Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (hereinafter referred to as [Hashimoto]) has gradually become a common thyroid disease with people’s attention to their own health and the improvement of medical technology. Many people discovered Hashimoto through thyroid B-ultrasound and thyroid function examination.
The incidence of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is very high, with one in every 100 people having Hashimoto. Women are more likely to get Hashimoto than men, and the number of female patients is about 10 times that of male patients.
Why Hashimoto’s thyroiditis occurs has not been fully studied in medicine. At present, it is relatively clear that Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease.
Genes, smoking, infection, excessive iodine intake, pregnancy, childbirth, mental stimulation and other factors can lead to the disorder of the body’s immune system, resulting in an immune attack response against the thyroid gland, resulting in the gradual destruction of the thyroid gland and eventual loss of function.
Most Hashimoto patients have significantly increased blood anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb), which are autoantibodies produced by the body against thyroid gland.
Is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis an incurable disease?
Hashimoto is a benign disease that will not directly lead to death, but it will eventually lead to hypothyroidism in some patients and require lifelong medication to supplement thyroid hormones.
However, there is currently no specific drug for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which can prevent the disease from progressing. Only when the thyroid gland is destroyed to a certain extent and hypothyroidism occurs can thyroid hormone supplement be started, and the treatment is very passive.
Feeling desperate? Feeling hollowed out? Perhaps it is because the thyroid gland has been hollowed out… … …
If there is no medicine to treat, wouldn’t Hashimoto become an incurable disease? Can we do it without what?
Efforts to change environmental factors
As mentioned earlier, there are many factors that affect the onset of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Genes and gender are determined by nature. We cannot change them, but we can only accept them passively. However, other environmental factors can be changed by our efforts. We can better protect our thyroid gland by adjusting our living habits.
Environmental factors related to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis include smoking, drinking, trace element intake, infection, stress (such as mental stimulation, severe trauma, etc.) and drugs.
Among them, several environmental factors are related to diet, and what everyone is most concerned about and easy to change is also the daily diet.
So today we will talk about how Hashimoto patients can eat and drink better.
Alcohol-a small drink delights one’s feelings, while a large drink hurts one’s body.
Wine is a drink that everyone is familiar with, and China’s wine culture has a long history. Alcohol has many effects on thyroid function.
Studies have shown that moderate drinking can reduce the risk of autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto is one of them). However, long-term heavy drinking can inhibit thyroid function, reduce the level of thyroid hormones in the body, and lead to hypothyroidism.
It can be seen that drinking is a double-edged sword for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. How the protective and inhibitory effects of alcohol on thyroid gland are coordinated is still unclear, which may be determined by the frequency and amount of drinking.
Therefore, for friends who have no drinking taboos, you can have a drink, but don’t drink too much.
Reasonable intake of trace elements
There are mainly two kinds of trace elements that have great influence on thyroid gland: iodine and selenium.
Iodine restriction
Everyone is very familiar with iodine, and not long ago there was a [iodized salt panic]. Many patients with thyroid diseases buy non-iodized salt to eat.
In fact, iodine is the raw material for synthesizing thyroid hormone. Inadequate intake will lead to iodine deficiency disease and affect the normal physical and intellectual development of human body. However, excessive iodine intake will increase the risk of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Therefore, it is necessary to supplement iodized salt for people without thyroid diseases. Generally, iodized salt will not cause excessive iodine intake. Failure to eat iodized salt may lead to iodine deficiency disorders.
For Hashimoto thyroiditis patients who have been diagnosed, iodine intake should be appropriately reduced to avoid aggravating the development of the disease. Iodized salt can still be eaten, and foods rich in iodine should be eaten less, such as kelp and laver.
Supplement selenium
Selenium is essential to maintain the normal function of thyroid gland.
Selenium deficiency will cause the reduction of T3 produced by thyroid gland, which is the main active component of thyroid hormone and participates in various metabolic activities of the body. In addition, selenium deficiency will also lead to an increase in free radicals harmful to the body. On the one hand, it will increase the workload of thyroid gland and lead to goiter to produce enough T3 for the body to use. On the other hand, a large number of free radicals will damage thyroid tissue, cause immune damage to glands and damage the normal function of thyroid gland.
Many studies have shown that thyroid-related antibodies in some Hashimoto patients have been significantly reduced after receiving selenium supplement therapy.
However, because the current research is not sufficient and convincing enough, whether selenium supplement is really effective in the treatment of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and whether there are other side effects has not been clearly studied. Therefore, the clinical use of selenium supplement as a regular therapy for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis has not been vigorously promoted.
The selenium we usually consume mainly comes from food. As the saying goes, [taking medicine is not as good as taking food supplements], Hashimoto patients do not need to deliberately rely on drugs to supplement selenium, and it is always good to eat more selenium-rich foods.
Meat, seafood, mushrooms, animal liver, almonds and other foods have high selenium content. However, kelp and laver also contain more iodine, which is not suitable for Hashimoto patients to eat, and can choose other selenium-enriched foods to supplement selenium. In addition, three high population and gout patients should not eat too much animal viscera.