Have you also been doing double takes all week at how dark it is in the afternoons? It is definitely December! Although you may be busy holiday shopping or bouncing between seasonal events, if you’re feeling a little slower than usual or wanting more downtime it’s completely natural for this time of year.
A lot of animals are hibernating and most trees are in a quiet time after letting their leaves go. All-round it’s a time for slowing down. This saves energy and over the next few months gets us ready to burst out feeling fresh in the Spring.
It’s a nice fit to talk about your thyroid today because your thyroid’s main job is to regulate metabolism. This is the pace of all the reactions happening in your body. It doesn’t actually slow down over these months, but if you have thyroid issues you’ll want to add gentle support while you go with the flow of the quieter months to keep your energy balanced.
If you’ve been feeling overly tired for a long time, have had changes in memory and concentration, gained weight for no reason, haveconstipation, dry skin or the texture of your hair is different, these are some signs that your thyroid might need support. Here’s how you can do it.
3 Simple Ways To Support Your Thyroid:
- Avoid raw broccoli and cauliflower on the veggies and dip plate. Broccoli and cauliflower, along with cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale and turnip are all in the brassica family (also known as cruciferous veggies). They’re amazing at preventing cancer, but until they’re lightly cooked they can block your thyroid function. You don’t have to worry about stopping your kale smoothies, just rotate it with other greens. Moderation of moderation is the best approach. The chance of you eating raw Brussels sprouts and turnips is pretty slim so you don’t have much to think about there 🙂
- Eat lots of thyroid-supporting foods. These include fish, avocados, sesame seeds, almonds, apricots, molasses, oats, sea-vegetables, and cranberries. We’re almost at the tail end of the season but if you can pick up some fresh cranberries, try cooking them in with your oatmeal. I’ve been doing this all Fall – it’s delicious and it covers two foods off this list. Sprinkle on some raw almonds and you now have three!
- Avoid pesticides. Your thyroid is so sensitive to environmental toxins that it’s getting a reputation for being our “canary in the mine” on how our body is interacting with what we’re putting into the environment. Best way to start is to buy organic for the most heavily sprayed foods. Top 3 to avoid are apples, celery and sweet bell peppers. If you haven’t yet switched to organic celery, give it a try. You’ll be amazed at how differently it tastes that the regular stuff.
Keep it simple for yourself and just pick one from this list that seems the most doable for you and add it to your shopping list. That’s a GREAT start!
All the best,
Dr. Viv