The Benefits Of Seaweed For Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a condition that is especially common in women over the age of 40. However, it also occurs right after childbirth. The symptoms of this condition can affect your quality of life and potentially change your appearance. In this article, we talk about the benefits of seaweed for hyperthyroidism.

This seaweed contains many nutrients that can help you:

• iodine
• minerals

We will also give you some suggestions for recipes. Seaweed is not at all difficult to prepare. The seaweed benefits we mention in this article may motivate you to try it for yourself!

What is Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism is a condition that affects about three percent of the population. People with this condition have elevated levels of thyroid enzymes in their blood plasma. Hypothyroidism is characterized by the following symptoms:

• fatigue
• muscle weakness
• feeling cold
• weight loss or gain for no apparent reason
• depression
• double chin in thin people
• hair loss
• pale or yellowish skin
• extremely dry skin
• lack of hair at the ends of the eyebrows

What Causes Hypothyroidism?

The most common causes of this condition are:

• different types of thyroid inflammation
• birth defects
• radiation on the neck
• anti-thyroid drugs
• treatment with lithium
• chronic iodine deficiency

The Benefits Of Seaweed For Hypothyroidism

Despite the medicinal properties of seaweed, this ingredient is not yet very popular in the culinary world. However, most people indicate that they do not know how to prepare seaweed.

However, it is much easier to prepare seaweed than you think. You can use it in almost all everyday recipes to add an original twist to the meal.

Thanks to the Japanese cuisine, seaweed has also become more well-known in our own kitchen. Vegetarian and macrobiotic diets can also add seaweed to their dishes  to increase mineral content, including iodine. Most people with hypothyroidism lack this.

Before you get started with these recommendations yourself, it is important to know that you should always buy ecological seaweed. You must have a guarantee that the seaweed you buy does not contain any toxic substances. 

How can we use seaweed?

Each type of seaweed must be prepared in different ways. This is because they all have different properties. The thin varieties only need to soak for a few minutes, while the thicker, stronger varieties need to cook for thirty or forty minutes.

Here we give a few suggestions:

• Nori:  This kind of seaweed is used in thin sheets when making sushi. Make it moist and use it, for example, to wrap rice.
• Kombu:  A piece of kombu in the vegetable stew softens the vegetables and also improves digestion.
• Wakame : Adding a little wakame to vegetables with cream makes it even creamier when you mix it. You no longer need potatoes or cheese.
• Sea spaghetti:  Ideal with pasta or rice.
• Dulse:  You almost don’t have to cook this one, so it’s great for soups, sauces, vinaigrettes or salads.

On the other hand, there are two very healthy types of seaweed that we would recommend as a supplement. However, only use these with a doctor’s approval:

• Spirulina
• fucus

seaweed salt

Another possibility to use seaweed every day is to make a salt out of it. With this salt you add more flavor to your dishes. You can use it the same way you normally use salt in your dishes.

Preparation

• Grind a little sea salt fine.
• Mix a seaweed of your choice with the salt.
• Pour this into a glass jar with an airtight lid.
• It is also possible to add some aromatic plants to this mixture.
• The salt also acts as a preservative.

We recommend making this salt with kelp, as it has a lot of iodine in it. Kelp is already widely used in salts that are sold as dietary salt.

Foods best to avoid

In addition to the consumption of seaweed, it is better to avoid some foods. The following nutrients are healthy for most people, but may be less good for people with a thyroid condition. These nutrients can hinder the absorption of iodine:

• cruciferous vegetables: cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli
• Spinach
• soya
• peaches
• beans
• lime