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Showing results for tags 'Heather Shorters Low-Iodine Blog for Thyroid Cancer Survivors'.
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(Mods: I am not sure this belongs here. Feel free to move it to wherever it best fits.) Some older Rockwellians may recall that I am a thyroid cancer survivor. I had a thyroidectomy in February of 2006, followed by a month of a low iodine diet and then radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy to nuke any remaining bad thyroid cells . To make sure the cancer hasn't returned, once a year I must go on a low iodine diet for a month, receive a low dose of I-131, and then have a full body scan to look for any traces of the element. The idea is to starve the body of iodine so that even a tiny amount of rogue thyroid cells would be picked up by the scan. To be very blunt, the diet sucks. A lot. Here's a list of what is not allowed: iodized salt or sea salt Dairy products (milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, cheese) Vitamins (most multis add iodine) Food and meds that contain Red dye FD&C #3 Egg yolks, whole eggs, or food containing them Seafood (fish, shellfish, seaweed, kelp) Foods that contain the additives: carragen, agar-agar, algin, algin= ates Cured and corned meats Breads with iodate dough conditioners Chocolate (milk added) Soy and soy products (soy sauce, tofu, soy milk) Potato skins Some beans (pinto, navy beans, lima beans, red kidney beans,) Restaurant food Processed foods, since there is no reliable way of knowing what kind of salt is used Rice is allowed in very limited amounts. Basically, I can have meat cooked at home, fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade bread, egg whites, and some grain products. Fortunately, booze is not forbidden. I am going to try to keep a food diary here in case anyone wants to follow along at home, but mostly for my own encouragement. This diet is very very difficult to stick to, and I will have to be very organized to avoid careless eating because I was unprepared. Forgot to add, the diet starts 4/12, so I have a month to start filling the freezer & get into the right headspace.
