Low Interest in Dining

Dear Reader(s):

Yes, that was the best acronym I could come up with.

No news to report today. However, since the point of this blog was to impart information to you, the reader(s), about all things thyroid cancer-y, I've been trying to think about related things to talk about here. We already went over TSH and TG levels, so that's covered. I did realize, though, that I promised awhile back to talk more about my Low-Iodine Diet, and this seems as good a time as any.

Note: I will be using the abbreviation LID to refer to the diet hereafter. Aren't you just loving all the acronyms? It's so super fun!! Itz just lyke txt-spk, rite?? OMGLOLZ. :))) <3 <3

Whoa! Sorry! Grammar-challenged preteen got loose there for a second. My bad. Won't happen again.

Anyway. The two main questions I get about the LID tend to go as follows. The first is, essentially, "What can't you eat?", immediately followed by, "Wow. So what CAN you eat?". I will, therefore, explain both.

The essential function of the diet, which I assume my reader(s) understand(s) at this point, is to help starve the body of iodine before radioactive iodine ablation.The diet is, as we thyca-ers must often clarify, LOW iodine rather than NO iodine. At first this sounds nice. "Oh! So I really don't have to be all that careful!"

Wrong.

Most LIDs have patients try to reduce iodine consumption to less than 50 mcg per day, although some say 80-100 mcg. The recommended daily allowance for normal adults is 150 mcg. Again, this doesn't sound so bad...until you find out that one teaspoon of iodized salt contains 400 mcg of iodine. And thus we see: failure is not an option here.

The major categories of foods to avoid on the diet are iodized salt, dairy, soy, and seafood. Some of these categories have some wiggle room, while others do not. For example, Kosher or non-iodized salt is fine (and my container of kosher salt is pretty much my best friend in the whole world right now), but sea salt is not. All forms of soy are bad except for soybean oil, which for some reason is allowed. Dairy and seafood are never allowed. Some common protests I get are, "But seafood has no salt in it!" and "But sea salt is non-iodized!" Sorry. Sea-based products are high in iodine. That is a direct quote directly from the guidelines. I didn't make the rules, kids, I'm just forced to obey them.

In fact sea salt, along with soy, is the bane of my existence, because all those yuppie organic places like Whole Foods LOVE THE CRAP OUT OF THEM and put them in EVERYTHING. Even kosher foods have a ton of soy in them. I hate you, soy and sea salt. But I still love dairy. Even though dairy has also ruined many foods for me, I can never truly be mad at it. I love you, dairy! I miss you so much! Please call me, baby, I know we can work this out if you just give me one more chance!

Ahem. I digress again.

Here are some of the things I can and do eat:

             - Fresh fruits and veggies. My favorites are baby carrots, strawberries, apples, and bananas.
             - Unsalted nuts. Sometimes expensive or not-so-expensive depending on where you buy them. I like  almonds and pecans. I found a farmer's market in downtown Chicago that was selling a mix of cranberries, cherries, and pecans mixed with sunflower oil and some sugar. So tasty. Thank you, nice farmer man from Michigan.
              - Chicken and beef, but I have to go to the butcher's section in the store and ask if they have any that is not preserved with salt. This can be tricky. For example, the Whole Foods in my hometown told me they had no such meats, whereas the one in Chicago told me none of their meats had any preservatives added. Why the difference, I cannot possibly say. *LE SIGH*.
              -  Coconut milk. This was a glorious find that I just discovered on my third time doing the LID. I had previously tried soy, rice, and almond milk and none are okay on the diet. Coconut milk, however, has no soy, dairy, or salt anywhere in it. I have always enjoyed coconut despite its many naysayers, and now my devotion has paid off. I love you, coconut, in all your many forms.
              - Pasta, rice, and homemade bread. Pasta noodles I boil and add salt-free tomato sauce and/or paste to - both are easy to find in most grocery stores - with some seasoning. Quick, easy, tastes like normal food. For rice the diet guidelines suggest basmati rice, which I buy in convenient packets that you can stick in the microwave for 90 seconds and voila! Side dish! Bread must be in the form of matzoh crackers or salt-free corn tortillas (thank you, mexican-owned grocery store near my apartment) unless I have access to my mother's bread maker. Then we go crazy making all sorts of breads with kosher salt, including, most recently, foccacia bread and banana bread. Delicioso.
              - Also recently discovered that both marshmallows and gummy bears are LID-safe. So much for eating healthy!
              - Lately I've been looking into easy-to-make Kosher versions of foods, based on the assumption that for a food to be given an official Kosher label it would probably have to contain Kosher salt instead of regular salt. However, I am not 100% sure this is the case. Perhaps some Jewish friends (Phil and Theresa, if you're reading this?) could clarify.

Those are the main things. Basically, I go to every variety of grocery store in the area and read all the labels on everything to find things I can eat. Sometimes, I get lucky - like when I found out the dough at the pizza place I work at is made with kosher salt. Score! But most of the time I am simply disappointed with my meager food choices and spiral into deep, deep depression at mealtimes. C'est la diet.

The awesome-tastic super-amazing people at thyca.org have a 120-page cookbook full of recipes that are LID safe. We thyca patients all really, really, really, really hate the LID, and it is common for us to impart tips and recipes between us. Welcome to cancer culture, everyone. Thyca.org is awesome - so awesome, in fact, that my doctor actually uses their guidelines to explain the LID to patients.

One more clarification that I left out before: iodine is not sodium. People often get them confused because they are both commonly found in salt. Just because you can make a fruit salad with them does not mean that apples are oranges. Apples = apples, oranges = oranges. Iodine BAD, Sodium FINE. At least for the LID. I obviously can't speak for the dietary restrictions of others.

So, there you have it! A fun-filled trip into the world of the LID. Also a shout-out to my new blog-friend Nick, who is just starting his weeks of dietary joy. Welcome to the jungle, we have no fun or games. Sorry.

For more info please check out thyca.org. They have great explanations of the diet, as well as the aforementioned cookbook and lots of other thyroid cancer stuff. And also they are smarter than me, which is helpful for actually making people understand things.

Your iodine-reduced friend,
RG