How to improve thyroid health?

[Commodent]

Hello,

I have many signs of an unhealthy thyroid. Like thinning hair (also on my face), rapid heartbeat, very high metabolism etc. I have an inkling that it might be fluctuating between underactive and overactive, but that it's mostly overactive. A couple of days ago I litterally had a dream where I could see my thyroid shining bright blue, which convinced me to write this post.

Are there any foods, exercises, visualizations etc. that I can use to improve thyroid health?

Sidenote: I also have lots of muscle tensions around my neck, and I often have thick mucus in the back of my throat, among other things. So I definitely have some larger imbalances in the neck/head area that probably should be dealt with.

[Bill W]

Hi,

I really tried not to post a reply and be that annoying person who side-tracks you and doesn't answer your actual question, but without a blood test, you are playing a big guessing game about your thyroid, but obviously no harm cleaning up your diet and other wellbeing activities.

If you can be bothered I was wondering.... thinning hair (one of the side effects of being male!), rapid heartbeat (smoker? over weight? Not fit? Anxiety?), very high metabolism (what's this?)

Anyway, couldn't help myself. Be interested to see what else comes back from your question. 

[Commodent]

@Bill W I have taken several blood tests over the years and all of them have been fine. Doctors are not interested in me and I'm not interested in whatever solutions they might come up with.

Those were really just a few examples but I can answer your questions:

Hair: Yes, but on your eyebrows and eyelashes too?
Hearbeat: Stress and anxiety maybe. I also have very shallow, poor breathing.
Metabolism: I have a REALLY hard time putting on weight. If I eat normally I lose weight to the point where I'm really skinny.

I'm not asking for any diagnosis, and I'm not gonna do any reckless interventions. I'm just gonna take your suggestions and see what works. Greek yogurt has done wonders to my gut health and health in general, and I wondered if there might be something similar for the neck and thyroid? I know, it's kinda vague. But I figured it might be worth a try.

[Bill W]

5 minutes ago, Commodent said:

Hair: Yes, but on your eyebrows and eyelashes too?

My son has this actually. He has not had any tests for it and he believes it is stress related. His is possibly a very mild alopecia. Not sure what your is. He also has a tiny patch of hair loss at the back, but so small it's hardly noticeable. He reckons it started during a really stressful time, the difficulty is, the more you worry, the more it might happen, so a tough one. Good luck! 

[Michael569]

If its really a thyroid then there are two minerals that are absolutely essential for its function: iodine and selenium. If you are vegan or vegetarian, it is possible either or both are low. Iodine is especially rich in seafood and seaweeds. Selenium is the highest in breasilian nuts. You can try taking 1-2 brazilian nuts daily for some time Make sure it is from South America though cause the ones from Asia can be from depleted soils. 

Try to raise your intake of both and see if there is any improvement in 2-4 weeks. 

Additionally other things that could be draining your thyroid: 

• Stress - if your cortisol is high, it will override TSH and could cause thyroid problems. I see a lot of women in my company with mild goiters and I bet most of it is from stressful lifestyle
• Radiation/EMF exposure - probably not an issue unless you are a pilot or a cabin crew. Or work in nuclear power plant. The excessive EMF could be a problem thou if you live in places like NY City, London, Tokyo.....any of the congested cramped places where you get so much exposure to electronics and various frequencies. 
• Heavy Metal accumulation - again depends on where you work and whether there are chances for any such accumulation? 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594417#targetText=Micronutrients%2C mostly iodine and selenium,brain damage in the world. I haven't read the whole thing but it might be helpful if you are interested and can find the full paper. 

In terms of making sure it really is thyroid how about the following: 

• Get cold hands and feet? 
• Do you often feel cold even if its warm outside? 
• do you have irregular heartbeat? 
• headaches / migraines? 
• low energy?
• easily irritable? 
• excessive sweating?
• do you have a mild swelling in your lower frontal neck (just beneath the adam's apple)

Edited August 20, 2019 by Michael569

[Commodent]

@Michael569 Thank you Michael, very insightful answer like always.

I would say I usually live in a state of chronic stress, although it's gotten better. I have noticed that eating fish gives me a mild burning sensation in my throat area, which is kind of uncomfortable. But it also makes me more calm and relaxed, and I sleep better.

2 hours ago, Michael569 said:

• Get cold hands and feet? 
• Do you often feel cold even if its warm outside? 
• do you have irregular heartbeat? 
• headaches / migraines? 
• low energy?
• easily irritable? 
• excessive sweating?
• do you have a mild swelling in your lower frontal neck (just beneath the adam's apple)

1. I easily get cold feet
2. I am very sensitive to cold. Last winter I was wearing thick wool sweaters all the time and never really felt warm. I haven't noticed anything now in the summer though.
3. Sometimes
4. Again, sometimes
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. I barely ever sweat
8. I can recall having that, but it's been a while

[Michael569]

@Commodent

1 hour ago, Commodent said:

I have noticed that eating fish gives me a mild burning sensation in my throat area, which is kind of uncomfortable.

You may try seaweeds for iodine then. As weird as it sounds, having a piece of Nori sheet that is used for sushi can be a good way to get in some Iodine. I would start with a piece double the size of your thumb. Or if you buy the shredded Nori, put a tablespoon on your salad or just in water and drink it. The taste is not great but I am sure you can manage Other commonly available are Wakame, Kelp or Dulse. 

1 hour ago, Commodent said:

I would say I usually live in a state of chronic stress, although it's gotten better.

Yeah, that should be looked into as well. . 

1 hour ago, Commodent said:

But it also makes me more calm and relaxed, and I sleep better.

see if you experience the same from eating seaweeds then. 

1 hour ago, Commodent said:

• I easily get cold feet
• I am very sensitive to cold. Last winter I was wearing thick wool sweaters all the time and never really felt warm. I haven't noticed anything now in the summer though.
• Sometimes
• Again, sometimes
• Yes
• Yes
• I barely ever sweat
• I can recall having that, but it's been a while

There are some indication here + also adding what you mentioned about losing eyelashes, that is a very common sign of hypothyroidism, especially distal eyelashes. But before you have a formal diagnosis we can only speculate. If your doctor doesn't want to test you, you may consider private testing such as Genova although that's not the cheapest. Or finding a Naturopath if you'd like to try a combination of nutrition and herbal remedy. Botanicals can do a lot fo endocrine problems.

Otherwise, just take a leap of faith and look up a good book on Thyroid healing such as the one from Anthony Williams (bit controversial)  or the one from Samantha Welti. For something more naturopathic, you can look into Robert Morse's protocol but perhaps there is no need to do a raw cleansing right now, I'd prob focus on getting Iodine and Selenium from foods first for couple weeks. 

Anyways, good luck. Give us an update in few weeks just to see how it's been going

[Commodent]

@Michael569 Thank you! I will supplement my diet with seaweed and brazil nuts and report back how it goes

I might ask my doctor for a test some day. I'm just tired of spending money and hearing that everything is fine, when I don't really feel fine at all. Anthony Williams' book looks really interesting. I've added it to my wishlist.

On a sidenote, I just read that yogurt is also a decent source of iodine. Maybe that's why eating greek yoghurt every night has caused such a drastic improvement on my sleep quality and mood. My sleep has been somewhat horrible for many, many years and I never wake up feeling refreshed. I even had a sleep apnea test which showed no results.

[Commodent]

On 20.8.2019 at 2:49 PM, Michael569 said:

I would start with a piece double the size of your thumb

By double the size of my thumb, are we talking the area or the volume of the thumb?

[pluto]

https://www.integratedhealth.com/hpdspec/nascent-iodine.html

Nascent Iodine and Brazil Nuts paired with healthy diet/lifestyle

D3/K2, Cal/Mag also may assist but more secondary.

[Michael569]

13 hours ago, Commodent said:

By double the size of my thumb, are we talking the area or the volume of the thumb?

yeah let's start with that

[Commodent]

@Michael569 Excuse me, so which one is it? The area of the nori sheet that my thumb covers, yes?

@pluto Thank you, if seaweed works well I might acquire some Nascent Iodine at a later time.

I've been taking magnesium supplements daily and I feel like it helps. Will look into the other stuff.

[Michael569]

9 minutes ago, Commodent said:

Excuse me, so which one is it? The area of the nori sheet that my thumb covers, yes

sorry,i misread the question. Yes the area your thumb covers times two  ...

Edited August 22, 2019 by Michael569

[Commodent]

@Uraycrab  Thank you!

[Nahm]

@Michael569 Great work man. 

@Commodent Just the two cents...if you work out and don’t do lifting with a neck brace / weight, tension will go there naturally. Examine your posture too, see if your default is shoulders slanted forward, neck and head slanted forward. Move your shoulder back and see if it feels better to your neck. If it does, be mindful of that posture. If it’s severe, try a chiropractor. And...how about expressing and understanding that chronic tension. ??

[Commodent]

@Nahm  Thank you, yes I'm working on that. I tend to slouch and have a somewhat forward head posture. Shoulders are somewhat forward tilted. I definitely have a lot of tension in my chest, shoulders, in front of the neck and in the base of my skull. Oftentimes I will wake up and my neck is really sore, because I have been tensing up during the night.

I have been aware that my posture is not perfect for quite some time, but I don't feel like forcefully trying to correct my posture has worked. It's very tiresome, and everytime I get distracted by something else the posture goes back to what it was. However, I can try being more mindful of what is going on in that area without necessarily trying to interfere it. I went to a chiropractor once, and he didn't say my posture was particularly bad (I was there for something else).

I have been looking into chakras, and it makes sense that I have tension is in exactly these areas. I have a closed heart (although it has begun to open somewhat), I struggle with communication and self-expression, and my mind has been TOO active almost to the point of psychic bombardement. So essentially deficient 4th chakra, deficient 5th, excessive 6th. I've had very little bodily and emotional awareness for the most of my life, so deficient 2nd chakra also. Maybe also semi-blocked 3rd. So yeah, I am planning establishing a proper Kriya Yoga practice over the next year in order to grab the problem by the root. I have also been writing in my journal, which I feel has helped. Do you happen to have any other suggestions?

Edited August 25, 2019 by Commodent

[Nahm]

@Commodent Definitely daily morning meditation. 

[universe]

Iodized salt.

Thats what I take. You dont need fluoride if you have a toothpaste with fluoride already. But I think iodized salt is pretty healthy.

Also get an ultrasound examination of your thyrioid + maybe check iodine levels.

 

 

On 24.8.2019 at 4:35 PM, Uraycrab said:

Did you know that there are stages of cooking hard boiled eggs!

Yes, I cant imagine any adults who dont 

Edited August 27, 2019 by universe

[universe]

1 hour ago, remember said:

fluorid is calcifying the pineal gland - which is counter productive for natural melatonin and dmt production if that is relevant for anyone.

maybe but its also healthy as fuck for your teeth

 

[DrewNows]

12 minutes ago, universe said:

maybe but its also healthy as fuck for your teeth

 

@universe where’d you learn that? Is there really any value in fluoride whatsoever? ?