Thyroid vitamins and minerals are a group of dietary supplements designed to help people with hypothyroidism, also called underactive thyroid.
The thyroid gland, which is in the neck, produces hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism by releasing the two thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
When the thyroid is underactive, it can cause the body’s metabolism to slow down, causing a host of symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, and difficulty concentrating. Thyroid supplements contain a variety of different compounds that help to stimulate the thyroid and increase its hormone production and can be used to help treat and manage a variety of thyroid conditions.
Iodine For Thyroid Health
Iodine is an essential compound found in foods such as dairy products and seaweed. It plays an important role in the function of the thyroid.
The deficiency of iodine is rare in the United States due to iodized salt. Iodine deficiency can cause hypothyroidism, which makes the thyroid produce less hormone. Supplementation with iodine, which is found in iodized salt, has been proven to reduce the risk of hypothyroidism in people with iodine deficiency.
Hypothyroidism, which can prompt fatigue and weight gain, dry skin, and hair loss, is a more common condition as compared to hyperthyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid is producing too much thyroid hormone. Hyperthyroidism causes the body to use a lot of energy and to make unusually large amounts of thyroid hormone. When the body makes too much thyroid hormone, it grows too fast. Over time, it may cause problems such as weight gain, fatigue, and high blood pressure. Excess amounts of iodine can also lead to hyperthyroidism, individuals taking iodine supplements are usually not advised.
Nutrients For Thyroid Health
In addition to iodine, there are some other vitamins and minerals that you may need to include in your regular diet or take as supplements.
Individuals need to add various vitamins and minerals to their daily diet or take supplements for healthy thyroid and body including iodine. Such as:
- Vitamin A. This nutrient is generally related to healthy skin, good vision, and teeth; however, it also improves thyroid hormone metabolism.
- Selenium. It is another important mineral that your body needs to perform various functions that include thyroid hormone metabolism. The right amount of selenium consumption prevents thyroid disease.
- Zinc. The deficiency of zinc can impact thyroid function.
- Vitamin D. A study states that hypothyroidism is often supplemented by Vitamin D deficiency. Multivitamins with vitamin D and Vitamin D supplements are sufficient if an individual doesn’t get enough through daily meals.
- Iron. The right amount of iron along with other vitamins and minerals in your diet plays an important role to keep your thyroid healthy.
Diet For Healthy Thyroid
There are many food varieties available that are a good source of iodine, thyroid vitamins, and minerals. Diet for healthy thyroid includes:
- Seafood: Whitefish, Cod, and shrimp are good sources of protein for your diet. Tuna and other varieties of fish are an excellent source of iodine since they naturally hold iodine in seawater.
- Iodized salt: The right amount of iodized salt is necessary for your body; an increased quantity of iodized salt can lead to high blood pressure and edema (also known as water retention).
- Seaweed: It is another good source of iodine that you add to your diet. There are three types of seaweed you can use – wakame, kombu, and nori.
- Leafy green vegetables: It is good to add leafy green vegetables to your diet such as spinach which is a good source of vitamins A and iron to keep your thyroid healthy.
- Dairy products: It includes milk, yogurt, and cheese. It is always recommended to take dairy products that are low in fat to avoid any health issues related to the consumption of excess saturated fat.
- Eggs: Adding eggs to your diet is one of the easiest ways to get nutrients such as protein, iron from the egg yolk, selenium, and vitamin A & D.
There are some other sources of iron-rich food that you can choose to add to your meals such as red meat, shellfish, and legumes, it also contains selenium.
Supplements For Thyroid Vitamin
A healthy diet is always considered better than taking supplements for thyroid vitamins and minerals in pill form. Supplements can be used as an alternative in case you don’t get ample nutrients from the food you eat.
- Selenium. In a few cases, it is observed that for people who have autoimmune thyroid disease, supplements with selenium have shown positive improvements. For people who take selenium supplements, it is important to take the appropriate dose of the supplements as prescribed by your doctor.
- Zinc. It is observed in research that zinc supplement is also helpful to keep your thyroid hormone level in control.
- Vitamin A. This vitamin helps lower the risk of hypothyroidism in people who are at higher risk.
Supplements to Support Thyroid
There are various multivitamins and vitamins available in the market that state an ideal source for “Thyroid Vitamin” or Thyroid Health.
Supplement pills for thyroid vitamins and minerals might be the easiest way to fulfill your daily nutrient requirement along with many herbal supplements like ashwagandha.
Be careful before using them, herbal supplements might be safe, and you receive positive results. But not all supplements are tested or scrutinized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) like other medicines.
A few of the supplements may have some ingredients that are not listed on the composition label. Some of the pills don’t have an exact composition of ingredients for each pill mentioned on the label.
There are certain thyroid support supplements that contain synthetic thyroid hormone, that can create an imbalance in thyroid hormone levels in the body. It doesn’t make a difference if they are prescribed or not.
It is always proposed to consult your doctor before taking any thyroid support supplements, vitamins, or minerals.
What are the risks and demerits of taking supplements?
People who have hypothyroidism and take synthetic supplements to boost hormones can get a positive outcome with healthy hormone levels. But there are certain supplements, medicines, and food you need to avoid if you are taking thyroid hormone. These are:
- supplements or multivitamins that have iron
- a few ulcer medicines and sucralfate
- medicines that are used to lower the cholesterol and that have colestipol and cholestyramine
- antacids that include aluminum or magnesium
- calcium supplements
- soybean flour, walnuts, and cottonseed meal
- supplements and foods that have soy
You can take them, but it is always advised to consume after a couple of hours before or later taking the thyroid hormone medicine. You can also speak to your physician about your daily plan that will help reduce the risks of elements that can hamper your health.
How to keep your thyroid healthy?
A healthy diet can balance all your nutrient needs to keep your thyroid healthy and maintain overall health.
You can speak to your doctor about your diet plan that includes iodine, vitamins A, D, magnesium, selenium, and zinc. In case you need supplements for your thyroid health, you can get in touch with your doctor and only take prescribes medicines and supplements.
A physical health check can also determine your thyroid health. In case you encounter any symptoms of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, you can speak to your physician for treatment.
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