EddyC

Hey everyone, I realize this topic is pretty niche but I wanted to share a diet addition that made a significant difference in my energy levels, body temperature, and metabolic rate. I think that one reason hypothyroidism is becoming increasingly common in the US is that there's been a cultural shift away from the consumption of organ meats and towards eating muscle meats exclusively in the last 100 years. Liver, for example, is an organ meat that we now consume far less of as a culture. It is extremely nutrient-dense, and is packed full of vitamin A, Biotin, B12, zinc, and many more: The only problem with pure liver is that it tastes bad. A good liverwurst, on the other hand, mixes liver with beef and spices, so it actually tastes pretty good! US Wellness Meats has a healthy grass-fed one: https://grasslandbeef.com/grass-fed-beef-liverwurst It tastes fine on its own, but I really enjoy integrating it into recipes (chili and shepherds pie are my favorites). I used to have a whole drawer full of zinc, vitamin C, vitamin E, and about 10 other supplements that I would take on a daily basis, and it made no difference for me. It was only when I began getting nutrients from "supplement-like" superfoods (liverwurst, oysters, etc.) that I felt a significant difference in my quality of life. I'm not claiming that it's some sort of miracle cure, but integrating about half a pound of liverwurst per week into my diet has really been a game-changer

@Leo Gura “The liver does not filter toxins. Instead, the liver modifies them to make them less toxic, and to make them easier to excrete. This leads to their elimination in the feces and urine, not their retention in the liver” - Chris Masterjohn https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/blog/2019/03/17/repeat-liver-not-filter The nutrients do exist in plants, but not in adequate quantities I believe. I tried veganism/juicing/detoxing for a while. For me, it only made my symptoms worse. I was always freezing and had no energy. Fasting did the same thing. While removing toxins is great, for me fixing my symptoms was much more about getting nutrients and calories in through whole food sources than getting toxins out. I've tried pretty much every popular diet out there (veganism, low-carb, fasting, etc.). They all lowered my body temperature and metabolic rate. Raising the rate of metabolism with nutrient-dense foods like liverwurst, oysters, eggs, etc. and diligently tracking nutrient levels (zinc, selenium, vitamins A,D,E,K, etc.) was the only thing that could fix me.

Hey everybody, I wanted to share my experience of curing my hypothyroidism with diet after years of trial and error. Prior to my current diet I had tried veganism, fruitarianism, vegetarianism, paleo, and low carb. None of them worked, and now I know why. There is a popular theory in the health sphere known as the Rate of Living Theory. It states that the lower your metabolism is, the longer your lifespan and the healthier you are. In my opinion this theory is flawed, and there's a massive amount of recent evidence showing the exact opposite (see video below). The problem with all of the diets mentioned above is that they all prescribe to this theory, which means they have the intention of lowering the metabolic rate (this is why you'll often hear vegans, low-carbers, etc. preaching caloric restriction and fasting). Therefore, their protocols are actually lowering your systemic energy production and worsening your thyroid function, which is obviously the exact opposite of what you want if you're hypothyroid. It was only when I tried a diet with the intention of raising the metabolic rate that I saw positive results. The protocol is commonly referred to as the Ray Peat Diet (it's based off Ray's Peat's work), and is gaining popularity very quickly for those who are hypothyroid. Here's a video from Danny Roddy (a big Ray Peat fan) explaining the bioenergetic theory of health. His advice has helped me so much (TSH lowered, hair loss reversed, body temp. rose from 96.0 to 98.6... I could go on and on). Here's the protocol for anyone who is interested: - At least 1:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorous (Can be obtained with sufficient milk and cheese, if you can tolerate dairy) - Sufficient amount of sugar (from whole fruit if possible) - Very Low Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake (these lower metabolism immensely) - Avoid nuts, seeds, oats, and beans (these contain goitrogens, lectins, phytic acid) - Saturated fat and monounsaturated fats are good - Don't restrict your calories. Have the intention of raising your basal metabolic rate over time. - Avoid vegetables with goitrogens and antinutrients (especially kale) - Non-fatty seafood is great (shrimp, oysters, etc.) - Muscle meat and eggs are good -Coffee is good (raises metabolism) -Organ meats (especially liver) are amazing (best to be consumed 1-2 times per week) Also, totally cool if you don't agree with and/or can't tolerate certain foods from the protocol. I just think it's important to have the overall intention of raising the metabolic rate over time. Just wanted to post my experience in case any of you guys could benefit. I know how hard thyroid problems can be.

@DrewNows Sweet thank you, I'll check out the vids. My dad uses Robert Morse's Upper Circulation mixture and really enjoys it

@Leo Gura The normal range for TSH was around 1-6 in the 1950s if I'm not mistaken, and now I believe it's somewhere around 1-3. I think in the future the upper limit of the normal range will continue to drop in the future. When my TSH was 2.6, my body temperature was 96.0 and I exhibited hypothyroid symptoms, so I think I was hypo at least to an extent. I got a full thyroid panel before and one about a year after starting the diet. I remember free T3 and T4 rising and reverse T3 and T4 falling a bit. Can only remember the TSH off the top of my head unfortunately. But in my opinion temperature and pulse are the most important. I highly benefited the book Hypothyroidism, The Unsuspected Illness by Broda Barnes. He suggests diagnosing hypothyroidism with temperature and pulse rate, the way doctors used to do it before the TSH test was the gold standard. With proper thyroid function, the temperature should be around 98.0 in the morning, and slowly rise to 98.6 by the afternoon. The pulse rate should be around 80-85 I believe. A temperature and pulse lower than these would indicate poor thyroid function. I also love these metrics because they're so easy to track on a daily basis.

@Elisabeth Totally get that you're skeptical. I got my first thyroid panel when I was 18 (I'm 22 now), so I I've only had objective numbers for 4 years. Although, I have had cold hands and feet as long as I can remember before I did the diet, so I assume I've had it at least most of my life.

@DrewNows I think hypothyroidism is similar to diabetes in that the condition is managed, and never really cured. Also, I don't know much about detoxification but I'm totally open to it. If you have any resources or videos I'd love to listen

@TrynaBeTurquoise Of course! And ya, well cooked veggies are all good IMO

Hey everyone, My name's Eddy and I'm a 20 year old stand-up comedian from Washington D.C. I've been meditating for about 6 months now and it has done wonders in terms of quieting my "monkey mind." This was great for lessening my stage anxiety. Although, I can't help feeling that my "monkey mind" plays a significant role in the formulation of spontaneous creative ideas, and now that my mind is becoming more and more quiet, creative ideas are surfacing less and less. But I have heard from many of my idols, including Leo, that meditation is supposed to have the effect of strengthening creativity. I was hoping I could get some input from fellow writers (or any creative individuals) that have tried meditation, and that you all could tell me if you think meditation has either strengthened or inhibited your ability to think creatively. Thanks! -Eddy