Do you have questions about nutrition? Send them to us at comer@lavanguardia.es, our nutritionist Aitor Sánchez will solve all your doubts.
Good morning, Aitor. I have a question. I suffer from hypothyroidism, and I would like to know if it is good for my condition to follow a hypercaloric diet. (Linda Silva Forero, reader)
Hi beautiful,
It is not a good idea, nor is it a typical approach to go on a hypercaloric diet in hypothyroidism. In fact, the most common strategies seek just the opposite, this is because hypothyroidism is a condition in which our thyroid gland does not work enough, and the production of T3 and T4 hormones, which perform essential functions, is diminished.
If the activity of the thyroid is diminished, we can have problems related to obtaining energy and maintaining our tissues. This usually triggers weight gain (due to this slowing of metabolism), hair loss due to little renewal and irrigation, constipation due to less intestinal motility…
The classic approach to hypothyroidism is treatment with levothyroxine and a healthy diet, summarizing this broadly. This diet normally sought not to have an excess of energy (kcal) and to guarantee the consumption of iodine from the diet. Today we know that other issues are also important.
For example, considering the restriction of goitrogenic foods: among which we find vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage. These foods can inhibit the synthesis of thyroid hormones, especially if hypothyroidism also coexists with iodine deficiency. We also seek not to “disturb” the medication, separating drinks such as coffee, tea, from the moments in which we take the drug, in addition to the typical grapefruit that usually interferes with many other medications.
If we are talking about a specific type of hypothyroidism, such as the Hashimoto variant, other recommendations may also have to be taken into account, such as enhancing the anti-inflammatory effect of the diet, where we can consider restricting meat, eggs, some legumes, dairy products or cereals with more reason.
All this is very important to see in a nutrition consultation, but in response to your question, Linda, the hypercaloric approach is not recommended.
Hello Aitor. In recent times, methods to stay in shape and lose weight in menopause have caused a furor on social networks, with a series of common slogans: prioritize strength over cardio, do not lose carbohydrates, and, above all, do intermittent fasting. According to the gurus of the networks, after 50 and in the menopause, a woman cannot lose weight if she is not with intermittent fasting. Is it really so? Is there scientific evidence? Thanks and regards. (Cristina Carbo, reader)
Hello Cristina,
This menopausal health trend is a double-edged sword. It has the positive part that it is very interesting that the capacity of good habits in certain physiological changes such as menopause is valued, but we also find the typical “miracles” or “methods” for everyone, as you have very well identified.
If we add to this the current trend that exists on social networks to give great importance to glycemic control, we will be able to understand even better why so many messages revolve around carbohydrates.
It is completely true that with the arrival of menopause there is a worse management of glycemia and insulin begins to not work as well, but that does not mean that we have to do a very different approach to the pillars of a healthy diet. In fact, there are times when so much emphasis is placed on the little tricks to lower blood sugar that people start following Internet anecdotes and neglect the main thing.
It’s like starting the house from the roof, it’s useless to take a supplement or add vinegar to salads if we are not eating well and exercising.
If we take all this into account, a diet with fewer carbohydrates may be an option, but it will be even more important that these carbohydrate sources are healthy, with a greater presence of whole grains and legumes in the diet.
The issue of prioritizing strength over cardiovascular exercise is good advice, but they should not be considered mutually exclusive. Strength exercise is going to be key to maintaining muscle mass and bone mass from this age, but cardio is still very interesting to maintain an active life. Many times social networks dichotomize and it seems that they give you a choice between one or the other.
Finally, I would recommend that you look up the other times that we have talked about intermittent fasting in the office to realize that it is far from mandatory or a magic pill. Whoever claims that a menopausal woman can only lose weight with this technique is lying, and also, she is leaving aside many of the priorities to change in order to achieve a healthy weight loss.
