Do you feel like you live in a perpetual mental fog, with trouble concentrating, remembering things, or motivating yourself? These are symptoms of a common health issue called brain fog. Brain fog is a sign of brain inflammation. When you sprain an ankle and it becomes inflamed, it hurts and you know something is wrong. But…
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Sick to Death is a film in the works about the mismanagement of thyroid disease in the standard health care model. Although the film maker doesn’t delve into managing autoimmunity, she does address the neglect and dismissal that so many thyroid patients suffer through today in the standard health care model. We have received thousands…
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During the past couple of years I continued my investigations into taming autoimmune disease and addressing the mechanisms that underlie it (and will always continue to do so). I found some approaches that looked promising and began experimenting with them with my patients, as well as recruiting other practitioners I know to work with the…
DetailsThe following was written by Stacey Robbins, a reader with Hashimoto’s who made the lifestyle changes necessary to manage her health. She originally made this post about the autoimmune diet for the Facebook Hashimoto’s 411 group and turned it into a chapter for her book You’re Not Crazy and You’re Not Alone: Losing the Victim,…
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When managing Hashimoto’s or any autoimmune disease, one goal is to avoid triggers that cause flare ups. Although avoiding dietary triggers — such as gluten, grains, dairy, GMOs, lectins, etc. — is foundational, did you know environmental triggers can cause flare ups too? For example, one of the most common and most overlooked autoimmune triggers…
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Check out my latest podcast interview about the connection between gluten and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism on glutenfreeschool.com. I also touch on some new research we’re doing on foods that cross-react with thyroid tissue and are implicated in autoimmune thyroid conditions.
DetailsThe brain is always a piece of the Hashimoto’s puzzle One thing I have learned from my readers is they are largely on their own. Rarely do conventional or alternative practitioners understand the depth of Hashimoto’s, a complex web that involves the neurological, hormone, and immune systems (we call it the neuroendocrine-immune axis). If you…
DetailsNeurotransmitters play a role in shaping who we are and how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. They influence our moods, memory and learning, self-esteem, anxiety levels, motivation, and more. I think this explains why some people who have been suffering for years with unresolved thyroid symptoms can become grouchy, angry, and pessimistic.…
DetailsAlso: Amazon reviews, recent podcast interviews, and the functional neurology conference (bottom of post) Depression is a common symptom of hypothyroidism, yet many people become frustrated when their thyroid hormone medication does not relieve depression. This is because the effects of hypothyroidism on the brain are more complicated than people realize and thyroid hormone medication…
DetailsAbout 90 percent of hypothyroidism cases in the United States are due to Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. It’s important to identify Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism because you then know it is the immune system you must address, although thyroid hormone medication may still be necessary. How to test for Hashimoto’s…
DetailsIodine supplementation has become very popular in recent years, and with good reason. Iodine has been shown to be an effective therapy for such conditions as breast and uterine fibroids, breast cancer, and more. When it comes to Hashimoto’s, however, I oppose the use of iodine as you risk worsening your autoimmune thyroid condition. As…
DetailsIn the thyroid book I introduced the concepts of TH-1 and TH-2 and their role in autoimmune diseases, such as Hashimoto’s. It turns out another key player in the autoimmune scenario is TH-17, and that we can work with nitric oxide and glutathione (which I wrote about earlier) to tame autoimmune destruction caused by TH-17.…
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