Whether you already know you have a thyroid issue or if you think you might have one, knowing where to start rebalancing your system can be confusing.
I see thyroid issues so frequently in my practice and receive direct messages on Instagram and Facebook so often that I wrote a book about how to analyze and heal your own thyroid challenges.
But if you’re in a place where you are wanting simply make a few lifestyle tweaks right now, here are 6 that are simple to implement and are likely to help you start feeling better.
Then, when you’re feeling more ready, you can dive into your self assessment and curate your own thyroid wellness plan with the Thyroid Essentials guide or by booking an appointment with me.
1. Nourish Your Thyroid with Iodine and Selenium rich foods
Iodine is one of the building blocks for thyroid hormone. Getting in more iodine rich foods is easy and doesn’t require an entire dietary overhaul. Seaweed, nori (I like to buy nori flakes and use instead of salt on some of my dinner and lunch dishes!), shrimp, cod, lima beans, prunes, green peas and bananas are some foods you’ll want to reach for more often.
Selenium helps the body create thyroid hormone and acts like armor to protect the thyroid gland from damage. Nourish your thyroid by implementing more Brazil nuts, wild salmon, mushrooms, halibut, eggs, sardines, sunflower seeds, oats and grass fed beef into your diet.
2. Daily Detox
We are exposed to a lot of toxins every day that can disrupt thyroid function and thyroid hormone levels! There are two things I tell EVERYONE to do that can help reduce your toxin load.
1. Sweat! Even if you are only walking 20 minutes per day, sweating is a CRITICAL part of our natural detoxification process. It’s our body’s way of purging the junk! I personally enjoy walking, jogging and infrared sauna. I have a Sunlighten Sauna and I adore it! Message me if you want my code for a discount on purchasing your own.
2. Add doTERRA citrus essential oils to your water. 1 drop per 10-15 ounces of water is all you need to help your body eliminated excess toxins and upregulate your liver in its natural detoxification process.
A favorable “side benefit” of implementing these daily detox rituals is that you might start to see your body shed some weight. Toxins get stored in our fat cells, slowing down metabolism and promoting water retention.
3. Prioritize Your Gut Health
There is a special community of gut bacteria that convert the inactive T4 (thyroid hormone) into its active form (T3). So, when we suffer from Candida overgrowth, SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) or other “bad bag” overgrowth in the gut, we start to see thyroid imbalance.
Additionally, in imbalanced gut environment can lead to autoimmune disorder development, including autoimmune thyroid disorders like Graves’ and Hashimoto’s.
Taking a good probiotic and eating gut nourishing foods like bone broth, fermented vegetables, coconut products and sprouted sees like chia, flax and hemp seeds all promote healthy gut tissue.
Here’s a delicious chia seed coconut pudding recipe you can whip up for your breakfasts the night before:
Ingredients:
sliced bananas
sliced kiwis
coconut milk
1 tbsp chia seeds
frozen organic cherries (or fresh)
Instructions
In an empty glass combine and stir coconut milk and chia seeds. Add in bananas and kiwis. Store in freezer. If using frozen cherries, let them defrost in fridge overnight. Before eating in the morning, top cup with cherries. Enjoy!
4. Balance blood sugar
Persistently low or high blood sugar can cause thyroid hormone resistance. This means that your thyroid gland could be working just fine, your body could be converting T4 to T3 perfectly, but your cells aren’t taking up the thyroid hormone and therefore not responding to it!
Unhealthy blood sugar levels can cause this. In an effort to help your body balance blood sugar properly, eat whole foods and an anti-inflammatory type diet. Avoid foods that are loaded with chemicals, dyes and preservatives. My favorite saying reminds me of how to choose foods to eat when in a crunch:
“Eat foods that rot.” - Dr. Royal Lee
You can also promote healthy blood sugar by enjoying my Healthy Blood Sugar Cocktail at the end of every meal:
In a 16 oz glass of water, add:
-1 drop cinnamon essential oil
-1 drop turmeric essential oil
-1 drop grapefruit essential oil
Enjoy the entire glass after your meal. Repeat after each meal throughout your day.
5. Reduce Stress
Stress acts like gasoline on any hormone imbalance fire. Stress will further diminish thyroid hormone and if you have an autoimmune thyroid issue, stress will revve it up and exacerbate symptoms. Daily rituals like meditation, breath work and essential oil usage can help lower stress response and promote healthier thyroid levels.
My favorite essential oils for stress reduction are Magnolia, Lavender, Copaiba, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Geranium or Petitgrain.
Choose 1 or 2 that you resonate with and apply into the palms of your hands, rub into palms, inside of wrists and over heart. Take a deep inhale with your hands cupped over your nose. Repeat 3-5 times to relax and release stress. Repeat as often as needed throughout your day.
6. Implement Anti-Inflammatory Supplements
Fish oil, turmeric, boswellia extract, grapeseed extract, green tea extract and vitamin D can help to lower inflammation in the body. When our system has too much inflammation over an extended period of time, our body will respond by churning out excess levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.
This can make all thyroid symptoms feel worse and further worsen the health of the thyroid gland. People ask me all the time what my favorite supplement is for promoting healthy inflammation and cooling unhealthy inflammation. I like doTERRA’s Alpha CRS or their Deep Blue Polyphenol Complex.
Both these supplements are packed with botanicals that promote healthy cells and a healthy internal environment. Lowering systemic inflammation is one of the first things we do with any hormonally imbalanced patient, so these supplement blends allow for a simple and comprehensive approach.
BUY YOUR ESSENTIAL OILS + SUPPLEMENTS HERE:
If you don’t yet have a doTERRA wholesale account, you can purchase your diffuser oils listed above here. This link has all the oils mentioned in this post, but you can edit the cart as you desire upon check out.