This one food can help fight thyroid (and it's very much in season)

Hypothyroidism or thyroid dysfunction is a serious condition affecting 1 in 10 people in India. Improper functioning of the thyroid gland can lead to issues in controlling weight, hormonal imbalance, weakened immunity, low energy, hair thinning, irregular blood pressure, deficiencies and make you more prone to developing chronic illnesses as well.

The thyroid also plays a huge part in metabolism and problems in the thyroid multiply into problems in the digestive system, heart functioning, menstrual cycles, and fertility. An underactive thyroid is caused by the malfunctioning tyrosine levels and TSH hormones in the body. Tyrosine is a kind of amino acid which is vital for regulating various functions in the body like regulating hunger levels, pain threshold and ensures stable functioning of the endocrine glands as well. They are also responsible for the production of thyroxine and triiodothyronine (T3 and T4), which mainly control your thyroid levels. In case your body is deficient in either of these, your health suffers. It can weaken your immunity, making you more prone to developing flu and viral infections

When your thyroid is acting up, the most important thing is to manage your diet well. Ideally, you should be aiming at having a healthy meal which strengthens your metabolic system and ensures proper thyroid function. However, you don't always have to go to extremes scouting for the right food options to improve your health. One superfood that can control your thyroid problem in an efficient way is in fact, very desi and trending globally.

Also known as gourd or kaddu locally, pumpkin is a vegetable which has a number of super nutrients! Not just rich in taste, pumpkin and pumpkin seeds can greatly help improve thyroid function in the body.

According to experts, the medicinal and health rich aspect of the vegetable lies within the seeds. While seeds are usually discarded off while making the curry or any delicacy, we suggest you keep the seeds safe for they are full of benefits.

To take care of hypothyroid or underperforming thyroid gland, it is very important to eat foods which balance out your tyrosine production levels and skip those which deplete the count further. Pumpkin seeds are not just a good source of tyrosine, but also contain a good percentage of the essential protein in them (about 524 mg in 1 pumpkin). In fact, the highest concentration of tyrosine and other thyroid controlling hormone come from the nuts and seeds.

Regular consumption of pumpkin seeds and the vegetable as a whole can also control other symptoms which come with an unstable thyroid condition such as blood pressure, weight management. They can also make for an easy food item to snack on, taking care of your untimely hunger pangs.

Pumpkin seeds are also a rich source of zinc, which is critical to absorb other vitamins and minerals in the body and also promote the synthesis and balancing of thyroid hormones in the body.