Let me tell you of a disheartening experience, try being a doctor who graduated in 1983 and for the next 37 years watched people become chronically ill and obese at an alarming rate. More frustration ensues when you realize there are cures for these diseases which are withheld from the patient by doctors and practitioners who are clueless, and kept in the dark by a system who knows what I know. The American medical profit comes from treating the symptoms and not the cause. And hide this, just hide one hormone, thyroid and manipulate just one lab test, the TSH test, and the patient and their body will suffer on every level it has. There is a second way to hide thyroid care, never mention it. Publish studies on obesity without using the word thyroid, or on atrial fibrillation, or on cardiovascular disease or endometriosis and on, well name it. The list goes on. The thyroid censorship I call it. It includes how thyroid is taught or well, the misinformation taught currently in medical school.
There has been a rise in new diseases, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, AIDS, and a dramatic increase in diabetes type 2, autism, depression, bi-polar illness, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, and an explosion of obesity across all decades. Also an increase in the auto-immune diseases, particularly lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis. Don’t leave out the chronic infectious diseases like Lyme’s, there have been 40 of them recognized since the 1970’s, Zika, West Nile etc. Our own bacteria have been weaponized against us by modern agriculture, MRSA, E-Coli, etc. Instead of recognizing that most of these disorders could fall under the big umbrella of low thyroid function, the modern medical system operates and profits by treating the symptoms and diseases caused by hypothyroidism instead of treating the thyroid and adrenal gland hormone deficiencies. In particular I would point out, infectious disease is a harbinger of hypothyroidism.
Thyroid dysfunction, mostly hypothyroidism is the number one disease and yet a statistic by the American Thyroid Association states that 60% of those with thyroid disease do not know they have it.
What do the 21 million silent suffers of undiagnosed hypothyroidism look like? The typical American- obese, diabetic, hypertensive, with elevated cholesterol, insomnia, and depression. The most common complaints are fatigue, feeling cold, and inability to lose weight, constipation, depression, and brain fog. In children hypothyroidism commonly presents as obesity, infections, constipation, ADD, ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety, behavioral dysfunction, etc. In the elderly undiagnosed hypothyroidism or poorly treated hypothyroid patients presents as Alzheimer, respiratory and urinary tact infections, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, elevated cholesterol and heart attacks. Add to that mental illness- bipolar, depression, and suicidal ideation. Also add in the lists of diseases above. And the homeless, imagine, a missed diagnosis of hypothyroidism and becoming so tired and brain fogged you lose your job, and lose your spouse and end up on the streets? Ugh, that one kills me, how puffy faced are the homeless? Very.
Extremely complicated I agree.
Many are in a unique club, having heard from their doctors something on the order of, “I think it’s your thyroid,” only to be told on the next visit, “It’s not your thyroid, you’re labs are normal. Let’s try an anti-depressant.” Haven’t you ever heard that one?
Ramp down the human’s body energy system, the thyroid system, and what do you have? Imagine decreasing the wattage of the electrical system in your house. Things wouldn’t work so well would they? Less electrical amps, less light, less heat from the furnace, less everything. And so it is with hypothyroidism, you don’t even have enough energy i.e. thyroid hormone to stay warm, sleep adequately, or remember things. That is to name a few symptoms among many others, feeling cold, weight gain, shocking phantom pains that come out of no where and or chronic pain, just getting out of a car is a major pain experience. There are over 100 symptoms and diseases caused by hypothyroidism. To understand this, a paradigm shift is required. I’ve listed them and I argue that this is true, your hypothyroidism is maddeningly causing everything. And just to confuse everyone, hypothyroidism can present as a disease complex in the extreme, and contradictory; some present with a pulse too high or a pulse too slow, elevated blood pressure or low blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and cholesterol that is too low, weight gain or weight loss, heavy periods and amenorrhea, a lack of periods, on and on. This is not how medicine is taught, a hormone, thyroid causing all the problems. Tell this to your doctor and he or she will laugh, and tell you it just isn’t so. But simultaneously, your doctor while chuckling, will hand you another script until you are taking a dozen.
Today’s children and their problems show us the vulnerability of living in a toxic world. The learning difficulties they experience are unfairly blamed on their teachers. Blame the crummy food, cereals, chemical additives, estrogen-laden and antibiotic rich milk, processed foods depleted of nutrition and full of more chemicals. Along with the unnecessary antibiotics children are prescribed and yes children have low thyroid function along with the rest of us, babies too. We have given this mental dysfunction (caused by the hypothyroid brain) a name- ADD or ADHD. The more antibiotics a child takes the more they increase their risk. ADD and ADHD may also be caused by hypothyroidism in children and adults.
These troubles could be called Post Antibiotic Learning Disorder, which makes it an iatrogenic disorder (caused by medical treatment), but it has a name and that is GAPS. One more little fact here, antibiotics cause weight gain, and obesity is more prevalent among people with learning disabilities. I can see the connection, now to prove it is another matter.
This correlation in children taking antibiotics at less than six months old and the development of learning disorders is becoming increasingly recognized thanks to the work of a doctor in Cambridge, England, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Dr. Campbell calls this abnormality of bacteria in the intestine, GAPS which stand for “Gut and Psychology Syndrome.” It is thought that a lack of probiotics in the gut after antibiotic use, deceases digestion, decreases absorption of nutrients, and allows partially digested foods to enter the bloodstream. Millions of children are saddled with taking Adderal or Ritalin, due to the effects that partially digested gluten and dairy have on their brains. I argue a baby at 6 months old or more who are getting infections are a low thyroid babies and child but giving them antibiotics like M&M’s is wrong. They should be withheld until it is absolutely clear they need them. And because these children are prone to infections they need them but antibiotics cannot stop a virus, it won’t work and causes damage. I was a decade long Emergency room doctor and then another decade in Urgent Care and employed to dispense antibiotics. . To all the children I screwed up with antibiotics, they number in the hundreds, I apologize. The system made me do it. Even back in the 1990’s I was arguing against random anti-biotic use and it got me in trouble, refuse a mother’s request for an anti-biotic and major hassle follows, well honestly all hell breaks out. Those stories come a little later.
A doctor friend of mine was told her son would have to go on ADHD medication to remain in school. She changed his diet, no more milk and cereal for breakfast; instead he ate meat, fish, and chicken with rice, and avoided taking any medication., because his symptom dissapperaed. Another doctor friend son had ADHD and you can imagine how easily he could prescribe the pink bubble gum amoxicillin antibiotics in those days. Every kid on the planet, who struggles with learning, including dyslexia, should avoid flour and dairy, with or without a history of taking antibiotics in infancy. Those foods cause problems with the immune system, by provoking as attack on the thyroid, Hashimotos. And for many these 2 food groups put the brain to sleep.
The British have just linked children with autism to low thyroid function in the mother during pregnancy. And low maternal Vitamin D levels. Imagine you’re been totally convinced that allowing sunlight to land on your arm or face is terribly dangerous? And you have an autistic kid? Please don’t say the words “skin cancer.” I have an answer so beautiful that no one has been able to argue with me-
“What would you rather? Breast, colon or prostate cancer, from a lack of sunlight or skin cancer? I’ll take skin cancer.”
And to make the point, I point to my face and say “Better these, then those,” And point to my chest area. Yes, they are forced to concede the point skin cancer is preferably to breast cancer or colon cancer or prostate cancer but still they don’t give up and say, “Well, I take vitamin D”.
“Better then nothing,” I tell them “You might think you can exchange a normal outdoor life for a pill and get the same benefit, I don’t think so. Only natural sunlight decreases your risk of cancer, not the pills. You live under the same rules as plants and animals. Ever see a plant come to life when you move it to sunlight? You will do the same thing.”
Still they come back smugly, I tell you smugly because they think the argument is won, “What about melanoma? That will kill you.”
“Great point,” I tell them, “But only 7000 deaths a year. But there are 124.000 deaths due to those 3 cancers.”
Think about how pregnant women were suddenly warned away from eating fish in the 1980’s and the simultaneous bad advise to stay out of sunlight. And a boom in children with autism followed. You can’t make thyroid hormone without iodine and the main source is seafood, some prenatal vitamins don’t even contain iodine, how unbelievable is that? Add the effects of maternal low vitamin D, (the constant drumbeat of the sun’s dangers-convincing women that the sun effects were detrimental) combined with the inefficient blood testing system which gives inaccurate false negative thyroid results, and you can understand how avoidable this sad lifelong disease is. Autism hardly existed before and can be avoided, by accurate maternal blood testing, by living an outside life, and by eating a diet containing sufficient iodine.
These autistic children also have hypothyroidism (mostly relying on the TRH test for diagnosis, because the TSH test simply comes back normal in the majority of cases) and they have low vitamin D. It is important to understand this, patients young or old with hypothyroidism usually have low vitamin D. There is a strong relationship between these two hormones, the body cannot metabolize Vitamin D normally unless sufficient thyroid hormone is present, the skin doesn’t tan and the pills don’t work. (Even taking the 100,000 units of vitamin D weekly doesn’t bring the levels up, if you were trying to figure out why you stay low in vitamin D, you need thyroid hormone replacement.)
When they talk about the chemicals in the environment that are “Hormonal Disruptors” they are talking about the disrupting effect on your thyroid. The estrogen rich or estrogen mimicking chemical can block thyroid function, by blocking the transport cells and the halogen chemicals form a little family and they are iodine, fluoride, bromide, and chlorine. If you don’t have enough iodine in your diet, the fluoride and chlorine in water and the bromide added to flour and some soft drinks will enter your thyroid gland in place of iodine. You won’t be able to make thyroid hormones. And then it all goes to hell, because your beautiful body will tell the immune system to attack your thyroid gland and you have Hashimotos Thyroiditis. “Sometimes,” (I read) “Pathology is just the body’s attempt to reach homeostasis, helping you out because you need thyroid and you body can hardly produce enough so the immune system comes along and says, we can handle this and attacks some cells to liberate thyroid hormone”. Sooner or later and maybe after consistent bouts of mania followed by slumps of energy you are going to go permanently low thyroid but throughout the ordeal you will be misdiagnosed as bipolar.
The recent trend to use sea salt, which doesn’t have iodine, also contributes to iodine deficiency, as does a fear of eating contaminated fish. Adding fluoride to the water supply to prevent teeth from decaying is a beautiful idea except for fluoride’s devastating effect on the thyroid gland. Seems like it is one step forward and two steps back, like hey, “The evolution is over.”
Where does the vaccine crisis fit into this information in autism and vaccines? I can only imagine this connection; it is the hypothyroid baby who fares badly. The healthy baby can clear the toxic chemicals, and deal with the immunologically assault of germs, but the hypothyroid baby with their slowed down metabolism? They become toxic and damaged. The healthy baby is untouched and survives it. The solution? Low temperature babies are worked up for hypothyroidism (accurate testing is essential, not what the current system supplies) and are not fed with thyroid blocking soy formula and are placed on thyroid hormone until they are healthy before vaccines are given. An improvement on that model would be to test their mother accurately while they are in utero and give the pregnant mother adequate thyroid replacement. Let mothers know they decrease their risk of an autistic child if they go outside into the sun and without sunscreen. Make certain that all pre-natal vitamins contain iodine to boost maternal thyroid production. A better question in all of this, why not find a better way in the manufacturing and preserving of vaccines without the current chemicals, formaldehyde etc. Vaccines are an assault on the immune system, which we know is weakened in hypothyroidism. So why not slow down the schedule along with making them more organic and less toxic?
To show even more evidence for the thyroid maternal hypothyroidism connection, check the mother for hypothyroidism. You’ll find it, 2 sides of the same coin, not just the autistic child is dealing with fatigue and coldness and other symptoms of hypothyroidism, and the mother is as well. Both require thyroid replacement.
The Hot Springs Wellness Clinic in Truth Or Consequences, located in the Chihuahua Desert of New Mexico, on the Rio Grande, is dedicated to helping the increasingly huge numbers of “Tired”, “Cold”, and “Obese” Americans by repairing thyroid function. We are offering hope, help, and guidance in the great effort required to overcome the debilitating effects of Hypothyroidism and correct Thyroid Hormone function. Our aim is to help people return to the former self, including the appearance one had prior to the onset of the disease. This is a major undertaking, requiring discipline, great struggle and determination. In the face of overwhelming fatigue, I am recommending a series of steps, which over 4-month periods will guide a person to overcome this illness. I think one has to wait one year to see the greatest improvement. This is not a quick fix disease; I doubt that any disease is. However almost immediately you will have a sense that you are better.
Hypothyroidism is the disease of low energy. In today’s’ demanding work environment that is a huge burden on people who minute by minute force themselves to keep going in the face of an unreal and unrelenting fatigue, they work in states of brain fog memory problems and depression. Unfortunately modern medicine does not take the disease seriously and fails to address or correct the multitude of symptoms.
There is little guidance from the medical community on the disease of Hypothyroidism. As I learned in medical school 35 years ago, “Thyroid is easy, just give them Synthyroid" (synthetic thyroid replacement). This is still the major approach. I find that treatment utterly preposterous, on many levels, first is the synthetic hormone replacement and certainly not the thyroid hormone replacement I take to control the symptoms of Hypothyroidism myself. Eating the right food is as important as getting the right medication. Supplements play a major role, as does sunlight exposure, beginning to sleep deep restorative sleep and exercise. And along the way, rebuilding gut bacteria. Not least is hot springs bathing, heat therapy.
Here are the 11 Commandments of Great Thyroid Health
Desiccated animal porcine thyroid (almost bioidentical to human thyroid) in the correct amounts instead of synthetic hormone replacement T4 only medication. Many find it helpful to dose the medication all day long taking it 2 to 3 times and those without a thyroid may take small doses, up to 5 times daily. The medication is available by prescription, known as Natural Thyroid, prescribed for the last 130 years and found in many American pharmacies. My choice is ERFA desiccated thyroid, from Canada and taken sublingual (to bypass digestion) and by prescription.
Eating the right foods to help the body be more efficient at the production, storage, conversion, and transport of thyroid hormones including improving cell wall permeability so thyroid is able to pass into the cell and work on a cellular level. This is a formidable challenge in the face of a food supply, which is contaminated with toxic chemicals, and is nutrient deficient. Also rebuilding the gut bacteria thru consumption of natural probiotics foods.
The right supplements, with more emphasis on a healthy diet rather than pills, pills, and more pills, nevertheless supplementation is essential.
Avoiding the wrong foods, those that block thyroid production and foods full of estrogen, which block transport of thyroid to the cells. Also avoiding the foods which cause inflammation, allergy, and stimulate autoimmune attack on the thyroid gland.
Avoiding the wrong supplements which block thyroid action.
Creating a healthy liver by eating a diet naturally high in selenium and zinc to aid in the conversion of thyroid hormone.
Sunlight exposure on the body and sparing the face.
Finding again restorative sleep.
Return of the energy level so that exercise is possible
Weight loss, getting rid of the swelling around the eyes and face.
Detoxification with heat therapies, hopefully until the patient produces a sweat in people who are too weak to “work up a sweat”. Sweating is a form of detoxification and chemical elimination from skin pores. At the Hot Springs Wellness Clinic here the mineral water is 107.4 degrees. Also recommended, infrared therapy, saunas, wet or dry as another form of heat therapy.
By an examination of the before and after photos of people with Hypothyroidism, you can see a remarkable recovery is possible. This program promises increased energy, stamina, and gusto for life, including ability to exercise, better brain function, improve attention concentration, more creativity and clearness of thought, increase intuition, ability to pick up on nuances, become more alert to everything, feel that life has meaning and a new calmer you around family and associates and a feeling of optimism can replace the current pessimism and depression.
This program can in many cases, can not only halt hair loss, but also you will find hair re-growth and you may also have healthier shinier hair. Think of getting rid of swelling and water retention, especially the skin on face and under the eyes. Eating the right diet and with an emphasis in eating Vitamin A containing vegetables, a beautiful healthy tan like hue returns to skin that is healthier looking. Say good-bye to digestive complaints of indigestion and constipation.
There will be weight loss, weight loss, weight loss . . .
THE 11 OBSTACLES THYROID HORMONE HAS TO OVERCOME
A lack of Thyroid Hormone caused by a low Iodine state, not eating wild seafood, using sea salt which does not contain Iodine, eating plants and animals grown in low Iodine soil, and the attack on the thyroid by your own immune system, Hashimotos.
A defect in the conversion of T4 storage hormone to T3 active hormone caused by a deficiency of Selenium and Zinc.
Cell receptors have to allow Thyroid Hormone, T3 to act on the cell factories, billions upon billions of little cells factories, mitochondria cells in every system of the body. Eating the insane American industrialized corn fed animals (unhealthy themselves), and eating a low fat diet, having Essential Fatty Acid deficiency, all create a shabby, inferior lipid membrane encompassing and covering the cell. Thyroid Hormone can’t get in, and Insulin can’t pass either and that is the theory of what causes Type II Diabetes and Type II Hypothyroidism. Both diseases cause obesity. Americans are lab rats in some terrible experiment; they eat continuously trying to get a sufficient level of the missing essential fatty acids, and other vitamin and minerals. This deficiency causes the appetite to be in the “On” position and they are chronically hungry and over eat, driven by what is nutritionally missing. All the meat, dairy grain, sugar eating throws people into acidosis and that results in cravings for more refined carbohydrate eating and on and on, the endless cycle goes. If you want to get somewhere in your obesity project for kids, take a group of overweight families and put them on a decent Omega 3 and other vital essential fatty acid rich foods, pasture meat and dairy, wild fish and seafood, healthy carbohydrates and sweets such as are found in health stores. Watch what happens. Expensive I understand.
Thyroid has to bind to the protein transport system to get to the cells. Estrogen, being a pushy hormone (you know how women are) will knock the Thyroid Hormone off and bind instead to this transport protein, so prescription Estrogen and probably Estrogen found in dairy products and chicken also bind to these transport proteins just as prescription Estrogen does, and blocks the receptor and lowers Thyroid function. (Dairy can contain 30 to 60 times the Estrogen amount compared to what is found in other foods, due to milk produced from pregnant cows and can cause gynocomastia, (men developing more breast tissue).
Sufficient fuel for the cells to run, a deficiency of plant food in the diet will result in a low magnesium state which is the essential mineral to run the mitochondria, the cell factory that produces energy.
Sufficient Vitamin D levels from sunlight exposure are required for Thyroid production.
There is a defect caused by hypothyroidism in forming Vitamin A from Beta-Carotene. Eating vegetables with a good source of oil such as olive oil enhances absorption of Vitamin A. Sometimes hypothyroid people have a yellowish cast to the skin, especially noted on the hands due to an accumulation of Beta-Carotenes, which didn’t get converted into Vitamin A.
Sufficient levels of antioxidants & vitamins required, and importantly Vitamin C are needed for Thyroid production.
Avoid soymilk and products, since they contain a chemical that prevents Iodine from attaching. Sorry, since tofu is wonderful stuff. Certain vegetables will interfere with Thyroid production and can cause low Thyroid function such as broccoli, kale and other cruciferous vegetables in this class.
High-powered supplements such as selenium and zinc, can worsening hypothyroidism worse, so food sources rich in selenium and zinc are the best source.
Dampen down the autoimmune attack on the Thyroid gland by avoiding particularly flour, but also dairy and eggs, which are associated with Hashimoto’s Autoimmune disease of the Thyroid. (This is the hardest part of this disease, not eating these wonderful foods).
Everything I am offering and advising in this program are the things I do in my daily life, and recommend to my patients. I have sever Hypothyroidism, am in my 70’s and going stronger than ever. And I have had this disease since childhood. I am amazed I am still here, not to mention thriving.
Yes, this program promises everything, however if you are not willing to put the time, effort, focus, money spent on food and supplements and the effort to sunbath, then returning to your old self may not occur. As a matter of fact there are people who this program cannot help, the sun phobic, vegetarians and vegans, those who continue to consume alcohol and use tobacco. But if you are a person capable of hard work, and believing in yourself, than wow, get ready for a new life. Again I refer you to the before and after photos.
You will feel warmed up and not colder than other people because the right thyroid medication and diet will increases metabolism and the cells turn on and keep the body warm. Many patients find a higher dose of thyroid medication (30 to 60 mgs) can be taken during the cold months if necessary. Also increasing the dosage of the thyroid medications will help to keep those winter pounds off. Importantly you can sleep like a younger person; there is a section dedicated to sleeping for people who have low thyroid function. You will find a return of the libido; feel more affectionate, and experienced decrease in vaginal dryness. With Thyroid hormone therapy there can be a decrease in size of goiter, and decrease in the thickening and fullness around lower neck. There will be a decrease risk for cancers of the thyroid, breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate (scientific evidence is there to support these claims).