What Can You Eat If You Don’t Have a Thyroid?

There's no special diet for people without a thyroid other than to eat healthily. No matter what you eat, without a functional thyroid, you'll need to take supplemental replacement thyroid hormones to regulate your metabolism for the rest of your life.

The Thyroid and Metabolism

Your thyroid produces T3 and T4, two hormones that control how quickly your body uses energy and oxygen, which determines how fast your body burns calories. Hypothyroidism — in which your thyroid produces low or no thyroid hormones — causes your metabolism to slow down, potentially leading to weight gain, according to Cleveland Clinic.

After your thyroid shuts down or is removed, you may gain weight as you try to find the correct dosage of thyroid hormone replacement medication. You can help increase your metabolism by burning more calories through physical activity.

That said, if you don’t get enough calories, you could slow your metabolism down further, notes Cleveland Clinic. Your body has a built-in survival mechanism that slows metabolism to conserve energy when you don't consume enough calories.

General Diet Guidelines

Unless you have another underlying medical issue, you should follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines state that 85 percent of calories consumed per day should come from healthful, nutrient-dense sources. When combined, small changes over the course of a day can result in nutrient-dense snacks and meals.

Try to avoid added sugars, especially in sweetened beverages such as soda, and limit saturated and trans fats in your diet. You can cut down on saturated fat by choosing lean cuts of meat and choosing poultry and seafood instead of beef or pork. Eat low-fat or nonfat dairy products and use vegetable oils in place of butter or lard.

Importance of Physical Activity

Strength-training exercises are especially important for people without a thyroid because building lean muscle mass will help burn more calories.

Even at rest, muscle tissue requires more energy than fat. The greater your ratio of muscle to fat, the higher your metabolism. All forms of physical activity help to burn calories — and anything that burns calories will boost metabolism and help keep you at the right weight for you.

The Takeaway

• The only dietary consideration that people without a thyroid need to account for is to make generally healthful choices.
• Hypothyroidism can cause your metabolism to slow down, but not getting enough calories may cause it to slow down even further.
• Physical activity is also an important part of managing weight if you don’t have a functioning thyroid.