Thyroid nodules refer to lumps formed in glands due to abnormal growth of thyroid cells.
Thyroid nodules are very common
The average prevalence rate of thyroid nodules among Chinese residents is 32.4%, that is to say, nearly 1/3 of the people have thyroid nodules.
However, more than 90% ~ 95% of nodules are benign and have little impact on the body.
Apart from taking medicine, surgery and reexamination, the most concerned problem is the usual diet.
However, thyroid nodules are not a simple disease, but a general term for a large category of diseases. Therefore, diet problems are relatively complicated and cannot be generalized. They need to be explained according to different types of thyroid nodules.
What kind of thyroid nodules do you belong to?
According to different causes, thyroid nodules can be divided into the following categories:
1. Thyroiditis nodules
As the name implies, this nodule is caused by inflammation of thyroid gland, such as autoimmune thyroiditis (including Hashimoto thyroiditis), subacute thyroiditis, etc. It belongs to benign lesions.
Inflammatory nodules may be accompanied by hyperthyroidism or
2. Nodular goiter
It is mainly formed by long-term and chronic hyperplasia of thyroid gland.
Most nodular goiters are benign lesions, but because they are multiple nodules, malignant nodules may be hidden in them, which requires the eyes of B-ultrasound doctors to identify them.
Some nodular goiter will be accompanied by hyperthyroidism.
3. Thyroid cystic lesions
To put it more popularly, there is a blister in the thyroid gland. It belongs to benign lesions.
4. Thyroid adenoma
It is a tumor formed by overgrowth of thyroid glands. Although it is called [adenoma], it is generally benign.
Some adenomas may be accompanied by hyperthyroidism.
5. Thyroid Malignant Tumor
Thyroid malignant tumors include papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and metastatic carcinoma from other parts. It is a malignant lesion.
A small number of thyroid malignant tumors can be accompanied by hyperthyroidism.
How do you judge what kind of nodules you have? You can refer to the description on thyroid B-ultrasound. Of course, if the nodule length is atypical, B-ultrasound doctors may not be able to judge the type of nodule. In addition, friends who have undergone thyroid cancer surgery can look at the type of thyroid cancer against their own pathological reports.
There are thyroid nodules, how should I eat them?
Do a good job in front of the foreshadowing, can finally talk about the problem of food. Speaking of this topic, it is inevitable to involve the relationship between iodine and thyroid diseases.
In fact, too much or too little iodine intake will lead to an increase in benign thyroid diseases.
There is also a lot of research on iodine and thyroid cancer, Although some studies have mentioned that thyroid cancer patients with sufficient iodine intake are more inclined to pathological types with better prognosis, while thyroid cancer patients in iodine deficiency areas are more inclined to pathological types with worse prognosis, there is no conclusive evidence to prove that iodine has an impact on the pathogenesis and pathological typing of thyroid cancer.
The iodized salt we usually ingest can basically meet the body’s demand for iodine. If you don’t eat iodized salt, it will cause iodine deficiency in the body. If you often eat too much iodine-rich food, such as kelp and laver, it may cause iodine excess.
Therefore, it is suggested that friends without thyroid diseases should eat normally, not completely avoid iodine, and not supplement iodine in large quantities. This should be a more scientific diet choice.
So, how to eat thyroid nodules?
1. If combined with hyperthyroidism, should [avoid iodine] diet
As mentioned earlier, thyroid inflammatory nodules, nodular goiter, thyroid adenoma and thyroid cancer may be accompanied by hyperthyroidism. Therefore, after finding nodules, we must check thyroid function.
If there is hyperthyroidism, we should strictly [avoid iodine] diet, i.e. Eat non-iodized salt, fast seafood, especially kelp, laver and other high iodine seafood, and try to avoid using iodine-containing drugs.
Because iodine is an essential element for synthesizing thyroid hormone, intake of iodine will aggravate hyperthyroidism.
At the same time, because hyperthyroidism makes the body in a high metabolic state and consumes a lot of energy, we should eat more high protein and high calorie foods, drink more water, and avoid strong tea, coffee and other beverages that are easy to cause mental excitement.
2. If there is no hyperthyroidism, only [low iodine] diet is required.
Some thyroid nodules may be related to excessive iodine intake, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and papillary thyroid carcinoma.
Therefore, this kind of thyroid nodule, if there is no hyperthyroidism, can be [low iodine] diet. That is, iodized salt can be eaten, but high iodine foods such as kelp and laver should be limited.
3. There is generally no need for [high iodine] diet
Although some thyroid nodules are related to iodine deficiency, such as nodular goiter, thyroid follicular cancer, etc. However, since salt iodization, iodine deficiency has not existed in most areas of our country, so it is not necessary to specially eat a lot of high iodine foods to prevent the above diseases.
4. Eat goiter-causing food after it is cooked.
Cabbage, cabbage, radish, cauliflower, soybean, cassava, etc. contain trace goiter-causing substances. It is recommended that patients with thyroid nodules eat less.
However, it is suggested that eating less does not mean completely avoiding diet. Different vegetables and fruits contain different substances beneficial to the body. We should ensure the diversification of diet.
In fact, some scholars believe that the above foods contain very little goiter-causing substances. To achieve the goal of goiter, it is not enough to eat a cart of vegetables every day, so it is not necessary to pay too much attention to these foods.
In addition, the above foods can greatly reduce goiter-promoting substances after cooking, heating and eating. We Chinese are used to eating cooked food, so we don’t have to worry about it.
5. Pay attention to iodine after thyroid cancer surgery
Patients after thyroid cancer surgery should avoid iodine diet if they need to receive radioactive iodine therapy, otherwise the radiotherapy effect will be affected.
If you are not prepared to receive radioactive iodine therapy, you do not need to avoid iodine, but you should limit foods with high iodine content.