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Some sources say that 200 million people worldwide suffer from thyroid disease.
Hypothyroidism or an under-active thyroid is most commonly found in women, possibly due to the pull that pregnancy and having a baby can have on the adrenal glands. Dr. Kharrazian estimates that 90% of hypothyroid diagnoses are actually Hashimoto’s disease which is the auto-immune form of hypothyroidism.
If you have been reading my blog for very long you may already know that my husband has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. And, over the years he has been on and off medication and we have tried to do what we can to treat it naturally.
I can usually tell how he is feeling by looking at his eyes. His eyes tend to be more tired and puffy looking when his thryoid is under-functioning. I have him on a gluten-free, mostly paleo diet and we have him on a good solid Nutritional Therapy Protocol along with supplements. His health typically tanks when he travels with his job, you might imagine how it is difficult to eat well while he is on the road.
Some symptoms of a low thyroid include low energy levels, itchy skin, restless legs, trouble focusing, depression, and/or the difficulty with maintaining a healthy weight. If you are struggling with any or all of these things there is a possibility that your thyroid is underactive.
At times, you can have all these symptoms and still have blood tests return normal. Typically, because most practitioners only test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH levels. It can be very important to have a full panel done in order to find out if your symptoms are in fact related to your thyroid, if you continue to experience these symptoms with normal TSH levels.
In this post, I am going to share with you some of the things we are doing to nourish hubby’s thyroid and attempt to rebuild damage tissues so that he is functioning normally without synthetic thyroid hormones. (Please do not discontinue taking your thyroid medication without first consulting your doctor.)
The Thyroid Sessions – Free Starting May 4th
I’m so excited about the Thyroid Sessions which is a free online conference that is starting Sunday May 4th. This is a collection of thyroid experts talking about how to treat, diagnose, and reverse thyroid disease naturally. This event is completely free for the entirety of the conference. Right now, you can purchase the videos of the event at an early bird price if you will want have the information to reference after the free week is over. Save $100 early bird price before the conference begins and purchase the audio and video files of 22 experts with an 100% money back guarantee. (Click here.) I plan to purchase it right after I finish this post!
Register for your free seat here.
5 Ways to Heal Your Thyroid
1. Go Gluten/allergen Free – Food allergies and intolerance can cause a leaky and inflamed gut. A leaky gut can also cause the thyroid to be inflamed as well. Make sure you remove gluten from your diet as well as any other offending allergens. As your doctor for a blood allergy test to point you in the right direction or take an at-home pulse test such as this one to determine foods that you need to take out of your diet to help heal your gut.
2. Detox – Many times people with low thyroid levels also have difficulty detoxifying. It can be helpful to make sure you have a clean liver, and detoxify with Vitamin C and unrefined salt (such as this brand). We also use a detoxification shake from a high quality supplement company that I use with my clients.
3. Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels – If you have a rocking and rolling blood sugar exhausted adrenals can also pull on the thyroid. In order to maintain healthy blood sugar levels heath a healthy protein and fat rich snack every 2-3 hours in order to help nourish your adrenal glands. Good to sleep at a decent hour each night and make sure you get plenty of good sleep.
4. Get Your Iodine Levels Checked – Iodine is an important nutrient for a healthy functioning thyroid. Practitioners disagree on if iodine should be taken internally or not, but there are many cases where it is necessary for a healthy body. My husband does take it as part of his protocol. But, make sure you have them checked to see if they are low. Wearing an iodine patch can also be helpful for the body to take in the proper amount.
5. Decrease Your Stress Level – Stress can also pull on your adrenals and do a number on your thyroid. It is important to be able to manage stress through lifestyle changes.
This of course, is a condensed list of the things we are doing to heal my husband’s thyroid, but each of these steps are very important. If you have been diagnosed with an underactive (or overactive) thyroid or suspect that you may have one make sure you register here for the thyroid sessions that are beginning on Sunday for free!
It is imperative if you have a thyroid disorder to check out The Thyroid Sessions. By learning and understanding how to properly diagnose, treat, and help reverse thyroid disorders with this online conference you will know more than many doctors do about treating a thyroid disorder. There is so much more to look for than the standard blood test for TSH levels.
If you suspect you have a thyroid disorder click here to take this quiz which is a helpful tool to help you figure out if your thyroid is what causing your symptoms.
Register Here for a FREE seat to the Thyroid Sessions starting Sunday!
If you feel like you will want to hold on to all the information that you will be learning for free next week get lifetime access to the thyroid sessions for regularly $149 only $49 now until Saturday night.
Some things I agree with, some things I don’t. It’s always good to try to figure things out, though. 🙂
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What don’t you agree with Anni?
And stay off the soy! More than 70 years of studies link soy to thyroid damage.
Yes! So true! Soy is horrible for the thyroid!
agree about soy, also iodine needs to be balanced with selenium, if they are imbalanced either way it can cause hypothyroidism…… i am having lots of coconut milk with gluten free muesli and plain yoghurt and this seems to help a lot. I am also taking supplements to support my adrenals and a very small amount of thyroxin. And I am using pycnogenol to boost blood flow and therefore oxygen, to help remove toxins from muscles, as part of my symptoms were waking up every morning feeling like i had been beaten up and hardly able to walk – now all gone.
Great job Becky! Trish
Trish Carty recently posted…Favorite Lacto- Fermented Foods Collaboration
Thanks Trish!
Hi Becky, Am new to your site as interested in healthy foods and wondering about my thyroid. I like your information about hypothyroidism. What about HYPERthyroidism? Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks, Amanda
Hey, have a question: my husband has been suffering from what the doctor refers to as a “spell” They’ve done all sorts of tests but everything comes back normal (one exception, once his vitamin D level was extrememly low). They have never been able to test him right before or after one of his “spells” because we go to the VA hospital and when we go in to the emergency room, it’s a bout 3 hours until we are actually seen by a doctor. He does have several of the symptoms you mention, so I was wondering, could hypothyroidism also cause something like that when untreated? No one at all has tested his thyroid, I want to ask the doctor about it next time we are able to get an appointment. He said it starts as a type of fearful deva vu and his mind starts racing and can not stop. He has to sit down or lean on something as it happens and it lasts for a few minutes. Would this have anything to do with the thyroid possibly???? The VA has pretty much given up on figuring out what it is. It happens about every 30-50 days with little versions of it between those days, but not a full on attack. Sorry it’s so long. Really wanting this to end for my husband though.
Hey Stacy,
It is really hard to say. I was reading my husband your comment and he said he kind of felt like that at one time. Has your husband been around any toxic chemicals? Do you think he feels like he is going to have a panic attack? Sometimes intuition could be right though. I would have the doctor test his thyroid. I would also make sure they do a thyroid panel that also consists of T3, free T3, T4 and free T4.
I just had my husband do a test for panic attack and he said yes to most of the answers… the VA has not really been helpful at all and it has really frustrated me. I was considering maybe having him do a whole body cleanse to try and flush whatever it was out. I figured it couldn’t hurt. and also could you direct me to any one who has dealt with panic attacks and been able to get rid of them without using a lot of medication?? I think we still may test the thyroid if we talk to the doctor and they say he isn’t experiencing panic attacks. Thank you SO much. He’s been experiencing this for about a year, it did start right after he began taking a certain medication for pain in his back (another reason I’d rather avoid more medication) They took him off the medication but the “spells” haven’t gone away. Really appreciate your response! Thanks and God bless!