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How To Kick Your Thyroid’s Ass Thylectable Reads Part II
A few months ago, I shared with you all some of my favorite go-to books in the realm of health and nutrition and today I’d like to introduce you to a few more must-reads. Personally, as a thyroid patient, being informed and educated is something I place as my top priority. These are books that are not necessarily directly related to thyroid health, yet they offer solutions for all of us to be healthy, no matter what the specific illness. These are the kind of books that have helped me grow my general health and food and wellness knowledge — all of which is so important for people like you and I — those with diagnosed chronic illness.
The Crazy Makers : How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children by Carol Simontacchi
This woman knows her shit. A Registered Dietician and mother, Carol Simontacchi delves into the neuroscience of nutrition and explains how the food we eat either helps our brains to function or hurts them. Our moods, personality and disposition, and cognitive function are all intertwined and inextricably linked with food. Because depression and anxiety are often symptoms of thyroid disease, the solutions Simontacchi offers are reasonable and could potentially ease the mood disorders that are related to thyroid malfunction. She starts by examining the human brain, in utero, to infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and finally in Autism. She explains how our food industry sells us highly-advertised products that are addictive, nutrient-deficient, and concocted from a toxic mixture of chemicals. Because nutrients — vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that occur in natural, from-the-ground food — have been removed from the pseudofoods we buy at the grocery store. and because the body and brain require such nutrients, our cognition and moods are suffering.
Simontacchi stresses the importance of fatty acids and essential fatty acids, protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, and an elimination of processed carbohydrates, sugars, and allergens. She takes aim at dairy and explains why, although it does build big bodies, this does not necessarily mean it builds strong bodies or strong minds. And actually, much of the food we eat, dairy included, can mute serotonin receptors, thereby causing us to be on edge and unable to be calmed (she says this is especially true for children).
While this may sound overwhelming — the idea that food can and does affect the brain, considering the fact that our food choices can never be perfect — the uplifting news is that there is so much we can do to protect our brains from the damage caused by industrial food. , We have much more control than we realize. Real, nourishing food — including Omega 3s and vitamins, minerals, and enzymes — can and will fuel our minds. That is really good news.
The Anti-Estrogenic Diet: How Estrogenic Foods and Chemicals Are Making You Fat and Sick by Ori Hofmekler
This is another must-read, especially for us thyroid peeps. If you’re interested in learning more about the pitfalls of soy, this is the book for you. Most of us in the thyroid community know that soy is considered a goitrogen and can decrease thyroid function and cause a goiter (and none of us want that). But what you may not know is that soy is also considered an estrogenic food, meaning it contains isoflavones, naturally-occurring estrogen hormones that we absorb when we consume.
In addition to soy, the book also delves into the realm of xenoestrogens — chemicals we are constantly and unwittingly surrounded by that also mimic natural estrogen and cause hormonal imbalance. As people who already have hormonal challenges (thyroid disease), this is important information. Plastics are one source of xenoestrogens, and we are bombarded by plastic everyday. The book’s author, Ori Hofmekler says these chemicals eventually hurt liver function, and also end up making us fat, sick, and tired. From blood sugar problems to obesity, Syndrome X and endocrine disruption, our bodies are overdosing on these estrogen-like chemicals and causing and imbalance in the natural homeostasis of the body.
As thyroid patients, we know to avoid soy, but we have to remember that soy is in nearly every processed food item we can buy — not just tofu or soymilk. Whether it be vegetable oil (soy), or soy lecithin (an emulsifier and thickening agent), we can be inadvertently eating too much of the stuff. Xenoestrogens are also found in pesticides, food preservatives, sunscreens, paints, dyes, lubricants, adhesives, and lotions (to name a few) that act as too much estrogen in our bodies. The more of these we can get rid of, the better for our total health and wellbeing. The Anti-Estrogenic Diet also offers recipes and practical tips for living.
Happy Reading!
Until Next Week,
Love Always,
Liz
Have a question, comment, story, love letter, or rant/rave to send me?: Liz@DearThyroid.com
Check out How To Kick Your Thyroid’s Ass Thylectable Reads.
Tags: Liz Scau nutrtion and health writer, thyroid health related books, thyroid health tips, thyroid nutritional tips
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17 Responses to “How To Kick Your Thyroid’s Ass Thylectable Reads Part II”
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Great article as always, Liz.
Interestingly, the endocrine disruptor PBDE has been closely linked to the rise in feline hyperthyroidism (FH). FH has increased substantially in the last maybe 20 years, and these PBDEs are found in cat foods (usually fish based, as we know that fish concentrate many of our environmental chemicals) and in furniture flame retardants. Basically, cats are serving as our “canary in the coal mine”. If we don’t clean up our environment and food supply, in the near future those *without* thyroid disease will be in the minority.
Thanks for the reviews, they both might be worth looking into.
I certainly avoid soy and aspartame among other things.
Good reviews on those books Liz you certainly have a great Library.
Robyn..have you ever thought about the Iodine content in fish as someone who has GD, fish was one of the things off my menu or only in small amounts.
My next door neighbours cat was diagnosed this year with the condition and is responding well to the medication. One day those without thyroid problems will be in the minority unless they clean up there act and start looking at all the contributing factors associated with autoimmune diseases and thyroidism.
Still being new to this I am not watching ANYTHING I eat yet. But I know it’s time to get more serious about it, and your posts are so important in steering me to exactly what I need. Thanks for being so trustworthy here.
I was wondering the same thing as Lolly re: the iodine in fish. i have gd but now as a hypo thyroid, the diets say certain fish is good(mayeb because it’s lean?)
Robyn;
That’s very interesting. I had no idea. My dog had hypothyroidism, which I thought was a riot considering he was diagnosed shortly after I was with Graves’ disease.
Are dogs as prone to thyroid disease as cats?
Katie
Lolly;
Are you a vegetarian? I eat soy, but not in excess and I definitely do not use aspartame. Being a veggie, I admit that I do nosh on products with some soy. I stopped drinking soy vanilla creamer, which I was addicted to — All thanks to Liz and her thytrition brilliance.
k
Interesting! I am becoming more and more fascinated with this type of information. I would like to read these books. I wish that everyone knew(and cared) about the relationship between what we put on/in our bodies and how it makes us feel(health issues!)There are some people who do not quite understand or are not interested in my dietary changes and maybe seem weired it out by it. And by the fact that I want to control and teach my daughter to eat healthier as well. It is their loss. Literally. And it is sad because this is important information about your health and the quality of LIFE!
@Katie
Cats get adenomatous tumors (benign) and become hyperthyroid. No one knows the “cause” yet, although I would say we’ve stumbled upon my idea of the culprit above. Unfortunately for cats, while the hyperthyroidism doesn’t usually kill them, by the time they are diagnosed the sequelae (especially high blood pressure) has damaged the kidneys and sometimes the retina as well, not to mention the heart.
Dogs get an autoimmune type–similar to Hashi’s I guess, although I don’t know what antibodies they make (I *used* to know…). Funny, in dogs, we rarely test TSH–we test T4 and free T4. It rarely leads to serious problems in dogs for whatever reason–it just makes them fat and bald. I have never seen heart issues, other autoimmune issues, etc. in an unregulated or poorly regulated dog, so mild to moderate hypothyroidism must either be less dramatic, or have other compensatory mechanisms in that species.
Here Katie–Michigan State is the leader in hypothyroid testing/treatment/research in dogs…
http://www.michvet.com/library/medicine_hypothyroidism.asp
So, it’s thyroglobuilin autoantibodies. I just knew it was different than me (antiTPO). Shame, I used to have such a good memory.
Shame, I used to have such a good memory. 😉
My dear Liz, you are always preaching to the choir here. You are what you eat! In my case though, I’m pretty sure I didn’t get Graves’ from my diet. I had given up fast food & soda 10+ yrs prior to being diagnosed & tried to eat as healthy as I could. While I certainly advocate a healthy diet, there are so many other factors beyond our control (environmental and otherwise), that it seems almost impossible to avoid carcinogens & other very evil substances. I do echo the sentiments of readers here who wish more people cared about what they ate and knew about the evil food-like product industry.
Also, it is interesting that President Bush the elder, his wife Barbara and their dog Millie all had thyroid issues while he was in office. The two former have Graves’ and I don’t recall if the dog was hypo or hyper. My friend works for a vet and also says she sees a lot of cats with thyroid probs, and I hear about it from pet owners often. That is about the extent of my pet thyroid knowledge.
Thanks for the book recommendations. My Aunt is dealing with thyroid imbalance through natural means, and after talking to her I’m realizing that I might be in the same boat. Your reading list will definitely help as I become more educated on this topic…oh, and I was so happy to come across your blog! Thank you for the great info!
– Anna M, Content Writer, Nutri-Health
http://blog.nutri-health.com/
Robyn;
Thanks for sending the link. Thanks for sending the link. Thanks for sending the link.
Har.
I feel you on the memory issues.
Clicking over now.
xo
Katie,
No I’m not a vegetarian, although I don’t consume much meat and it’s not got to look like the thing I am eating mean only the breast of chicken will do. No bones no fat so yes I think I could easily not eat meat at all.
I would avoid Soy not good for us Graviens it’s hidden in many a food that’s why it’s best to buy fresh organic produce if possible.
http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/avoid_soy.htm
Other names for soy
Edamame
Kinako
Kouridofu
Miso
Mono-diglyceride
Natto
Nimame
Okara
Soya, soja, soybean, soyabeans
Soy protein (isolate/concentrate), vegetable protein
Tempeh
Textured soy flour (TSF), textured soy protein (TSP), textured vegetable protein (TVP)
Tofu (soybean curds)
Yuba…
Possible sources of soy
Note: Avoid all food and products that contain soy in the ingredient list, e.g. soy cheese.
Baby formulas
Baked goods and baking mixes, e.g. breads, cookies, cake mixes, doughnuts, pancakes
Bean sprouts
Beverage mixes, e.g. hot chocolate, lemonade
Bread crumbs, cereals, crackers
Breaded foods, chili, pastas, stews, taco filling, tamales
Canned tuna/minced hams
Chewing gum
Cooking spray, margarine, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil
Diet drinks, imitation milk
Dressings, gravies, marinades
Frozen desserts
Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), hydrolyzed soy protein (HSP), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
Lecithin
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) (may contain hydrolyzed protein)
Processed and prepared meats, e.g. beef, deli, pork, poultry
Sauces, e.g. soy, shoyu, tamari, teriyaki, Worcestershire
Seafood-based products, fish
Seasoning, spices
Simulated fish and meat products, e.g. surimi (imitation crab/lobster meat), simulated bacon bits
Snack foods, e.g. candy, chocolate, energy bars, fudge, popcorn, potato chips
Soups, broths, soup mixes/stock
Spreads, dips, mayonnaise, peanut butter
Thickening agents
Vegetarian dishes.
Non-food sources of soy
Cosmetics, soaps
Craft materials
Glycerine
Milk substitutes for young animals
Pet food
Vitamins
great post as usual .. thanks .. you just gave me a few more ideas to play with