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6 Benefits of Garlic for your Thyroid Disease
6 Benefits of Garlic for your Thyroid Disease
Posted Date : 2021-01-16
Inside:6 Benefits of Garlic for people suffering from thyroid issues, supported by research; including Grave’s and Hashimoto’s Disease.
Garlic is such an important food in our diet as it has so many different benefits attached to it.
Not only garlic gives that wonderful flavour to your food, but did you know it can also support and protect your thyroid!
Garlic benefits are numerous and it has been used since ancient times for various medicinal use especially to treat infections.
People who have thyroid disorders especiallyHashimoto’s and Grave’sdisease need to have an anti-inflammatory and whole food diet and garlic should be an important part of their diet.
Garlic has strong anti-inflammatory properties and several studies have time again showed that it can inhibit pro-inflammatory mediators.One of this study showed that garlic inhibited the Il 17 cytokine production[1] .
IL 17 is a kind of pro-inflammatory cytokine which has been related to several autoimmune diseases.This study showed that people with Hashimoto’s has increased levels of IL17 levels in their blood [2].
So if a Hashimoto’s patient uses garlic to decrease the levels of IL17 in their blood, it can help with their disease process.
Garlic has sulfur-containing compounds, which help with detoxification.Garlic also supports our liver to help with detoxification!
The special thing about garlic is that it supports both the phases of detoxification in the liver and there are only a few foods which can do that.
Studies suggest that garlic can also help with detoxifying lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic[3].
We know that Hashimoto’s is triggered by environmental factors and with the modern-day lifestyle, we all are getting exposed to toxins on a daily basis, in such a case adding food likegarlic in our diet which can support detox our bodycertainly will help with thyroid issues also.
Improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Most of the people with thyroid diseases are at increased risk of having high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol.
And garlic has shown to be beneficial in improving blood pressure in people and is protective to heart also by the antioxidant effects that it has [4,6].
It also reduces cholesterol, and this study did show improvement in patients cholesterol when supplemented with garlic pills [5,6].
Garlic Helps in Protection from Infections
Garlic has shown to be useful in people with fighting the common cold.This study showed that people who supplemented with garlic got over their common cold symptoms earlier [7,8].
The allicin in garlic has an antimicrobial mechanism which helps fight other infections.As garlic improves our immunity it can also help to keep some of the viral infections at bay which have been associated with triggering autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s in our body.
Garlic has good antioxidant properties can studies have shown that supplementation improves the antioxidant levels in the blood [9,10].
The antioxidants protect our body from damage from free radicals which are generated in our body.These free radicals can ultimately cause damage to various parts of the body and can contribute to autoimmunity.
Thus garlic holds huge importance with its antioxidant properties in Hashimoto’s disease.
Garlic Improves Gut health
Garlic is very good for gut health.The inulin and Fructooligosaccharides in garlic are a very good source of prebiotics and help support the good gut microbiome and thus the overall health of your body[11,12,13].
We now know that autoimmune disease starts in the gut and if we can keep our gut healthy especially our microbiome in good balance that will help with improving our health and also thyroid diseases under control.
Garlic can thin your blood, so if you are on a blood thinner medicine you have to be a little cautious about using garlic.Although garlic is not contraindicated with blood thinner medicines.However —if you taking high doses of garlic in the supplement form and on blood thinners your healthcare provider should be aware.
Although garlic is great for your gut, if you haveSIBO(Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), then it might be a good idea to avoid it, as it a high FODMAP food.
Suffering from a chronic disease like thyroid, gut problem, weight issues, autoimmune issues, etc... is not easy. Dr. Gupta is a certified Functional Medicine Physician and his personalized plans have helped thousands of people to reclaim their health back.
1. Can eating garlic help with thyroid health, particularly in conditions like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease?
Garlic is healthy for you if you have a thyroid hormone problem that is autoimmune, namely, Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease. We develop these when our immune system attacks the thyroid. Garlic contains natural anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants that could help decrease inflammation. It also possibly guards thyroid cells against further attack. Garlic isn’t a treatment replacement, of course, but in the long term, it can serve as a useful thyroid-supporting friend when you incorporate it into your daily routine.
2. What Is The Correct Amount Of Garlic To Eat For good Thyroid Health?
A sufficient energy dose would be 1 or 2 raw garlic cloves per day. You might also assign a little hit squad to mince or crush the garlic and then let it sit for a few minutes before eating; in some cases, that will activate a potent chemical called allicin, with all the health benefits allicin can bring. Consider adding it to salad dressings, soups, or hot dishes. If it is too hard to eat, use a garlic capsule that is odorless, but fresh garlic is much more potent. As ever, consult your doctor before taking any supplement.
3. Will I have issues if I take my thyroid medication or other medications with garlic?
Garlic will not lower your thyroid hormones and is not useful for thyroid medication. But it serves as a very weak blood thinner, so if you currently take blood thinners, including aspirin, warfarin, or certain herbal supplements, talk with your physician first. Also, it’s no good to take garlic and thyroid medicine at the same time. Wait at least 60 minutes after your thyroid pill to take a supplement, and don’t take your thyroid pill until at least 60 minutes after taking a supplement.
4. How can garlic aid the gut, and why should that be at all important for the thyroid?
Garlic helps in rebalancing your gut microbiome, by removing bad bacteria, and supporting the growth of good bacteria in the gut. A healthy gut is associated with a stronger immune system and lower levels of inflammation; all of this is key for people with thyroid problems. Because the gut and thyroid are so interwoven, one cares for the other. Poor gut health dramatically increases the number of flare-ups in autoimmune thyroid conditions, so it’s great that garlic also helps to balance this out, as well as potentially improve how well your body absorbs nutrients that do wonders for healing the thyroid, such as selenium and zinc.
Dr. Anshul Gupta MD is Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician, with advanced certification in Functional Medicine, Peptide therapy and also Fellowship trained in Integrative Medicine.
Dr. Anshul Gupta MD is Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician, with advanced certification in Functional Medicine, Peptide therapy and also Fellowship trained in Integrative Medicine.
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