Thyroid disorders are an interesting thing to treat from a Functional Medicine / Naturopathic perspective. Those disciplines seek to find and address the “Root Cause” of the symptoms or disorder, in order to treat it as thoroughly and effectively as possible.
What makes Thyroid disorders particularly challenging in this regard, is that they can BOTH be caused BY nutrient deficiencies, AND existing Thyroid Disorders can CAUSE Nutrient Deficiencies.
The thyroid is a little bit like the bicycle chain of the body, it’s such a small part of the bike, but it’s almost entirely responsible for it actually working.
In the bicycle chain of thyroid function, each link is a different chemical signal, reaction, and function that manages the optimal functionality of almost every organ in the body.
In order to make those links, the thyroid requires different vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other nutrients for the proper “action” to happen.
This is why Nutrient deficiencies can be both a symptom AND a cause of thyroid disfunction.
There are great nutrient panel lab tests that can let you know exactly where your individual body stands nutritionally, but in the mean time, here are the most essential nutrients for Thyroid function…
Iodine
Iodine is not just foundational to thyroid function, the thyroid can’t function properly without sufficient iodine in the body.
Currently there is some controversy around exactly how much iodine is too much or too little for optimal thyroid health. Be aware that Iodine IS one of the nutrients that you CAN get too much of.
The recommended daily intake of Iodine is 150mcg for most adults
Good Dietary sources of Iodine:
- Dried Seaweed / Kelp / Nori (the amount of iodine varies wildly depending on the species of seaweed. This article is a fantastic and detailed resource for more information: https://seaveg.com/blogs/articles/should-i-eat-seaweed-to-get-iodine)
- Cod (wild caught) (99mcg / serving)
- Yogurt (75mcg / cup)
- Milk (85mcg / cup)
- Eggs (24mcg / large egg)
- Tuna (14mcg / 2.5 oz serving)
- Lima Beans (32mcg / ½ cup)
When increasing Iodine, it is important to also increase Selenium intake:
Selenium
Selenium is required for the body to convert the T4 hormone into the “Active” form of Thyroid hormone, T3.
Selenium also helps protect against Iodine toxicity (too much iodine). This is why it is so important to increase iodine and selenium at the same time.
The daily intake of Selenium for adults is 55mcg
Good Dietary sources of Selenium:
- Brazil Nuts (96mcg / Nut)
- Meat (33mcg / serving (approximate))
- Eggs (6.6mcg / large egg)
- Brown Rice (19mcg / cup)
- Oatmeal (13mcg / cup)
- Mushrooms (12mcg / 100 gram serving)
- Spinach (11mcg / cup)
Vitamin A
If you run nutritional lab tests on patients struggling with hypothyroidism, the vast majority of them are deficient in Vitamin A.
This is because the thyroid uses Vitamin A to convert cholesterol into thyroid-protective hormones. When you don’t have enough Vitamin A – you don’t have enough active thyroid hormone, and however much you have, your body can’t use it properly.
Vitamin A is ALSO Anti-Inflammatory, and decreases TSH levels. I can’t overstate how important Vitamin A is.
The Recommended Daily Intake of Vitamin A Is 900mcg for adult men, 700mcg for adult women
Good Dietary Sources of Vitamin A:
- Animal Products: particularly Liver (6,600mcg/3oz), meat, fish and Dairy products
Each food within these categories has a radically different level of Vitamin A.
I like to use the Nutrient Ranking Tool at MyFoodData.com to learn details on the kinds of meat, fish and dairy I like to eat.
- Sweet Potato (2,581mg / cup)
- Butternut Squash (1144mcg / cup
- Carrots (1329mcg / cup)
- Leafy Greens (943mcg – 279mcg / cup depending on variety, Spinach is the highest)
- Cantaloupe (299mcg / cup)
Zinc
Zinc is so important to thyroid function that hypothyroidism can actually be CAUSED BY an underlying Zinc deficiency.
Zinc is needed for the thyroid to convert the “inactive” T4 to the active form of thyroid hormone T3.
The Recommended Daily Intake of Zinc is 11mg
Good Dietary sources of Zinc:
- Red Meat & Shellfish (Steak depending on cut ranges from about 4mg – 15mg, cooked Oysters have 52mg in 3 oz)
- Legumes (Adzuki Beans 4.1mg / 1 cup)
- Seeds (particularly Pumpkin and Hemp seeds both about 2.9mg/oz. Sesame 2mg/oz)
- Nuts (particularly pine nuts [1.8mg/oz] and cashews [1.6mg/oz])
- Cheese (Most types contain 1mg/oz)
Copper
Copper is necessary to protect the health of the thyroid glad itself and is vital in the building, regulating and balancing of ALL hormones in the body, not just thyroid hormones. Women are more likely than Men to have Copper deficiency.
If you experience: weakness, fatigue, frequent illnesses, weak or “brittle” bones , or problems with your memory and learning new things, these are all signs of potential underlying copper deficiency.
A tiny amount of Copper goes a long way, the recommended daily intake of copper is only 0.9mg.
Good Dietary Sources of Copper:
- Organ meat and Shellfish (11.8mg/3oz)
- Spirulina (1 tablespoon provides about 66% of the RDI of copper!),
- Mushrooms, particularly Shiitake (1.3mg/cup)
- Leafy Greens (0.3mg/cup)
- Nuts and Seeds (each type offers different levels of copper, but some of the highest include Sesame Seeds [0.7mg/oz] Cashews [0.6mg/oz], Hazelnuts and Sunflower Seeds [both 0.5/oz].)
- Dark Chocolate (0.5mg/oz)
Iron
Iron and Thyroid levels have a very delicate relationship. Having lowered thyroid function can create a domino effect, particularly in people with periods.
Lower thyroid function can cause the stomach to produce less stomach acid than normal. Having less stomach acid leads to iron malabsorption, when the body isn’t able to extract iron from the supplements or food you eat like it should or to the level it should.
Hypothyroidism can also lead to heavier periods, depleting the body of even more iron reserves.
This issue is one best explored with a trained physician and armed with good lab tests to monitor your personal iron levels. Gut health, chronic inflammation, MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) Resistance can all play a part in iron deficiencies.
All that being said, it’s still important to make sure you are getting enough iron in your diet.
Men and Women who don’t experience periods should shoot for 8mg / day
Women with monthly periods are recommended to consume 18mg / day
The foods highest in Iron are:
- Liver and organ meat (5mg / 1 3oz serving)
- Spinach, (3.2mg / cup)
- Shellfish ( 2-3mg / 6-8oz)
- Legumes, particularly lentils (12mg / cup)
- Broccoli (1.1mg / cup)
- Dark Chocolate (2.3mg / ounce)
Tyrosine
Tyrosine is an amino acid, and like Iodine, is another main building block of thyroid hormones.
It is here at the end of the list though, because it needs to be taken by supplement not through food.
The complexities of how amino acids work with the thyroid is a whole other post (or several!) but I recently found a truly comprehensive amino acid complex that I wanted to share, Perfect Aminos (I do not recieve a commission from this link, it is just a product I highly recommend!)