Heal your gut

For my first informative post this year I have decided to be more inclusive and so this post is likely to be beneficial to anyone and everyone who has a digestive system (about 99.9% of us I would reckon) and not just to those with a thyroid condition (which might only cover about 80-90% of the population (1))

 

The reason I am starting with gut health is because on my own healing journey it was the first thing I managed to do, before I took T3 medication, before I took liver tonic, before I took supplements, before I did anything else I took a huge step to mending my digestive system. And with good reason….

The state of your gastrointestinal tract (or GI tract) could well dictate the state of your health one way or another. They say that around 75% of your immune system resides in your intestine so it’s definitely an area worth looking after, not just if you suffer from an autoimmune thyroid condition where your immune system is impaired and can be tricked into attacking your gland. 

If you're still unsure it’s worth doing, think about this: if your gut aint working right, your body won’t be able to absorb and make use of nutrients quite so well from the food you eat and any supplements you ingest, so I think we can all now resolve to look after our gut in January and beyond.

It’s a two-step process

When you are trying to heal something you want give it nourishment to actively repair it and you also need to prevent any further damage being done. And luckily I can tell you how to do both of those things!

Nourishment: In order to actively repair the gut lining you should start consuming homemade bonebroth/stock/gelatin. (I will post a recipe soon). Make it part of your daily routine, drink a cup of broth before your meal, turn stock into a tasty soup for lunch, make a gelatinous sauce for dinner. There are so many benefits from consuming this stuff it should actually be given out at the doctors surgery to everyone who visits to help people get better.

Damage prevention: You’ve heard it before but I will say it again. A month off the grains will allow your gut to heal no end. Take 4 weeks without wheat, corn, rice, oats etc….instead eat potato latkes, roasted butternut squash, mince and tatties, homemade chips done in coconut oil even! Just lay off the grains and I assure you, your insides will heal noticeably. You will feel better.

Oh yeah – and another thing you should be aware of is legumes and pulses. They are fine in themselves but it’s just that the commercially prepared variety are not likely to have been properly prepared and will contain antinutrients which - as they sound - prevent you from absorbing nutrients! It would be of great benefit if you prepared your own properly. See here for details

Its as easy as that!! Get on it :)

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(1) I reached this conclusion going by increasing numbers of underdiagnosed hypothyroidism according to Dr Broda Barnes who had great success treating thyroid disorders and who wrote several books in the 1970's. I read, 'Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness'. Have a look through a copy if you get a chance!

A happy and healthy 2014 to you all!

I always find I am very reflective around the New Year and resolve to live better, be better, try harder etc etc. This year I have been reminding myself how far I have come on my recovery. I look at how tired I used to be, the constant fatigue I would feel from morning through to night. Waking up exhausted was part of normal life for me and I am incredibly relieved that I have moved on from there. 

I ponder where I might be had I not taken charge of my healthcare. Being in a position that I know many are currently in, where the levothyroxine was not working and the doctors were assuring me that my symptoms were not related to my thyroid I felt hopeless and lost in a life I no longer recognised as my own. When a dear friend talked to me about alternative treatments and methods of dealing with hypothyroidism I felt like I had been given a golden opportunity to recapture my life and I grabbed it with both hands. 

I am only too aware that it is very likely I may have experienced difficulties maintaining a pregnancy yet here I am, well into my second trimester and feeling as good as I can expect to with a 2 year old to run around after :). 

My point here is this: I was once unwell and now I am a lot better. Things are happening in my life that I could never have expected had I remained on my previous trajectory. It is true I have followed non mainstream diet and lifestyle advice but it has succeeded in turning my life around, contrary to the advice from my doctors but this has allowed me to take control of my illness and my life, I now trust my body and learn from its reactions daily. 

My wish for the New Year is that I am able to continue sharing my story and hope that it may help some of you on your road to good health. I believe it is possible – I hope you do too.

Introducing Dr Weston Price - a name you will want to remember!

I am excited. 

I am very excited! 

I have purchased a ticket to one of the most interesting health conferences in Europe and the time cannot pass quickly enough till it’s here. In the mean-time however, it allows me an opportunity to introduce you to the man whose research founded the organisation running this event and one of my strongest influences when it comes to nutrition and diet.

Let me introduce you to….Dr Weston A Price

The Man: Dr Weston Price was a dentist working in Ohio, USA in the 1920’s where he noticed a great decline in dental health within his practice. There seemed to be ever increasing numbers of dental decay and crowded teeth  - so being a diligent man, he decided to investigate. Not just locally but worldwide…and his findings are simply incredible.

The Mission: He travelled the world to find groups of people who had been isolated from modern foodstuffs such as white bread, sugars and preservatives. He looked at people who ate traditional foods and discovered that the world over, these people had great facial structure (no crowding) and very healthy teeth. The diets of these people were far higher in minerals and fat soluble vitamin content than the modern diet.  He also found that the groups he studied were resilient with high natural immunity to diseases such as TB. They were happy and healthy – two things that ultimately go hand in hand as he was to discover.

Dr Price compiled his research in a book called NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL DEGENERATION, which is a fascinating read so I would urge you to get a copy and take a look for yourself but for a brief review of his research and some amazing pictures of the people he studied please read here.

The Legacy: In 1999 the Weston A Price Foundation was set up by Sally Fallon Morrell (she is one of the speakers I am very much looking forward to hearing at the event) to share the information from Dr Prices research about nutrition and how it so crucially affects human health. It provides continual research to support what these people instinctively knew so long ago and helps guide people on health issues.

The foundation runs annual conferences worldwide and the one I am attending in London next year gives me two day’s worth of talks and workshops with an array of speakers from Sally Fallon Morrell (founder of the foundation) to Chris Masterjohn PhD (expert on hormones and cholesterol) to Natasha Campbell McBride(creator of the GAPS diet as treatment for autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia).

So perhaps you can start to see why I am excited. This conference is big and it seems to be getting bigger each year. 

Introduction to the Works of Dr Weston A. Price - Sally Fallon Morell from Wise Traditions London on Vimeo.

 

Want to get involved? For more information and to book tickets, visit: westonaprice.org/london.

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Fluoride

I really believe everyone should have an awareness that thyroid function exists in a delicate balance, whether you have a thyroid condition or not. It is affected by what you eat, drink, smoke and in general how you conduct your life. Trust me when I say, its something you want to look after.

You may be aware through my blog and others, that diet plays a huge role in maintaining good thyroid function. The same can also be said for good supplementation of vitamins and minerals, even if your diet is squeaky clean. For example, taking a 200mcg selenium supplement daily has many benefits such as aiding hormone conversion from T4 to T3 and reducing thyroid antibodies by about 21%. Anyone who suffers low thyroid cannot ignore their selenium intake and would do well to supplement. But what I want to write about today is not what you can do to aid thyroid function, but what you might be doing that is hindering your thyroids good work.

Yes, its not just about eating well, supplementing well and all that jazz, you need to be aware of what could be inhibiting hormone secretions, conversions and uptake. Because...build as much thyroid hormone as you like, release into your blood stream at will, but if you are struggling to convert T4 to T3, and use the associated energy then you are no better off than the rest of us.

In general it pays to look after your liver (as discussed HERE) because it works hard for your hormone conversion so try to avoid a huge toxic burden on it, and regardless of how you manage that, it is always good practice to detox with a good liver tonic regularly. I use one with milk thistle extract and it is very powerful, I always feel energised and refreshed after a good liver detox.

But what I wanted to share today is some information about fluoride. The stuff that helps make up your toothpaste, is possibly in your water supply and in your dentist treatments. Some people believe it is good for dental health, some believe it is a poison. But regardless of your thoughts it is important to know that it will inhibit your thyroid function and therefore, I believe, should be avoided.

In days gone by fluoride therapy was used as a way to control overactive thyroid glands as it prevents the uptake of iodine - which is the building block for your thyroid hormones. A relatively small dose was used over several months to good effect but what I found of interest is that the levels prescribed in the 1950s are the same as is now found in fluoridated water areas suggesting that people are now inadvertently slowing down their own thyroid gland.

And its not just the water from your own tap you need to be wary of, processed food and drinks have been found to contain fluoridated water, conventionally produced fruit and vegetables may have been sprayed with pesticides containing fluoride, even the pans you cook in may be increasing your fluoride consumption. The non-stick Teflon coating we are all used to seeing is made from a fluorinated chemical and has been shown to contaminate food cooked in it with fluoride, again increasing our everyday consumption.

So what to do? It can seem like a minefield, I know, but it is worth tackling whether or not you have an existing thyroid condition to ensure your own good health.

• I started my journey slowly and I am still working on reducing our fluoride intake.We have a water filter jug but I know it is not suitable for removing fluoride so it is on my 'to-do' list. I am perhaps a little lax on this particular item since in 2004 the Scottish parliament voted against fluoridation of our water supply but in other areas of the UK and all over the world this is not the case. Have a look here at WIKI for your country's water status. 
• We try to eat organically where possible and where we can afford it (local box schemes are often cheaper than over-priced supermarket fruits and veg). Some fruits and vegetables have higher levels of pesticide residue and these are known as the 'dirty dozen'. If I cannot get these organically, I don't get them at all. And in the same thread there is the 'clean fifteen' which we buy non organic without too much concern. Have a look HERE, take a note and stick it on your fridge door.
• We use a fluoride free toothpaste. These do not seem to be available in any supermarkets I visit so instead I buy mine from our local health food shop. There are some interesting flavours like fennel or aloe vera but I like original mint.
• Finally, one by one we are getting rid of our non stick pans and replacing them with stainless steel ones. I have one, seldom used pan left to replace now.

So that, my friends, is that. I hope you have found this useful and can start to take action as part of your own thyroid therapy. Until next time, share your story and say hello at www.facebook.com/mythyroidtherapy

5 Things I Love in my Hypothyroid Life

Welcome back after the summer holidays!! I hope you are all well and rested and treating your thyroid to the life she deserves. Anyway, a light-hearted post to get me back into the swing of things.

As you know, since commencing on my own thyroid therapy I have stumbled across a number of ideas and lifestyle changes that have made my life better. BUT, if my thyroid were healed tomorrow these are the top 5 things I would not change.

1. BUTTER - life tastes better with butter so put back that chemical ladened margarine and pick up some proper, hard-in-the-fridge, soft-on-the-table, free range/grass fed butter for your home. Delicious on vegetables, in mash, fry your soup veggies in it for a superior taste!!
Butter is packed full of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A which is crucial for thyroid function. With too many benefits to name here it is truly a health food that will not only nourish your thyroid but your whole body. And it will keep you fuller for longer. So now you know.

2. GIVING UP GRAIN - I am not grain free all of the time but my initial 2 month period without grains helped my gut heal considerably and I then introduced white rice or oats weekly. But we are certainly wheat/gluten free and I will never go back to it. Yes, I will admit that once or twice a year I miss crusty french loaf but for me the health risk is simply not worth it. Nothing tastes as good as being well feels. In my house, we all feel and function so much better this way so we won't be going back to our wheaty ways.

3. JELLY - As part of my healing mission we eat a lot of gelatin in the form of bone broths (stock), so our soups, stews and casseroles all taste amazing! Honestly you should definitely try this at home for an incredible flavour to your meals! But I won't stop there to ensure high gelatin intake, oh no. I also like to make fruit jelly and panna cottas to serve after a meal. I cannot tell you how delicious they are, we love them. I will NOT give these up. They heal me. They will heal you.

4. SUGAR - What a relief it was when I discovered that sugar is not the evil terror threat it is made out to be in many food circles. I mean, I need it!! In my coffee, in my fruit, in my meringues :) Gosh, it certainly gets a hard time but when you start to think of it as a valid energy source, a ready source of fuel for your cells then all becomes good in your relationship with sugar. And I am not talking about eating lots of sugary sweets, candy, biscuits and cakes (aside from the wheat content in most!!) I am talking about fruit sugars in delicious ripe fruit and fresh fruit juices, a spoon or 2 of table sugar in your coffee. Sugars in milk - when was the last time you enjoyed a glass of milk? I love it. And don't think you are escaping sugar by eating a diet with bread, pasta, vegetables.....They all break down to the same thing when in your gut - sugars. It is needed and easily used by your body so don't deny yourself the pleasure.
There is always a huge backlash when it comes to sugar so it is worth pointing out that research currently shows that a diet of high starch is closely linked to diabetes and obesity. Give me a glass of orange juice over a slice of toast any day.

For further reading on the great sugar debate please check the articles linked below by these awesome folk:

Ray Peat
Danny Roddy
Ark of Wellness

5. COFFEE - I LOVE my coffee. It gives me a boost in the morning before I head out the door with my little one and I know I can sustain the playtime once I've had it. I drink it with hot full fat milk, a large sugar and a scoop of coconut oil for additional pro thyroid benefits, energy and satiety but it really adds an edge of deliciousness previously unknown to me. However, the health benefits are amazing too, better brain function, clearer skin, more resistant to disease. All this from coffee??? Oh yes and more! I found an excellent article from Dr Ray Peat and he had this to say, "Caffeine has remarkable parallels to thyroid and progesterone, and the use of coffee or tea can help to maintain their production, or compensate for their deficiency." So if you can tolerate coffee, you can now relax and enjoy a few cups of the good stuff for better thyroid health!



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Grain grain go away...be prepared for another day

I thought it was about time I posted an update on what I've been eating because I always seem to be talking about it.

As I have mentioned before, the biggest change in my diet has been the elimination of wheat and for the most part gluten (gluten can be found in barley, rye and oats as well as wheat) which some think might be restrictive but really it is just about making little changes here and there until you get to where you want or need to be with it.

The reason I took wheat and gluten out of my diet was to stop my body attacking my thyroid gland as part of an autoimmune response. (For an excellent video explaining how this works please click HERE and watch to the end, I got lost a few times but persevere with it - it's worth it). Now, I have to say I believe that  even if you do not suffer with an autoimmune (AI) condition you would benefit from cutting out the wheat and gluten you consume but this is especially important for those who suffer from an AI condition....indeed any AI condition. Simply because gluten is seen as 'the enemy' by the immune system and it will trigger an attack.

As for the other grains that are still kicking around in my pantry like rice, oats and barley - well, I seem to be in a continuous cycle with them. I go from cutting them out of my diet altogether, to adding them in here and there, to them being in our weekly menu plan on a regular basis and then back to the beginning where I am cutting them all out again. BUT, I have been doing myself some learnin' and while I still go through this cycle, I no longer feel the guilt over eating the occasional grain.

This is all because fairly recently I attended a dedicated foodie/health type course - a first for me but I sincerely hope it's not the last. It's called NEWtritious Delicious and has the very accurate strapline; ‘Bridging the gap between food and medicine’. Now, I am lucky enough  to know some of the people involved in the course and we are all very much on the same page with regards to health and such things so I was really excited to go and find out more information on the things I already had an idea on and to get a heads up on other new and exciting health principles. And that I did....

For the duration of the course we were treated to samples of their amazingly tasty meals, cups of gorgeous green and white teas, rounded off  perfectly with some sumptuous desserts. And all the while being taught the health properties of each food, pointers on how to prepare dishes and guidance on what to absolutely avoid at all costs. All the recipes are in the handouts so you can get cooking as soon as you get home. The food was all carefully thought out and all very PRO THYROID!! There cannot be many, if any, food and nutrition courses who can lay that claim. It was pretty special.

So back to my grain guilt, one of the things we were taught about, is that proper preparation of food goes a long way in health terms. This is especially important when it comes to grains like that rice and those oats I have kicking about my pantry. And the reason I no longer feel bad about eating these on occasion is that I now know how prepare them properly before I eat them. I soak them. It helps break down the anti nutrients and phytic acid that lurks within them and therefore they are not quite such a burden for my healing body to process. So as a special treat, and as any good highlander should, I will share with you the best porridge recipe in the world (well, certainly in my world anyway) adapted, with very kind permission from the NEWtritious Delicious team.

Soak your oats (a good handful should do a serving) overnight in some milk (a little squeeze of lemon juice will help the 'breaking down of bad stuff' process)
In the morning heat the oats and bubble them for at least 3 minutes, up to 7 minutes but do not let it stick to the bottom of the pan..
Once cooked add a big lump of butter and/or coconut oil
Drizzle some raw honey and sprinkle cinnamon to serve.
Get stuck in.

So to conclude – I no longer feel so guilty about having a hearty bowl of porridge now and again or tucking into rice when the recipe calls for it because I have learned that preparation is the key to eating these foods. And preparation means a few minutes the night before breakfast to soak your oats or the morning before your evening meal to soak your rice.

P.S
If you ever have an opportunity to go on this course then take it, live in the Kent area? Book one! If you are planning a trip to London, try and squeeze this day course in.I'm not just saying that because I know the girls, I am saying it because it truly is a fabulous course. It takes healthcare and healthy eating to a whole new level. And so could you. Email  Admin@newtritiousdelicious.com

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Have you taken the test?

Wowsers, it's been a long time coming - this post I mean. The busy weekends and looking after a toddler makes such demands on my time that I simply cannot always get around to doing the things I want to do, like writing my blog. Such is life, I don’t like to complain (too much). But today I decided to ignore the ironing pile to allow me time to type out a few lines. I say am ignoring the ironing, truth is I am hiding in another room because it is so large  it is practically dominating the skyline through there. So here we are.

And how are you all? Absorbing as much information on the thyroid as you possibly can? Taking on board all of the things I do to help my little gland out and maybe even trying a few things yourself? I really hope so. Because over the past month or two I have spoken to so many people who are affected by their thyroid gland and do not know what to do about it, especially when it comes with a blood test to verify the fact that they are 'fine'. So today I want to give everyone a bit of a heads up on what I suspect is going on here...

"The doctor took blood to test my thyroid but said it is fine."

First off, we will just run through that blood test since it is the ‘proof’ that you do not have low thyroid function. Here comes the science:

It is most likely that your doc would have requested a test on how much Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) is in your blood, possibly a check on your t4 and antibody levels too. The amount of these hormones in your blood is what your doc intends to use to diagnose you as hypo or send you on your way (or check for other things like M.E, fibromyalgia and other things that I believe are actually symptoms of low thyroid).

It would be useful if I explained that TSH is a hormone released by the pituitary gland when it receives hormonal messages that there is not enough thyroid hormone going round the body. The TSH sends a message to the thyroid gland telling it to secrete more t4, t3, t2 etc. If all is working well, your thyroid will respond to these signals and release more hormone into the blood stream. This will in turn send signals back to the pituitary to confirm all is fine and then the pituitary cuts back on the TSH – this goes on in a continuous cycle and is known as a feedback loop - this is how it rolls. Except for when your thyroid stops working properly. What happens then is that the pituitary gland is getting the messages that there is not enough thyroid hormones in circulation, so it releases more TSH to try and encourage the thyroid to release more of the good stuff. Unfortunately the dang thyroid ain't working like it should and those life giving hormones are not being sent out in the numbers needed. The TSH levels in your blood are going to creep up and up now and if your bloods are taken at this stage….well you could still be classed as normal.

The current guidelines for doctors state that if TSH levels are between 0.5 and 5 then thyroid function is classed as normal. And would you believe it, I am going to suggest that these levels are too high a range (in the US I think the upper level is 3 – still too high for me but let’s not go there today). Everyone is different and for some people TSH at 1 might be too high! So to clarify, you may be tested for TSH hormone and be told it is fine when in fact the TSH level may be too high for you but within the set 'normal' range.

The other problem that we have is the fact that your TSH might be fine, your T4 levels may also show fine. You are likely to be told your thyroid function is fine. But what happens if ytour body is not doing a great job at converting the T4 hormone into the very valuable and active form – T3, this will not be picked up by only testing for how much T4 and TSH there is in the blood.You would still have symptoms but your blood work is....fine. Fine. Fine!

So, people, there you have it. A little insight into some of the reasons I think the TSH test your doctor uses to ‘prove’ you are feeling fine is a load of codswallop. And just one of the reasons I think you should lead your life in a pro thyroid way – regardless of your test results. More later......Why not keep in touch via facebook!

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