Nutrition considerations for thyroid cancer
Wondering how your diet and nutrient levels might affect your thyroid cancer? While nutrition alone is not sufficient to treat thyroid cancer, it can aid in both recovery from treatment and reduction of future risk.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the nutritional considerations around thyroid cancer.
Nutrition in thyroid cancer
Vitamin D
Given its role in a healthy immune system, it’s no wonder that vitamin D is one of our most important considerations! Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for the development of thyroid cancer, and is also linked to advanced disease progression in papillary cancer.
On the other hand, having enough vitamin D can also help if you have already been diagnosed. Research suggests that vitamin D can actually inhibit tumour growth and progression in various forms of thyroid cancer. On top of that, vitamin D also has anti-inflammatory actions. This can help both with reducing progression and improving your recovery from treatment.
So what do you need to do when it comes to vitamin D?
Know your levels and monitor them - this is particularly important while you are actively treating the cancer, but it’s also best to continue post-thyroid cancer to keep your risk low
Address any deficiency - work with a nutrition practitioner to calculate a dose based on your levels. Often the dosage recommended by GPs is not sufficient to correct a deficiency!
Keep your specialist in the loop - if you are using vitamin D during any form of treatment, be sure to work with your endocrinologist, surgeon and anyone else on your team.
Weight management
The latest research has linked increases in both BMI and waist-to-hip ratio to a higher risk of thyroid cancer. This can be a bit of a catch-22, as many people with thyroid cancer experience weight gain, particularly after treatment.
It’s important to remember that weight gain is a symptom, not a personal failure! We want to tackle it just as we would any other symptom.
To manage your weight, you’ll want to:
Get your thyroid medication dose right - this can take some time after treatment. But it’s critical to find the right dose for your body’s needs, as this will help you to maintain a healthy metabolism and therefore a healthy weight.
Identify and address any other contributors - for example, are you taking your thyroxine with food or coffee? Is chronic stress impairing your thyroid hormone conversion? Could you be going through the hormonal shifts of perimenopause? There are countless possible reasons why weight gain happens. But you can’t fix them until you know about them!
Focus on sustainable changes and habits - quick-fix diet approaches can actually sabotage your weight loss efforts. You’re better off focusing on small, sustainable shifts such as increasing your water intake, eating more veggies, and eating at home more often.
Anti-inflammatory diet
Inflammation plays a massive role in chronic disease, including all forms of cancer. So we want to ensure we are keeping your inflammation at bay - to minimise your symptoms, improve your recovery and reduce risk of the thyroid cancer returning.
The easiest change to make? Embrace a diet that is naturally anti-inflammatory. This includes:
Reducing or removing inflammatory foods such as seed oils and highly processed foods
Including foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties - think fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, beans, grassfed meats, free-range poultry, eggs, fish and seafood
Identifying and addressing food intolerances - even healthy foods can be inflammatory if your body is unable to process them correctly!
Consider Resveratrol
There are many nutrients and antioxidants that have promising research in thyroid cancer. One that I recommend you investigate is resveratrol.
Studies have found that it has various anti-tumour effects in follicular, papillary, anaplastic and even metastatic thyroid cancer. It can also enhance some of the treatments used for more aggressive thyroid cancer cases.
As with any nutritional supplement, make sure you inform your healthcare team that you are taking it, particularly if you are still undergoing treatment.
Work with an expert
While there is research out there into nutrition and thyroid cancer, it really is only in its infancy. It also cannot take into consideration the individual triggers, drivers, lifestyle and background of a person. So there really is no one-size-fits-all approach with diet and/or nutritional supplements when it comes to thyroid cancer.
That’s why I always suggest working with a health practitioner with in-depth knowledge of nutrition, such as a nutritionist or naturopath. Look for someone who has worked with multiple thyroid cancer cases before, so they have the experience to draw on along with the research.
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Resources on thyroid testing and which tests will give you the best overview of your thyroid function/thyroid hormone balance
Steps to help you identify triggers and avoid thyroid flares
6 restorative Naturopathic Yoga sessions
Thyroid meditations
A BONUS 4 step gut healing protocol (because many of the triggers for thyroid conditions are found in the gut!)
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Important note:
This information is not a substitute for medical advice or personalised support from a healthcare practitioner. I always recommend consulting your healthcare professional before making changes to medications, adding supplements, changing your diet or altering your lifestyle.