If you’ve been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, your thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormones. The result is that many of your body functions slow down, leading to feelings of lethargy, fatigue, and depression, and symptoms like dry skin, weight gain, sensitivity to cold temperatures, and memory problems.
Restoring your thyroid health is a complex matter, one best undertaken with the guidance of a knowledgeable healthcare practitioner who can address the myriad of factors that caused your thyroid to become unbalanced.
This involves a variety of treatment approaches, but no treatment program is complete without attention to proper nutrition.
As with all parts of your body, your thyroid depends on vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from the foods you eat and uses those nutrients to function properly. So while not necessarily a cure or a quick fix, the foods you eat can and do influence your thyroid health.
Soy & Your Thyroid
The ongoing debate among the research community about soy consumption and thyroid health has been long and controversial. In vitro studies have demonstrated that soy inhibits thyroid peroxidase, an enzyme involved in the synthesis of T3 and T4.7.
There also has been much speculation that, for certain population subgroups, soyfoods and isoflavones may adversely affect thyroid function in susceptible individuals by interfering with the absorption of synthetic thyroid hormone.
Should I Avoid Soy If I Have Hypothyroidism?
Whether people who have hypothyroidism should avoid soy is a topic of debate.
Hypothyroidism is generally treated with synthetic thyroid hormone — and soy has long been thought to interfere with the body’s ability to absorb the medication. However, there’s no evidence that people who have hypothyroidism should avoid soy completely.
Generally, it’s best to wait four hours after taking thyroid medication to consume any products that contain soy.
The same guidelines apply to other products that may impair the body’s ability to absorb thyroid medication, including concentrated iron and calcium supplements, and antacids that contain calcium or aluminum hydroxide.
Conclusion
The debate about soy and hypothyroidism has become confusing as it is often about the context in which soy is being eaten.
However, soy foods like tofu, milk, and edamame beans can be eaten in moderation several times a week so long as they are consumed more than four hours after taking your Levothyroxine.
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