The Thyroid Epidemic – Is It Affecting You?
I want to talk to you about something serious this week- the growing epidemic of thyroid conditions. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) estimates that 12% of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid problem in their lifetime, and particularly it will affect one in eight women.
Just about every client that I’ve worked with has either been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, has a family history of it or suspects that they have one.
If you see a doctor or Google reasons as to why you might be feeling tired all the time, struggling with weight loss, losing your hair, feeling cold when others don’t or have menstrual irregularities, chances are the information that you find will point to a thyroid condition.
These are the three most commonly diagnosed thyroid conditions…
Hyperthyroid – common symptoms can include; weight loss, anxiety, intolerance to heat, hair loss, excessive urination and panic attacks
Hypothyroid – common symptoms can include; weight gain, fatigue, intolerance to cold, constipation, depression and thinning hair
Hashimoto’s – this is a more severe case of hypothyroidism with a genetic component making it an actual autoimmune disease, meaning the body is attacking its own thyroid gland
However, in most cases thyroid conditions are a symptom of something else.
The body does not work as singular systems or organs all minding their own business. Each system of the body greatly impacts how all of the others are able to function.
To understand what’s happening with the thyroid, we have to start asking “WHY”?
Why is this thyroid epidemic happening? Why are people’s thyroids all of a sudden “just not working”? – as most of my clients are told
In this week’s video and blog I talk more the things you might be doing that are making you a victim of this thyroid epidemic and what to do to reverse it, or prevent it from happening to you.
We need to start looking at our body as the complex system that it is. Remember that song in pre-school…”the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone is connected to the leg bone, la la la la…” – everything is connected!
Like I said earlier, in most cases thyroid conditions are a symptom of something else because it’s all connected.
If you have been diagnosed, know someone who has, or suspect that you have a thyroid condition here are the Top 4 Things Throwing Your Thyroid Off.
#1 – Low Calorie Diet
Calorie restrictions for as little as a few days can drop thyroid production by 38 percent! That’s just over a “few” days, imagine if you’ve been dieting for weeks, months or years even if it’s been on-and-off. Even if you lost some weight from calorie restriction, the long-term side effects are a slower metabolism from a famished thyroid.
#2- Clogged Liver
Your liver is responsible for converting 60 percent of your thyroid hormone. If your liver is clogged from chronic exposure to toxins, medication use, processed foods and other things then of course you wouldn’t be converting thyroid as you should and this could look like a thyroid condition.
#3- Adrenal Fatigue
One of main control centers of the body is the HPA-axis – the Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Adrenal Gland Axis. Consider this the conductor of the train or orchestra. The Hypothalamus links the nervous and endocrine system via the Pituitary gland, and your thyroid is part of the endocrine system. If you have Adrenal Fatigue/Dysfunction, guess what? There’s a domino effect causing imbalance in the thyroid.
#4- Amino Acid Deficiency
For the body to produce thyroid hormone, particularly one called free T4, it needs an adequate supply of amino acids obtained from proteins. If you are not eating enough protein or absorbing it optimally then your body is NOT getting enough amino acids to create thyroid hormones in the first place. With Hashimoto’s it is critical to support digestion and to consume plenty of protein for free T4-it will help manage the disease better. Alternately those without Hashimoto’s but with impaired digestion or lacking amino acids in their diet could be showing low free T4 counts and be misdiagnosed with a thyroid condition.
Chances are high that one of these four things pertains to you in some way. It’s rare to see someone who has never dieted, has optimal digestion and protein intake, doesn’t have a clogged liver or suffers from some degree of adrenal fatigue.
I want to help you NOT become a victim of this thyroid epidemic!
Join me Wednesday, July 27th at 6pm PDT for a freebie webinar on all things thyroid!
In this webinar my co-host Molly Hamill Ferguson (meditation master and Hashimoto’s survivor) and I will be discussing:
- What exactly is hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s?
- The most overlooked and tell-tale signs of thyroid imbalance.
- How to use food, mindset and more to naturally heal your thyroid!
A recording will be available if you can’t attend live but you must register to receive it 🙂
P.S. We’ve got some secret bonus giveaways and gifts lined up for the webinar so be there or be square!
