Natural Diet and Medication for Treating Graves’ Disease

Natural Diet and Medication for Treating Graves’ Disease

Natural Diet for Graves’ Disease

Diet for patients that have Graves’ disease usually would involve lesser intake of iodine-rich foods. There are also several tips that should be followed while maintaining this natural diet. These tips include the following:

• 
  Patients with the disease need to eat more whole grains. Whole grains are better options since it is considered a much healthier choice that can aid proper digestion.
  
  


• 
  Allow the body to have lots of fiber-rich food. Fiber aids digestion and also helps patients feel full in a shorter amount of time which will prevent them from eating unnecessary food.
  
  
  Healthy examples of foods that are rich in fiber include all kinds of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
  
  


• 
  Patients should remember to drink lots of water several times day. When the disease strikes, it usually makes a patient insulin resistant that is why it is vital to stay hydrated all day long. Water can also aid in proper weight loss which is beneficial.
  
  


• 
  Besides having loads of fiber, fruits and vegetables are important sources of different vitamins and minerals that can help energize the body and make it lose unwanted fats.
  
  
  


• 
  It is also best for patients with the disease to have tests for allergies since there are fiber rich foods that can cause reactions to those that have sensitivities.
  
  


• 
  Foods that are rich in iodine should be avoided. Common examples of these include broccoli, turkey, beef liver, and iodized salt.
  
  

Treatment for Graves’ Disease

There are several treatment options in managing the symptoms brought about by Graves’ disease but there is still no treatment in stopping the body from producing antibodies that cause the disease. Most of the medications are designed to block action of thyroxine.

• 
  Anti-thyroid Medications. Administration of the medicines will usually take two years to complete.
  
  


• 
  Beta Blockers. Helps in preventing the action of the thyroid hormone that causes the disease’s symptoms to appear. This kind of medication is usually partnered with other treatment options.
  
  


• 
  Radioactive Iodine Treatment. The procedure is used to lower down thyroid activity by destroying overactive thyroid cells. Treatment may result to a mild case of Graves’ ophthalmopathy.
  
  


• 
  Surgery. When patients are unable to tolerate anti-thyroid medications and radioactive iodine treatment, thyroidectomy will be used. This involves removal of the thyroid gland and administration of thyroxine to provide the body with the needed amounts of thyroid hormones. Risks of the procedure include damage of the vocal chords and the parathyroid glands.
  
  


• 
  For those patients with Graves’ ophthalmopathy corticosteroids, orbital decompression surgery, eye muscle surgery, prisms, and orbital radiotherapy can be used to manage symptoms.
  
  


• 
  For those that have Graves’ dermopathy, creams and ointments that contain hydrocortisone and compression can be used.