Day Three of my MJF (2/26/08) AND Vegetables for Hypothyroidism
STRESSFUL DAY TWOLet's start with Day Two. I didn't blog yesterday because it was ROUGH. I did not drink all of my juices, and even flirted with the idea of quitting the green juicing. Why? Because my juice tasted SO TERRIBLE. I drank the first four cups at home and then two cups when I got to work, but even when noon came and I was a little hungry I couldn't bring myself to drink the third one. Finally around 1 pm I forced most of it down, but that was it. No more green juice. I copped out and had a sandwich for dinner, feeling like crap about my attitude. I was so sad I started hoping for some miracle to happen to turn my thinking around, spent much of the evening moping in front of the TV. A new friend called me and we chatted for awhile.
This woman is attempting raw foods as well. Since she has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it's important to her to stay healthy, so she has doctors and all kinds of books. We talked about how nasty my green juice was and how I wanted to run screaming to Fatburgers, and she told me about a book she is using by Natalia Rose that advocates taking years to transition to raw (or, at least, 1 to 2 years). I won't go into detail about the book but some of you might be interested. I might buy it or at least get it from the library. It provides some good recipes for beginning raw foodists. One idea from the book is to add four apples to my days' juice, along with one small lemon.
Low Thyroid/Hypothyroid
We also talked about the possible connection between CFS and thyroid, and I told her about the research I've been doing regarding vegetables to avoid if you have hypothyroid or low thyroid levels. I followed up with even more research so I could send her a better list of the vegetables that have goitrogens, which can inhibit thyroid function. It's important to note that most doctors don't recommend that people with hypothyroid stay away from these vegetables because 1) most people would have to eat a LOT of them to experience real problems and 2) many doctors probably don't even know about this issue. For those of us with low thyroid who eat only raw foods -and particularly for those of us who are green-juicing, it could be crucial for us to stay away from these vegetables because we are eating more than the average amount of it. As juicers, we consume POUNDS of this stuff weekly. So here is a more comprehensive list of goitrogenic vegetables I will be avoiding:
Foods with goitrogens (Most are members of the cruciferous and brassica families)
- Radishes*
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Mustard
- Rutabaga
- Turnips
- Peaches
- Soybean and soy products, including tofu
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- broccoli
- Collards
So... you may be asking yourself, what the heck is left to juice if I should avoid the foods from the above list? I noticed that romaine is not on the list, so I looked up what family of foods romaine belongs to and then looked to see if there are other greens in that family.
Vegetables NOT belonging to cruciferous/brassica family (meaning, not goitrogenic)
- romaine
- chicory
- endive
- escarole
- dandelion
- chard
- beets
A BETTER DAY THREE?
OK, on to Day Three! My challenge today is that I work and then go to class, so I need enough juice to keep me from starving until evening. It is most crucial that today's juice taste good!
After my talk with my friend last night about thyroid, nasty green juices and Natalia Rose's raw program, I immediately went to the store and bought 2 lbs of romaine, a couple of pounds of apples, and about 6 small lemons. I've been told to add fruit to my green juices before, but you know how you finally hear something a different way because you have a different need? My mindset now is that since my blood glucose is not in the abject danger range, I can stand to juice some apples for the time being. I figure that since I will ween myself off of them over time (as Rose recommends), it may be worth a try. I'll just have to spend $30 for more glucose testing strips!
So I threw the following into the VitaMix
- 2 lbs romaine
- 2 cucumbers
- 5 radishes (since I have them already)
- A couple of handfuls of cilantro
- 1 head of celery
- 4 apples
- 1.5 inches of ginger
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 huge carrot
- 2 lbs yams
- 1 small lemon (peel and all)
"Thyroid and Food" resources for fellow researchers
There is lot more to learn about thyroid and food because there is so much conflicting information. A lot of what I learn may just come from experimenting with my own body. But these sources, among others, provide information.
The World's Healthiest Foods (goitrogens)
The World's Healthiest Foods (kelp)
Thyroid.com
Green juice does take a bit to get use to. Take heart, the more you drink, the more your body will crave it and it won't taste so bad.
Terilynn
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First of all....I love Natalia Rose. She has probably helped more people move towards raw than a lot of the other 100%-er's. She has a much more realistic approach. Her Green Lemonade recipe is a standard base at my house.
I am glad to see this thyroid issue being raised. I have 90% of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but I haven't gone to a doctor lately to be checked. I am going to keep your recommendations in mind as I begin my feast this Saturday. Also you should get Organic Kelp & Dulse Granules by Maine Coast Sea Seasonings. You would be able to put a tbsp. or whatever into your juice. Both have super high amounts of natural Iodine. I bought mine at a local health food store.
I am so glad you haven't given up and that you are feeling better about things. It's a journey of learning, right? I am so proud of your determination!
xoxo....Penni
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Allison, we must be sisters!
Love, and light
Pippa
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I am sorry you are having a hard time adjusting to the taste of the green juices. It can be difficult.
I have been writing my juice combinations since the beginning of my 31 day juice feast on my blog and whether or not they tasted good. Now I know we are all different as to what tastes good but it might help to give you some ideas.
One of my favorites is celery, green of choice, pear and mint. It is very good.
Also, Greens, celery, tomato, cilantro, carrot, garlic, lime or lemon is good too.
Adding a 1/2 a lemon per quart of juice seems to really change the taste of the juice and make it much nicer.
I have found that when I have to premake my juice I don't always enjoy the taste. Drinking the straight veg juices early and saving the fruit mixtures has helped with this.
Kelp can be found in any health food store. If you look on the supplements page of www.juicefeasting.com you will see what it looks like. It is used as a salt substitute so it is in a bottle with a spice type of lid. It is like dried little flakes. It tastes really good in the savory juices. It makes it taste more like food to me which is nice.
I hope this has been helpful and if you need any kind of support, please let me know.
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I have hypothyroidism and have taken synthroid for over 7 years. After going raw March of 2006, I have been able to bring my medication from the 8th highest dosage to the second. I did the juice feast for a couple of weeks in hopes of giving a push to lower it even more. I had to go back on raw, though because I couldn't lose anymore weight. But it looks like my Dr. will be able to lower down to the lowest dosage. It just takes time. I'm in hopes of being completely off my synthroid by next year. Keep working! It's worth it.
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I also have hypothyroidism and have been on levothyroxine for years. Since converting to a raw diet I started juicing and working out more. Some of the recipes I use for sore muscles and for green juices have a lot of kale, cabbage, and spinach. I have been having lightheadedness and trouble staying awake which is from lower thyroid fucntion. Now I am researching cruciferous vegtables and found your blog and listed websites for more research helpful.
The conversion book I am using for raw food lists the following to be helpful to add to your diet for thyroid imbalances. Organic foods, raw foods, green vegtables (not cruciferous/brassica family), green herbs, blue-green algea, gogi berries, green herbs. Kelp seaweed can correct hypothyroid ( 2 to 4 tablespoons of raw kelp seaweed flakes taken daily). Adding maca root powder (2 to 4 tablespoons daily) and/or raw coconut oil butter (2 to 4 tablespoons daily) will help to increase thyroid fuction. Maca( it is a cruciferous vegtable) has a balancing effect on the endocrine system and directly supports the thyroid. Also listed is sunlight on the skin. I am not familiar with Ms. Rose but will look into her information now. The conversion book I am using now is by David Wolfe and I have collection of raw recipe books. I hope some of this information may be as helpful to you as yours has been for me. Thanks much and may all of our thyroids find a healty balance.
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Thank you so much for posting this list! I'm planning to do the 92 day juice feast and have been worried because I have Hashimoto's which causes my thyroid to swing from hypo to hyper. I'll try avoiding the items on your list.
NOTE from Allison : I was just diagnosed with Hashimoto's last month. I am now learning how to deal with that nutritionally. Good luck to you! If you learn anything, please share it!
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