Diet taboos for children with hyperthyroidism

Absolutely prohibit high-iodine foods, strictly control highly stimulating diets, and avoid supplements that increase metabolism. Most of the rest are excessive taboos spread online and there is no need to strictly enforce them. Some improper restrictions may even affect the growth and development of children.

Don't believe it. I met a 10-year-old child a while ago. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism for half a year, and his thyroid function has been very stable. His mother listened to the advice on the Internet and told him to supplement nutrition, so she cooked him a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup every day. The result was a follow-up examination half a month later. The thyroid-stimulating hormone dropped to 0.01mIU/L. The medicine that had been reduced to the maintenance amount was increased again, and it took almost three months to bring it back to normal levels.

When it comes to the issue of iodine, there are actually different views in the industry. The traditional school of pediatric endocrinology recommends that children eat non-iodized salt and completely avoid all iodine-containing foods from the time of diagnosis to one year after discontinuation of medication. ； However, in recent years, more and more doctors have pointed out that children are in a critical period of growth and development. Iodine is an essential element for the synthesis of thyroid hormone. Long-term complete iodine deficiency may lead to thyroid dysfunction. As long as thyroid function is stable within the normal range for 3 consecutive months, ordinary iodized salt and occasional It’s absolutely fine for you to eat some freshwater fish and shrimp with low iodine content. Just avoid high-iodine foods such as kelp, seaweed, wakame, fresh jellyfish, and pickled seafood. Both views are currently supported by clinical data. You can discuss the specific choice with your child’s attending doctor. There is no need to stick to a certain standard.

Many parents tend to equate "spicy food" with spicy food, but this is not the case. I treated a 7-year-old boy last year. His thyroid gland function had been stable for more than three months. On the weekend, he secretly used his pocket money to buy hot spicy strips sold at the school gate, and also drank a bottle of sparkling water with taurine. Within half an hour after eating, his hands were shaking and his face turned pale. In addition to excessive amounts of chili peppers, caffeine in coffee and functional drinks, a large amount of spices such as Sichuan peppercorns, peppercorns, and cinnamon added to braised food, as well as ice popsicles just taken out of the refrigerator, as long as children will become flustered and irritable after eating them, they should be touched as little as possible. Of course, there is no need to overdo it. It is perfectly fine to add a few slices of ginger and a few peppercorns to the dishes at home to enhance the flavor. You cannot let your children eat plain boiled vegetables every day. Hyperthyroidism consumes a lot of food, and they lose their appetite and become malnourished.

There is another pitfall that many parents will step into, which is indiscriminate supplementation. When I see my children lose weight quickly after suffering from hyperthyroidism, I rush to buy various protein powders, nutritional supplements, and energy supplements for my children. Many of these products contain ingredients such as taurine and caffeine that can improve metabolism, which is equivalent to "adding firewood" to the metabolism that is already spinning too fast. The more the children eat, the thinner they become, which in turn aggravates the symptoms. Some parents have asked if they can give their children radiation protection if they have stocked up on iodine tablets. This is an absolute taboo. Children with hyperthyroidism cannot replenish iodine on their own no matter what the situation is. If they really want to use it, they must ask their attending doctor first.

Oh, by the way, many people ask whether children with hyperthyroidism cannot eat seafood at all? In fact, it is not true. Shellfish such as oysters and scallops, as well as marine fish such as hairtail and yellow croaker, actually have much lower iodine content than kelp and seaweed. Children in the stable period can eat it once or twice a month. It is perfectly fine to take one or two mouthfuls each time, and they do not need to be beaten to death with a stick. I have met many parents who, in order to strictly control iodine, cook and deliver meals to their children alone every day. This makes their children feel that they are different from other children in school, and they gradually become inferior, sensitive, and have severe mood swings. On the contrary, the impact on thyroid function is much greater than eating an occasional bite of sea fish.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the diet of children with hyperthyroidism really does not have so many mysterious rules. The core is to focus on the big and let go of the small, keep the three absolute taboos, and make the rest comfortable. After all, it is important for the child to grow up and be happy. You cannot make the child's childhood watery for the sake of a small amount of iodine intake. In fact, the gain outweighs the loss.