Your thyroid is both your furnace and thermostat. A good way to find out if you have a thyroid issue is to take your temperature and pulse upon waking. Ideal body temperature should be 98.6, anything under 97.4 can be problematic. Your pulse should be around 75-80. Temperature should be taken five times a day, upon waking, after meals, and before bed.
A couple of things mention by Christa to bring up and maintain body temp was a hot epsom salt bath before bed, coconut oil on the bottoms of the feet and then put socks on, 8 to 12 ounces of RAW milk before bed. Milk is 50% carb, 25% fat, and 25% protein, the perfect mix of nutrients to keep you blood sugar stable and not send you body into a flight response releasing cortisol.
Often times doctors only look at TSH for diagnosing thyroid problems. To get an accurate picture of what your thyroid is doing you need TSH, T3, T4, TPO, and RT3. The other test she recommends are a saliva test for leaky gut, 8 day stool sample to test for parasites. Most of her clients that have thyroid issues have parasite issues. Tests for Epstein-Barr Virus from mono , CMV from chickenpox, herpes simplex 1 & 2. All of those things stress out your body, stressing the adrenals causing the thyroid to work overtime to compensate for the adrenal burnout once it happens.
The foods great for healing thyroid function/adrenals (since they are so closely tied together and function together):
- iodine - seaweed, kelp, onions, pineapple, kelp flakes, artichokes, cod, pumpkin seeds
- selenium - eggs, wild shellfish, garlic, sunflower seeds, crimini mushrooms, brazil nuts
- omegas - fermented fish oils, leafy greens, chia seeds, coconut oil/butter
- copper/iron - cashews, clams, oysters, beef, organ meats, bone broth/gelatin
8 - 12 ounces of bone broth 2 tbsp of gelatin 1/2 tsp of pink salt coconut oil
Foods to stay away from:
- GMO's
- gluten (highly acidic, highly engineered, pro-inflammation, Gliadin triggers the thyroid to attack itself, contains amylopectin, a starch that is worse than refine sugar consumption
- soy
- raw goitrogen veggies, this includes peanuts
- corn, canola, or veggie oils
- sugar/caffeine
Much of this I had implemented before listening to the podcast. Somethings I had been doing simply because they helped me to feel better. The turning point for me was finding a qualified naturopathic physician that could read the tests and help me sort it all out. In running a full thyroid panel she found that my body was not converting T4 to T3. I could take all the synthetic hormone replacement in the world and it wouldn't have help. The suspicion is that have I a MTHFR mutation. I will eventually have the genetic testing done. The mutation would also explain the fact that my children have tongue and lip ties. After I started taking two supplements along with dietary and life style changes I feel like a human being again.
If you have thyroid, adrenal issues or a MTHFR mutation, what has helped you the most in your journey to heal?
I have struggled with food allergies and digestive issues. I found the information on DogtorJ about foods that damage the digestive system very helpful- corn, gluten, soy, and one type of casein, so I switched to raw goat milk. I have also discovered I am allergic to many nuts and oily seeds. I have better digestion since I have been avoiding most of my allergens. Good article.
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