Energize your thyroid —and you!

Fact: Memory lapses, fatigue, weight gain and pain are not normal parts of aging! The more likely cause? A sluggish thyroid gland, which controls many vital functions. Keep it running smoothly and you could feel younger, more energetic and far healthier in as little as 30 days! ✓ Get energized with kefir

Sipping a half-cup of kefir daily could rev your production of the most powerful thyroid hormone (T3, or triiodothyronine) as much as 20%, reports the journal Life

Sciences. Kefir contains at least 10 types of healthy probiotic bacteria, which help convert weaker thyroid hormones into body-energizing T3, explains study coauthor Theo Visser, PH.D.

✓ Nourish your thyroid with iodine

Think all salt is bad for you? Not so! The type added to processed foods can make your thyroid sluggish—but the table salt typically used at home nourishes it! The difference? Salt in processed foods doesn’t contain iodine, a nutrient your thyroid needs to produce hormones. To get enough iodine (150 mcg. daily), cut back on processed foods and add 1/2 tsp. of iodized table salt (such as Morton) to your daily diet.

✓ Turn back the clock with protein

Protein-rich foods—beef, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts and beans— are loaded with amino acids that up your thyroid’s output of hormones. In fact, Tufts University research shows, just eating a few ounces of protein at every meal revs your energy and stamina as much as 36% in one month—plus makes your brain function as if it were eight years younger!

✓ Banish inflammation with bell peppers

Green, red, orange, yellow . . . enjoying 1/2 cup of bell peppers a day helps chase away tiredness, dry skin, muscle soreness and other signs of a weary thyroid. Bell peppers get their gem-like colors from carotenoids, nutrients that suppress damaging inflammation inside the thyroid, plus speed healing if the gland is worn. Other top sources of carotenoids include sweet potatoes and leafy greens like spinach.

✓ Enhance hormones by relaxing

Relaxing for 30 minutes a day can speed up your thyroid gland (and you!). Stress triggers production of an inactive form of thyroid hormone that your tissues can’t use. A daily half-hour break prevents this problem, nixing fatigue, difficulty focusing and other symptoms of a sluggish thyroid.

✓ Taking in minerals with trail mix

Snacking on 1/4 cup of dried fruit and 1/4 cup of nuts daily could cut your risk of thyroid problems 35% and reverse an already sluggish thyroid in as little as three weeks! These foods provide minerals that help your thyroid crank out a key hormone, thyroxine.