Contents
General description of the disease
Thyroiditis is a disease caused by an inflammatory process in the thyroid gland. More women are susceptible to this disease.
Read also our dedicated Thyroid Nutrition article.
Forms of thyroiditis, causes and symptoms
Thyroiditis can occur in 3 main forms. Allocate Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or autoimmune (this form is most common), subacute and asymptomatic thyroiditis… Let’s consider each of them.
Autoimmune thyroiditis develops due to a malfunction in the functioning of the immune system. It can occur during adolescent puberty, pregnancy, or menopause. These failures destroy thyroid cells. As a result, the body, in large quantities, lacks these cells.
If untreated, the disease continues to develop and becomes more serious – hypothyroidism (occurs due to a prolonged lack of thyroid hormones).
The first distinguishing symptoms of the disease is the feeling of discomfort at the site of the thyroid gland. It manifests itself most clearly when swallowing food (it seems that there is a lump in the throat). Then pain is added when pressing on the thyroid area. The throat may feel like something is squeezing. The onset of hyperthyroidism is indicated by such signs as a rapid heart rate, severely high blood pressure, tremors of the fingers, and increased sweating. As a rule, hyperthyroidism occurs with severely advanced autoimmune thyroiditis. It can take 5-10 years from the onset of the disease to the development of hyperthyroidism.
Subacute thyroiditis occurs after several weeks after suffering severe viral diseases (after influenza, mumps, measles). Also, the cause of this form of thyroiditis may be the causative agent of benign lymphoreticulosis.
Symptoms of subacute thyroiditis: the presence of severe pain in the area of the thyroid gland, fever, weakness, frequent headaches, fever, chills, constantly aching and twisting joints with muscles. This condition significantly reduces the patient’s performance. The above signs are considered common, since they can occur with any other disease with a viral etiology. But, with subacute thyroiditis, these symptoms are added to the appearance of puffiness or swelling in the thyroid gland, severe pain in the lower jaw and the back of the head.
Asymptomatic thyroiditis got its name from the absence of any serious signs of the disease. The patient may have a slightly enlarged thyroid gland. This is often difficult to notice with the naked eye. This form is the easiest and fastest to treat. However, this disease may recur over time, in contrast to subacute thyroiditis. The reasons for the development of this form of the disease are not reliably known. Scientists have noticed that asymptomatic thyroiditis most often occurs in women who have recently given birth.
Useful foods for thyroiditis
With thyroiditis, there are no special prohibitions and rules in nutrition of all forms, but there are nuances. In order to improve the patient’s condition, he must definitely take food every 3 hours. Also, in no case should the daily calorie intake be reduced. The daily rate should be at least 1200 kcal. If you lower calories, the patient’s condition will only worsen, and the disease will progress.
The patient’s diet should include a large amount of vegetables, fruits and berries. They contain fiber, which removes all accumulated toxins. Indeed, if the thyroid gland malfunctions, metabolic processes often fail, which causes the body to slag.
It is very important that unsaturated fatty acids enter the body (this requires eating fish and drinking fish oil), carbohydrates (they can be obtained from cereals, pasta and bakery products).
It is strictly forbidden to adhere to vegetarian diets. With thyroiditis, it is important to eat meat dishes, dairy products, cheese and eggs.
In order to prevent thyroiditis from provoking hypothyroidism and osteoporosis, it is very important to consume calcium-containing foods: milk, hard cheese, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, spinach, sesame seeds, peas, garlic, mustard, sour cream, cream, low-fat milk, oatmeal and barley porridge.
Drinking plenty of fluids is important. It is best to drink mineral water without gas, to drink cabbage, lemon, beetroot, carrot juices, decoctions of rosehip and hawthorn are very useful.
Traditional medicine for thyroiditis
In order to prevent the emergence and growth of nodes in the thyroid gland, as well as to maintain the normal state of the patient with thyroiditis, it is necessary to carry out complex therapy with the help of traditional medicine.
Complex treatment includes the use of infusions, decoctions and juices from medicinal plants, oil extracts and compresses.
Phytotherapy
For the preparation of infusions, it is required to take herbs from various groups, which are created depending on the properties. And so, fees must be formed from herbs that:
- regulate the work of the thyroid gland (these include: hawthorn, cocklebur, motherwort, gorse and zyuznik);
- have antitumor properties: sage, marshmallow, sweet clover, celandine, kirkazon, white mistletoe;
- slow down autoimmune processes: calendula flowers, St. John’s wort, heather, white cinquefoil;
- regulate immune processes in the body: strawberries, nettles, walnut leaves, duckweed, tops and the beet root itself.
From this list, you need to choose 5 herbs and take 70 grams of each. Each plant must be dried and crushed. One day will require 20 grams of this herbal collection and 0,4 liters of filtered water. Raw materials are poured with cold water, boiled for 5 minutes after boiling and left to infuse for one hour, filtered. In the resulting broth, add one tablespoon of juice (from one selected from the list of herbs) and 2 teaspoons of honey. Drink 4 times a day, 0,1 liter per dose (the first three servings are taken half an hour before the main meal, and the fourth serving right before bedtime). You need to consume such a collection for 6 weeks, then you need to take a break for the body (at least 14 days), after which the course can be repeated. It is recommended to take 5-6 such courses per year.
Herbal juice
Cut the selected grass (preferably during the flowering period), cut into strips, 5 cm long, scroll in a meat grinder. Squeeze the resulting gruel (you can squeeze through a sieve, gauze, but better with a juicer). Add vodka or alcohol to the juice (for 0,9 liters of juice, 0,3 liters of vodka will be required). The juice can be stored for no more than a year and at 2-8 degrees Celsius above zero. With such extracts, you can wipe the thyroid area and add to the herbal collection described above.
Oil extracts
You can make such extracts from the following herbs to choose from: celandine, string, cocklebur, sweet clover, kirkazon.
Pour the selected medicinal plant (pre-crushed and dried) ¾ into a jar and add corn, linseed or olive oil. Insist 21 days. After this time, drain the oil and squeeze out the grass. The resulting oil can be stored for 1,5 years at 10 degrees Celsius above zero. This oil should be used to lubricate the front of the neck before going to bed. The number of repetitions is 6 weeks.
Compresses
Healing compresses can be made from all of these herbs. To do this, a broth is cooked (you need to take 1-1,5 tablespoons of raw materials for a glass of water), boil and insist for 45 minutes, then filter. Apply to the problem area for 2 hours. Before using this or that tincture, it is necessary to test the skin for allergic reactions. To do this, a part of the hand is lubricated and monitored for the reaction of the skin. If redness, swelling or rashes appear, the selected herb cannot be used.
Attention!
In the presence of other diseases (especially of a chronic nature), diet and traditional methods must be compared so as not to worsen the state of health due to this concomitant disease. Before treatment, it is better to consult with an endocrinologist, phytotherapist and nutritionist.
Dangerous and harmful foods for thyroiditis
- spicy, salty, fried, smoked, fried foods;
- canned food and shop sausages with small sausages;
- soy-containing foods and dishes;
- millet;
- Red clover;
- genetically modified products (Sprite, Fanta, Coca-Cola, food from McDonald’s restaurants, chips, chocolate, baby food, Kraft coffee, Knor sauces, many spices, ketchup, mayonnaise).
This list of foods must be excluded from the diet of a person suffering from thyroiditis. These foods contain isoflavones that interfere with the synthesis of the enzymes required for the formation of thyroid hormones T3 and T4. If you do not follow these recommendations, goiter may appear.
Attention!
The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!