I'm A Thyroid Expert. This Is My Go-To Breakfast

It's Thyroid Awareness Month and the start of the new year, a great time to take control of your health and stop putting up with annoying symptoms that leave you feeling less than ideal. I'm all about little tweaks that make a big difference, like making over your breakfast. Eating a plant-based, anti-inflammatory diet is essential for thyroid health. Yet, when I started my thyroid journey, I was eating a super-clean array of beautiful plants and still feeling terrible throughout the day and holding on to extra weight I just couldn't lose. Something major was missing, and it had to do with my breakfast (or lack thereof).

But you don't want just any breakfast—you want one packed with protein, herbs, nutrients, and essential vitamins.

If you have a thyroid condition and you're worried about that belly bloat, you'll want to kiss that oatmeal or toast farewell for a little bit, even if it's gluten-free and packed with superfoods. Eating healthy amounts of protein from a wide variety of sources is an important part of a healthy thyroid diet, as amino acids are the building blocks for cells in the body. For anyone with a thyroid condition or hormone imbalance looking for healthy muscle tone and improved metabolism, I've seen the best results including both animal sources and vegetable sources of protein daily.

Avocados are creamy, tasty, and are great companions to eggs. They're another key source of B vitamins, omega-3s, and are a potent beauty food, improving your complexion from the inside. Antioxidants like riboflavin and niacin give your skin a healthy glow, plus shiny hair and strong nails, which are often brittle and dull for those with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's conditions. The healthy fats in avocado protect your skin against free radicals and also protect from inflammation.

Be sure to opt for wild fish from Alaskan or Norwegian waters, which is the most sustainable and is the least contaminated among fish in general. Farmed salmon and those that are cultivated in other parts of the world can be filled with toxins, pesticides, antibiotics, and more, which do not promote optimal health.

It is essential to balance these nourishing fats with leafy greens. Dark leafy greens help to counteract the effects of too many fats. Chlorophyll-rich greens have healing and protective assets that help to cleanse the blood, balance body pH, and boost cognitive and immune functions. I choose a mix of kale, spinach, arugula, and microgreens, which are all composed of other health-enhancing phytonutrients such as phenols, indoles, flavonoids, and substances like sulforaphane.