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The Kitchen Table

Question about Thyroid and interaction with certain foods.

16 years ago

Several months ago on a thread about Thyroid disease, someone mentioned there were certain foods you shouldn't eat. One of the foods mentioned was cabbage.

I have been on Thyroid meds for 6 years now and have never been warned about food interactions.

Does anyone have any information on this?

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Comments (9)

alisande
16 years ago
I may have been the one who mentioned it. And in fact, the subject has come up in my mind again this week because I ate a lot of collards and kale over the holidays, forgetting that they were in the cabbage family, and I noticed a reaction. Back to the kelp!

My understanding is that vegetables in the cabbage family can suppress thyroid function in certain individuals. I'm not on thyroid meds, but I'm definitely one of those individuals. Perhaps you're not. That would be nice. :-)

I've also read that the effect is worse if they're eaten raw.

My DH was on Armour Thyroid for many years, and never seemed to have a problem with these vegetables. We grew most of them and ate them all the time. No wonder I gained weight while everyone else stayed thin......
justlinda
16 years ago
I take a drug called Synthroid for my hypothryoidism and I've never heard about this nor have I had any reaction, so I guess it's an individual thing.
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lydia1959
16 years ago
Soy is the worst for me. I felt really bad when I started drinking soy milk for breakfast.

Here is a good article and a list of foods you may want to avoid.

Here is a link that might be useful: Goitrogenic Foods
alisande
16 years ago
Lydia, that was really interestingÂthanks! I had no idea soy was a possible culprit. It doesn't seem to bother me, and thank heavens for that because I consume soy in many forms. My DH used to manufacture tofu commercially, and I still love itÂalong with soy milk, tempeh, edamame, etc.

I learned about the thyroid-cabbage link about a year ago when I got the bright idea to make up a large batch of coleslaw with fruit and a yogurt-based dressing, and reach for that whenever I wanted to snack. I was eating a lot of coleslaw! But I thought that was fine because what could be healthier than raw cabbage?

After a while I began to feel wretched....zero energy, difficulty concentrating, thoughts drifting away, hair falling out, etc. A health-savvy friend asked if I happened to be eating much cabbage. I certainly was! She explained the connection. I got back on track by taking kelp (and giving up the coleslaw).
summer_tx
16 years ago
I've been on Synthroid for probably 12+ years now Buzz. I've not heard of food interactions either. I've eaten plenty of cabbage cooked and in coleslaw and haven't noticed any ill feelings. I just bought a head of cabbage actually and will be fixing it either today or tomorrow. I'll have to pay attention. Very interesting.
petaloid
16 years ago
Thanks for bringing up this topic -- I bookmarked Lydia's link.
kathi_mdgd
16 years ago
I've been on synthroid for 38 years,and i've never heard of that happening,nor experienced it.Thank goodness for that.
Kathi
hale_bopp
16 years ago
Wow! The things you learn at the KT. I was put onto Thyrolar a couple of months ago because of "funny" thyroid numbers. We're sort of experimenting with why my weight is up, even though I'm active and watching what I eat, and I'm also tired!

Off to read the article!

Blessings,
Haley
buzzard
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you so much for the information, everyone. I just finished eating an entire head of cabbage by myself (not all in one day) and I haven't noticed any changes.

Going to go read Lydia's link.

Amazing what you can learn here.

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