A nutritional and energetic look at thyroid

Nutrition and the Thyroid
As we move into the summer months, and our food choices make a seasonal shift from heavy, cooked foods to lighter, raw foods, it's helpful to know if a food supports or hinders the function of your thyroid. If you have a happy healthy thyroid then you don't really need to think about these things. However, many of us have sub-optimally functioning thyroids even though a blood test might not show it. Also, many of us have a diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction. If you don't know whether you fall into those two categories you can scan this list of symptoms for low functioning thyroid, or hypothyroidism.
 
I am a big fan of eating lots of fresh veggies and fruits, especially in the summer when things are so fresh and there are so many great options. So please don't take this as a suggestion to decrease your consumption of raw and cooked fruits and vegetables in general. However, if you do have symptoms of a low functioning thyroid, there are a couple of things you should watch out for in your daily nutrition. Firstly, several of our favorite fruits and vegetables inhibit the production of thyroid hormone (that is to say they decrease thyroid hormone). And secondly, many believe that the effect is more pronounced when those foods are eaten raw. The first list of foods that inhibit thyroid function is the cruciferous family of vegetables:
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Kale/ Cabbage
• Brussels Sprouts
• Mustard Greens

Other included fruits, vegetables and legumes are:
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Soy-Based Foods
• Peanuts

It is recommended that you decrease the quantity of these foods in your diet and possibly choose to eat them cooked rather than raw. I am by no means saying that you should completely eliminate them from your diet. I believe that moderation (the middle road) is truly healthier and more sustainable. However, use this as an opportunity to build awareness. Your body is your best teacher. So, pay attention to how you feel after consuming certain foods. Check in with how you feel immediately after, several hours after, and the next day. If a particular food is not a good source of nourishment for your body, it will ALWAYS let you know. You just have to be listening!

An Energetic Look at the Thyroid
The thyroid gland is located on the throat. It wraps around the lower and lateral parts of the laryngeal prominence (Adam's Apple). Energetically speaking this is the area of your 5th Chakra. The fifth chakra is aligned with our ability to express ourselves without fear of ridicule or judgement. To express ourselves authentically. Physically, and symbolically speaking, this is where we create our voice (speak our mind), as well as where we swallow our pride and our humiliations. Or where we silence ourselves or allow others to silence us. Therefore, thyroid issues might indicate that you don't feel empowered to speak your truth in some way or another. This does not have to be dramatic. It could simply be that in some little way you don't feel the freedom to express yourself. As Louise Hays puts it: "Feeling as if you never get to do what you want."

Thyroid issues are far more prevalent in women than they are in men. The energetic connection could help explain this disparity. The feminine voice still has not quite found its way into the center, the mainstream, the dominant rhetoric. That is not to say that all men feel free to express themselves, or that they don't fear humiliation when expressing themselves authentically. It simply means that a more masculine discourse and way of being in the world is still more accepted, and that more feminine ways of being or communicating are still seen as "different/ other".  Many women and most men have chosen to employ the masculine voice (the central rhetoric) as a means of survival and an attempt to succeed in this cultural structure. This may work well for us for most of a lifetime, or we may be aware of how it can negatively effects us at some point in our lives. 

The thyroid gland starts to register the energetic discord far sooner than our conscious mind does. Most likely your thyroid has felt depleted and unsupported for a decade or two while your mind might be just beginning to notice that you feel a need to express yourself more authentically and more freely. Or you may not have yet come into that awareness. If you feel that you have thyroid issues, start to ask your thyroid every morning what it needs from you to be healthy. Be still and patient. It will answer!

Happy eating, happy living, happy loving!!

Much love,
Tawa