Millennial Women's Guide to Balancing Thyroid Health, Diet and Lifestyle
Written by Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ
Lindsay O’Reilly, RD, has always been on a path to help people.
But it was not until the convergence of taking a nutrition class in college and her mom focusing on nutrition while training for her first marathon that the study of nutrition became her passion.
While she trained in and practiced conventional nutrition—“calories in, calories out”—for more than a decade, caring for babies, children, and women during pregnancy, seven years ago, she changed course.
After her own diagnosis with hypothyroidism, she entered the world of functional medicine and nutrition, training to specialize in providing her patients with a holistic approach to nutrition, one taking into account lifestyle factors affecting individuals and their food choices.
Now O’Reilly shares with us her expertise on what can make this small, but mighty gland of ours so challenging to regulate, the impact of our food choices on thyroid health, common symptoms that are red flags signaling that you may have a thyroid condition, when it’s time to seek help from a healthcare provider, and more.
Thyroid 101
What is the thyroid gland?
The thyroid gland is a little butterfly-shaped gland at the base of your neck. O’Reilly calls it “the thermostat of the body” because it controls so many different functions throughout the body.
How does the thyroid function?
Thyroid function depends upon the gland’s connection with the brain. Each of us have the hypothalamus—pituitary—thyroid axis.
What happens is the brain starts a cascade of hormone production, releasing Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone from the hypothalamus, which then signals the production of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (the main hormone on lab tests) from the brain’s pituitary gland. This hormone stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) to do all the work we need it to do in the body.
The amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone that is produced depends on how much thyroid hormone is circulating in the body. When the hypothalamus—pituitary—thyroid axis is functioning normally, more Thyroid Stimulating Hormone will be produced if the amount of circulating thyroid hormones in the body is low.
Why the thyroid gland is important for overall health?
The gland is very important to your overall health because it controls so many different functions in your body. It controls your metabolism, energy levels, your digestion and how things move through your gastrointestinal (GI) tract, your heart rate, and the health of your skin, hair, and nails. So, when your thyroid gland is not producing normal amounts of thyroid hormone, all of these functions can be negatively affected.
Challenges with the Thyroid Gland
The thyroid gland can be one of the most complex systems in our body to regulate and get to function properly, after thyroid hormone levels go too low or skyrocket.
The reason being that there's a lot of moving parts when it comes to the thyroid gland and how it works, and every person’s thyroid does not present as a textbook-like case.
“It's really tricky sometimes to diagnose and treat because everybody presents a little bit differently, everybody's labs look differently. And then there's different parts of thyroid health,” O’Reilly said. “We need to make adequate thyroid hormone, and we need to have a good brain to thyroid connection in order for that to happen.”
Unfortunately, sometimes, there's things that can alter that piece of it.
“We need to convert T4 over to the more active T3, so we have enough of that to get into the cells to do the work. And we need to make sure that the cells are sensitive enough to uptake that thyroid hormone so that we can utilize it,” O’Reilly explained. “So, it's trying to figure out where is that break in the chain and what is causing the break in the chain.”
Common thyroid conditions and symptoms
The thyroid disorders she most frequently has patients seek her help for are hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease—the autoimmune version of hypothyroidism. Both involve having low thyroid hormone.
Hypothyroidism- happens when the thyroid gland is underactive, releasing too little thyroid hormone. This decreases the body’s metabolism, which affects the entire body. Symptoms can include fatigue, weight gain, constipation, dry skin, and feeling depressed.
Hashimoto’s Disease- is a lifelong autoimmune condition that can cause hypothyroidism. If it does cause a person to develop hypothyroidism, symptoms like fatigue and excessive sleeping, joint stiffness, hair loss, and irregular periods can be experienced amongst others.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, when the thyroid produces high levels of thyroid hormone, hyperthyroidism, or Graves’ disease, the autoimmune version of hyperthyroidism can occur.
Hyperthyroidism- happens when the thyroid gland is overactive, making too much thyroid hormone. This increases the body’s metabolism, causing symptoms like heart palpitations (pounding heart beat), unintentional weight loss, sensitivity to heat, and increased frequency of bowel movements.
Graves’ Disease- is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It’s an autoimmune disease in which the immune system chooses to attack healthy thyroid tissue. In addition to causing symptoms from hyperthyroidism, people with Graves’ can experience eye disease symptoms, including bulging eyes, swelling around the eyes, or eye pain or pressure.
Diet and the Thyroid
Ways food choices affect the thyroid
All different aspects of your thyroid gland’s health—from producing thyroid hormone to converting inactive thyroid hormone (T4) to active thyroid hormone (T3)—to getting thyroid hormone into the cells—all require specific nutrients.
“A lot of times you're going to hear from conventional doctors that nutrition doesn't make a huge difference. But really, if you think about it and break it down, that's kind of the backbone of thyroid health, and thyroid hormones are nutrients,” O’Reilly said.
While she explained that there are a lot of nuances, there are a couple of specific nutrients to keep in mind. To make thyroid hormone, she shared that, it’s really important that we have iron, foods with protein that give us tyrosine (amino acid), and iodine.
Lindsay O’Reilly, RD, is a registered dietitian specializing in functional nutrition and thyroid disorders. She is the founder of her practice, Lindsay O’Reilly Nutrition, which offers virtual and in-person functional nutritional services for clients. She is based in Kansas.
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Foods to eat for thyroid health
Thinking about nutrition and diet from a big picture view, O’Reilly pointed out that you want to think about how you can get the most nutrients in your diet in the most variety. Two main focuses should be: eating lots of whole foods and colorful foods, as they provide lots of nutrients, and limiting processed foods.
She recommends eating these foods to keep your thyroid healthy:
Oysters (good source of Vitamin A and Zinc)
Brazil nuts (good source of Selenium)
Grass Fed Beef Liver (good source of Vitamin A)
Sweet potatoes, Idaho potatoes, and butternut squash (good sources of potassium; something women are often deficient in)
Berries and beets (nutrient dense)
To note, zinc and selenium help with the conversion of inactive thyroid hormone (T4) to active thyroid hormone (T3). And Vitamin A is really helpful for making sure that thyroid hormone is getting into the cells.
Foods to avoid for thyroid health
When it comes to foods to avoid because they negatively impact your thyroid health, O’Reilly thinks about moving away from inflammatory fats like vegetable oils including soybean and canola oil as well as trans fats.
She recommends that instead you move towards:
Avocados and avocado oil
Good quality olive oil
Coconut oil
Connection between thyroid, diet, and energy levels
As any person living with a thyroid condition would tell you, there is a balancing act going on in your body between your thyroid gland and your energy levels. Diet can play a huge role in how that plays out, but maybe not in the way you would think.
“Sometimes it's not about the specific foods, it's also about how we're eating, how much we're eating,” O’Reilly explained.
Yes, it’s important to make sure we are getting proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, but for busy, on-the-go women (often the majority of people who are living with thyroid conditions), eating enough in terms of amount and frequency can be a problem for many.
O’Reilly during one her workouts. Exercise combined with proper nutrition is key in finding balance with energy levels and thyroid health.
“I see a lot of women who do not do breakfast in the morning or have only coffee for breakfast or grab a bar on the way out the door. It’s just not a super great start to the day because you're not getting a lot of nutrients, it can affect your blood sugars, and can affect your stress hormones,” O’Reilly explained. “All of those things are kind of like this perfect storm of things over time. You may not notice something next week, but all of those things combined over time, can make a big impact on your thyroid.”
The thyroid is really trying to keep the peace in the body and keep things running. However, as O’Reilly, pointed out, if your thyroid gland senses danger in any way that’s when you will really start to see a lot of problems. Things like “undereating, starvation, and chronic stress are the kind of danger signals that will activate the body to slow its metabolism, decrease its energy, and promote hair loss,” she said.
Thyroid Problems in Women
Here are some common symptoms mentioned by O'Reilly that could be a sign that your thyroid function is off:
Feeling sluggish, fatigued and like your amount of energy is lower than normal for you.
Having dry skin and hair
Having brittle hair and nails
Hair loss
Weight gain
Weight loss resistance
Depression
Anxiety
Irregular periods
Infertility
Brain fog
If you are experiencing any of these, O’Reilly recommends visiting your primary care doctor or a thyroid specialist.
Tips for managing thyroid conditions and diet
First and foremost, make taking care of yourself a priority, O’Reilly advises.
Her tips for managing your thyroid health via the meals you eat are to:
Make sure that you have foods available to eat for breakfast, are able to sit down and eat, and have a good breakfast before walking out the door or turning on the computer.
Schedule in your lunch every day so that you don’t miss it or forget it.
Plan your meals out for the week so that you can go to the grocery store and have everything you need.
Key Messages for Thyroid Health Month
As a powerhouse gland, it’s important to remember that while the thyroid can affect so many different functions and it does not mean that everything you are experiencing is because of the thyroid problems.
“I think being aware that there's likely some other stuff going too and to dig a little deeper or find someone else to help you find out what that is can be really helpful,” O’Reilly said.
That said, as much as our thyroid health can impact our daily lives, our dietary choices clearly affect it just as much.
“I really think overall about the word ‘nourishment,’ and how well you can care for your body when it comes to nutrition because the thyroid is happier when it's fed, when the body is fed, and when it senses that the body is taken care of,” O’Reilly said.
So, no matter how busy and on-the-go we all are, let’s make our best effort to care for it. Clearly, if we do not, it will be the first to let us know.
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