OpenRoad Driver Volume 11 Issue 1 | Page 72

72 » OpenRoad Driver THINGS TO AVOID • No chlorine and fluoride, as they block iodine absorption, which our thyroid needs. • TIP: Filter your water and cook with filtered water. • No plant oils other than olive and coconut. Omega 6 vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, rapeseed and safflower are highly inflammatory, which hurts the liver’s ability to convert inactive thyroid hormone to the active one that our body uses. TIP: Cooking the cabbage family makes these vegetables some of the healthiest foods to eat. • TIP: Use olive oil and coconut oil instead of other vegetable oils. • No processed soy products like soy milk, soy cheese, soy meat and soy protein bar, as soy isolates block the absorption of iodine. TIP: Read labels, as soy is in everything. The only soy that is healthy to consume is miso, tempeh, tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) and natto. • No processed foods in general. If food is made in a plant facility, don’t eat it. TIP: If food IS a plant or it eats plants, do eat it. Make sure any animals or animal foods like eggs and dairy come from animals that were fed their natural diet. Cows eat grass, not grain. Chickens eat grubs. Fish don’t naturally eat soymeal. No foods from the cabbage family when consumed raw. Broccoli, cauliflower, chard, kale, Brussel sprouts and bok choy are anti-thyro id. Other foods that are anti-thyroid include peanuts, pine nuts, red radish, kohlrabi, watercress and turnips. No excess stress! Our hormones are so interconnected, and when our stress-hormone cortisol is overworked, the body prioritizes cortisol over thyroid hormone. TIP: Identify the activities that effectively reduce stress in your life, and schedule time to do those activities every day. • No silver or mercury fillings. Mercury displaces selenium, which is needed to convert the inactive form of thyroid hormone or T4 to active T3, which runs our metabolism. TIP: Get a biological dentist to remove silver or mercury fillings.