NUTRITIONAL ADVICE FOR WFPB, HYPOTHYROIDISM & OSTEOPENIA?

Pat_16

Any advise would be very welcome
As in the question, I am limited in a lot of foods I can and can't consume: - no animal, processed food or oil. no cruciferous vegetables or soy but need protein, iron, calcium etc. My main problem is hitting my protein target even with powdered smoothie protein. I do supplement with calcium, D3 and B12. Am I missing any important foods to bulid my protein given what I can and can't eat?

Susan_RD_101

@Pat_16

Thanks for your question! I'm a plant-based dietitian, so your question fits in nicely with the work I do.

If you haven't for awhile, it might be worth getting your TSH, T4, and T3 values evaluated. If your thyroid is functioning normally, there is no need to avoid any cruciferous vegetables. However, even if you are still concerned, cooking these vegetables destroys goitrogenic activity. Soy can interfere with medication used to treat hypothyroidism, but if you separate them by 2 hours, there shouldn't be any impact.

There are plenty of high protein sources outside of soy that can help you meet your needs:

• Beans and lentils (15 g per 3/4 cup)
• Hemp seeds (10 g per 3 tbsp)
• Seitan (20 g per 3 oz. )
• Quinoa (4 g per 1/2 cup)
• Nuts and seeds (varies; pumpkin seeds tend to be higher in protein than other nuts).

For your bone health (osteopenia), it's important to hit around 1200 mg of calcium per day. This may be where you want to add in an unsweetened plant milk and/or plant yogurt. Alternatively, you could add in a calcium supplement if you find it challenging to hit this target.

Kind regards,