Hey guys, before we get to todays episode, I want to share with you an awesome skin care brand. Last year I had facial acupuncture done for vanity sake. I am turning 50 next year and I wanted to do something about some of the lines that were appearing. I always used to wonder why women can’t just age gracefully. Well, once those lines really started to appear, I knew the answer. I think I look pretty good for my age but I am not happy that my outsides look older than how I feel on the inside. Sometimes I still feel like a kid but I don’t look like one. My acupuncturist uses this skin care line in her office and I trust my acupuncturist (Aleesha D. Acupuncture in Anoka MN) so I tried the skin care. Turns out it is great stuff, clean and made by a small business which I am always up for supporting. I emailed the maker and asked if I could procure a discount for my listeners. She was happy to offer one so you all can take a look at what she has and get a 10% discount. 

We all want to look more youthful. It is one of the number one things we strive to preserve…our youth! Modern-day living can often take its toll, particularly on your skin. Rather than a vibrant and radiant shimmer, your skin ends up looking dull and dreary, and due to the high levels of toxins and pollutants around us, we may notice more signs of skin blemishes or chronic skin conditions such as eczema or acne. However, it is not all doom and gloom! Skincare requires focus, attention, and of course, the right products that work well with your skin. Those products are My Zen Skin Care! Our products have natural ingredients that are always far better to use on your skin, both short term and long term. My Zen Skin Care uses unique combinations of Chinese herbs for the skin, essential oils for your skin and spirit, and all-natural, active cosmeceuticals so your skin gets a treatment from every product.

I’ve tried it all and I love it all and they are not paying me to say that. And by now you all know that I don’t blindly recommend anything to anyone. I have to really love it.

Give it a try. go to meizenskincare.com and use the code 10% off. That’s m-e-i-z-e-n skincare.com 

If you have a chance to discuss how to follow some of your great advice while being vegetarian, that would be amazing. I find a lot of the options for Hashis to explore unfortunately seem to rely on eating meat. 

I am 47, I was diagnosed 5 years ago. I had fertility issues, and early menopause at 45, but otherwise no serious symptoms except regular headaches and moments with zero energy . I have been vegetarian for 22 years. I eat eggs and some goat cheese. I have a typical vegetarian diet meaning lots of vegetables, different grains, nuts and beans. I avoid gluten (since March) and all other dairy except occasionally butter. 

I clearly have blood sugar issues, I recognize myself in most of the symptoms you list in the recent episode on PMS. 

I usually need to eat every 3 hours to keep my energy up (and I have sweet cravings). 

I have been wanting to try the elimination diet but I am not sure what to remove! 

I am not on medication, I am trying to improve with dietary changes first. 

Best,

Priscilla 

Let’s first talk about things that can cause thyroid dysfunction. Too much copper, mercury, bromine, chlorine, fluoride. Your medication may mitigate symptoms from thyroid dysfunction but it isn’t addressing the underlying condition, right? All of these can be environmental toxins except maybe copper. Copper is found in food, in balance with zinc and other minerals. Copper is used in some city water treatment plants to kill bacteria. Even the dreaded coronavirus taking over our lives can’t live on copper. Vegetarian diets can be higher in copper because beans, nuts, seeds, avocado and soy are very rich in copper. If you combine a copper rich diet with a zinc deficiency you can end up with a big imbalance between the two. The biggest source of zinc is oysters and red meat. 

The other thing to consider when being a vegetarian and having hashimoto’s is making sure you are eating enough and making sure you are eating enough protein. You may have to add in protein powder, maybe pea to start. You need protein for your phase II detoxification system to work (after toxins are converted in phase I, they go through phase II to be made harmless and eliminated). You also need protein for your immune system so you may need to take an amino acid supplement- something that has all the essential amino acids. Since you are not on medication you may not have severe destruction of your thyroid gland so you are in a better place than some. 

Make sure you are very intentional with each of your meals being sure you are getting in quality protein options with each meal. Eggs are good. Beans and rice are good. Work towards complete proteins. Soy is not the devil I once thought it was. There is a lot of research, clinical trials involving healthy adult women and men indicating that soy does not have an adverse affect on thyroid function. However, consuming a lot of soy may cause a need for increase in your medication dosage if you are taking meds. You may also need to be mindful of iodine intake. 

Organic soy, not every day in the forms of miso, tempeh and maybe the occasional tofu.  The average female adult needs around 46 grams of protein each day. If you are active or trying to build muscle you need more. You need a variety of plant foods to meet your protein needs and you can do that with a vegetarian diet. 

The following foods protein content is based on 100grams of that food. 

• Tempeh- 20g

• Beans- 20g

• Tofu- 10g

• Steel Cut Oats (get certified gluten free)- 9g (I am guessing that is dry weight)

• Brown rice- 7g, again dry weight

• Broccoli- 3g 

• Soy Milk- 8-10g per cup

• Almond milk- 1 g per cup

• Hemp milk- 2g per cup

If you are needing to eat every three hours to keep your energy up, you are either not absorbing nutrients or you are not eating enough. I would food journal for seven days and keep track of how you feel 1-2 hours after a meal and see if you can find a pattern. I honestly think that because you are vegetarian, an elimination diet is maybe not for you unless you are willing to eat meat. They are too restrictive and not conducive to vegetarians. Food journaling may be a good way to see if you are reacting to any particular foods as well. 

You also need to consider where you will get your essential fatty acids from. Most non vegetarians get them from fish and fish oil so if you are not willing to take fish oil, do some research on where to get those. You may get Omega 3’s from products using algae or yeast. I don’t know much about these sources though so you will have to look in to them. 

You are eating goat cheese and butter occasionally  too. Those along with eggs have vitamin A but much less than you may need so you will want to be aware of that. Maybe you need a good multi-vitamin? You will want to have your vitamin D levels looked at too. Many of us with autoimmune disease are already low so you may need to supplement but have your levels checked first. 

Iron is also really important for women especially and many thyroid patients have lower levels of ferritin which is our storage iron so you should also have that level checked and supplement if needed. 

If you have a question or several, please send me a message by filling out the contact form on my website or email me at helpforhashimotos@gmail.com. You can get your first one hour consultation with me for $153. We will spend that time going over the results of your very comprehensive nutritional assessment and discuss what your next steps are to feeling better, sleeping better, getting your thyroid meds optimized and more. If you are not a thyroid patient but need help with figuring out what you need to do to feel your best, I can also help. I do love working with thyroid patients but I can also help others. 

One of my clients emailed me this: 

“Just an update. You gave me a consult two months ago. I've been following your guidelines.

Well, I have lost 16 pounds so far and my painful bloating is completely gone!

I have energy and feel very clear-headed most of the time!

Thank you!  I will send you another update in two months.

Just thank you so much!”

If you wouldn’t mind leaving me a rating and or a review on apple podcasts or spotify, I would really appreciate it. The more ratings I have the more this podcast will get in front of others who may need the help. I can’t thank those of you enough who have written in to tell me how much you like the podcast. It means a lot to me. All I wish for in life is to help people not suffer  like I have. 

Remember to check out meizenskincare.com and use the code 10% off.  Or visit them using the link in the notes for this episode.