I just emailed a phone client about her blood test results. To her doctor all her thyroid numbers were “normal”… but to me they were NOT.  Hence this post…”Thyroid Madness”.

Elevated levels of Reverse T3 — even though TSH, Free T3 and Free T3 values may be within the normal reference range — reflect a thyroid problem at the cellular level called “cellular hypothyroidism.”

It can be triggered by ongoing chronic physical or emotional stress, adrenal fatigue, low ferritin (stored iron) levels, acute illness and injury, and chronic disease, among other factors.

This photo is of a client who was taking 50mg zinc a day for over 2 years and still had signs of low zinc. She had been on thyroid medication for years but her doctor never addressed how the thyroid can affect digestion and absorption. The thyroid is a zinc “hog” and needs more than what you can get in a typical diet (unless you love oysters!).

A healthy thyroid produces stomach acid. If you are deficient in hydrochloric acid you can’t absorb the nutrients for bone health and thyroid function. A helpful supplement would be HCL with pepsin 500-700mg caps before meals. You could be taking a “magic pill” and if you don’t have enough hydrochloric acid, you wouldn’t benefit from the “magic”. So focusing on your digestion is step one.

One thing I helped my client with was getting her nutrients to be absorbed. Adding Spectrazyme is a great product. She added 1 to 2 capsules at each meal. It features betaine HCl and the proteolytic enzyme, pepsin, along with gentian root, an herbal bitter traditionally used to support digestion. Click HERE to find. 

THYROID AND FOOD

Did you know that in 90% of cases, hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disease? Did you know that autoimmune thyroid disease and is linked to a gluten intolerance? Hashimoto’s and Graves’ are most likely caused by a gluten intolerance.What happens is that the molecular structure of gliadin (the protein in gluten) resembles the thyroid gland. If you don’t have a healthy intestinal lining, you can create holes; enter Leaky Gut. When this happens food leaks into the bloodstream and since your blood doesn’t know what the substances are, it puts your immune system into overdrive to kill the foreign substance (this is why I have my clients get a thyroid ‘antibody’ test; it helps determine if there is a food allergy). So if you are eating skim milk and cereal for breakfast, you will most likely have a dairy and wheat allergy.

These antibodies produced to attack the gliadin in the blood, also attack the thyroid. If you continue to eat gluten, your immune system will continue to attack your thyroid. Some clients mistakenly think they can eat small amounts of bread or gluten on the weekend or at a party, but no.

The immune response to gluten can last up to 6 months every time you consume it.  This is not a 80-20 type issue, you must remove gluten 100% to stop this from occurring.

In order to stop the destruction of the thyroid, you have to be 100% gluten-free. Gluten, even “whole grains,” contain phytates that damage our intestinal lining and inhibit nutrient absorption.

Many people make the mistake of running to their doctor for an allergy blood-test to find out if a food allergy is the root of their problems. The main issue with this is that blood tests are about 90 percent INACCURATE! Crazy but true.

In some clients with autoimmune disease, their immune system is so worn out they can no longer produce many antibodies. This is why everyone should kick the gluten regardless of antibody test results.

If I notice a food sensitivity with a client, our success comes by an elimination diet along with nutrition therapy of enhancing vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

THYROID AND CARBS

There’s a lot of bad advice when it comes to thyroid healing, one of which is that the thyroid needs carbs. I have had so many clients get off thyroid medication without the addition of carbs. It seems as though we find excuses to keep those carbs in our diet and this is just another crutch to keep the carbs.

But in truth they are not needed! If you do not want to believe me, check out this quote by this leading Dr. who studies ketogenic diets in a remarkable way!

“Ketogenic diets markedly increase tissue sensitivity to T3, and thus serum T3 levels decline while the physiological response to T3 remains normal. In this scenario, both the thyroid and the liver have to do far less “work” to maintain a normal thyroid physiologic response. Taking this one step further, why would anyone want to force their thyroid or liver to greater levels of thyroid hormone production by eating lots more carbohydrates? Forcing the pancreas to make more insulin by eating more carbs clearly doesn’t do a lot of good for type 2 diabetics, and we think the same logic applies here for thyroid function.” Dr. Phinney

Click HERE to get started on your path to health!