More…..THYROID Imbalance

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism:

• Apathy
• Attention deficit disorders
• Backs of hands turned forward
• Brain Fog
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Cold hands/feet (Barnes Test)
• Constant build up of wax in ears
• Delayed teething in children

Depression

• Drooping eyelid
• Dry; course skin, hair and nails
• Dull facial expression
• Fatigue
• Growth Retardation in children
• Hard time waking in the morning
• Headaches
• High Cholesterol problems
• Hoarse voice with slow speech
• Hyperlipidemia
• Intolerance to cold
• Lethargy
• Loss of hair in outer 1/3 eyebrow
• Menstrual disturbances
• Monopolar depression
• Muscle fatigue
• Palms of hands yellow
• Premature delivery in pregnancy
• Puffy face
• Short-term memory problems
• Sleeps easily but not rested upon waking
• Slow mental development
• Slow Pulse
• Tinnitus (Ringing of the ears)
• TSH levels high, but T3/T4 levels low
• Waking up with a headache
• Weight gain

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism:

• Atrial Fibrillation
• Bipolar Depression
• Diarrhea
• Eye pain
• Eyelid retraction (bulging eyes)
• Frequent bowel movements
• Goiter (enlarged thyroid)
• Increased activity
• Increased appetite w/ weight loss
• Increased vocalization (cats)
• Nervousness
• Palpitations
• Photophobia (sensitive to light)
• Sensitivity to heat
• Tachycardia (rapid heart beat)
• Tremors
• Warm, moist skin
• Widened pulse pressure (normal 120/80)

Things that adversely affect the Thyroid function:

• Aluminum (preservatives/antifungal)
• Autoimmune thyroid diseases:
  • Graves
  • Hashimoto’s
• Cadmium poisoning
• Caffeine
• Chakra imbalance (fifth)
• Chemicals and Xenobiotics
  • PCB’s from plastics
  • Hormones in food
  • Cosmetics
  • Phenolic Compounds
  • Styrofoam cups
  • Microwaved plastic wrap
  • Water bottles
• Drugs (SSRI Antidepressants)
• Electromagnetic radiation
  • Computers
  • Flying
  • TV’s
  • Appliances w/ LED lights
• Estrogen (too much)
• Exercise, too little
• Hormonal imbalances
• Iodine Excess (Coast Goiter Syndrome)
• Iodine deficiency
• Lack of morning exercise
• Lead poisoning
• Light, not enough sunshine
• Liver disease
• Mercury poisoning
• Opiates
• Pesticides
• Plant hormones (Estrogens)
• Raw Foods containing cyanogenic glycosides:
  • Asparagus
  • Broccoli
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Flax
  • Garlic
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Spinach
  • Turnips
• Raw foods that increase T4 clearance:
  • Soybeans
  • Walnuts
• Selenium Deficiency
• Smoking
• Stimulants
• Sugar
• Sunshine-lack of (slows Thyroid)
• Surgery
• Tyrosine Deficiency
• Zinc Deficiency

Notes on things that affect the Thyroid Gland Function:

Bipolar depression is exhibited as the thyroid hormone drives energy levels beyond the physical limits of the body.

Lithium, a common treatment for manic-depression, is known to depress T3 in the brain bringing the levels back to normal.

Long-term stress leads to autoimmune disease because stress decreases the production of Natural Killer cells.  Two examples of this are Hashimoto and Grave’s diseases. This in turn increases food sensitivities and environmental sensitivities. Ashwaganda, and Ayurvedic herb, is an herb that helps manage stress by decreasing cortisol levels.

Hashimoto’s Disease is an autoimmune induced thyroid disease caused by the body’s own antibodies attacking the thyroid gland. When you provide the system with a thyroid supplement (protomorphogens like MediHerb Thyroid Complex), the antibodies will attack the supplement first allowing the thyroid gland to heal itself. The thyroid supplement acts as a decoy for the antibodies.

Grave’s disease is an autoimmune induced thyroid disease caused when the body’s own antibodies block conversion of T4 to T3.

Caffeine, sugar, and other stimulants increase the cortisol released from the adrenal glands in the body. When this happens the cortisol block the conversion of T4 to T3 so causes hypothyroidism.

Smoking depresses the thyroid gland from producing thyroid hormone and adrenal hormones. This is why it can be a factor in hypothyroidism.

Alcohol or opiates can increase T3 levels in the body by preventing the breakdown of t# in the brain, so in hypothyroidism alcohol can act as a mood elevator. Alcohol gives these patients a mood-elevator buzz. At the same time, alcohol is causing the liver to be stressed and toxic which disturbs the metabolism of all kinds of hormones over the long-term. By keeping the T3 levels high in the system this suppresses the Thyroid Hormone (TH) being released from the brain. One result of this is that the liver starts producing more cholesterol, fatty acids, and triglycerides. Alcohol also hurts the liver over time enough to prevent it from storing the fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A. Because of this, Vitamin A (carotenoids) can build up in the body and shows up in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet as yellowing.

So when you smoke and drink, you are really doing a double-whammy on your thyroid gland. It’s so hard to quit because of the hormonal imbalances that these products cause. Some think that this is why smoking and alcohol are so addictive.

Iodine deficiency is the second major cause of hypothyroidism. The first cause of iodine deficiency is diet. So why not eat fortified table salt? Well, these kinds of salts are highly processed. All the natural minerals are extracted leaving only Sodium, Chloride and Iodine in inorganic form, which is not bioavailable. The body will use it if there is nothing else. The thyroid gland will store this iodine until it needs it, but it doesn’t use inorganic forms as efficiently and effectively as organic forms.  To get around this problem, use Celtic Sea Salt, which comes from the ocean, is not refined, is gray, moist and is surrounded by organic “Mother Liquor”.

High consumption of raw soy products (soymilk, soy cheese, soy yogurt, and soy flour in protein drinks), flaxseed, and corn products all have cyanogenic glycosides in them. These plants produce natural goitrogens. Cooking and fermentation disables these goitrogens by breaking down the phytate components.

Phytates are the mineral blocking product of the food making the calcium, magnesium, manganese and copper unavailable. In the East, where they use soy, they always cook it. Americans are finding more ways to use uncooked soy products and it shows by the amount of thyroid disease we are generating.

Note: Cooking does not breakdown cyanogenic glycoside in corn syrup and corn syrup seems to be hidden in everything these days. Also, sugar of any kind is also known to suppress the immune system for several hours after it has been consumed.

Soymilk is especially bad for babies. If they can’t have regular milk, use 75% Goats milk plus 25% Carrot juice (to replace folic acid, which is low in Goat’s milk) as a wholesome, complete milk and formula substitute.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is thyroid-linked or pineal gland linked. It responds well to St. John’s Wort or foods high in tyrosine (sesame seeds, raw egg yolk).

Environmental Hazards affecting Thyroid Function:

Electromagnetic Radiation: Computers, appliances with LED lights, and airplane trips generate stress on the body by their damaging electromagnetic fields (EMF’s). One 10-hour flight @ 33,000 feet exposes the body to the same level of radiation as one chest x-ray with no protection.

Use Eleutherococcus (Siberian Ginseng) herb to protect against radiation. Siberian Ginseng is a wonderful adrenal tonic herb as well. Start out with 5ml extract per day or 4 tabs/day for one week before your trip. Note: There are other forms of Ginseng, but they do different things. Get Siberian for this purpose.

Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) also protects the body against EMF’s and radiation exposure. It turns into a fine white powder when it has absorbed all that it can. You can place some inside a seat cushion and carry the cushion on the plane with you in your carry-on bag. Sit on it during your trip.

Heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, cadmium) and EMF’s suppress the endocrine system, alter the RBC (red blood cell) and WBC (white blood cell) counts and cause uniform hair loss.

PCB’s, hormones in food, cosmetics, and phenolic compounds increase anti-thyroid antibodies in the system so inhibit thyroid hormone activity and iodine metabolism. These factors, coupled with increased, prolonged stress leads to Hashimoto’s and Grave’s diseases as well.

Note: Children are very susceptible to these things as their bodies are smaller and they can’t handle as much as a human. They are getting the same amount of PCB’s from drinking out of Styrofoam cups and water bottles as an adult, only it hurts them more.

Excerpts from Dr. Denise Moffat