Is The Right Diet For Hypothyroidism “The Zone”?
Segment 3
Choosing the right diet for Hypothyroidism is a challenge. In this segment, we’ll review the Zone Diet to determine if this is a plan that can work for you.
Did you have an opportunity to investigate the Glycemic-Index Diet
yet? We briefly mentioned its worth in the previous segment. The Zone Diet is remarkably similar. Barry Sears, a biochemist who
developed this diet sees food as a drug, in that one must take the right
dose at the right time.
The foundation of The Zone is attaining correct hormonal balance and
maintaining a stable blood sugar level. Sears premise is that soaring
insulin levels, plus other hormones, encourage inflammation, which
promotes excessive weight gain. When your insulin levels
escalate, your body doesn’t draw on energy from its stored fat.
The mission is to keep insulin and other hormones that elevate
inflammation in “the zone”. This is accomplished by eating the right
percentages, of the right food. Guidelines are to eat 40%
carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat at every meal.
According to
Sears, giving your body the right balance of healthy nutrients fosters
optimum body weight and overall health.
Is
this beginning to sound like the right diet for Hypothyroidism? Let’s
look at a few health-wise pluses for people with Thyroid Disease:
- Decreases pain/fights inflammation. It’s common for people with
an Hypothyroidism to build-up inflammation, which leads to muscle pain. - Prostaglandin E (PGE), an eiconasoid, gets rid of hyper-insulin
response through ramping-up production of critical hormones in thyroid
and other glands. (PGE results from eating right proportions of right
food.) - PGE aids depression and fatigue frequently occurring in Hypothyroidism.
- Decreases spread of immune system cells that attack other cells in
the body, setting up autoimmune diseases. (Especially beneficial for
people with Hashimoto’s Disease.) - Histamines are dwindled, helping to relieve allergic reactions common in Hypothyroidism.
The Zone promises: loss of 1-2 pounds per week.
Here, please be mindful that people in good health can reasonably
expect to attain this goal. However, don’t start The Zone with false
expectations. In time, you will lose weight on this healthy diet,
perhaps not as quickly.
Reportedly, many people with thyroid problems have embraced this way
of eating, including Mary Shomon. (You’ll recall we discussed her book,
“The Thyroid Diet” in a previous segment.)
Is it beginning to look a lot like The Zone is a worthy contender as a right diet for Hypothyroidism?
There are surprisingly few restrictions: stay away from bad carbs.
Instead choose from good carbs, (remember the Glycemic-Index diet?) such
as: fish, turkey, low fat dairy products and partake of plenty of fresh
veggies and fruits, oatmeal and barley. Eat healthy fats with each
meal.
In addition, refer to your list of best and worst foods. For
example, The Zone is high on soy products, but we’ve discussed they
should not be consumed on any diet for Hypothyroidism.
You will, of course, want to research further; however, we give The Zone Diet a thumbs-up!