Post Date December, 03 2023
It's weekend. Do you want to consider improving food for your family? How about some seafood?
In the next few Fridays, we will launch a series of articles related to seafood. We will share with you about how to eat seafood for thyroid patients, gout patients, and people with gastrointestinal problems, and how to choose seafood.
In the first chapter, let's talk about how to eat seafood for friends with thyroid problems.
Thyroid and seafood
The seafood is delicious and nutritious, but friends with thyroid problems often talk about color change and stay away from it. This is mainly related to the iodine contained in the seafood.
Generally speaking, seafood includes algae (kelp, seaweed), fish (hairtail, salmon), shrimp (shrimps) and shellfish (scallops). The iodine content of these seafood is very different. The iodine content of algae is the highest, followed by shrimp and shellfish, and fish is the lowest.
So you may still not know the level of iodine content. Let's compare it with the iodized salt we often use.
The iodine content of 100g kelp is about 36240 micrograms, that of 100g hairtail is about 5.5 micrograms, and that of 1g iodized salt is about 30 micrograms. Therefore, the iodine content of 100 grams of hairtail is only one-sixth of that of 1 gram of iodized salt, while the iodine content of 100 grams of kelp is more than 1200 times that of 1 gram of iodized salt!
After cooking, some iodine will be lost. The iodine content of hairtail is very little, while the iodine content of kelp can not be underestimated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that healthy adults (excluding pregnant women) should take in 150-300 micrograms of iodine every day, and pregnant and lactating women should ensure at least 250 micrograms of iodine every day. Do you compare it with yourself first?
Do hyperthyroidism patients never eat seafood?
Not so. There are many kinds of seafood, and patients with hyperthyroidism can eat them selectively.
Hyperthyroidism is mainly caused by excessive thyroid function and excessive synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones. Iodine is the raw material for synthesizing thyroid hormone, so the intake of iodine should be limited.
If hyperthyroidism has not been cured by drugs, you must "avoid" iodine diet.
If the thyroid function has returned to normal and there is no obvious swelling of the thyroid, you can choose some seafood with less iodine content to satisfy your appetite, such as small yellow croaker, hairtail, cuttlefish, etc. However, it is better not to eat more than twice a month, and use iodine-free salt when cooking.
Should hypothyroidism patients eat more seafood?
Patients with hypothyroidism caused by iodine deficiency can eat more seafood, especially seafood with high iodine, such as kelp and laver.
Iodine deficiency leads to insufficient raw materials for synthesis of thyroid hormone, which leads to hypothyroidism. It is necessary to supplement adequate iodine.
However, there is another condition that can also lead to hypothyroidism, that is, autoimmune thyroiditis associated with long-term high iodine diet. Thyroiditis can destroy thyroid cells, thus affecting the normal function of the thyroid. At this time, it is not advisable to eat more seafood, but it is no problem to eat a little sea fish occasionally.
So, how to judge whether you are iodine deficient or iodine sufficient? I know it through urine iodine test. In addition, the examination of thyroid autoantibodies and B-ultrasound can also help determine whether autoimmune thyroiditis is not.
What about people with thyroid nodules?
The mere presence of nodules does not determine whether seafood can be eaten.
The occurrence of thyroid nodules is not only related to genetics, ionizing radiation (different from what we usually call "radiation" of computers and mobile phones), smoking, anxiety and other factors, but also related to iodine deficiency or high iodine in the body.
If thyroid nodules are accompanied by hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, seafood intake can refer to patients with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism without thyroid nodules;
If there are only thyroid nodules without hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, it is better to determine the type and quantity of seafood intake based on the results of urine iodine test.
In general, patients with hyperthyroidism should avoid seafood with high iodine content and choose iodine-free salt for table salt; Patients with hypothyroidism should not eat seafood without restraint. Like patients with thyroid nodules, the specific consumption of seafood can be determined according to the results of urine iodine and the daily recommended iodine intake of WHO.
