Are you your diagnosis? A little bit about selenium. Episode 14.

I was on this facebook group today for people with Hashimoto’s and autoimmune disease. Someone newly diagnosed was wondering about fatigue and being completely drained after workouts and wanting to nap even after 9 hours of sleep. I responded with take the exercise down a notch by trying to just walk for now and google the Autoimmune Protocol. Someone else responded with how they can eat what they want and exercise and that they get down sometimes and maybe a little tired but doesn’t everyone. She said she chooses to live her life, not her diagnosis.   

Article on green med info talking about using selenium and Myo-Inositol being used to put hashimotos in to remission and euthroidism which means your thyroid is working on its own. 

Selenium:

Before 1970 it was considered toxic but has since been classified as an essential nutrient needed in small amounts. It functions as an antioxidant. 

It is hard to get from foods because soil levels are varying so you never really know what you are getting especially if you are not eating local produce that is harvested in soil that is being managed properly. In the US the western part of the country may have higher levels than the eastern part with South Dakota having the highest levels and Ohio the lowest (According to Staying Healthy with Nutrition by Elson Haas.

We have less than 1mg of this mineral in our body and most of it is stored in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Men need it more than women due to it being in their testes so it may have a function in sperm production. 

We lose selenium through eliminations and we should be able to absorb it through our intestinal tract at a rate of about 60%. This, of course will be dependent on your ability to digest your food well and also whether or not your gut is healed. We absorb it better when it is combined with amino acids- this means you have to be eating protein and breaking it down. 

Most selenium in foods is lost when they are processed like in white rice or flour. Food sources are liver, butter, fish and lamb, whole grains (out for most of us dealing with autoimmune disease), nuts- especially brazil nuts, shellfish, salmon, garlic, onions, mushroom, broccoli, tomatoes, radishes and Swiss chard can have good amounts of selenium if the soil is good where they are grown.  Many experts believe that Brazil nuts have such a varied content of selenium that we can’t necessarily rely on them. If you supplement, selenomethionine is your best bet at around 100-200 micrograms a day. Some suggest 200 mg for about a month and then a maintenance dose of 100 mg. Learn to listen to your body and if you are interested in knowing your levels, getting the plasma selenium test is ideal. Serum and whole blood will work too so if your doctor is able to test it, have them do it. 

Toxicity and deficiency symptoms are similar. Liver damage, hair loss, brittle nails with white spots and streaks. They can even fall out. These would be due to high soil levels.  If the supplement you are taking is formulated wrong, you can have muscle cramps, nausea, diarrhea, irritability, fatigue, loss of the hair and nails, pain, numbness or tingling of the hands and feet.  Deficiency will make you more vulnerable to infections, toxins, and other nutrient imbalances- again- this is where good digestion is key.  If you are taking anything to reduce stomach acid you will be deficient in selenium as well as many other vitamins and minerals. Most birth control pills will also deplete you of it as well. 

When you are NOT deficient you may tolerate cigarette smoke better as well as alcohol and poor quality fats. 

How does this relate to the thyroid? We need selenium to convert T4 to T3 which is the usable form of thyroid hormone that our cells need. Also, when TSH is produced and released, your body gets a message to make more hydrogen peroxide. This is needed to help make thyroid hormone in a round about way. It is needed to make some things happen in your body so the hormone gets made. We need antioxidants to neutralize the hydrogen peroxide after it does its job. Selenium is part of the process of helping glutathione neutralize the peroxide. 

In Isabella Wentz’s first book, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, she explains that if you are taking in too much iodine, more hydrogen peroxide needs to be produced which will mean you need more selenium to neutralize it. When you are already deficient in Selenium, you can end up with too much hydrogen peroxide which can cause inflammation around your thyroid tissue which creates an immune response, antibodies are produced and you have autoimmune disease. 

She recommends taking a selenium supplement on an empty stomach with vitamin E which helps our body absorb selenium better. 

Inositol 

Myo-insoitol is the same thing as inositol and is found in lots of fresh fruits and veggies so supplementing with it may not be necessary. High amounts are found in oranges, grapefruit and limes with blackberries, kiwi, cherries, peaches, apples being up there too. You can get it from brussels sprouts, beans, artichokes, cabbage, asparagus, dark greens, zucchini, bell peppers. As long as your digestion is working well you should have no problem getting enough from your diet as long as you are eating real whole foods. 

It was once considered B8 but since our body can make it, that distinction was taken away. Some still consider it to be part of the family of B vitamins though. It actually can help your body break down fats for digestion. It helps keep our cells firm so nutrients can get in and wastes can get out. It also helps brain cells work better. 

Caffeine can produce deficiency which can look like constipation, hair loss, high cholesterol and even eczema. Again, you can get enough from your diet so you don’t need to supplement. 

Link to Green Med Info article

Learn more about the nutrients our body needs here.

How do you push through the fatigue? Episode 13.

Q.  How do you push through the fatigue? I just want to get my life back on track.

Q.  I’ve got hypothyroidism/Hashimotos. Around noon I start getting tired and it can get to the point of dozing off. I've had every thyroid level possible checked and it's within normal range. We've actually checked it numerous times. I've had my b12 and folic acid checked along with my hormone levels, vitamin levels, and had a CBC done. Everything is good. I'm wondering if maybe we are missing something. Could I have something that we haven't checked for yet. I've also got bipolar2, depression/anxiety and ptsd which I take Topamax for. I also take Levothyroxine for my hypothyroidism.

First let’s talk about Topamax. I want you to know what you are on.  Your doctor should be testing your kidney and liver function and your blood should be tested to be sure you are able to process the drug well. They can become toxic very quickly.  

You should not drink alcohol while on this medication as it interferes with the effectiveness and it can make you sleepy as well as slow your heart rate. 

Antacids will keep you from being able to absorb this medication as well as any nutrients from your food. 

Fiber supplements can reduce the effectiveness of this medication. 

This drug will cause you to be low in folate or deficient in it. 

It has not been approved to treat PTSD but is endorsed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness to treat bipolar disorder and other mood disorders. 

Common side effects: 

Diarrhea, Dizziness, Double vision, Fever, Hair loss, Loss of appetite, Mood changes, Nausea, Reduced perspiration, Sinusitis, Stomach upset, Taste changes, Tingling or prickly skin sensations, Tremors, Uncontrollable eye movements, Urinary tract infection, Weakness, Weight loss.

With that being said, let’s move on and talk about fatigue. 

This is a super common issue for those of us dealing with thyroid issues and there are a number of reasons why fatigue could be your issue. 

Anemia.

You can have anemia from a deficiency of B12, Iron or folic acid. Your doctor may check your iron levels but do they check B12, folic acid and ferritin? Any one of these can contribute to fatigue.  And just because your lab says you are in the normal range doesn’t mean you are in the optimal range. j

Normal ferritin levels are between 12 -150 ng/mL. Mine is currently at 17 and I struggle with energy often. Some thyroid experts would say that optimal ferritin levels should be at 90-110 ng/ml for good thyroid function.  If you are still losing your hair- it could be an iron deficiency. 

And B12 values from your doctors lab may include values from people who were deficient in B12 so you can’t always rely on the lab values. “normal” is between 200-900 pg/mL but under 350 can give you neurological symptoms.  

Food sensitivities, not food allergies which is when your immune system reacts to protect you like when someone’s throat closes off in a nut allergy.  This alerts the IgE part of your immune system and happens as soon as a food is ingested. The IgA and IgG sections of the immune system will react to foods in what I would call a sensitivity or intolerance. These can cause us to be fatigued. 

IgA reactions happen in the intestinal tract which can cause inflammation there each time we consume a particular food. This will damage the intestines and can cause us to be unable to absorb nutrients from our diet. You may have symptoms like diarrhea or looser stools, constipation, reflux or you may not have any symptoms at all. You can end up with conditions like IBS, gas, rashes on your skin, acne, asthma, headaches, irritability and fatigue.  Celiac disease is in this category. 

If your T3 is low and you have high Reverse T3, this will affect your energy. T3 helps our cells make more energy. Reverse T3 makes T3 ineffective so that we are slowed down a bit. If Reverse T3 is high, we will not have any energy and one of the biggest reasons this might be high is due to stress. Another problem could be that you are not converting T4 into T3. This can be due to stress, or even nutrient deficiencies either due to low stomach acid or a compromised gut. You might find you need to be on a medication that has T3 in it. 

If your TSH is high, you will not have energy. Not all lab values are created equal here. You need to make sure that you are in a good range. Lab values for TSH are made up from a population of all kinds of people- those who are seemingly healthy and those who have undiagnosed thyroid problems and even the elderly who often have lower functioning thyroids.  The best reference range for most people is to have a TSH around .5-2 uIU/L. Personally,  mine is lower than .5 and I feel pretty good on that.  If you are taking NDT you can have a TSH that might look hyper and if your T3 is in normal range you probably feel pretty good. This can cause alarm with your doctor but try to have a conversation with them about it. 

How is your blood sugar?

This is a really really big one because it affects our adrenal glands which also have a role in energy. The good old blood sugar roller coaster will cause your adrenals to become weaker or cause the signaling between your brain and your adrenals to not work well leading to what is called adrenal fatigue or HPA axis dysfunction. For people like us with Hashimoto’s we may not tolerate those refined carbohydrates very well at all. Sometimes we get a big release of insulin when we consume sugary or refined “white” foods that others might not. So our blood sugar goes up really fast and we may have too much insulin in our blood which causes us to crash with fatigue and even anxiety or nervousness. This stresses our adrenals and leads to more fatigue.

Adrenal health is important for energy. If you are suffering from Adrenal fatigue you likely don’t have much energy to speak of even if this is the only thing you are dealing with. This is such a big deal and it takes some time to bring your adrenal health back in good standing. You need to avoid caffeine, keep your blood sugar balanced, make sure you are sleeping well and resting when you can, managing stress and probably supplementing. You can listen to Episode 7 of this podcast for more on adrenals. 

Having good digestion is key to energy. 

Many of us will be nutrient deficient and usually deficient in those nutrients that help our thyroids to function well. Just having hypothyroidism makes it harder for us to get our nutrients out of the food we are eating. This means the digestive system has to work a little harder to break down our foods and this can cause a lot of fatigue. We often have lower levels of stomach acid and most of us don’t eat when we are relaxed and we certainly don’t take the time to chew our food well. Right there is three strikes against us in the energy department. 

When we are not relaxed when we eat, we are not in “rest and digest” mode or what is called parasympathetic mode. This means we are in fight or flight mode which is not a good environment for good digestion. We already are not making enough stomach acid because we have symptoms of hypothyroidism, then we are not relaxed so we make even less. Then we are not chewing our food well- like 20 chews per bite to break it down. So, we have all this food in our stomach, not enough stomach acid and it is not being broken down. Our digestive system is working extra hard to try to break this stuff down- using all kinds of extra energy and that makes us tired. Then you have undigested food going through your intestines. You have leaky gut or intestinal permeability and these undigested food particles are then getting in to your blood stream causing your immune system to go on alert and inflammation occurs in the body. Fatigue is going to be a factor here. 

If you have low vitamin D, you can have fatigue. Get some sun. Lay in the sun for 10-15 minutes or go for a walk on a sunny day and expose as much skin as possible. Take a supplement of D3 if needed and make sure to have your levels checked by your doctor. Low D is a factor in autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s. 

A good diet will go a long way to helping you with your energy problems. High quality proteins and veggies along with a small amount of fruit. The big foods to eliminate for us are going to be gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts and I would try to eliminate nightshades to see if you feel better. This is basically called an elimination diet and is important for you to start to feel better, have more energy and bring your body back in to balance. 

You can find Hydrozyme at www.getbiotics.com use code DFILC163 to access. 

High T3, low T4, recommendations on supplements to feel better. Episode 10.

Welcome to episode 10. I hope this day finds you well and that everyday in every way you are getting better and better. 

Let’s get started. I got a question from Jordan. 

Hello Stephanie,     

    I'm very intrigued by your podcasts and enjoyed the free EBook! I was diagnosed with hashimotos auto-immune 2 years ago I've been on levothyroxine and my t3 remains high my T4 remains low but my tsh is always within normal ranges! My hair is terribly dry, brittle and gray and at the ripe age of 30 I'm heading to being bald! My bowels are Terrible to the point I was believing I had Celiac's or a gluten or wheat allergy until I listen to the podcast! I'm extremely overweight and I'm working hard on that as I'm 60lbs down! I have several of the symptoms of the adrenal fatigue except once I fall asleep I stay asleep and want to sleep hours upon hours! I'm writing to you to see if you could recommend to me some vitamins or suggestions so I can feel better. I'm a single mother on a extremely tight budget!  Thank you for your time! 

        Jordan

In the early stages of hashimoto’s people can have symptoms of both hypothyroidsim and hyperthyroidism. You can have palpitations, tremors, be really thin and have anxiety. You can have the dry brittle hair that is falling out and you can feel like you are going crazy. 

In hashimoto’s, your immune system is attacking the thyroid gland causing bits of thyroid hormone to be released in to the blood stream making you feel like you are experiencing hyperthyroidism. 

So what is happening? What will the issues be that you may have?

• food sensitivities

• nutrient deficiencies

• adrenal fatigue

• possibly an infection in your gut

• poor detoxification- you are not able to clear out toxins

Any or all of these will keep your immune system on high alert and continue the attack on your thyroid. 

The high T3 is probably what is causing your hair to fall out. This can be indicative of high antibodies and since you have a diagnosis of hashimoto’s this could be what is going on here. You can ask to have your thyroglobulin antibodies along with the thyroid peroxidase antibodies tested. This should confirm why T3 is high. 

Low t4 can indicate disease in the thyroid or a problem with the pituitary gland or the signal that tells your thyroid to make more thyroid hormone. Your TSH is in the normal range, you said- I assume that is conventional range. If it is above three, functional medicine would consider that high. So, The pituitary gland would release TSH if t4 is low and a high TSH level would probably mean the thyroid itself isn’t working well and you would have hypothyroidism.  If t4 is low and TSH is not high then the pituitary gland is not signaling correctly. This is something you would want to discuss with your doctor. 

You also need to take a look at all of these things to bring down the inflammation and hopefully put your hashimoto’s in to remission. 

You may have deficiencies in the micro minerals like selenium, zinc, vitamin D, iron, B12 and B vitamins in general. First and foremost though you need to see if you have low stomach acid.     

Let’s start with Selenium: 

Many of us with hashimoto’s are deficient in this micro mineral which can be one of the things that causes us to get hashimoto’s. It helps to break down and make neutral the free radicals made during thyroid hormone production. If we are low on selenium, damage to the thyroid can occur and our ability to convert T4 to the T3 (which is what our cells take in) is affected. Take around 200 micrograms of this one. It has been shown to help reduce thyroid antibodies. 

Vitamin D:  

This helps to regulate our immune system and remember that hashimoto’s is an immune system problem first and foremost.  Your levels should be around 60-80 when you have it tested for optimal immune system regulation. 

D3 is the more absorbable form and you should make sure that it is in a capsule or liquid form with some kind of high quality fat like olive oil or MCT oil (a broken down portion of coconut oil). It is a fat soluble vitamin so you need to take it with fat for your body to use it. 

Good food sources for vitamin D are cod liver oil, fish, eggs and sunlight

B12-

If you have major fatigue, you should have your levels of B12 tested. It plays a role in digestion too so you want to make sure you are, again, making enough stomach acid. Most of us with hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism have low stomach acid. 

When you have low stomach acid, you don’t digest your food well which means your body has to work harder to break it down which requires energy. 

One of the possible causes for the low stomach acid is a B12 deficiency. And a B12 deficiency can cause low stomach acid. Vicious cycle. If you don’t have enough stomach acid you can’t get the nutrients including B12 and iron out of your food. You won’t be breaking down your meals as well and this can lead to food sensitivities. 

Betaine HCl with Pepsin. This is stomach acid in capsule or pill form. I recommend starting out with around 150mg pill to see where you are at. It will help you digest and break down your food better so you can use the nutrients in your food. 

Next, Probiotics. 

Intestinal permeability plays a pretty big role in autoimmune disease. One of the things linked to it is having your gut bacteria out of balance. Having more “bad guys” than “good guys” can cause gut issues and anxiety. You have about 100 trillion bacteria in your gut. 

Start with a 10 billion CFU per capsule and increase every couple of days until you see or feel die off symptoms. The die off is the bad guys dying out and the good guys taking over. The bad bacteria will release toxins that might make you feel bad for a couple of days. This can also exacerbate the inflammation and immune response so make sure  you have good eliminations and are drinking plenty of water. 

One of the best ways to get a lot of good bacteria in to your digestive tract is by consuming fermented foods like sauerkraut- not canned sauerkraut but the raw fermented kind found in the refrigerator sections of stores or find it at farmers markets. Or make it yourself. It is so easy to do and really inexpensive. 

Here is a good explanation of what leaky gut or intestinal permeability is and how it affects the immune system from Sean Croxton: 

“think of a window screen. And I say, “It’s a hot day. You open up the windows. And the good air comes through to cool the place off. And it feels nice and good and what not. But it keeps all the bugs, the flies, the gnats and the mosquitos out of the house. And that’s how the gut works. It’s very selective about what it allows through into the bloodstream or wherever.

“But if some kid came over to your house and started poking big holes in your window screen, then what happens is you open up the window. And gnats might come in. Flies might come in. What do you do? You start grabbing a magazine and like whacking away and stuff. And that’s what your immune system does, right? It says, “Wait. This isn’t supposed to be here. So let’s start whacking away.” And now we’ve got a problem. We’ve got an overactive immune system.”

Glutamine- 

This will help heal your small intestine where intestinal permeability happens. It helps to repair the lining of your small intestine where new cells are made every 3 or so days. 

Zinc can also be helpful in repairing leaky gut and in helping you make enough stomach acid. 

If you are dealing with any kind of adrenal fatigue: 

This would mean your brain is not communicating with the pituitary gland to help your adrenals manage stress. This is called the HPA axis and it also helps to regulate the immune system. When we are stressed, this system doesn’t work well. 

If you are dealing with adrenal fatigue you may feel: 

• overwhelmed

• tired even with 8 hours of sleep

• like staying in bed in the morning

• a craving for salty foods

• daily things are too much to handle

• brain fog

• little to no sex drive

• like you can’t make a decision

Adaptogenic herbs like American Ginseng, ashwagandha, Asian ginseng, Cordyceps and Chaga mushrooms, and/or holy basil and licorice root may be helpful. 

You should work with a practitioner to find out if you are in need of supplementation here. 

Some things that can help you manage your hashimoto’s is your diet. 

• Being gluten free, dairy free or try an elimination diet to help you figure out which foods you are sensitive to. This will also naturally help you balance your blood sugar which will also help give your adrenal glands a break.

• Make sure you are eating protein of some kind at every meal, including breakfast and eat breakfast within an hour of getting up. Don’t skip any meals and don’t do any fasting.

• Eat 4-5 meals per day for a week or so to give your blood sugar regulation system a break.

• Have a snack of protein and fat or a starch before bed. Make sure any carbs you are eating are eaten with protein.

• Avoid caffeine

A word of caution on supplements. Please don’t go buy them at your local big box store or the corner pharmacy store. Don’t buy them on Amazon either. I suggest at the very least to buy from Vitamin Shoppe or from your local food coop or even Whole Foods. You should work with a practitioner that can help you find just what you need though

The reason for this is there is no regulation on supplements. They don’t have rules in manufacturing or labeling. Some supplements won’ t even have the ingredients stated on their label or the dose can be way off. Some might have gluten or dairy in them and you might have a sensitivity to it. This is one case where quality really matters. 

A practitioner should be able to find what is most bioavailable for you since there are multiple chemical formulations of certain nutrients and some work better than others. Some are more expensive than others to manufacture. 

You also need to make sure you start with low doses so as not to over do it.  You just don’t know how your body will react to a new supplement. Starting slowly with lower doses will help you catch a reaction to it before it gets too bad. 

There is no magic supplement that will fix the hashimoto’s or anything for that matter. Some of these will definitely help you on your journey to healing or remission or whatever you want to call it. 

My top picks would be Hydrozyme from Biotics which is a lower dose stomach acid supplement and diet changes first and foremost. You can get that by going to www.getbiotics.com and using my practitioner code DFILC163. 

When starting a dose of stomach acid, remember to take a few bites of your protein based meal, take a pill, take a bite of food, take a pill and you do this until you feel a little burning sensation. Then you know to take one less than what gave you the burning sensation. 

Thanks so much for listening. Please tell anyone you know who has been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s to listen in and if you would be so kind as to leave a review on iTunes so more people can find this podcast that would be great too. My goal is to help as many people as possible to feel better and beat this disease. 

Got a question about your thyroid or hashimoto’s? Please send your questions to helpforhashimotos@gmail.com or head on over to my website and fill out the contact form there. 

You can find me at www.outofthewoodsnutrition.com or www.helpforhashimotos.com  I’m on Instagram at @Stephanieewalsntp which is where I post the most and on facebook at Out of The Woods Nutrition

See you next time. 

Endocrinologists, medication, and first steps to take when diagnosed. Episode 9.

So today I had my 3rd consultant appointment to tell me I have hashimotos disease. (I got told this by the doctor 3 months ago) all he said was, its fine, Nothing to worry about and its very common in women, thyroid is fine, no need for anything else other than ill see you in 9 months time......now i feel like an idiot for having bad days of constant tiredness and pain.

After receiving the results from my full thyroid panel that was ran by my gynecologist, she referred me back to my regular doctor. She spent 10 minutes confirming that I do have Hashimoto thyroiditis and hypothyroidism. She said that I need synthroid and I should follow-up in 3 months. Nothing was explained to me. No recommendations for supplements. No recommendations for diet. I had to request an endocrinologist referral, which will take weeks. So my question here is should I begin the synthroid, figure out what supplements I need, diet, etc or wait to start synthroid until I meet with endo? I’m lost. Also, the closest functional medicine doc is 2 hours from me and doesn’t take insurance.

It seems this is quite common for a lot of us. We go to the doctor and they tell us to take the medicine and come back in three months or so to be tested to see if we are at the right dosage.  I personally got nothing at all from an endocrinologist. I had to pay out of pocket to see him and he was worthless to me. Just because your thyroid is a part of the endocrine system does not mean you will get the proper care from an endocrinologist. I am sure there are great ones out there but I have found they are particularly difficult to work with you on treating symptoms and not just your labs. Plus they have a standard for their labs and they will go by that and nothing else. If you are lucky to find an endocrinologist who will work with, great. If not, fire them and keep looking. You are the customer in this situation. You have a right to find someone who will listen. Unfortunately I realize that some of you have horrible health insurance and don’t have the ability to look around much so I have a plan for you! 

First of all, you have to remove any triggers for the disease. This will be different for each of you. Once you find our what your triggers are then you will have to repair that which brought your body out of balance and led you to your autoimmune condition. Why is your immune system out of balance? Why did this happen. These are questions you need to ask yourself and do a little digging. 

Make a timeline of your health. Look back to as far as you can remember and write it all down in a timeline. Infections, times where you were severely stressed out, antibiotic use or other medications you took, were you on oral contraceptives? Any accidents? Have you ever been exposed to any toxins? How about heavy metals? Do you have amalgam fillings?  Once you make a timeline you can see where things might have started to go wrong and then how to fix them. Obviously you can’t do anything about an accident or the fact that you took antibiotics but you can manage stress, take probiotics and other nutrients such as b-vitamins. i strongly recommend working with a practitioner on this to get it right. You don’t and shouldn’t just take any old supplement just because someone says you should. Don’t waste your money on things you may not need. 

Next, know that synthetic T4 only medication is not the only one on the market and it doesn’t work well for some people. Ask your doctor to let you try natural desiccated thyroid hormone like Armour or WP thyroid or any one of the other ones on the market. 

Also, you must take a look at your diet. This is always the very first place you should start. What are you eating?

A gluten free diet is a must in my book. There is so much research now on the effects of gluten and what is now believed to be the glyphosate in the wheat products that is destroying our health. Gluten also affects our gut health in that it plays a role in leaky gut or intestinal permeability which allows undigested foods or proteins to exit our intestines and go in to our blood stream setting off an immune reaction which can lead to food allergies or sensitivities. 

You may have to eliminate other foods too. Most people also have to eliminate dairy products and some of us don’t tolerate a whole bunch of foods. An elimination diet is a good first step really but if that seems overwhelming to you then start with gluten free and work your way there. Removing these foods that are causing inflammation in your body will allow your body to calm down and begin to repair itself. It will also provide your body with a chance to properly react to a food that is harming you so when you reintroduce foods you should be able to tell if something is working well for you. Foods can affect our mood, our energy levels, our digestion, our skin, our brain and more. Keeping a food journal is a good way to really pinpoint what foods are not working for you when you reintroduce them. 

The quality of your food is also very important. People often say how expensive it is to eat healthy and I’m not gonna lie. It can be costly to eat all organic and shop only at food co-ops. I have been very fortunate to be able to do just this but I also don’t have a lot of extra money for anything else. I have made high quality foods a priority and will continue to do so because it is important to me. It may not be important to you and that is okay. You can do a lot of good for your health by shopping at a regular conventional grocery store. Just don’t shop the center aisles of the store. In other words, buy real whole foods and if you can, shop with the environmental working groups list of dirty dozen and clean fifteen. This is a list of produce that is recommended to be bought organic and a list of produce that is okay to buy conventionally grown. A big way to save money though is at farmers markets. I got a head of cauliflower for $1 and all kinds of things at much cheaper prices than were in the store. I also buy most of my meat from local farmers at a significant savings. So if you can do some of that kind of thing it is really helpful in saving money. 

Next, if your adrenal glands are not working properly, you will not see improvement in your thyroid health. When we are stressed our cortisol can be low or high or fluctuate between the two. Last weeks episode was about adrenals so you can give that a listen for more details. 

You also need to heal your gut where 80% of your immune system lies. Cleaning up your diet, making sure you digest your food well, maybe taking a stomach acid supplement. If your stomach is not acidic enough you will not digest your food which will start the cascade of inflammation through the digestive tract and the body. A good diet is essential here and probably some supplementation. You should work with a practitioner on this. 

Lastly, removing toxins. This is big. Maybe you have a heavy metal issue. Maybe you need to clean up your personal care products and your household products. Perfumes have too many chemicals in them to count so those should be avoided. Air fresheners are full of chemicals. Anything you put on your skin will be absorbed in to your blood stream so you need to be mindful of that. 

I could probably spend an hour on each of these subjects but I like to keep these episodes kind of short since many of us have brain fog and low energy.  

You should take the medication that your doctor prescribed and see how you feel. Some people are sensitive to fillers in some of the medications. Synthroid contains cornstarch. Some generic brands have blue food dye in them. Many people do better on natural thyroid hormone replacements like Nature thyroid and Armour but everyone is different.  It is common for people with Graves disease to do better on T4 only meds like Synthroid rather than meds with T3 in them because they will have developed antibodies to T3 and T4. Because T4 is synthetic in synthroid there is less of an autoimmune effect in those cases. 

If you are taking synthroid or other synthetic T4 only medication and you show a normal TSH lab test but dont’ feel any better this might be what is happening: 

If you have hashimoto’s, long term inflammation of any kind including stress you can end up not being able to convert T4 to T3. You pituitary gland wont’ communicate well with your thyroid gland and/or your cells won’t respond to the thyroid hormone that is brought to them.  You may also have issues with your blood sugar, a gut infection, food intolerances and so on. 

If you are taking or feel better on natural desiccated thyroid hormone then: 

you probably couldn’t convert t4 to t3, you were sensitive to something in the medication, you may need t3 because those cells of yours are not taking in the t3 brought to them or the cells just like t3 better. 

If you have high cortisol, low progesterone, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies- these all will play a role in your body’s ability to take in whatever medication you are taking. 

Something else to consider is that if your autoimmune condition is managed you might not need medication at all. When your thyroid gland is significantly damaged then you will probably be dependent on medication and not taking it can be life threatening. 

Either way, you have to manage the hashimoto’s with all that was mentioned today. It is a lifestyle folks, not a quick fix. Healing or recovering or putting hashimoto’s in to remission takes time. The better you do with diet and lifestyle the better your thyroid will perform for you. 

To me, it is all worth it. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. Be sure to share this podcast with anyone you think could use it. My goal is to help as many of you with hashimoto’s and other autoimmune conditions as possible. 

Be sure to pick up my free ebook, 5 Things Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Hypothyroidism on my website www.outofthewoodsnutrition.com or www.helpforhashimotos.com  

You can find me at Out of The Woods Nutrition on Facebook www.facebook.com/outofthewoodsnutrition and at @stephanieewalsntp on Instagram. 

Please send me your questions about thyroid and hashimoto's or anything autoimmune related to helpforhashimotos@gmail.com or fill out the contact form on my website. 

Again, you can get $15 off your first order with www.paleoonthego.com with the code GETCLEAR

Also, I would appreciate it if you left a review on Itunes for me so more people can find this podcast. It would really help me out! 

Thanks. 

Links (some are affiliate) to stuff I talked about: 

Eat Wild

Make-up and Skin Care

Mrs. Meyers

Branch Basics

Hot Logic

Do you have symptoms of worn out Adrenal glands? Episode 7.

Today we are going to be talking about the adrenal glands. I had a question from someone asking me what the adrenal glands were so here you go! 

Adrenal fatigue symptoms: 

Being a night person, hard time falling asleep, slow starter in the morning: 

All signs that your cortisol rhythm is out of balance causing cortisol to be high at night and low in the morning. It should be the opposite. 

Do you tend to be keyed up and have trouble calming down?

This is a sign of increased adrenal output or hyperadrenalism. Having high cortisol with low DHEA can cause this. In the beginning stages of adrenal breakdown, the body’s response to stress is to increase the cortisol output from the adrenal glands. If the stress never stops, this process doesn’t stop and you will eventually have adrenal fatigue. 

Do you get a headache after exercising?

This means your adrenals are slow to put out cortisol. Chronic stress will cause the cortisol levels to drop leading to a decreased ability to control blood sugar and eventually low blood sugar, irritability, headaches and so on. Exercise can cause your blood sugar to drop and if cortisol output isn’t there then blood sugar won’t be regulated properly leading to symptoms of low blood sugar. 

Do you feel wired or jittery after drinking coffee?

This may mean you have issues with high cortisol output, you need liver support or you just have a sensitivity to coffee. Caffeine is an adrenal stimulant though and it can contribute to excess cortisol output. 

Do you clench or grind your teeth? This is a classic sign of increased stress and high stress levels lead to an increase in your sympathetic nervous system or the fight or flight response. This will increase your total cortisol output. If the stress isn’t resolved, adrenals will start to break down and adrenal fatigue comes to visit. 

How about chronic low back pain that gets worse when you are tired? Our pelvic supportive muscles are neurologically related to the adrenal glands. You maybe need some connective tissue support. 

Do you get dizzy when you stand up quickly or feel dizzy in general?

This is a sign of low adrenal function. Our adrenal glands are responsible for keeping blood pressure in the normal range for those few seconds it takes us to go from lying down to standing up. Having a drop in blood pressure by 10 or more indicates a need for adrenal support. 

Do you have arthritic tendencies? Achy joints and there is no sign of arthritis? Consider your adrenal health and your gut health. Both can be responsible. 

Do you crave salty foods or do you salt your food before tasting it?

You may have a possible need for electrolytes. Our adrenal glands help manage stress but they also help keep our minerals balanced. Aldosterone is a mineral corticoid which causes our body to reabsorb sodium and chloride. When aldosterone levels are compromised, we excrete more sodium and chloride than is needed giving us a salt craving. I often tell my clients to salt their water if they are having adrenal issues. 

How about afternoon yawning? This can mean adrenal insufficiency, and slow or hypo functioning adrenals glands. It is also a sign you need B1 or thiamine and an indication of low thyroid function. 

Pain on the inner side of your knee? Tendency to have shin splints or sprained ankles? Adrenal dysfunction causes weak ligaments in the body. Ankles are most affected in a lot of us. 

Do you need to wear sunglasses even when it is cloudy outside? The ability of our pupils to constrict in bright light is partially related to adrenal functioning. When the adrenals are tired, they won’t constrict easily or at all. 

The purpose of the adrenals is to help us cope with all kinds of stress including the stress caused by blood sugar dysregulation.

The hormones secreted by your adrenals affect the way our body uses carbohydrates and fats, the conversion of fats and proteins in to energy and how fat is distributed in our body (especially around our waist and the sides of our face). They play a role in heart health and in digestive function. Adrenal hormones are anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant which helps minimize reactions to things we are allergic to from things in food to our environment.  After menopause they make our sex hormones. 

How is your ability to respond to chronic illness? Adrenals have a hand in that too. 

Again, blood sugar dysregulation/erratic blood sugar levels is closely related with low adrenal function. You might have a tendency towards allergies, that arthritic pain and get sick more often.  You might even find yourself with fears you can’t explain, anxiety and depression, inability to concentrate and tougher time recalling memories.  Find yourself less tolerant of things or get frustrated easily? Insomnia? 

Things that affect the adrenals: 

• Financial problems, loss of job

  1. Death of loved one

  2. Stress, chronic, repeated, psychological, fear

  3. Poor food choices, SAD diet

  4. Perpetual negative thinking loop running in your head

  5. No relaxation time

  6. Lack of sleep

  7. Chronic or acute infections

  8. Allergies, environmental or food (do you eat something you are sensitive to?)

  9. Lack of exercise OR too much of it

  10. Caffeine

More signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue: 

• Hard time getting up in the morning

  1. Fatigue not relieved by sleep

  2. Lethargy or lack of energy

  3. Everyday tasks take a lot of effort

  4. Low sex drive

  5. Can’t handle stress well

     • road rage, anxiety all the time, yelling at your kids for no reason, compulsive eating, smoking, drug use

  6. Takes you longer to recover from being sick, injured or going through a traumatic event.

  7. Mild depression- seems pointless to make an effort at anything

  8. Less happiness or feelings of enjoyment

     • you don’t feel interested in much, don’t do much for fun

  9. Worse than bad PMS

  10. You cannot skip a meal, need snacks all the time

  11. Less tolerant of others

  12. Slow to wake in the morning- by 10am or so you feel better, slow down around 3pm and feel alive after 6pm

  13. You are not very productive

You have to look at these symptoms together. You probably have more than one which will suggest you are dealing with adrenal dysfunction. Having more than three of these is indicative of a problem. 

How do you recover?

Take a look at these symptoms on my website under this podcast and see where you can make some changes. You absolutely will have to make some changes in your life if you want to recover from adrenal fatigue. Supplements can help and you may need to supplement to kick start your adrenal recovery but they will only be a bandaid if that is all you plan to do. 

We all have stress and those of us with chronic illness have that on top of our every day stress. Remember that chronic illness, autoimmune disease, with an overactive immune system is stressful in and of itself to our adrenals. Then add on the standard American diet and you have more stress in the form of blood sugar dysregulation and digestive distress. Do you have food allergies or sensitivities? Probably if you have autoimmune disease. 

Look at your lifestyle: 

Remove the stressors: 

• What robs you of energy? People in your life, food sensitivities, no sleep

  1. Are you getting fresh air?

  2. Do you drink alcohol? Eat junk food? Smoke? Caffeine/coffee?

  3. Chemicals in your environment?

     • laundry

       1. skin care

       2. household cleaners

       3. clean water

Learn some deep breathing techniques, meditation and just do it. Even one minute a day to start will be helpful. Notice the stories you tell yourself in your head. Are you having an argument with your spouse or friend in your head? Your stress response will be the same whether it is in your head or actually happening. 

Sleep- the big big issue us Hashimoto’s sufferers deal with. We need to sleep to recover our adrenals. If you want to heal your adrenals, you need to go to bed and be asleep before 11:00 hits. Go to bed or start getting ready for bed at 9:00. No joke. Let the dishes go, let everything go and just work on healing your body for a while. If you can, sleep until 8:00 or 9:00. This is not always possible but do the best you can.  Normal adrenal function allows for cortisol to rise from 6:00-8:00 in the morning. With adrenal fatigue the rise isn’t as high and the drop in cortisol is faster. Lower cortisol means it takes longer to really feel awake. 

If you can’t sleep and are waking up between 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning, then you have a blood sugar issue. Your adrenals have kicked in to raise your blood sugar which causes you to wake up and it takes awhile for you to get back to sleep. 

Eating a protein/fat and unrefined carb type snack before bed can help you to stay asleep. You can also include some starchy carbs in your evening meal which should help you to fall asleep and stay asleep. 

Get some exercise. Low intensity to start. Walk for an hour as many days a week as you can. Yoga, especially restorative yoga can be very helpful. Wear the blue blocking glasses at night starting around 7pm. This will block the blue lights from TV and other screens which will aid in melatonin production. 

Eating: You must eat within an hour of waking up in order to prevent the adrenals from getting involved in raising your blood sugar. Even if you don’t feel like eating, eat something. Protein, fat and a small amount of starchy carb will help significantly. Maybe something like some chicken or turkey, a couple slices of avocado and a couple bites of sweet potato and maybe a small pile of veggies like cucumbers or carrots. 

Supplements that might be helpful in recovering your adrenal health. Remember, if you are only doing supplements they will be a band aid. You need to change your diet and lifestyle and use supplementation to help you along the way. 

• Vitamin C- very essential nutrient to the whole adrenal process. Ascorbic acid along with bioflavonoids. Look for a C complex. Go for highest quality of any supplement that you can afford. Buy from a reputable source.

• B Vitamins- A B complex with methylated folate- important in energy production

• Magnesium Glycinate- is like a spark plug for the adrenals. Very helpful with energy production.

• Trace Minerals and Electrolytes

• Essential Fatty Acids- fish and fish oils.

• Adaptogenic herbs and other herbs-

• Licorice Root- anti-stress, increases energy. Very helpful in many ways to the adrenals. Avoid in the late afternoon and evening.

  1. Ashwaganda- a nightshade but a great adaptogen. It will help the body function more in the normal range no matter if you have high cortisol or low cortisol. Can be stimulating for some people.

  2. Korean Ginseng- helps with energy.

  3. Siberian Ginseng- take no later than lunchtime- is stimulating

  4. Rhodiola- prevents stress induced adrenaline activity

  5. Holy Basil- gives us a sense of well being, helps normalize blood sugar

This is not an overnight fix. It didn’t take you overnight to tax your adrenals. Plan on 6 months to 2 years of recovery. You will see improvement over time unless you don’t change things in your life that got you here in the first place. You can get your life back but you have to put in a little work to get there. 

What does all of this have to do with the thyroid?

Chronic immune stimulation as in the case of unmanaged Hashimoto’s causes long term high cortisol (stress). You have to manage the autoimmune disease in order to also manage the adrenal gland stressors.  Low thyroid function or hypothyroidism is often the after affect of adrenal stress. Chronic adrenal stress will affect the communication between the brain and the adrenal glands. They hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are less effective with chronic adrenal stress and therefore cannot communicate with the thyroid as well.  The thyroid hormone also won’t be able to get the cells like they need to to do their job. T4 will not convert to T3 as well. The cells won’t be as sensitive to the thyroid hormone when it reaches them and the immune system cannot regulate itself as well. 

Obviously diet is a big part of this. You have to be eating high quality protein, fat and carbs in the form of veggies and a small amount of fruit. There are blog posts on my website for each of those topics as related to health in general so you can go over there to read more. Just search protein, fat, or carbohydrate. You have to keep your blood sugar stable and eat every 3 hours or so if you need to until your adrenals and blood sugar become more stable. Have protein and fat based snacks and avoid all juices for now. Don’t eat any higher glycemic foods/ food higher in sugar without eating protein or fat with them. Avoid artificial sweeteners, partially hydrogenated fats, any foods you are sensitive to, refined sugar and the other things mentioned earlier like alcohol, smoking/nicotine and caffeine. 

This week, tell yourself each day: “everyday in every way, I am getting better and better”.  You have got this and I have got your back. 

Thank you so much for listening. Your support means a lot. Please share this podcast with anyone you know dealing with thyroid problems, autoimmune issues or chronic illness. Much of the information here can help more than just those of us with Hashimoto’s. 

If you haven’t already, you can get my free ebook, 5 Things Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Hashimoto’s on my website. You can also find me on Facebook at www.outofthewoodsnutrition.com or helpforhashimotos.com and on instagram at stephaniewalsntp.  

I would love to answer your questions about Hashimoto’s or other chronic conditions. Please send your questions to helpforhashimotos@gmail.com or go to my website and fill out the contact form and put podcast in the subject line. 

Thanks for joining me, see you next week. 

Natural desiccated thyroid hormone vs. synthetic, dry brittle hair, and having invisible illness. Episode 6.

I have Hashimotos and recently my hair has turned extremely dry and brittle. My doctor increased my medication a month ago, but still no change in my hair. I definitely feel as though it’s caused by something with in me as opposed to any products I may be using on my hair since those have not changed. Any suggestions would be sincerely appreciated!

Jody

Losing your hair and or having dry brittle hair are common symptoms in hypothyroidism. Some things that might be causing this for you are: 

1. is your thyroid medication/treatment optimal?

   1. all the cells in our body need thyroid hormones to function properly. T4 only medications like levothyroxine and synthroid might not be working well for you. Maybe your body doesn’t do well converting t4 to t3 which is what your cells use. You might need a T4/T3 combo medication.

   2. Make sure your doctor is testing TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3 and the antibodies- TPO and TgAb. Functional medicine lab ranges according to Datis Kharrazian for TSH are 1.8-3.0 mU/L (milliunits per liter). Personally, I have felt best when mine is a bit below 1.0 which is common for those of us on Natural desiccated thyroid hormone. Free T3 functional range is 1.2-4.9 mg per deciliter, free t4 functional range is 1.0-1.5 ng/dL (nanograms per deciliter. If you lab results are not in these measurements, you can google how to convert them in to these numbers. Don’t worry about taking notes on this either, all of this will be on my website at out of the woods nutrition dot com. The antibodies should be at zero but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the autoimmune thyroid conditions of hashimoto’s or graves disease. Our immune systems fluctuate- when you have your blood test they might be considered within range- so don’t rely on antibodies testing alone to mean you do or do not have the disease.

   3. What are your iron levels like? Ferritin is our storage iron. If that is low it can result in hair loss and probably are related to dry hair too but more so hair that is falling out. Having good ferritin levels encourages hair growth and having low levels means your body will put hair and nail health on the back burner to ensure that the tissues that really need iron get it first. Liver is a great way to get your iron. Personally I can’t stand liver in the form of pate or cooked so I take either an iron supplement occasionally or I take Vital Proteins liver capsules which are not cheap. I have liver in my freezer and have not taken the time to dehydrate it and put it in capsules which would be way more cost effective.

   4. If you are not making enough stomach acid, you will not be breaking down your food, protein in particular, so you will not be getting all the nutrients you need from your diet which will affect how supple your hair is. Are you eating enough protein? Hair and nails are made of protein. If you are deficient either because you are not eating enough or because you are not breaking down your food well enough you will be deficient and your hair will pay the price. I recommend starting out on a low dose of HCl aka Betaine Hydrochloric Acid with Pepsin to help you break down your food. Something like 150mg to start with and go up from there………..

   5. Something your pharmacist won’t tell you- some thyroid medications can cause hair loss. So, the very thing you are depending on to feel well is causing your hair to fall out. The package insert for your medication will also tell you that you should not be taking it if you are suffering with adrenal insufficiency- adrenal fatigue.

   6. If you have hashimoto’s you have an autoimmune disease and that means you are likely susceptible to having more than one autoimmune disease- most commonly 3 AID and the likelihood of having a total of 7 over your lifetime. These things don’t happen overnight either. Your body suffers internally for years before another disease becomes symptomatic. This is why it is soooo important to address diet and lifestyle issues. We don’t just all of a sudden get sick overnight. Our body is like a car- pick your dream car or even the one you are driving now. How you care for that car today and for the time you drive it will determine just how long that car runs well for you. You have to put the right kind of fuel in to it. You have to change the oil and have other fluids checked. Your car wants to run well for you but it will break down if you don’t give it what it needs to run properly. Our bodies are the same. You only get this one chance to be here now. Your body does what it can daily to maintain homeostasis or balance. It works really hard to keep us alive and running well. What we fuel it with really does matter. A calorie is not just a calorie. You will get so much more out of 100 calories of veggies vs. 100 calories of cookies.

   7. Speaking of fuel- how is your blood sugar? According to Izabella Wentz: Blood sugar swings- due to high refined carbohydrates and not enough good quality protein and fats will cause T4 to be converted to Reverse T3 which keeps T3 bound up so the body and the cells can’t use it. This can cause us to lose hair too. Again, I know you were more concerned about dry brittle hair but the two go together.

   8. Are you digesting your fat well? Are you eating a good balance of omega 3 and omega 6 fats? Get a high quality fish oil and eat some healthy fats like olive oil, avocados and coconut oil to get a good mix of omega 3 and omega 6. The ratio of those should be around 1:1 and most of us get about 1:20 with omega 6 being the 20 because it is in a lot of processed foods and restaurant foods in the form of canola oil and soybean oil.

   9. Some people believe that supplementing with collagen can help your hair. We make less of this protein as we get older so you can try it to see if it helps. I would give it about a month.

   10. I would lastly look at your hair products. It doesn’t sound like this is an issue for you as you said you didn’t have a problem before and you had not switched products. My favorite hair products are Intelligent Nutrients- they are good for your hair and for the environment. I do think you are right though, your hair problem is internal. I would encourage you to use a food journal to keep track of what you are eating and how you feel and you may notice that you might need to change some things.

Good luck Jody, and please let me know if any of these suggestions helped you! 

Hi! Your podcasts have been great so far...thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been diagnosed with hashimotos for the past two years. I am 34 years old.

I decided to visit the doctor two years ago when I started having body aches and unusually dry skin. I was extremely tired all the time, however I thought that was natural due to having a newborn. I soon realized it was much more than being a “tired mom”.

I was put on levothyroxin. Seemed to even my levels out until recently. Started having stronger symptoms again and revisited the doctor. Taken off of levothyroxin (synthetic thyroid medication) and placed on nature throid (natural thyroid medication). What do you believe are major differences in a synthetic vs natural thyroid prescription?

Thank you again for all of your honest, transparent, and giving information.

CM

We have a similar story. I was diagnosed after my second child was born. I went in for a literal pain in my behind which turned out to be sciatica and when the doctor asked me if I needed anything else I told him I felt extra tired but thought it was because I had a toddler and an infant. He did a TSH test- standard for conventional medicine and my TSH was at 150- so clearly I had an issue with hypothyroidism. He put me on levothyroxine and I never felt good after that. My periods were heavy, I was cold all the time- like chilled to the bone and my adrenals were shot. 

Your question is about the differences between synthetic medication like levothyroxine and natural desiccated thyroid hormones like Naturethroid. I will get to that but I want to first address why things leveled off for awhile but got worse and your medication had to be adjusted. 

1. You were diagnosed with hashimoto’s which is first an issue with your immune system and second and issue with your thyroid- likely hypothyroid symtoms. When the autoimmune disease is not treated with diet and lifestyle modifications, your immune system can remain on high alert and can continue to attack your thyroid tissue killing it off. This often gives us the feeling of going between hypo and hyper symptoms. Maybe this has happened to you, maybe not. Anyway- one of the reasons for needing your dose to be increased is because more of your thyroid has been killed off. I guess you never said that your dose was increased but just changed to a different medication. Still, this is something to be mindful of.

2. Now, on to the differences between synthetic and natural hormone medications.

   1. NDT was used in the 1800’s to treat patients with hypothyroid symptoms. The medication is made from pig thyroid glands and this is why it is called natural. It also contains all the thyroid hormones present in our own thyroid tissue. Desiccated means that the pigs are bred for the purpose of getting the thyroid. It is removed with a specific protocol, frozen, minced, dried and made into a fine powder. It is defatted and batches are combined to get a uniform mixture of T4 and T3. The benefit of the natural desiccated medications is that you get what your body would have normally provided for you had your own thyroid stopped working properly. This means the right ratios of T4 and T3, and T2, T1 and T0. There is not a lot of research on T2,1 and 0 but they are obviously there for a reason so this might be why some people really feel so much better on NDT. The dosages are often referred to as grains. One grain equals 60 mg of NDT In Armour which is made up of 38mcg of T4 and 9mcg of T3. You can find conversion charts from manufacturers for most of the NDT medications on the market.

      1. Armour, NatureThroid and Westhroid are the most common prescriptions. My favorite was WP thyroid until I couldn’t get it anymore but have found great success using a compounded thyroid medication which is just the thyroid powder and cellulose which I open the capsule and put under my tongue. This is called taking the medication sublingually. It bypasses your stomach, gut and liver and goes right in to the bloodstream. This works for me, but doesn’t mean it will work for you. You can try it and see how you feel after a week on it. I take my meds in divided doses. Half in the morning when I wake up and half in the late afternoon. Western Research Labs or RLC labs is the manufacturer of your medication. You may be able to get all the ingredients of your medication on their site. Also be aware that your pharmacy can switch your medication without telling you if they run out of what is prescribed. You can ask your doctor to write your prescription to be dispensed as subscribed or you can let your pharmacist know that you do not want them to switch your meds. The main reason NDT meds are different is because they contain more than just T4. T3 plays a big role in cognitive abilities in the brain and how the brain functions. Got brain fog? Maybe you are not converting T4 to T3 or maybe you are lacking in T3. NDT might be what is the key to your brain fog, depression and mood problems for us. If you don’t feel any changes in those things, maybe you are not on a high enough dose or your body isn’t using it well. This is where diet changes can help. T3 is supposed to be better absorbed by the gut than T4. Studies show that 95% of T3 is absorbed within the first 4 hours of taking it and will happen even faster on an empty stomach. Back when Armour was first being used, they were making doses of medication based on symptoms and relief of those symptoms. Novel idea huh!?

      2. In 1926 synthetic thyroxine was created. Synthroid was made. To market this great money making drug- the maufacturer sold physicians on the idea that it was better than NDT. Research was funded to prove it was better than NDT. Unfortunately the study didn’t show Synthroid to be better than NDT. The research study was not published and the Dr. performing the research was discredited. A journalist caught on and broke the story and there was a lot of trouble for the manufacturer in the 90’s. The FDA pulled the medication due to irregularities in formulation. It was even marketed and sold in the US without formal FDA approval. In 2013 28,000 bottles of 150 mcg of Synthroid were recalled due to being a lower dose than stated on the bottle. Your doctor likely is just used to prescribing this medication because that is what they are taught. They have been told that NDT causes heart problems which is really a load of crap. Too much can lead to atrial fibrillation, osteoporosis, insomnia, heat intolerance, tremors, and more. My body takes awhile to get used to a NDT Medication change and that is why dosing it twice a day is recommended. Fight for the chance to try this kind of medication if you don’t feel well on synthetic only medications. The synthetic medications are really about money. Synthroid is the 4th most prescribed medication in the US at 70 million prescriptions a year. The profit from Abbott Labs funds endocrinology groups and their meetings as well as clinical research grants. Do you think they are going to publish studies that show their medication doesn’t work as well? Probably not. Pharmaceutical companies have more to gain by you being on a synthetic medication that keeps you sick vs. the Natural medication that makes you feel better.

I want to also talk about how it feels to have a disease that isn’t visible. I was talking with my niece and her husband last weekend about thyroid. Somehow the subject came up and my nieces husband said something about if your thyroid isn’t working right you are basically screwed or something like that. I had to laugh because he is so right. We don’t look sick but some days we just feel terrible. It is hard on us and hard on our families. My parents don’t understand, especially my dietary restrictions. They quit inviting my family over for dinner. My mom never makes an effort to understand how this has affected me. I don’t hold that against her- she is doing the best she can with the tools she has. So she says things like, let’s go out for pizza- you can eat a salad. Oh that sounds like so much fun to eat a salad while everyone else is enjoying pizza. It’s never- “let’s go to a restaurant where you can really enjoy the food”. She has thyroid problems too but all I ever hear is “I am so glad I feel so good”- what is normal for her is to feel tired and have a headache or just say she doesn’t feel good. She lays on the couch most afternoons and she had a headache everyday of my life in the morning. Sometimes we think we feel good because normal is to feel bad. 

Here are what some people are saying about what they want people to know about hashimoto’s. 

BA says:  In my case support... You don't "look" sick... My husband truly truly is trying to understand it all. He sees what it does to me but doesn't understand why. Thinks with diet and exercise I'll be just fine...

LH says:  Digestive issues, fatigue, stress,

GH says:  That everything can be great and you look and feel wonderful then you suddenly crash and feel like death. For weeks.

TF says:  Like one minute I lost 60 pounds, was working out every day at the age of 50 and living my best life and out of nowhere this monster hits me and now it’s horrible. I don’t know from one day to the next what is coming. I don’t even understand most of it. this disease is so extensive and complicated

TC says:  Why food makes us sick? Hurt? Not sleep?

KT says:  Always test your thyroid ANTIBODIES! All my “usual” thyroid labs were in the normal range, but antibodies off the charts... so grateful I finally had a doc test them!

TW says:  The fatigue is real, I’m not lazy. I don’t “want” to take a nap, I have no choice. What is needed? Research. Education of MDs and endocrinologists.

SJ says:  Extreme fatigue, and excessive weight gain ! 100 lbs, which I've been unable to loose for 20 years. Insomnia as well , and digestive issues ( gluten intolerant ). HASHIMOTO'S IS A BEAST !

TB says:  Research to determine which diet is the best for Hashimoto's. Extreme fatigue and brain fog are real!

SD says:  Educating MD's who are still treating all of our symptoms seperately, telling patients they are overweight because they eat too much and don’t exercise enough, and prescribing thyroid replacement that is man made instead of natural desiccated thyroid (NDT). Quit my doctor of 21 years 8 years ago and found a naturopath. Best decision of my life!!!

MH says:  More education, more testing. Doctors to understand test results vs symptoms and please don’t say” well you are  borderline even though you have these symptoms, so we will not treat you.”

TM says: Our tired is not their tired , it’s not even in the same realm . Our weight gain is not our fault . We are not lazy, we’re tired.

CE says:  Our inflammation is unlike others due to the constant aches we endure along with insomnia, depletion of vital nutrients, and gut problems.

AO says:  It may seem invisible but our body is having a nuclear war. New symptoms and concurrent disorders are constantly showing up, that don't seem to be related sometimes, and there hasn't been enough research to do anything but regulate diet and control some symptoms. It IS disabling for a large amount of people. With mine I had to quit work and can only last 2-4 hours of any type of work before I am too exhausted/weak/ill to function.

RS says:  More knowledge/awareness for everyone...So doctors stop running basic labs, so that people are more aware of symptoms and can ask for the correct labs, so loved ones can be more supportive of those with AI diseases, and so everyone realizes how vastly important our diets effect our health. The majority of people who find out I have Hashi’s have no clue what it is. I don’t look sick, so they don’t understand how I can go from 100 to bed ridden for days, or understand why I eat the way I do if I don’t have “food allergies.” People just don’t understand any of it, even my family and closest friends.

Weight gain with diet changes, exhausted after exercise, nightshades, and AIP. Episode 3.

I have been eating nothing but raw vegetables and water for 6 days. I have gained 3 pounds. I am at a loss. I have taken more D3 and B12. I have added magnesium to my diet. I am exercising even though I am exhausted all the time. I have resorted to taking sudafed because it makes me have energy.......please help. I have been to 2 different endocrinologists and they refuse to help. I have been gluten free for 6 weeks. What else can I do?

1. with raw veggies only for 6 days…. How much were you eating. It could be that you were not eating enough and your body was starving and holding on to weight.

   1. If you were not eating enough it could deplete the adrenals and then you have an issue with cortisol. This is our main stress hormone and when it is working normally it can be anti-inflammatory and key for fat burning. It also helps keep our blood sugar and our blood pressure up. So, if you were not eating enough, your blood sugar would be low and cortisol would be released to save the day. This can be a problem if it is constantly working to help manage your blood sugar whether too high or too low. Cortisol is supposed to be low in the evening to get us ready for sleeping and higher in the morning so when we wake up we feel ready for the day. If this is not you, then you probably have an issue with your cortisol being out of balance. When cortisol is low it can affect your ability to tolerate your workouts, meaning you are exhausted after a work out. Exercising too hard can wear out your adrenals and to work on healing them and getting them working properly again you need to slow down the workouts to basically just walking up to five days a week for an hour.

      1. If you have low cortisol you will have symptoms like:

         1. needing a pick me up in the morning or afternoon to keep you going such as coffee or in your case, sudafed to ramp you up.

         2. cravings for salt in general, or sugar or starches between meals

         3. you feel burnt out or don’t handle stress well

         4. you feel like you need sunglasses even on a cloudy day

         5. Your blood pressure is low or you get dizzy when you stand up quickly from a sitting position

         1. If you have high cortisol

            1. you might have extra fat around your mid section

            2. you feel tired even after sleeping a full night

            3. you have poor digestion

            4. you might wake up tired and achy

            5. you have trouble falling asleep

      2. High cortisol issues and low cortisol issues can happen at the same time. They can sort of wax and wane. It is higher when we are dealing with chronic stress which can be physical or emotional and physical stress can include what is going in internally with your body and thyroid issues. When stress is chronic (and the diet and exercise you describe would be very stressful for you right now) you can get puffy, wired and tired, and you may gain weight.

   2. This could have been detoxifying to your body and released something that your body couldn’t get rid of so you gained weight because we store toxins in our fat tissue.

      1. If your detoxification pathways are not open (liver, skin, lungs, eliminations) and this diet of raw veggies over the last 6 days really cleaned things up internally but those toxins had nowhere to go then your body could have shuttled them in to your fat tissue.

      2. All raw veggies can be hard on our digestive tract too. You might consider starting with some bone broth and cooked veggies before continuing with all raw veggies. You can steam veggies, cook them in broth (the most soothing to our digestive system), roast them, grill them or satue them in some healthy fats like coconut oil or olive oil. Broth will have minerals and collagen that are soothing and even healing to your digestive tract, especially the small intestine.

   3. Were you avoiding fat because you were worried it will make you fatter? This is not always true and consuming a small amount of healthy fats everyday is necessary for our cells to be healthy. Each cell is made of a layer of fat and we need healthy fats to make up the building blocks of our cells. This helps waste be removed from our cells and get nutrition in to our cells.

2. It would be nice to know amounts of D3 and B12 you are taking.

   1. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin with defieciency being a contributor to autoimmune disease. We make vitamin d from cholesterol in our skin cells when we absorb UVB radiation from the sun. We need vitamin d for many processes in the body including the regulation and absorption of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and for our bones to mineralize and grow. It plays a role in regulating the release of serotonin which we need for our mental/emotional health and for good digestion. It also helps us heal and helps to regulate our immune system but it doesn’t work on it’s own and supplementation with a high dose is not in and of itself a solution. WE need to take it with other fat soluble vitamins (A, E, K —-D protects against A toxicity and A protects against D toxicity and large amounts of A&D increase the need for K—-consuming liver is a great way to get all of these from food.) and we can’t use or assimilate our fat soluble vitamins with out taking them with fat. There was a study done around 1980 with Wheat Bran showing the possibility that it can prevent us from absorbing vitamin d, creating a possible deficiency.

      1. food sources of vitamin d besides liver are:

         1. salmon

         2. sardines

         3. tuna

         4. eggs (if you tolerate them)

         5. shiitake mushrooms

   2. B12

      1. we need this to help with the metabolism of carbs, proteins and fats in our cells and it is really important in making and regulating DNA, making fatty acids and in energy production.

      2. We need good gut bacteria to be able to use most of the B12 we take in so getting it from food is always best. Also, you can only get B12 from animals (unless you supplement) like shellfish, and meat products and it is produced by the animals gut bacteria.

         1. sardines have the highest amount of B12 per serving

         2. then salmon, tuna, cod, lamb, scallops, shrimp, beef

3. Exercise- if you are exhausted, then don’t exercise. Go for a walk. This will help your adrenals heal. Anything you do while working on healing your adrenals should not be debilitating, grueling or super competitive. Yoga, tai chi, kick boxing, swimming, walking, even dancing. Do something enjoyable and start slow and work your way in to it. Most important is to do it at your own pace. You might be overexercising.

   1. Again, when the adrenals are off this can lead to weight gain.

4. You have been gluten free for 6 weeks. This is great. Gluten is not the friend of someone with Hashimoto’s or thyroid issues so staying off it is a good first step. What else can you do, you ask?

   1. you can eat at least one pound of veggies, cooked and raw, remember I said cooked will be gentler on your digestion. Eat a wide variety keeping in mind the autoimmune protocol and nightshades (peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc) being inflammatory for some of us with thyroid issues.

   2. consume about 25 grams of protein each meal for four meals or work in 100 grams of protein in a day.

      1. one serving of salmon should have around 22 grams of protein and a small chicken breast should have around 28grams

   3. Get some healthy fats in your diet

      1. avocado, avocado oil, olive oil, olives, coconut oil, coconut milk, nuts if you tolerate them, ghee if you tolerate it.

   4. Fruits in small amounts and stick to berries mostly but get a variety.

   5. Spices and herbs are also great. Be mindful of pepper and seed based spices if you are doing the autoimmune protocol.

5. Avoid

   1. gluten and grains

   2. dairy

   3. sugar

   4. alcohol

   5. Coffee won’t help your adrenals

I’m trying to find the limits/dimensions of my food sensitivities and figure out how to navigate eating out and would like to start introducing nightshades but am a little confused because my dietician says if you’re sensitive to one nightshade, you’re sensitive to them all. (I am gluten, dairy and sugar-free. I was full AIP for months, but have started reintroducing foods.)

For context, my three exposures:

1st and 2nd - I ate 1/4 of a fresh tomato and about 20 hours later felt extremely anxious (8 or 9 out of 10) and one of those times I had heart palpitations.
3rd - I took a chance and ate meat marinated with bell peppers. No reaction, which was great. Maybe being in the marinade isn’t enough exposure? Or maybe because the meat was cooked? Curious what is going on. 

1. Nightshades:

   1. contain a couple thousand different species of plants, most are inedible and poisonous. Eating too many of these can kill off our cells and contribute to a leaky gut and really eating too many can actually be poisonous. It is thought that low level exposure can contribute to health problems over time.

   2. Which foods are considered nightshades?

      1. bell peppers, hot peppers and spices made from them

      2. tomatoes

      3. ground cherries/gooseberries

      4. eggplant

      5. goji berries

      6. pimentos

      7. potatoes

      8. tomatillos

      9. ashwaganda (a popular herbal adaptogen for adrenals)

2. Reintroducing foods.

   1. How many months did you do full AIP?

   2. Waiting until you are in feeling your best and your labs look good to do reintroductions is ideal. This gives your gut a chance to heal and bring down any lingering inflammation.

      1. also making sure stress is well managed is important. Don’t do reintroductions during a stressful time in your life. It can likely set your recovery/remission back quite a bit.

      2. If you have been aip for a month or longer you can consider reintroductions if you have good digestion, you are not getting worse rather than better and you can manage your hashi’s/thyroid problems well. You may still need medication and that is okay.

      3. Don’t start with foods you know you have an allergy to.

      4. If you have a reaction to something, it is likely you need to work on healing your gut more.

   3. How to reintroduce a food

      1. Start with one food, you pick it but here is a suggestion of where to start:

         1. egg yolks

         2. legumes (green beans and peas)

         3. spices

         4. oils made from nuts or seeds

         5. ghee

      2. Eat the food you pick 2-3 times in one day and then don’t reintroduce another food for about a week.

         1. start with less than a teaspoon or so of the food you picked and then wait for about 15 minutes. If you notice any symptoms immediately, stop and wait a week or so to try again.

         2. no reaction, have a small bite, wait 15 more minutes, then a slightly bigger bite, wait for a couple of hours and pay close attention to how you feel.

            1. symptoms can be digestive, changes in energy, cravings, sleeping issues, headaches, dizzy feeling, runny nose, more phlegm coughing, clearing your throat, itching, aches, skin rashes, mood issues.

            2. you can eat a bigger portion at a meal on the day you reintroduced it if this reintro went well.

         3. wait 4-7 days before introducing another food if that went well.

         4. If reintroducing a spice, you can reintro it in smaller amounts than I just suggested as it is consumed in small amounts.

      3. You might find that you can tolerate a food on a rotation type basis or just every once in awhile but not everyday. This is okay- it helps ensure you get some variety in your diet.

      4. Keeping a food journal can be very helpful to try and pinpoint where something went wrong.

3. I have not read anywhere about all or nothing with nightshades. Based on the way reintroductions are suggested in the autoimmune protocol community though, it looks like sweet peppers and paprika are introduced in stage three and the rest of them in stage four.