidism can cause bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine (SIBO) and ultimately lead to chronic gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.
Probiotic supplements contain helpful live bacteria that can help keep your stomach and intestines healthy.
However, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of probiotics for the prevention or treatment of any condition. Talk to your doctor to see if these supplements can help you.
Going on a gluten-free diet is more than a fad for many people with hypothyroidism.
Celiac disease is a digestive disorder in which gluten triggers an immune response in the small intestine.
Currently, research does not support a gluten-free diet for the treatment of thyroid disease.
However, many people with thyroiditis and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism feel better after eliminating wheat and other gluten-containing foods from their diet.
But there are some downsides to not consuming gluten. For one thing, the cost of buying gluten-free foods is usually much higher than foods that contain wheat.
Also, some gluten-free packaged foods are unhealthy. This is because these foods may be higher in fat and lower in fiber than products that contain wheat.