Have you ever made a big mistake?
Of course… everyone has.
Unlike most others, I encourage people to make mistakes.
Why?
Because we learn and grow by the mistakes we make.
Just like Thomas Edison, who failed a thousand times before creating a working light bulb.
If it wasn’t for those first thousand mistakes, he never would have learned what works and what doesn’t.
Now, I don’t want you to make a thousand mistakes to find what works and what doesn’t.
And, I certainly don’t want you to make the same mistake over and over again.
That is why having a mentor to help you along the way is so important.
Well, there’s one big diet mistake that is growing worse with every passing year.
I want to show you how NOT to make the same mistake that so many others are by using a simple thyroid diet fix.
It’s something I teach my clients, which I often refer to as the Nutrient-Activation Principle.
The Nutrient-Activation Principle
The Nutrient-Activation Principle isn’t a difficult concept to understand, but let me explain it as I often do to my clients.
Like most people who own a car, I’m sure you want to keep your car alive and running for as long as possible.
To do that you need to keep your engine working efficiently to prevent the wear and tear that kills your engine.
Your engine requires things like oil, transmission fluid, and radiator fluid to run efficiently.
Think of these engine fluids as “nutrients” for your engine.
Now, your car can’t run off these nutrients alone.
You still need gasoline to produce the energy that your engine needs for you to drive.
Think of gasoline as the “metabolic activator” required for your car to produce energy and run.
Now, here’s the important part to understand…
If you changed your engine fluids regularly, but never refilled your gas tank… how long is your car going to run?
Once you run out of gas, it doesn’t matter how many engine nutrients you put in your car.
You’re not going anywhere.
On the flip side, if you continuously re-fill your gas tank, but you neglect your engine fluids… how long is your car going to run?
Eventually your engine runs out of fluids and your car dies.
As you can see, your car requires both engine fluids (nutrients) and gasoline (metabolic activator) to keep your car alive and running.
The same applies to your thyroid and diet.
The Nutrient-Activator Principle means that healthy thyroid metabolism requires both:
- Adequate nutrients to keep your cells working efficiently.
- Metabolic activators to activate your cells to use those nutrients and produce energy.
Just like with your car engine… If you eat tons of nutrients, but no metabolic activators, then:
- You can’t make use of all those nutrients.
- You can’t produce the energy you need to sustain your health.
Eventually your metabolism fails along with your thyroid function. And on the flip side, if you eat tons of metabolic activators, but lack nutrients, then:
- You deplete yourself of nutrients.
- Your cells can’t function, leading to premature cell death.
Again, your metabolism fails along with your thyroid function.
Yes, you need both nutrients and the metabolic activators to use those nutrients and sustain healthy thyroid function.
Want to learn more about some of the metabolic activators I use with my clients?
You can find them, and how they work, in our 3 Food Thyroid-Boosting Protocol.
You can download this daily protocol here. Now, let’s look at what most are doing wrong, and how to fix it.
The Big Thyroid Diet Mistake Most Are Making
Over the years, I’ve found that many of my clients fall into one of two categories:
Category 1: High Nutrient – Low Metabolic Activators
These clients are generally very health conscious.
They prepare their foods.
They believe they’re eating the healthiest diet possible.
They often over-eat vegetables that many falsely think to be super-nutritious.
Yet, they’re scared of metabolic activators such as most carbohydrates, healthy sugars, and coffee.
They often label these necessary metabolic activators as unhealthy or “nutrient void”.
I also find that many of the “healthy” foods they eat are actually unhealthy and known to suppress thyroid function.
They think that nutrients are everything.
Category 2: Low Nutrient – High Metabolic Activators
These clients are generally on the other end of the spectrum.
They may still eat plenty of vegetables, but they aren’t getting the right amounts or the right kinds of nutrients.
And they’re not getting them at the right times.
Instead, they focus predominantly on metabolic activating foods together with thyroid-suppressive polyunsaturated fats.
Many spent years eating anything they wanted, but now they’re developing health issues at a rapid pace.
Needless to say, you don’t want to fall into either category.
If you do, then you’re making a big mistake.
But it’s not something we can’t fix.
The Big Thyroid Diet Fix
After explaining the Nutrient-Activation Principle to my clients, they begin to understand.
It’s not healthy to fall into either of the two categories mentioned above.
Instead, you want to fall into a new category.
Category 3: High Nutrient – High Metabolic Activators
This thyroid diet fix works by combining high nutrients and high metabolic activators into your diet.
This could mean combining the high nutrients found in egg yolks with the metabolic activators found in fruit.
It could also mean combining the high nutrients found in shellfish with the metabolic activators found in coffee.
This is actually why and how we use coffee with our clients and why we developed our own special thyroid-boosting coffee.
By combining healthy high-nutrient foods with foods that activate your metabolism, we can force your cells to use those nutrients.
Remember, neither one works on its own.
You need both working together to have a truly healthy thyroid diet.
Want an easy way to get started?
Spend a week eating a breakfast of eggs combined with the metabolic activators in our 3 Food Thyroid-Boosting Protocol.
Each and every one of our clients uses this protocol.
Get more information about the 3 Food Triple-Thyroid-Boosting Daily Protocol here.
Hi Tom
Why don’t you suggest organic foods? Coffee beans are highly sprayed as well as oranges etc.
Shellfish are bottom feeders, garbage trucks of the ocean and full of mercury! Can you speak to that?
I am doing the morning protocol along with the progesterone drops. Also OJ when I wake up in the night. Seems to work well .
Thank you .
Hi Jill, There’s nothing wrong with organic foods. I typically speak to foods in general, which doesn’t imply non-organic. As for your concerns regarding shellfish, we don’t encourage the spreading of misinformation like that. Shellfish contain high amounts of many nutrients that are essential to proper thyroid function. Some of the healthiest traditional cultural groups depended almost largely on shellfish for a high-quality source of nutrition.
What happens when you don’t have a thyroid anymore Tom due Hashimoto disorder. Does this diet still help?
Gale, I’ve written about thyroid health after RAI treatment and thyroidectomy here: https://www.forefronthealth.com/rai-and-thyroidectomy/
The short answer is yes, everything we teach still applies 100%. The only difference is that you will need to supplement thyroid hormone to the degree that you cannot produce it. However, it’s important to understand that just because you take thyroid hormone doesn’t mean that the hormone is getting to your cells. Thyroid hormone can get blocked many places along this pathway. For example, most hypothyroid people can’t convert inactive T4 thyroid hormone to active T3 thyroid hormone that your cells need. Thyroid hormone can also get blocked in the bloodstream, at the cell receptor, etc. You can supplement all of the thyroid hormone you want but if you can’t get the hormone to your cells then you will still be hypothyroid. We focus on all facets of the thyroid.
I purchased the Hyoithyroidism Revolution materials and know that grains are not a part of this protocol per se. With that being said, are white rice and white rice pasta pretty much off limits? Sometimes I am wanting a bit more carb than that from the fruits and orange juice, etc. other than that, I really like this Plan.
Hi Joann, grains are broken down into glucose and most thyroid sufferers don’t do well with that much glucose. The fructose component of the fruit is very important. Instead of rice, try using some potato, which contains much more of the nutrients we need.
I wish I could use coffee to stimulate my metabolism but it tends to make me irritable and shaky in even small amounts. I have a lot of stress (and overproduction of cortisol I assume) so I switched to one cup of black tea instead of my one cup of coffee and I feel better. I miss coffee though. Also, I can’t bring myself to drink orange juice in the morning because of the concentrated amount of sugar. Wouldn’t it be better to eat an orange?
Nicky, that’s because, like most, you’re not using coffee properly. This is covered in the 3 Food Thyroid-Boosting Daily Protocol. Orange juice does have benefits over the whole orange due to the bacterial and endotoxin issues commonly found in hypothyroidism. Don’t let yourself be brainwashed about orange juice. It’s a thyroid superfood as I discuss here: https://www.forefronthealth.com/thyroid-superfood/
Sip on the orange juice slowly over a period of time and it’s just like eating an orange, but safer. There’s no need to gulp it all down quickly.
Tom – This will sound like a stupid question but how long do you take to sip down 8 oz of OJ? Everytime I pour a glass (and I mix it with collagen, whole milk, and salt), I fight to gulp it down, And I always want more. Balanced coffee I can sip, my OJ drink…not so much.
Kathy, the short answer is as long as needed. Some people have a harder time regulating blood sugar than others and need to take it slower.
I don’t know what to do with my carrot salad because I realized that’s the one causing me a lot of belly distress, starting half an hour after eating it. I start hearing a lot of rumors in my stomach and then a lot of gas. It is very annoying and continues all the time till I go to bed. I prepare the carrots shaving them, with salt acv and olive oil, because the coconut oil gives me a rash on my forehead, but I believe the fiber in the carrot does not agree with me. Do I have to continue and maybe with time this will stop or is there anything else I can do? Thanks
I believe I have seen Tom speak to this before and suggest using the bamboo sprouts when the carrot salad is not well tolerated.
Hi Roxana, have you given well cooked mushrooms or bamboo shoots a try? You might do better with them. :)
Hi Tom….i am getting ready to start implementing your program…i bought the book and cd….but i had a question….are these guidelines still effective if your thyroid has been damaged by radiation from xrays. I never had any trouble until they did a bunch of xrays for a neck injury …was diagnosed with hypo 2 months later…just wondering…thanks
Hi David, The short answer is yes, everything we teach still applies 100%. The only difference is that you will need to supplement thyroid hormone to the degree that you cannot produce it. However, it’s important to understand that just because you take thyroid hormone doesn’t mean that the hormone is getting to your cells. Thyroid hormone can get blocked many places along this pathway. For example, most hypothyroid people can’t convert inactive T4 thyroid hormone to active T3 thyroid hormone that your cells need. Thyroid hormone can also get blocked in the bloodstream, at the cell receptor, etc. You can supplement all of the thyroid hormone you want but if you can’t get the hormone to your cells then you will still be hypothyroid. We focus on all facets of the thyroid. You can learn a little more about this here: https://www.forefronthealth.com/overcome-hypothyroidism/
Hi Tom, thanks for the informative article. If a person knows they are implementing both nutrients and metabolic activators and still not generating enough energy for good daily functioning, what would you say could be tried? Thank in advance.
Hi I’m going to start this protocol with my nine year old who is displaying all symptoms of hypo ..I have always kept her off sugar and fruits wrongly thinking too much sugar! What about coffee for her? Is there an alternative? Thanks
Children generally have a much higher metabolic rate because they are growing. So, we generally start with foods and only supplement when absolutely necessary. While there is no real harm to using coffee (appropriately) with children, it’s typically not necessary. In our HR Program, we have a kid-friendly eating plan with foods that kids love.