By Melissa Williams

Feeling tired? Gaining weight? Your vegan diet may be to blame.

If you’re vegan, or just eat very little dairy or fish, you may be coming up short in one key mineral, iodine.

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have found that an iodine deficiency can cause hypothyroidism. Be sure to check with a physician before you use a supplement, but in the meantime try adding these foods to your diet:

• Go for the sushi. Sushi rolls are wrapped in nori, which provides a natural source of iodine.
  
  
• Crumble dried seaweed (hijiki flakes) (found at such stores as Whole Foods) over your foods. It adds a salty flavor.
  
  
• Add kombu to cooked beans to help make them easier to digest.
  
  
• Strawberries are a source as well.