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Health guru Dr. Mark Hyman is here at Hypothyroid Mom.
Dr. Mark Hyman is an EIGHT-TIME New York Times bestselling author. He is currently medical editor at the Huffington Post and on the Medical Advisory Board at The Doctor Oz Show. He has testified before the Senate Working Group on Health Care Reform on Functional Medicine, and participated in the White House Forum on Prevention and Wellness in June 2009. Dr. Hyman continues to work in Washington on health reform, recently testifying before a Congressional hearing on Functional Medicine, nutrition and the use of dietary supplements.
Written by Mark Hyman, MD
LOW THYROID FUNCTION affects more than 30 million women and 15 million men. So why are we seeing such an epidemic of thyroid problems? Well, chronic thyroid problems can be caused by many factors…
What Causes Hypothyroidism?
One of the most important factors that leads to hypothyroidism is exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides, which act as hormone or endocrine disruptors and interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism and function.
In fact, one study found that as people lost weight they released pesticides from their fat tissue.
This then interfered with their thyroid function and caused hypothyroidism. The toxins created a slow metabolism and prevented them from losing more weight.
This study highlights the importance of overall detoxification. It is quite a significant finding that shows exactly how toxins interfere with thyroid function.
Heavy metals such as mercury can also affect thyroid function. I see many people with chronic hypothyroidism and other thyroid problems because mercury interferes with normal thyroid function.
The other big factor that interferes with thyroid function is chronic stress.
There is an intimate interaction between stress hormones and thyroid function. The more stress you are under, the worse your thyroid functions.
Any approach to correcting poor thyroid function must address the effects of chronic stress and provide support to the adrenal glands.
The next major factor that affects thyroid function is chronic inflammation. The biggest source of this chronic inflammation is gluten, the protein found in wheat, barely, rye, spelt, and oats.
Gluten is a very common allergen that affects about 10 to 20 percent of the population. This reaction occurs mostly because of our damaged guts, poor diet, and stress.
I also think eating so-called Frankenfoods, such as hybridized and genetically modified grains with very strange proteins, makes us sick.
Our bodies say, “What’s this? Must be something foreign. I’d better create antibodies to this, fight it, and get rid of it.”
This chronic inflammatory response interferes with thyroid function — and contributes to the epidemic of inflammatory diseases in the developed world.
Lastly, nutritional deficiencies play a big role in thyroid dysfunction. These include deficiencies of iodine, vitamin D, omega-3 fats, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, and the B vitamins.
Once you have confirmed that a sluggish thyroid is contributing to your symptoms, the good news is that there are many, many, many things you can do to help correct thyroid problems.
There are so many reasons for low thyroid function, yet I have seen lots of patients with this problem who were just ignored by their doctors.
For example, one young female patient of mine had more than 30 percent body fat and was unable to change her body, no matter how hard she worked. She ate perfectly, exercised with a trainer every day — and her body still wouldn’t budge.
She also had a slightly depressed mood and other vague symptoms.
So I treated her with a low dose of Armour Thyroid, which is a natural thyroid hormone replacement.
What happened?
Well, she not only lost 20 pounds and improved her body composition, but her mood improved and all her other symptoms went away.
How did I know she had low thyroid function?
Once I have asked about symptoms, done a physical exam, and considered all the potential causes of thyroid problems, I do the right tests.
Most doctors just check something called the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which doesn’t give a full picture of the thyroid. In fact, even the interpretation of this test is incorrect most of the time.
The newer guidelines of the American College of Endocrinology consider anybody with a TSH level over 3.0 as hypothyroid. Most doctors think that only anything over 5 or 10 is worth treating.
Unfortunately, this leaves millions suffering unnecessarily.
There are also other tests, including free T3 and free T4 and thyroid antibodies, which are essential.
I also look for associated problems such as gluten intolerance, food allergies, and heavy metals, as well as deficiencies of vitamin D, selenium, vitamin A, zinc, and omega-3 fats.
There are many things to consider in a careful approach to hypothyroidism.
It is one of the most common problems I see, and treating it properly makes one of the biggest differences in my patients’ quality of life.
Unfortunately, by using the old guidelines and thinking, conventional medicine misses millions who suffer with hypothyroidism.
In fact, in one study, researchers tested everybody who walked through the gates of a county fair with conventional thyroid testing. They found that according to even conservative conventional standards, half of all the people who had hypothyroidism were undiagnosed, untreated, and suffering.
So what’s the solution?
How You Can Overcome Hypothyroidism
I encourage you to take the following steps to rebalance your thyroid:
1.Make a thorough inventory of any of these symptoms to see if you might suffer from hypothyroidism:
- Sluggishness in the morning
- Poor concentration and memory
- Low-grade depression
- Dry skin
- Hoarse voice
- Thinning hair
- Coarse hair
- Being very sensitive to cold and having cold hands and feet
- Low body temperature
- Muscle pain
- Weakness or cramps
- Low sex drive
- Fluid retention
- High cholesterol
2.Get the right thyroid tests including TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, TPO and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies.
3.Check for celiac disease with a celiac panel.
4.Consider heavy metal toxicity.
5.Check your vitamin D level.
Once you have confirmed that a sluggish thyroid is contributing to your symptoms, the good news is that there are many, many, many things you can do to help correct thyroid problems.
I have developed a seven-step plan to address hypothyroidism:
- Treat the Underlying Causes – Identify and treat the underlying causes of hypothyroidism, like food allergies, gluten, heavy metals, nutritional deficiencies, and stress.
- Optimize Your Nutrition – Support your thyroid with optimal nutrition including foods that contain iodine, zinc, omega-3 fats, selenium, and more. Take a high quality fish oil supplement.
- Minimize Stress – Eliminate adrenal exhaustion and minimize stress by engaging in a comprehensive stress management program and supplement with a blend of adaptogenic herbs.
- Exercise – Engage in exercise, because exercise boosts thyroid function.
- Supplement – Use supplements to help enhance thyroid function, including all the nutrients needed for proper thyroid metabolism and function including protein, magnesium, B-12, Zinc, Vitamin C, Selenium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin A.
- Heat Therapy – Use infrared saunas (there are at-home portable saunas on the market today) to eliminate stored toxins, which interfere with thyroid function.
- Thyroid Hormones – Use thyroid hormone replacement therapy to help support your thyroid gland. Hypothyroid Mom surveyed her followers and she shares the thyroid medications voted their favorites.
I believe a comprehensive approach is needed to address chronic thyroid issues and to diagnose them. Unfortunately, most of the options for healing by conventional care are quite limited and only provide a partial solution. But by following my seven-step plan you can achieve lifelong vibrant health.
About Mark Hyman, MD
Dr. Mark Hyman has dedicated his career to identifying and addressing the root causes of chronic illness through a groundbreaking whole-systems medicine approach known as Functional Medicine. drhyman.com
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