World Thyroid Day May 25
Established in 2008, World Thyroid Day highlights five major goals to:
- Increase awareness of thyroid health
- Promote understanding of advances made in treating thyroid diseases
- Emphasize the prevalence of thyroid diseases
- Focus on the urgent need for education and prevention programs
- Expand awareness of new treatment modalities.
Awareness of Thyroid Health
I have written several blog posts about thyroid health:
In conjunction with this, the Hashimoto Institute is a great resource of recordings of experts to help heal from Hashimoto’s autoimmune hypothyroid.
The Hashimoto Institute
The Doctor –
Dr. Alan Christianson, NMD
author of:
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease
- Healing Hashimoto’s – A Savvy Patient’s Guide
- The Adrenal Reset Diet
The Pharmacist –
Dr. Izabella Wentz, PharmD, FASCP
author of:
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause
The Nutritionist –
Andrea Nakayama, CNE, CNC
author of:
Living Candida-Free: 100 Recipes and a 3-Stage Program to Restore Your Health and Vitality
They have joined forces with top experts to spread awareness about Hashimoto’s and educating and empowering Hashimoto’s patients. Click on the banner for more information.
New Research
I get excited when I find research that confirms what patients experience in my practice.
In a study with rats, investigators at Rush University Medical Center published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation this:
“The current treatment for patients with hypothyroidism is levothyroxine (L-T4) along with normalization of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).”
” that only constant delivery of L-T4 and L-T3 fully normalizes T3-dependent metabolic markers and gene expression profiles”
What is means is that the standard treatment with levothyroxine (a T4 drug) is not as effective as treatment with a combination of T4 and T3 such as natural dessicated thyroid or levothyroxine and cytomel together.
This confirms a study from 2009 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism which concerns:
“baseline psychological well-being and response to combination thyroxine plus triiodothyronine [T4 + T3] therapy in hypothyroid patients”
The conclusion was that although treatment with both T4 and T3 does not affect serum thyroid hormone levels, there is an enhanced psychological response as compared with T4 only treatment in hypothyroid patients with a specific genetic variation. The mutation is estimated to exist in 12% to 36% of the population and makes it harder to convert T4 to T3. The study detected negative brain changes in patients that have difficulty making the T4 to T3 conversion and better well-being with treatment by adding T3 therapy.
The Prevalence of Thyroid Disease
According to the American Thyroid Association (ATA), the world’s leading professional association of medical specialists dedicated to
- education and research to improve thyroid disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment;
- improving thyroid patient care;
- and educating the public about thyroid health and diseases:
More than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime.
- An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease.
- Up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition.
- Women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid problems.
- One woman in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime.
Why?
I understand that the environmental toxins of today’s world are the primary underlying cause of thyroid problems.
As the thyroid gland must filter a lot of blood to accumulate the iodine needed for the thyroid hormone molecule, it also takes in plenty of toxins. Some of them are chemically similar to iodine, like mercury, fluoride, chlorine, and perchlorate.
As these toxins accumulate, they can trigger the body’s immune system as it sees them as invaders. This initiates a sequence in which antibodies are created to latch on and clear them from your body. Unfortunately, the thyroid cells are innocent bystanders and are attacked also by these antibodies.
Experts believe that this is why it is so prevalent here. Autoimmune thyroid disease is the most prevalent form in this country.
Throughout history, and in other countries, iodine deficiency was the primary cause.
Education and Prevention Programs
Research funded by the American Thyroid Association over the past 40 years has accomplished:
- Mandatory screening of newborns for congenital hypothyroidism, and early treatment that has prevented mental retardation.
- Cost-effective methods to detect thyroid cancer by screening the 250,000 thyroid nodules developed in Americans each year.
- Groundbreaking work in brain development and thyroid hormone function.
- Promising Graves’ disease genetic research that may lead to improved prognosis and new preventive treatments.
- An experimental drug that may prove useful for treatment and prevention of eye problems associated with Graves’ disease.
Alternative Medicine
Prevention of thyroid disease starts with understanding and minimizing environmental toxins. The top three are mercury, perchlorate, and fluoride.
Since the 1940’s and most recently, Fukoshima, there is also radiation to be concerned with.
Mercury
Mercury is found in tiny amounts in many processed foods. It also accumulates in ocean fish. The fish highest in mercury, which you may want to avoid are:
- swordfish
- thresher shark
- marlin
- tuna, if eaten frequently
It is possible to test for body loads of mercury. A blood test will only show recent exposure. There are other tests to screen for accumulations.
Perchlorate
Perchlorate is a by product of rocket fuel production. It has been detected in water supplies across the USA. You can visit US Environmental Protection Agency’s site to see if it has been detected in your city’s ground water.
If it is in your ground water, it is best to use a filter like reverse osmosis that is designed to trap perchlorate. Then, in my opinion, revitatlize your water with a Natural Action unit.
Fluoride
Many communities has added fluoride to water to fight tooth decay.
The more fluoride accumulated by the thyroid, the less iodine there is available to make thyroid hormone. This can be enough to tip someone who is borderline into becoming full-blown hypothyroid, or making hypothyroid worse.
This again can be filtered out with reverse osmosis, then revitalize your water.
Other Chemicals
It is wise to lower your total environmental chemical load by substituting natural for:
- chemical pesticides (see DE blog)
- chemical-based cosmetics and body care products (see allnaturalcosmetics)
- sprayed produce and saturated beverages like wine
Expanded Awareness of Treatment Modalities
Since I treat a lot of hypothyroid patients, the modalities I use are not new, but may be new to you if you are only aware of allopathic medical treatments.
Since the primary cause of hypothyroid in this country is from autoimmune causes, my treatments target that as well as provide adequate hormone replacement when needed.
In my blog, Natural Thyroid Medications, I discuss natural desiccated thyroid, and those patients who may benefit by it and why.
In my practice, I also prescribe standard prescription medications as well as an occasional compounded thyroid medication. Each case is different, so the choice of medication is individualized.
The primary therapeutic goal with autoimmune thyroid disease is to stop the autoimmune attack. The immune system can be regulated with specific nutrients and moderating stress.
In addition, the toxins can be assisted out of the thyroid with biotherapeutic drainage using homeopathic remedies. I have found them very effective to regulate thyroid function, as when the toxins are removed from inside the cells, the cells begin to function more efficiently and can sometimes return to normal functioning. This process of detoxification with homeopathic biotherapeutic drainage is slow, steady, and sure.
Please do call me at 928-649-9234 if you have questions about my thyroid treatments and how you might benefit.
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