Doctor’s Winter Thyroid Protocol (Ayurveda + Science)

Why Winter Worsens Thyroid Symptoms 0:00

If you have a thyroid disorder, then you know one truth. Winter hits you really hard. Your fatigue gets worse. You feel more tired. Your inflammation levels increases. It gets more difficult to lose that stubborn weight on your body. You wake up feeling bloated and tired. And plus, your hair thinning and hair fall gets even worse. You might blame it on cold weather. but in reality during the winter months your thyroid slows down so you need to take specific steps to support your thyroid gland in the winter months so you can thrive and feel better and in today's video that's what exactly i'm sharing with you my ultimate winter thyroid survival guide which is a blend of functional medicine and ayurvedic medicine so stay till the end because i'm going to share with you a complete one day protocol that you need to follow which is based on just nature things that you can do to support your thyroid gland properly this winter.

How Winter Slows Thyroid Function 1:01

Hi, I'm Dr. Anshul Gupta, a former Cleveland Clinic functional medicine physician from US. I help people improve their chronic diseases by making personalized functional medicine plans. Now you might be wondering why winter months are so difficult. What happens in winter that slows down your thyroid? The modern science tells us during the winter months, the blood flow to the thyroid slows down a little bit. With this even small amount of slowing down the blood supply to your thyroid gland, it interferes with the production of your thyroid hormone.

The second thing is that as the days are shorter in winter months, we do not get enough sunlight. Not getting enough sunlight comes with low vitamin D levels. Plus not getting enough sunlight also interferes with the natural circadian rhythms. Both of these situations messes up with your thyroid gland and interferes with thyroid hormone production. Now even Ayurveda tells us that during the winter months our vata as well as our kapha Dosha's increases. These are the Dosha's which slows down our body, slows the metabolism and ultimately they also slows down our thyroid gland.

So both Ayurvedic and functional medicine tells us that your thyroid is slowing down. So you need to take specific steps to fix this problem. So let me share with you this natural routine that you can follow on the daily basis, which is going to support your thyroid gland.

Morning Sunlight and Breathing Routine 2:25

The very first thing you need to do as soon as you wake up in the morning is you need to get some sunlight exposure. If you are living in an area where you do not get sunlight at all, till the later half of the day. Then you do this at a later point in the day. But the goal is to get that morning sunlight exposure to our face. What it does is that it rebalances our melatonin and cortisol production in our body. Plus it rejuvenates our metabolic fire which helps us in losing weight. Plus the third thing, it also boosts vitamin D production in our body.

All of these three things together in the morning jump starts your thyroid gland. The other thing I want you to do when you're doing this five minute exposure to sunlight is take some deep breaths. Five deep breaths that you do while you are exposing yourself to the sunlight is enough to reset your HPA axis. This HPA axis controls your adrenals, your thyroid gland. After doing this sun exposure and deep breathing exercises, the next thing to do is drink this thyroid rejuvenator. This is a one cup drink which is going to wake up your complete body including your thyroid.

For this you need one cup of warm water. Then you add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder into it. Then you grate half an inch of ginger into it. And then you squeeze in half a lemon or lime into it. And then you can add a pinch of black pepper for increased absorption of turmeric.

Thyroid Rejuvenator Drink Recipe 3:59

Make sure the water is not boiling, but only warm. And then in the end, if you can add one teaspoon of extra virgin coconut oil on top of this drink, that will be really good for your thyroid gland. And then you slowly sip this drink in the next five to 10 minutes. This one cup drink reduces inflammation in your body again ignites your metabolic fire helps your body detoxify your liver and helps you to get rid of those toxins that you accumulate in the night and plus it definitely supports the thyroid gland functioning throughout the day after you're done with this morning routine Throughout the day I want you to include foods which are specifically good in winters for your thyroid gland.

Let me give you the list of these foods to you. The first food to include over here is good fats. In winter you need that warmth. and for that warmth in your body you need good fats so specifically include extra virgin coconut oil extra virgin olive oil avocado oils as well as if you have access to A2 organic ghee that is also good nuts and seeds are also great by giving you the good fats you can do almonds walnuts and also chia seeds and flax seeds So these are all the good fats. After including good fats, you need some warming spices and anti-inflammatory spices added to your food.

That includes cinnamon, turmeric and ginger. So use these spices by adding it to your food or making teas out of them. The third food to include is good quality protein. All those amino acids are specifically needed by your thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. Whether you eat chicken, fish or turkey or whether you include vegan or vegetarian sources of proteins like legumes, lentils,

Winter Foods That Support Thyroid Health 5:39

chickpeas or beans. Then include these root vegetables, specifically beetroots, carrots and sweet potatoes are really good for your thyroid health in the winter months. So these are the foods which are going to specifically help support your thyroid gland. So make sure you're including them. Important over here is also to avoid foods which damages your thyroid gland in the winters. Top category over here is any kind of dairy. Whether it is milk, yogurt or buttermilk. All of them in winter months will destroy your thyroid gland.

Plus try to avoid gluten as a grain and go for gluten free options of either rice or millet. Try to avoid processed sugar, caffeine and alcohol also during the winter months because again It causes too much inflammation in your body and damages your thyroid gland. Then comes the night time. This golden drink before your night time is going to keep soothing your thyroid gland while you are sleeping. To prepare this drink you need 1 cup of warm coconut milk or almond milk. Then to it, you add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder.

Then you add one fourth teaspoon of cinnamon powder to it. And then one fourth teaspoon of either Indian ghee or coconut oil into it. This specific drink lowers inflammation while you are sleeping, improves your sleep quality by improving your melatonin production, as well as also keeps those insulin levels low, which typically increases during the winter months.

Foods to Avoid in Winter 7:18

So that way you are rejuvenating and supporting your thyroid gland even while you sleep. So as you see this simple one day routine that you can easily follow starts from in the morning takes five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the night can help you rebalance your thyroid gland. make you feel warm throughout the day will reduce inflammation helps you not to gain excess weight plus will keep your thyroid numbers in the normal range too. Along with doing these things make sure you have a high quality supplement which has the right amount of zinc, selenium, small amount of iodine, L-tyrosine as well as an adaptogenic herb like either rhodiola or ashwagandha.

So your thyroid gland can function properly and help your body in getting better. This is where I have developed this thyroid balance supplement which has the right ingredients in the right quantities as well as the right form which

Nighttime Golden Drink and Supplement Support 8:07

your body can absorb and can work really great for your thyroid gland. The link will be in the description if you want to buy it. So today I shared with you why winter months are really important for thyroid patients because your thyroid is slowing down and that is the reason you feel worse but you can take action today by following a simple daily routine you can support your thyroid gland you can support your metabolism lower inflammation in your body so you can feel better today. I hope you like this video.

If you do, please like and subscribe to my channel as well as share this video with others who can benefit from this great information. Until next time, take care. Bye bye.