Diet taboos for thyroid tumors

High-functioning adenomas combined with hyperthyroidism should strictly limit iodine, avoid long-term intake of large amounts of goitrotropin-stimulating substances, and stay away from foods and supplements containing exogenous hormones.

What everyone is most confused about is whether iodine can be eaten. This really cannot be generalized. If you are diagnosed with a non-functional benign adenoma, and your thyroid function tests and antibodies are completely normal, then it is perfectly fine to eat iodized salt normally and occasionally eat some seafood. However, deliberately eating non-iodized salt for a long time may lead to insufficient iodine intake, stimulate the increase of TSH, and push the adenoma to grow. I met Aunt Zhang in the outpatient clinic. A 0.8cm benign adenoma was found in the physical examination. She was afraid that iodine would cause damage to her body and even threw away the iodized salt. She ate non-iodized salt for half a year, and then she was reexamined and it turned into subclinical hypothyroidism. The gain outweighed the loss. But if your adenoma is a high-functioning adenoma that can secrete thyroid hormones independently and is already accompanied by symptoms of hyperthyroidism, then you must strictly limit iodine, replace iodized salt with iodine-free ones, and try not to touch high-iodine foods such as kelp, seaweed, and seaweed, otherwise it will aggravate the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. This is the consensus of endocrinologists and there is no controversy.

At this point, someone must be asking, is it true that "cruciferous vegetables can induce goiter and should not be eaten" that has been widely circulated on the Internet? Don’t listen to those people’s lies. The glucosinolates in cruciferous foods such as broccoli, cabbage, and radishes will indeed metabolize into substances that inhibit iodine uptake by the thyroid gland. However, this effect will only appear if you eat three to four pounds of raw food every day for one or two months. Last week, I saw a 24-year-old girl who ate two kilograms of raw broccoli for dinner every day for a month in order to "eliminate tumors." Her TSH did rise a little during the review, but it returned to normal after half a month. Normally, the normal intake of a stir-fry or a soup is not enough to cause disease, so there is no need to eat taboos.

There are also many patients who ask whether they should avoid "fat foods", such as beef, mutton, seafood, and roosters. Currently, the views in different fields are indeed different. There is no clear evidence-based basis in Western medicine to prove that this kind of food will stimulate the growth of adenoma. As long as you don’t feel uncomfortable after eating it, you can eat it normally. ； However, many schools of traditional Chinese medicine recommend that patients who have postoperative or daily neck swelling and pain eat less. Clinically, a small number of patients have indeed reported that the swelling in the neck will worsen after eating such hot foods. In this case, just follow your own physical feelings. Eat when you feel comfortable, and eat less if you feel uncomfortable. There is no need to insist on meeting any "standard".

Oh, by the way, what is more worthy of vigilance than these so-called "taboos" are those supplements that claim to "eliminate tumors as soon as they are taken", such as loose knot tea, royal jelly, deer fetus ointment, and Internet celebrity donkey-hide gelatin cake. A 32-year-old female patient I treated a while ago had a 1cm benign adenoma during physical examination. Originally, a six-month review would be enough, but I heard from a WeChat businessman that drinking loose knot tea would clear it up in three months. After drinking it for three months, the tumor had grown to 2.6cm and was compressing the trachea. In the end, the only option was to have surgery to remove it. Fortunately, the pathology was benign, but it was really not worth getting a knife for nothing. Many of these supplements contain undeclared estrogen and progesterone, which can stimulate abnormal proliferation of thyroid cells. Be careful not to buy them randomly.

I have been a thyroid specialist for almost 10 years. I have seen too many patients who are terrified every day after being diagnosed with tumors. They dare not eat this or touch that. Even when eating hot pot, they have to rinse the vegetables three times for fear of iodine. In fact, it is really unnecessary. More than 90% of thyroid tumors are benign. As long as the thyroid function is normal, you eat normally, stay up less late at night, and become less sulky, any harsh dietary restrictions will work. Do a color ultrasound review once every six months to a year. If there are any changes, just deal with them in time. Don’t scare yourself.