People who suffer from thyroid disease may have eye-related problems, a condition known as Graves' ophthalmopathy. This condition can cause serious, permanent complications, and good thyroid levels may help reduce the risk of these problems. Your risk for Graves' disease is not eliminated with improved thyroid levels, but a diet rich in antioxidants and other nutrients may help lower your likelihood for having the condition, and in some cases, improve some of the associated symptoms.
Effects
Symptoms of Graves' disease include irritation and redness on the surface of your eyes, as well as swelling of your eyelids. You may also have vision changes such as double vision, which occurs when you have inflammation in the muscles that control eye movement. Many people with Graves' disease have proptosis or bulging eyeballs. This condition typically results from inflammation in the tissues behind the eye. A diet full of useful nutrients may not resolve your symptoms, but your diet could have some benefit in relieving your symptoms.
Omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce inflammation, and this could help relieve inflammation on the surface of your eyes as well as the inflammation that occurs behind your eye. Omega-3-rich foods include fatty fish such as salmon, but plant sources may also provide omega-3. These include walnuts, flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds.
Antioxidants
In a 2004 study at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, researchers determined that antioxidant nutrients, particularly selenium, may help restore thyroid levels to a healthy range. Selenium-rich foods include Brazil nuts, turkey, eggs, enriched noodles and walnuts. Other antioxidants include vitamins C and E and beta-carotene.
Food Choices
Beta-carotene-rich foods include foods such as carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and cantaloupe. You can find vitamin C in foods such as spinach, citrus fruits, strawberries and bananas. Vitamin E-rich foods include nuts and seeds such as almonds and sunflower seeds, but sweet potatoes also provide a small amount of this nutrient.
Considerations
You should not stop any medications or other treatment for Graves' disease to try to cure your condition with dietary changes. In most cases you will need a medication to help regulate the thyroid levels in your body, and failing to keep these levels under control may increase your risk for eye-related changes and other associated health problems.
References
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences: Thyroid Eye Disease
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Omega-3 Fatty Acids; June 2009
- "International Journal of Clinical Chemistry"; Supplementation With Antioxidants in the Treatment of Graves' Disease; The Effect on Glutathione Peroxidase Activity and Concentration of Selenium; V.B. Vrca, et al.; March 2004
- Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health; Selenium; November 2009
- American Optometric Association: Diet & Nutrition
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Beta-Carotene; December 2008
