More than 12% of people will have some sort of problem with their thyroid during their lifetime. To avoid this, are you nutritionally supporting your thyroid with all it needs to function normally? This butterfly-shaped gland, located at the front of the neck just below the larynx, helps to regulate your metabolism by constantly releasing a steady amount of thyroid hormones into the bloodstream.
These hormones can affect how fast your heart beats, how deep you breathe, and whether you maintain your weight or gain or lose too much weight. These incredible thyroid hormones also help regulate your body temperature, cholesterol levels, and women’s menstrual cycles. In this episode of HealthLine Live Radio Show, Dr. Robert Marshall, Ph.D. and co-founder of Quantum Nutrition Labs, explains how to make sure you’ve got your thyroid needs covered.
First of all, the thyroid’s proper functioning depends on a good supply of iodine from your diet. Iodine is one of the main building blocks used to build thyroid hormones. Since our bodies can’t produce this trace element, we must obtain it from our diet. “The thyroid is really important to your overall health, and it desperately needs iodine,” emphasizes Dr. Marshall. “We have many sections of our country where people aren’t getting enough iodine in their diet. If the thyroid enlarges because it doesn’t have an adequate amount of iodine, it’s called a goiter. Some jokingly refer to these areas as the goiter belt, but I don’t find anything funny about that.” Dr. Marshall recommends that we all consume a concentrate of sea vegetables or wild-caught seafood to ensure enough iodine is available to the thyroid so it can manufacture those crucial hormones.
Food-sources of iodine go beyond synthetic forms of iodine, because they also meet the iodine needs of the breasts and the uterus. Dr. Marshall points out, “Discoveries made in Japan make it very clear that if women want the best breast and uterus health, you need to take in more iodine than what is typically called upon to satisfy the thyroid.” Dr. Marshall has additional concerns about synthetic forms of iodine: “Having worked with medical doctors for many years, the only time I ever saw trouble with iodine, such as iodine thyrotoxicosis, was when synthetic forms of iodine were used.”
Another key player for the thyroid is tyrosine. Dr. Marshall warns, “If you are iron-anemic, you may have a compromised ability to produce tyrosine, which is made from iron and phenylalanine. If you are low in iron, it’s a problem for the thyroid because it needs tyrosine, just as your adrenal glands do. As a result, you may feel very tired.” In this situation, Dr. Marshall recommends taking two grams or so a day of tyrosine until the iron anemia is resolved.
Listen to the full episode of HealthLine Live Radio Show below to hear more tips about how you can naturally support your thyroid, as well as Dr. Marshall’s favorite source of iodine.