I recently went for my biannual thyroid check-up and was thrilled with the positive changes in my results. Today, I want to share the simple, everyday lifestyle adjustments that have helped improve my thyroid health. From drinking aloe vera juice to incorporating infrared light therapy, these tips have made a significant difference without the need for restrictive diets or exhaustive routines.
Before I dive in: I’m not going to talk about root cause healing here. You already know this is important. I have been doing the deep root cause work for years and have been in remission for 7+ years. The tips below do not replace the root cause approach. Rather, they take the healing to the next level (if you want me to show you how to heal your root cause, join me in BLOOM).
Firstly, here’s what I DIDN’T do to get there:
- Follow a restrictive, elimination type diet (I preach and practice the 80/20 rule)
- Take a gazillion supplements
- Do a parasite cleanse or any other ‘cleanse’
- Completely cut out sugar or alcohol
- Religiously follow an exhaustive 10 step morning and evening routine
- Obsess about being perfect all the time
And here’s what I DID do to improve my thyroid health…
1. I started drinking Aloe vera juice
50mls every morning. I am prepping a separate post on this, but loves, get yourself some cold pressed aloe vera juice and start ASAP! Studies and evidence show a profoundly positive effect on all thyroid markers with long-term daily use (50mls per day, PMID: 29527506). I like and use the Fushi one.
2. Infrared light therapy
Infrared therapy is shown to reduce the antibodies, improve the conversion and lower TSH. It has an amazing healing effect on the entire body, inflammation levels and our mitochondria (our little energy factories!)
I don’t do it every day, but it’s a regular part of my routine and I bloody love it. I would use it even if it wasn’t having any thyroid supportive effects… it just feels so good. (PMID: 32186976)
3. Blue light blocking glasses
So this seems totally unrelated, but hear me out. Our entire endocrine system runs on a circadian clock, including the HPT axis. If our sleep is disrupted (blue light will inhibit melatonin production and directly impact our sleep quality) it will have a direct impact on our thyroid hormone levels. Also, leptin (our master metabolism hormone) stimulates the HPT axis and TSH production and guess what we need quality sleep for optimal leptin signalling.
4. Sauerkraut every day
Ok a little brag here, but my microbiome diversity is pretty impressive these days (without continued probiotic use). The link between thyroid and gut is HUGE (known as the gut-thyroid axis). Recent studies are showing more and more impact of the microbiome composition and diversity on the thyroid hormones and thyroid autoimmunity, which is amazing as there’s so much we can do every day to feed our microbiome!
5. Medicinal mushrooms every day
Medicinal mushrooms have a gazillion benefits, including thyroid optimisation, antibodies reduction, immunity boost and increased microbiome diversity. I have been obsessed with medicinal mushrooms for quite some time and add them to my coffee every day.
6. I stopped botox
Although there are no studies confirming the link between thyroid and botulinum toxin (well there’s one, but poorly constructed), if you’re trying to reduce your toxic load.. skipping botox is a no-brainer. And I am, by no means, a purist. As I mentioned before, I enjoy a healthy 80/20 rule when it comes to food and lifestyle choices. I used botox for tension headaches (I am/was a huge frowner) and forehead wrinkles, for about 5 years with no side effects. I have, however, now moved to more holistic alternatives like face massage and exercise and face taping and couldn’t be happier!
Are you going to try any of the tips above?
Or maybe you already incorporate some with great results?
Why not get in touch to let me know!
Ps. Hold up, don’t go yet! Let’s talk about going a little deeper to help improve your thyroid health! If you’re ready to address your Hashimoto’s root cause, stop relying on doctors, and feel like YOU again… I would love to invite you to join the waiting list for my 3-month signature Root Cause Reset Programme, BLOOM, launching again in late September.