Wouldn’t it be great if your metabolism had an ON button, one you could crank up any time you wanted to burn more fat, find more focus, or add some juice to your energy levels? Well, it does. It’s called your thyroid. And how well this little gland functions can determine whether you’re a high-energy fat-burning machine, or a couch-surfing bundle of blah. The metabolism master control is an un-assuming butterfly shaped gland in your neck that secretes all-important hormones that control major bodily functions, including how you digest food and use energy. When your thyroid slows down, everything slows down; that means fatigue, weight gain, and even trouble thinking quickly and clearly. Many things can put you at risk for a sluggish thyroid, some of which are out of your control, like family history. If you suspect your fatigue levels and weight gain aren’t quite normal, discuss it with your doctor. But in the meantime, you can max out your metabolism by feeding your thyroid the foods it needs to stay in peak condition.
Maximum Metabolism Food #1: YOGURT
Yogurt is naturally rich in vitamin D, and not getting enough of the nutrient puts you at a higher risk of obesity and thyroid diseases, research suggests. More than 90 percent of people with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that’s the most common cause of hypothyroidism, are deficient in D, according to one study published in the International Journal of Health Sciences. Researchers say the sunshine vitamin’s immunity-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties protect the thyroid from damage. In addition to vitamin D, yogurt is also rich in probiotics that research suggests may help balance good bacteria in the gut that can be thrown of by thyroid disturbances, leading to fatigue, inflammation, and weight gain.
Maximum Metabolism Food #2: SUSHI ROLLS
Iodine is to your thyroid what a baseline is to a funk song: without it, there’s no dancing. And since our bodies can’t make this mineral, we typically get it as an additive to food, particularly table salt. But as more and more of us cut back on sodium, or switch to unfortified sea salt, iodine deficiency is becoming more of a concern. Fortunately, there are other dietary sources of iodine, and seaweed is one of the best. Just two tablespoons of brown seaweed, or a few rolls of sushi every week, will meet your needs. And as you nosh on your nori you’ll be blasting fat: Scientists at Newcastle University recently discovered that a compound in seaweed called
alginate helps fat pass through the gut undigested.
Maximum Metabolism Food #3: GRAPEFRUIT
Imagine trying to do your job while the guy in the office next to you blasts Metallica all day long. You’d find it pretty hard to get anything done, right? Well, the same thing happens to your thyroid when it’s exposed to heavy metals—not the musical kind, but the kind that shows up in food. That’s because heavy metals, mercury in particular, are chemically similar to iodine—an element the thyroid needs and readily absorbs. When metals like mercury take the place of iodine at binding sites, thyroid hormone production grinds to a halt. The good news is you can detoxify naturally with fruits that are rich in pectin—a gelatin-like fiber that sticks to toxic compounds in the blood and flushes them out of the body through the urine. In fact, citrus pectin can increase the
amount of mercury you excrete by 50 percent within 24 hours of taking a pectin supplement, according to one study. Four pieces of whole fruit a day is all you need to reap the benefits—and you should be aiming for that number anyways. Most of the pectin in citrus fruits are found in the pith and peel, so whole sections of grape-fruits and oranges, as well as whole apples and peaches, are your best sources.
Maximum Metabolism Food #4: BRAZIL NUTS
Selenium. No, it’s not a Latina pop star. It’s the all-essential “on” switch to proper thyroid function—converting T4 hormone into active T3. The essential mineral also protects the gland from inflammatory byproducts of thyroid hormone production. Many people who have a sluggish thyroid or thyroid diseases exhibit deficiencies in selenium, and studies show that boosting your intake can help. Selenium supple-mentation of 80 micro-grams per day—about you’ll find in just one Brazil nut—helped to reduce antithyroid antibodies in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (inflammation of the gland that can make it sluggish if left untreated), one study showed.
Maximum Metabolism Food #5: STEAK
If your thyroid were a man, he’d be a meat and potatoes kinda guy. That’s because animal protein is brimming in amino acids, particularly tyrosine the building block of thyroid hormone, and of dopamine both of which regulate weight management. A lack of tyrosine in the diet may lead to an underactive thyroid, and a deficiency in dopamine is associated with food cravings and weight gain. You can also find tyrosine in dairy, poultry and leafy greens.
Maximum Metabolism Food #6: OYSTERS
Shuck one for your metabolism. Oysters are one of the best dietary sources of zinc, a mineral that’s critical, and complementary, to a healthy thyroid. In fact, the body needs enough zinc to activate production of thyroid hormone. And, in turn, we need enough thyroid hormone to absorb zinc. Any way you look at it, deficiencies are likely to result in a sluggish metabolism, and supplementing with the mineral has been shown to get weight loss back on track. One study found that obese people who consumed 30 milligrams of zinc per day the equivalent of just six raw oysters had improved body mass indices, lost weight, and showed improvements in blood cholesterol levels. Get shucking!
Maximum Metabolism Food #7: RAINBOW TROUT
There are plenty of fish in the sea, but there’s plenty of mercury in the sea as well. Rainbow trout, on the other hand, tends to be very low in thyroid-harming pollutants, and very high inmetabolism-boosting omega-3 fatty acids. Most cases of underactive thyroid are due to inflammation of the gland, and the fatty acids in trout help your body fight inflammation naturally. The fishy fat may also signal thyroid cells in the liver to burn more fat, a recent study published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry suggests.
