Hypothyroidism

DJ, you are so good about controlling your diet. I want to, but have such a tough time making the changes. Old habits die hard. I'm glad to hear you grew up eating jello and dessert. There's hope!

Lately I've heard of people hiring nutritionists. Maybe that's the way to go.

Maybe one of the reasons I've been willing to discipline myself to change eating habits is that I'm hyper sensitive to medications -- they usually keep me awake. Even Aleve, and Belladonna and other stuff that's been prescribed for me to sleep. So finally I decided that I love to sleep as much as I love to eat, and sometimes I love it even more -- especially when I'm super tired and am teaching 3 90-minute classes in a row. Doing that after only sleeping an hour a night would probably drive anyone to desperation. When I started to see results, as my sleeping improved, I was sold. And now my taste buds have adjusted so that artifically sweetened foods are _way_ too sweet for me. Not only that, I've discovered so many wonderful new taste sensations that I never tried before.

I suffered from hypothrodism for YEARS and my blood tests were always "normal." Yet my hair was falling out, I was always cold, and I gained a horrid amount of weight. Then I found an MD who's also an alternative health doctor and he diagnosed me with hypotyroidism based on my symptoms, not a blood test. The main test, he said, is if your hands are always cold. Mine were.

He put me on medication and within a few months my hair stopped falling out, I lost 25 pounds, and I didn't have to sleep as much.

The blood test for hypothroidism doesn't work. I don't understand why most physicians insist on basing a diagnosis on that.

He also gave me some supplements to help boost my adrenals, and that helped, too. There's a great book out on Adrenal Fatigue, don't recall the author off-hand, but it came out about 2 years ago and described me to a T.

Kelly

Ladies
I've seen so many lives ruined and ended because of misdiagnosis and precription drugs that doctors dole out unsparingly. So I've become a true believer in trying natural remedies first. And top on the list is a change in diet.

There is an interesting article in the September 5th issue of "First" magazine that made so much sense to me that I decided to put their test to the test. It's working! I've lost seven pounds in the last 2 weeks and I haven't been able to lose more than 2 lbs a month for the last year and keep it off. I would hardly eat and I would lose 2 and gain 5 or so it seemed. Here is the gist of the article:
Even though your lab tests indicate a healthy thyroid, it doesn't mean that your thyroid is working up to speed. A sluggish thyroid as you know slows the metobolic process.
Try these strategies for a week. They are "designed to reveal even minor thyroid slowdowns(the kind blood tests consistently miss) If a slightly sluggish gland is to blame for your wieght problems these four steps will immediately begin to repair and restore your thyroid so it can function at its natural, healthy peak. And the changes will be dramatic:"

1. Eat at least one cup of fresh fruit or vegetables at every meal.

2. Limit soy to protect metabolism boositing hormones: No more than 9 oz. soy milk, 5 oz tofu or 3 tsp soy sauce or miso daily. The reason they prevent nutrients such as iodine and tyrosine(amino acid)that your body uses to produce thryoid hormones (T3 & T4) from doing their job.

3. Consume one serving of protein at every meal to make sure your body gets a steady supply of tyrosine. (1 oz nuts, 8 oz milk or yogurt, 1 egg, or 1 Tbs peanut butter or 4 oz poultry, meat or fish.)

4. Elimate these foods from you diet - Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips and other cruciferous veggies. These veggies contain Goitrogens and are so poerful that they can even trigger a full blown goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) and they interfer with the absorption of iodine. Other goitrogens: pine nuts, cassava (tapioca)sweet potatoes and lima beans.

Be sure to drink at least six 8 oz glasses of water daily which will flush out the metabolic wastes produced when body fat is burned for fuel. Otherwise you may experience a lot of bloating.

This article also suggests reading "Is Your Thyroid Making You Fat" Autor is Sanford Siegal, MD

Hope you find this information useful

Bookie,
I wonder if they caused my 3 1/2 cn thyroid goitor cyst on my right lobe . I hate Broccili anyway . Love cabbage some of these are suppose to prevent cancer . So, what to do!

Nancy

I know what mean about "what to do!". So much conflicting information. Next month or next year somebody might tell us differently yet again. Personally I love broccoli and included it in many of the meals I consume and prepare. I've actually missed having it and coleslaw. I love coleslaw! But if eliminating these things from my diet helps me to get this extra weight off then I can live without it.

Over the last six years I have battled the weight gain and it all started when I had radiation treatments for squamous cell cancer on my nose. Along with all the other nerve damage to my face and right eye from radiation, I am convinced that it is all related.