Tom Rothsey – There has been a huge rise in hypothyroidism in recent times. Current data indicates that 12% of the population will experience some form of thyroid disorder in their lives, and this number is quietly, but steadily increasing. The thyroid gland produces a hormone that affects every single cell, tissue, and organ in the body and hypothyroidism is the condition where not enough of this hormone is produced. It is estimated that up to 90% of hypothyroidism in areas with sufficient dietary iodine has an auto-immune basis. Analysis of the year to year increase in hypothyroid conditions indicates that extrinsic or environmental factors must be the prime driving mechanism. Women are most widely affected, but the handful of studies that have quantified the rise of hypothyroidism indicate that the relative percentages of both men and young people are on the increase.

Conventional medical treatment for hypothyroidism involves either supplementation with synthetic or biologically similar thyroid hormones, or with iodine, but obviously this achieves nothing in a healing context where the causal mechanism is auto-immunity driven by external factors. As is often the case, we address the symptoms, not the cause, and if we are lucky, we will receive some dietary advice which may or may not be helpful.

Goitrogens, auto-immunity, and other thyroid disrupters:

Much attention has been directed by dietitians, scientists and physicians to the so called goitrogenic foods – cruciferous vegetables. One of the first things fermentation specialist Sandor Katz and I discussed when we met was the issue of goitrogenic foods in fermented foods. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will have heard of the many benefits to be derived from eating fermented foods, but the idea that the cruciferous vegetables that dominate a lot of ferments contain substances that can potentially inhibit thyroid function may be new to you. The good news is that by taking care of our thyroid with the relatively simple measures outlined here, we can continue to reap the many benefits of fermented foods without compromising our health in other areas. Continue reading →