The modern concept of thyroid disruptors includes synthetic chemicals and bioactive
compounds from food that interfere with any aspect of the hypot halamus-pituitarythyroid
axis, thyroid hormone biosynthesis and secretion, blood and transmembrane transport,
metabolism and local actions of thyroid hormones. This review highlights relevant
disruptors that affect populations through their diet: directly from food itself (fish
oil and polyunsaturated fatty acids, pepper, coffee, cinnamon and resveratrol/grapes),
through vegetable cultivation (pesticides) and from containers for food storage and
cooking (bisphenol A, phthalates and polybrominated diphenyl ethers). Due to the vital
role of thyroid hormones during every stage of life, we r eview effects from the gestational
period to adulthood, including evidence from in vitro studies, rodent models, human
trials and epidemiological studies.
