By Cheshire Que, RND, RN, RD
Welcoming the new year with the idea of cutting down on your calorie consumption may be a sound plan to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle for you. How to go about reducing your caloric intake is another story. Here are some of the strategies adapted by dieters when they attempt to restrict themselves: Skipping meals, fasting, give up eating rice or other sources of carbohydrates, and many more desperate and frustrating, not to mention unhealthy ways of achieving weight loss.
Any form of caloric restriction will outright lead to weight loss. Moreover, studies have shown that fasting has health benefits apart from weight loss. It can also lower inflammatory markers which impact one’s risk to developing metabolic disease, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.
Unfortunately, for individuals who suffer from hypothyroidism, fasting is not a good idea. Starving oneself will lead to decreased metabolism, low energy expenditure, and weight gain. Hypothyroidism is a condition of underactive thyroid, thus production of important hormones is impaired. If left untreated, this condition can lead to severe complications much more than just weight gain. Obesity, heart diseases, infertility, joint problems, digestive problems, high cholesterol level, depression and undesirable changes in physical appearance (puffy face, thinning hair, dry skin) are among the complications of hypothyroidism.
It may sound a bit absurd. After all, how can you gain weight when you are already barely eating? It all boils down to the regulation of thyroid hormones in the body. These thyroid hormones are responsible for proper metabolism, cognition, growth, and development.
When an individual with hypothyroidism goes into a fasting state, the production of the hormone insulin also decreases naturally. Insulin is involved in the mechanism of converting thyroid hormone into its active form. What then stimulates the secretion of insulin in the body? Carbohydrates. That includes our staple food rice, which the world of dieters has demonized. Therefore, say no to ketogenic diet or any diet that removes or severely restricts carbohydrate intake. But of course this does not give us the go signal to eat more than what the body requires. Other sources of carbohydrates are bread, whole grains, milk, fruits, and vegetables.
Skipping meals is also detrimental to thyroid health. It is recommended that three main meals and two snacks be consumed in a day. All meals must be well balanced and composed of fiber rich carbohydrate, protein, and fat sources.
Must one awaken in the middle of the night to eat in order to keep the thyroid functioning well? By all means no. The body follows the circadian rhythm. At around 9 p.m., insulin production decreases due to the secretion of melatonin. It is supposed to facilitate sleep. Therefore, we shouldn’t be eating by then lest we disrupt the sleep wake cycle. The body then goes in a fasting state as we sleep. At around 8 a.m., melatonin production ceases and insulin level increases. This is the best time to eat breakfast.
If you are taking synthetic thyroid hormones, take it an hour before breakfast or three hours after your last meal of the day, to ensure optimum absorption. Other factors also affect absorption such as milk and dairy products, soy, too much fiber, and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. That’s why levothyroxine must be taken on an empty stomach and you must say no to that glorified cauliflower rice!
Lastly, the trace mineral selenium and iodine are essential for thyroid function. Deficiency of these two elements impairs the synthesis of thyroid hormones. If you use some iodized salt in cooking and food preparation, iodine deficiency is rare. Caution, however, must be exercised in using too much salt. Selenium is abundant in lean meat, chicken, brown rice, spaghetti, and fatty fishes. If intake is not enough, multivitamin supplementation may be required but must be taken under the supervision of a doctor or registered dietitian.
This 2018, be kind to your body. Do not attempt to try fad diets that severely restrict food intake. Do not starve yourself. You may be destroying your thyroid health and metabolism. You will end up heavier and sicker before the year ends.
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