Home | Orthoiodosupplementation | Body | Disease | Special | Overviews

Special Topics   

Goitrogens

Foods

• Overviews
• Bobek
• Bruce
• Chandra
• Daniel
• DeGroot
• Delange, Thilly
• Doerge
• Elnour
• Ermans
• Ferreira
• Fort
• Freyberger
• Gaitan
• Gates
• Ishizuki
• Kaplan
• Kimura, Ikeda
• Masterjohn
• Rao
• Schone
• Smit
• Sfakianos
• Shomon
• Stoewsand

Goitrogenic Foods -- Overviews

Worlds' Healthiest Foods

What are goitrogens and in which foods are they found?

WH Foods

"Goitrogens are naturally-occurring substances that can interfere with function of the thyroid gland. Goitrogens get their name from the term "goiter," which means an enlargement of the thyroid gland. If the thyroid gland is having difficulty making thyroid hormone, it may enlarge as a way of trying to compensate for this inadequate hormone production. "Goitrogens," like circumstances that cause goiter, cause difficulty for the thyroid in making its hormone....

"There are two general categories of foods that have been associated with disrupted thyroid hormone production in humans: soybean-related foods and cruciferous vegetables. In addition, there are a few other foods not included in these categories - such as peaches, strawberries and millet - that also contain goitrogens. The table below shows a list of some foods that contain goitrogens."

iThyroid

Goitrogens

iThyroid

"Goitrogens are foods which suppress thyroid function. In normals, goitrogens can induce hypothyroidism and goiter. In hypos, goitrogens can further depress thyroidal function and stimulate the growth of the thyroid (goiter).

"In hyperthyroids, goitrogens may help suppress thyroidal function until normal thyroidal functioning can be restored. However, this may not be a good strategy. Goitrogens work by interfering with the thyroidal uptake of iodine. While many hypers try to limit thyroid output by iodine restriction, this strategy can backfire. Iodine restriction will cause the thyroid to increase in size (goiter) in an effort to filter more blood to get more iodine. When iodine is then re-introduced to the diet or accidentally ingested, the now larger thyroid gland has the capacity for greater thyroid hormone production.

"I do not believe that iodine restriction is a good long-term method for controlling thyroid hormone production. Therefore the consumption of goitrogens is not a good strategy. It is better to increase copper metabolism by supplementation of copper and the assisting nutrients. Once copper is replenished and copper metabolism is working properly, the body will tolerate iodine without increasing thyroid hormone production."

 Home | Orthoiodosupplementation | Body | Disease | Special Topics | Overviews  

The Iodine Group | Books | Disclaimers | Contact Us | Search  

  Copyright: Zoe, 2006.