Why Thyroid Disease Does Not Mean Meds for the Rest of Your Life
Thyroid disease is a common problem in the general population; more so among women than men. In my experience, women with thyroid seem resigned to taking a certain drug pretty much for the rest of their lives. This daily medication to be taken every day seems to be the only option available to them. Dr. Alan Christianson disagrees. As a naturopathic physician and endocrinologist, he has worked with people diagnosed with thyroid disease for 25 years and has valuable insight to share on the subject. He is also an NYT bestselling author and the creator of the Thyroid/ Adrenal/ Metabolism Reset Diet as well as someone that has authored thousands of articles. He was my podcast guest recently and had fascinating information to share…
Thyroid and iodine.
Dr. Christianson shares an amazing statistic – until as late as 1992, there were 112 nations on Earth that were at risk of thyroid disease because of iodine deficiency in the population. From then to 2014, that deficiency has been wiped out. This is commendable. However, we are now erring on the side of excess. During that same period, t
he number of nations at risk due to excess went from zero up to 52. Most of us are now exposed to excess iodine in what we eat, such as salt, egg yolks, seafood, and increasingly via processed grain and dairy products as well. A lot of commercially baked goods are a source of this excess iodine.
There is a sweet spot when it comes to iodine intake. Levels that are higher or lower both cause problems for humans. Excess iodine can be toxic and some people are more sensitive to higher iodine levels than others.
Excess iodine is the main reason we see so much hypothyroidism and to a lesser extent, hyperthyroidism around us. This also increases risk of thyroid cancer. The good news is that it is possible to correct this problem if addressed in time. Getting iodine levels below certain thresholds can actually cause the disease to reverse itself. This is what the specially formulated Thyroid Reset Diet is all about.
The issue of overfat.
Now I had a problem as a teenager – I was really, really skinny and nothing I ate would make me put on weight. Most people have the opposite problem however: weight loss is difficult – in the extreme! For most people, if they consume few enough calories, they will eventually lose weight. In the bargain, they end up feeling awful plus this does not bring about the kind of metabolic changes that will sustain the benefits of this. Turns out things are even more complicated: where we carry weight is as important as how much weight we carry. Even seemingly non-overweight people may have fat buildup in their organs and may actually be quite unhealthy. On the other hand heavier people may be healthy because of where their fat is stored.
In the podcast we speak more about metabolism, sustainable weight loss, the efficacy of diets such as the Keto diet and intermittent fasting, and more. Get all of these fascinating insights into your body and health; don’t miss my podcast with Dr. Alan Christianson.
