Readers’ alert:drug side-effects - Change your diet to boost your thyroid

For 20 years, I have had angina as a side-effect of thyroxine (a hormone therapy for an underactive thyroid). Do you know of any way to counteract or prevent this pain? - Shirley Kingsley, via e-mail

WDDTY replies: Twenty years is a long time to endure the side-effects of a drug. Rather than treating the symptom, you may wish to consider removing the cause instead. There are alternative ways to help thyroid problems. For sluggish thyroids such as yours, eat iodine-containing foods such as kelp and Japanese seaweed. Nourish your thyroid with selenium, zinc, and vitamins E and D. Avoid too much high-fibre food as they can bind to thyroid hormones and reduce their uptake. Also, increase your aerobic activity to stimulate thyroid activity (see WDDTY vol 7 no 7 for a special report on alternatives to thyroid drugs).