Whenever I work with someone who has an autoimmune thyroid condition, one of the main goals is to suppress the autoimmune response.  After all, with conditions such as Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, we’re dealing with an autoimmune condition which is affecting the thyroid gland.  And while it might be important to provide thyroid support, either in the form of thyroid hormone for hypothyroid conditions, or antithyroid medication or herbs for people with hyperthyroidism, these won’t do anything to address the autoimmune component.

This is what’s frustrating about working with most endocrinologists.  My goal isn’t to criticize endocrinologists, as while there are many who are close minded and don’t want to hear anything that has to do with natural treatment methods, there are some open minded endocrinologists as well. When I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease I saw an endocrinologist, and in addition to being very knowledgeable, she was also extremely polite, and she took a more conservative approach by recommending prescription medication over radioactive iodine.  But she didn’t recommend anything which would address the autoimmune component.  Of course I didn’t expect her to recommend anything to address the cause, as I realize doctors aren’t trained to do this in medical school.

The Challenges Of Finding The Trigger

Before one can even think about suppressing the autoimmune component, it is important to find out what has triggered the autoimmune response.   Once this has been accomplished it of course is necessary to remove the trigger.  I talk a lot about this during my webinars, articles, and blog posts.  So for example, if gluten happens to be the trigger, then one must remove gluten from the diet.  If a pathogen such as H. Pylori is the trigger, then this needs to be detected and eradicated.  If stress is the main factor then one needs to work on reducing the stress levels while improving their stress handling skills.  If a specific toxin triggered the autoimmune response then this toxin needs to be detected and then removed.

The problem is that there can be many different factors which trigger an autoimmune response.  But that’s what testing is for, right?  Well, testing can be valuable, but you can’t test for everything.  There are dozens of different tests available, and most people can’t afford to do all of them.  Fortunately this usually isn’t necessary.  However, some detective work usually is required, and in some cases it can be a challenge to determine what has triggered the autoimmune response.  So for example, I’ll frequently recommend a saliva test and the controversial hair mineral analysis, which combined will help to evaluate the adrenal glands, and to some extent the gut (by looking at secretory IgA), mineral imbalances, and toxic metals.  These all can be factors which can lead to the development of an autoimmune condition.

But there can be other factors as well.  Although toxic metals such as mercury can trigger an autoimmune response, there are other toxins which also can affect immunity.  And while there is comprehensive testing available to determine which toxins you might have built up in your tissues, there is no comprehensive test which will determine the levels of all of the different toxins.  Plus, everyone responds to toxins differently.  For example, two people might be exposed to the same amount of a specific toxin, yet one person might not have any reaction, while another person might go onto develop an autoimmune thyroid condition due to this exposure.  Of course the person who went onto develop an autoimmune thyroid condition probably had a genetic predisposition for the condition.  But as I’ve discussed in past articles and blog posts, not everyone with a genetic marker for Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis will develop these conditions, even when exposed to certain “triggers”.

How Do You Know If The Trigger Has Been Removed?

What happens once the trigger has been detected and removed?  Well, it depends on the situation.  For example, if gluten, or some type of intestinal pathogen caused a leaky gut which in turn triggered the autoimmune response, then this could get a bit complex. One first needs to remove the factor or factors which caused the leaky gut to occur.  So if gluten was the culprit, then this needs to be removed from the diet.  If H. Pylori was responsible for the leaky gut, then this pathogen needs to be eradicated.

However, just removing the factor which caused the leaky gut might not be enough, as you probably will need to do some things to rebalance the gut flora and repair the leaky gut.  On the other hand, if a toxin such as mercury triggered an autoimmune response, then one might only need to focus on reducing the levels of this toxin.

Assuming the trigger has been removed, the immune system very well might calm down on its own.  As a result, the person might notice a reduction in their symptoms and a decrease in thyroid antibodies.  However, while it’s great to see the thyroid antibodies decrease, one can’t rely on this alone, as the antibodies can fluctuate.  And just because someone has thyroid antibodies which fall within the normal reference range doesn’t mean that the autoimmune response has been suppressed.  This is why other factors need to be looked at, such as the secretory IgA.  Some people will do testing to see if the Th1 and Th2 pathways have been balanced, but this isn’t completely reliable.  The truth is that no single method by itself is reliable when trying to determine if the autoimmune response has been suppressed, which is why one needs to look at numerous factors:

• A dramatic improvement in the person’s symptoms
• Normal thyroid hormone levels
• Normal thyroid antibodies
• Normal secretory IgA
• Possibly balanced Th1/Th2 pathways
• In some cases one might also need to consider testing for an increase in intestinal permeability

Downregulating NF-kappaB Is Important

Last week I released a blog post entitled ” The Role of Cytokines In Autoimmune Thyroid Conditions“.  In this post I spoke about something called Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB), which is associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines.  When something triggers an autoimmune response, the immune system activates pro-inflammatory cytokines.  This will result in the activation of NF-kB.  Why is this important?  Well, this contributes to the inflammatory process, and chronic activation of NF-kB will help to perpetuate the autoimmune response.

The problem is that removing the trigger might not necessarily inactivate NF-kB.  So let’s revisit the previous example where gluten or H. Pylori caused the development of leaky gut syndrome, which in turn triggered an autoimmune response.  If someone eliminates the allergen or pathogen which caused a leaky gut, and then goes onto repair the leaky gut, NF-kB might still remain activated, which in the case with someone who has Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis will mean that the autoimmune response will still be active.  And so one needs to focus on downregulating NF-kB.

The good news is that there are numerous supplements and herbs which can help with this, which I discussed in the blog post on cytokines.  I focused on fish oils, vitamin D, turmeric, and resveratrol.  There have been clinical trials which demonstrated that these nutrients can help to downregulate NF-kB.  And of course one’s diet also plays a big role in controlling inflammation.

With that being said, some people who consult with me are already eating well, are gluten-free, and are already taking supplements such as fish oils, vitamin D, and possibly even turmeric.  Yet they might still be symptomatic, have high thyroid antibodies, etc.  Why is this the case?  In most cases, the reason why the autoimmune response is still active in these people is because the trigger hasn’t been detected and/or removed.  This can be frustrating, and I deal with this factor with some of my patients from time to time, as while I’m very successful in helping to restore people’s health back to normal, there are times when I’ve focused on a person’s adrenals, gut, hormones, toxins, and perhaps other areas, and yet the autoimmune component remains active.  Dealing with autoimmunity is very challenging, and for some people it takes more detective work than others to find out what the trigger is.

In summary, in order to suppress the autoimmune component of Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, it is necessary to find out what has triggered the autoimmune response, and then of course remove this trigger.  This could become complex when there are numerous factors involved.  And then once the trigger has been removed and the compromised areas of the body have been addressed (i.e. weak adrenals, a leaky gut, etc.), it is important to downregulate NF-kB.  Sometimes it can be a challenge to find out what is triggering the autoimmune response, which can become very frustrating to both the doctor and patient.

Cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of conditions such as Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. But what exactly are cytokines? They are similar to hormones, and some sources actually classify them as a type of hormone. Either way, cytokines are immunomodulating proteins, peptides, or glycoproteins that are involved in cellular communication (1). They are regulators of host responses to infection, immune responses, inflammation, and trauma (2).

Certain cytokines play a pro-inflammatory role in autoimmune conditions such as Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. In other words, these cytokines promote inflammation. Two examples of pro-inflammatory cytokines include Interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). However, there are also anti-inflammatory cytokines, as these cytokines act in concert with specific cytokine inhibitors and soluble cytokine receptors to regulate the human immune response (3).

What Role Do Cytokines Play In Autoimmunity?

There is considerable evidence implicating that the actual destruction of thyroid cells in autoimmune thyroid conditions may be caused by different and multiple mechanisms, including auto reactive T-lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and cytokines (4). The most significant factor that is likely to be involved in the induction of autoimmunity is a defect or deficiency in the immune regulation, particularly a disturbance in the balance between the effector T cells and regulatory T cells that prevent the development of autoimmunity (4). In other words, dysregulation of cytokine production can play a big role in the development of autoimmune thyroid conditions.

Some people reading this are familiar with the Th1 and Th2 pathways. Each of these pathways consist of different cytokines. The Th1 pathway consists of T-Helper cells which include the cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (4). The Th2 pathway consists of B cells, and is characterized by the secretion of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13 (4). High amounts of Th1 cytokines are commonly found in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (5), and thus Hashimoto’s is typically known as a Th1-dominant condition. Graves’ Disease is thought to be a Th2-dominant autoimmune condition (6).

Using Nutrients and Herbs To Balance The Th1 and Th2 Pathways Is Controversial

Some natural healthcare professionals will focus on balancing the Th1 and Th2 pathways. In other words, they will order a blood test to look for the presence of different cytokines in an attempt to determine if their patient is Th1 or Th2 dominant, and then give specific supplements or herbs depending on whether the person is Th1 or Th2 dominant. For example, if someone is Th1 dominant, they will recommend specific supplements and/or herbs to help stimulate the Th2 pathway. Similarly, if someone has a Th2-dominant condition they will do things in an attempt to stimulate the Th1 pathway.

You ideally don’t want to give anything that will stimulate the same pathway the person is dominant in. For example, the herb Echinacea supposedly stimulates the Th1 pathway, and thus shouldn’t be taken by someone who is Th1 dominant. And since most people with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis are Th1 dominant, this would suggest that most people with this condition should avoid Echinacea. Studies do in fact show that Echinacea does affect the Th1/Th2 balance (7), although this doesn’t mean that everyone who has a Th1 dominant condition needs to avoid Echinacea. While some people don’t do well when taking Echinacea, other people with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis do fine when taking this herb. In any case, there is controversy over using nutrients and herbs to balance the Th1 and Th2 pathways, and for more information I would consider reading a journal article written by Dr. Parris Kidd entitled “Th1/Th2 balance: the hypothesis, its limitations, and implications for health and disease“.

Understanding Nuclear Factor Kappa B

Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB) is a transcription factor, and activation of NF-kB is associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 and TNF alpha. In other words, when an autoimmune response is triggered, the immune system will activate pro-inflammatory cytokines, which in turn will activate NF-kB. This in turn will contribute to the inflammatory process. Some studies suggest that NF-κB can also have anti-inflammatory roles by directly inhibiting expression of pro-inflammatory genes and by manipulating the expression or activity of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 (8).

NF-kB has often been referred to as a central mediator of the immune response, since a large variety of bacteria and viruses can lead to the activation of NF-kB (9). Some studies have shown that NF-kB may function more generally as a central regulator of stress responses, since different stressful conditions, including physical stress, oxidative stress, and exposure to certain chemicals, also lead to NF-kB activation (9). What’s important to understand is that the activation of NF-kB is a normal process, but it’s the chronic activation of this transcription factor which leads to problems.

Downregulating NF-kB Is An Important Factor In Restoring One’s Health

When someone has an autoimmune thyroid condition, one of the goals is to do things which will help to downregulate NF-kB. While the pharmaceutical industry focuses on developing anti-inflammatory drugs which inhibit NF-kB, there are natural supplements and herbs which have been proven to accomplish this and don’t come with the potential side effects of these drugs. I’ve discussed these supplements and herbs in different articles and blog posts, but let’s take a look at them again:

Turmeric. I think turmeric is a wonderful herb, as there are many clinical trials involving this herb, and you can read about many of the benefits in a separate article I wrote entitled “Turmeric and Thyroid Health“. While I frequently recommend this herb to help with inflammation and to downregulate NF-kb, there are many other benefits this herb has to offer.

Resveratrol. I also like resveratrol a lot, and just like turmeric, I have written a separate article entitled “Can Resveratrol Benefit People With Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?“. Resveratrol also has the ability to help with inflammation and can downregulate NF-kb.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Higher doses of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can also help with inflammation and downregulate pro-inflammatory cytokines (10) (11). I recommend omega 3 fatty acids to just about all of my patients, usually in the form of fish oil supplements. Vegetarian sources such as flax oil and chia seeds can also be good sources of omega 3 fatty acids, although some people have difficulty converting alpha-linolenic acid into DHA and EPA.

Borage oil, Black Currant Seed oil, and Evening Primrose oil. These are all forms of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and can also help with inflammation and reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (12) (13).

Vitamin D3. I’ve spoken about the benefits of vitamin D in numerous articles and blog posts. Vitamin D plays a huge role in controlling inflammation, and unfortunately most people I work with are deficient in vitamin D. This is true even for many people who live in sunny areas. Of course not everyone is deficient in vitamin D, but the only way to know for certain is through testing, and I recommend for just about everyone with a thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition to have their vitamin D levels tested.

Ginger. I don’t speak about this herb too much, although there is evidence that ginger may act as an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agent by blocking the activation of NF-kB through the suppression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha (14) (15). I suppose I’ll need to work on a future article entitled “Ginger and Thyroid Health”!

There are other agents which have the ability to downregulate NF-kb and pro-inflammatory cytokines, but these are some of the more researched ones. And of course I’m not suggesting that those people with an autoimmune thyroid condition such as Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis need to supplement with all of these. In just about all people I will recommend omega 3 fatty acids (usually in the form of fish oils), a source of GLA, and to supplement with vitamin D3 if someone has a deficiency. It also can be beneficial to include turmeric and/or ginger as part of one’s diet, or in some cases to take a supplement consisting of these herbs. In any case, hopefully you now have a better understanding as to what cytokines are, and what role they play in autoimmunity.

When it comes to following a natural thyroid treatment protocol, probably the biggest challenge for most people is eating well.  However, while many people realize the importance of eating well, most people don’t do enough to manage their stress levels.  And a big reason for this is because most people don’t block out the time to manage their stress.  And since stress is a big factor in many people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions, it is essential for everyone with these conditions to block out some time to work on their stress handling skills ON A DAILY BASIS.

I’ve spoken about the importance of stress management in the past, and I’m sure this won’t be the last time I discuss this topic.  The reason I bring it up on a frequent basis is because I’ve seen people follow a natural treatment protocol and eat well, take good quality supplements, improve other aspects of their health, and yet not receive optimal results because they didn’t do a good job of managing their stress levels.  Obviously there is only so much one can do to reduce the stress levels in their life.  But even though many people are unable to modify the amount of stress they’re exposed to on a daily basis, just about everybody can improve their stress handling skills.

How Much Time Should You Dedicate Each Day To Stress Management?

You might wonder how much time you need to block out each day to work on your stress handling skills.  This will vary from person to person, as someone who deals with a great amount of stress on a daily basis will probably need to dedicate more time to managing their stress when compared with someone who doesn’t deal with as much stress.  Another factor to consider is one’s personality type.  Most people are familiar with Type A and B personalities, with a Type A personality typically being more “hard driving and competitive”, whereas a Type B personality is associated with being more “laid back”.  There are more than just these two personality types, and my goal isn’t to discuss these in this post, but I just want to point out that someone who has a “laid back” personality usually won’t be affected as much from the stress as some other personality types, and thus probably won’t need to spend as much time managing their stress.

The problem is that some people aren’t aware of the type of personality they have.  For example, some people might think they have a laid back attitude, but they really are more of a Type A personality.  As a result, they might not think that chronic stress is having an impact on them, even if it is a big factor with regards to their health.  So before you make the assumption that you don’t need to spend any time managing your stress because you have more of a Type B personality, you might want to carefully evaluate yourself, and perhaps even get the opinion of some family members and friends to help determine whether or not you really do have a “laid back” personality.

Regardless of the personality type or the amount of stress one deals with on a daily basis, in my opinion everyone should block out at least 10 to 15 minutes per day to work on stress management.  And those who deal with a good amount of stress each day and/or have more of a Type A personality will need to block out even more time to improve their stress handling skills.  These people might need to block out anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes a day to focus on their stress handling skills.

What If You Simply Don’t Have The Time To Manage Your Stress?

For many people it is a challenge to block out the time to manage their stress.  For example, some people will wake up early to go to work, won’t get home until the evening, and after eating dinner and spending time with the family they don’t have much time to relax for a few minutes, let alone take some time to manage their stress.  Another example might involve a stay-at-home mom who has a few young children, and blocking out time in this case can also be a challenge.  And even if she could block out some time, there is no guarantee that it would be uninterrupted time.

While it might be a challenge for some people to block out 30 to 60 minutes each day for stress management, most people can find at least 10 to 15 minutes per day to work on this.  It might mean waking up 10 to 15 minutes earlier, although if someone deals with a great amount of stress I think it’s more beneficial to either 1) work on stress management in the middle or end of the day, or 2) break up the stress management “sessions”.  For example, an ideal situation would be to dedicate 10 to 15 minutes in the morning to improving your stress handling skills, and then do this again in the afternoon, and then right before going to bed.  I realize this isn’t practical for some people, but doing this will help to start your day with a lesser amount of stress, and then if you have a stressful day it will allow you to spend some time during the day to work on this.  Then by working on your stress handling skills right before going to bed it will help you to end the day with a reduced amount of stress, which can help greatly for those who have a difficult time falling and/or staying asleep.

As I’ve discussed in other blog posts and articles, the adrenal glands are essential when it comes to managing stress.  Cortisol is known as the “stress handling hormone”, and while eating well and taking certain supplements can benefit the adrenal glands, the best way to keep your adrenal glands healthy and strong is by becoming an expert in managing your stress.  This is just as important as eating well, and perhaps even more important.  After all, we’re all going to deal with chronic stress, although some people will deal with a greater amount of stress than others.  In addition, you never know when an acute stress situation will present itself, and those who continuously work on improving their stress handling skills will be in a much better position to handle these situations when they do come along.  Whether it’s a trauma, an unexpected death of a friend or family member, or another acute stress situation, this is something that everyone faces during their lifetime.  And while our adrenals are equipped to handle these acute stress situations, many times these situations lead to prolonged, chronic stress, which our adrenals were not designed to handle.

What Can You Do To Better Handle The Stress?

For information on how to improve your stress handling skills I will refer you to an article I wrote in the past entitled “7 Stress Management Tips To Help Restore Your Thyroid Health“.  There of course are other things you can do for stress management which I didn’t list in the article.  The first three tips I give in this article are to 1) be aware of the impact stress has on your health, 2) eat a healthy diet, and 3) exercise regularly.  Doing these three things alone can help greatly when it comes to managing the stress.  But for many people this isn’t enough, and since many people underestimate their stress handling skills I think it’s a good idea to do other things to help manage their stress.

For example, you can block out 10 to 15 minutes one or more times each day and do some deep breathing and meditation.  If you don’t have experience with this then you might want to check out the website www.getsomeheadspace.com, as they offer ten free ten-minute meditation lessons.  May people aren’t familiar with biofeedback as a form of stress management, but this can also be a great way to improve your stress handling skills.  For more information on this I recommend visiting www.HeartMath.com, as they have videos you can watch to better understand how this might be able to help you.

In summary, managing one’s stress can be a big challenge when following a natural treatment protocol.  Many people have poor stress handling skills, and it is important to block out some time each day to work on stress management.  At the minimum you should block out 10 to 15 minutes each day to focus on this, although some people will need to dedicate more time on improving their stress handling skills.  The amount of time you need to spend on this will depend on how much stress you deal with on a daily basis, as well as your personality type.

I’d like to start out by wishing you a happy New Year!  For those who are following a natural thyroid treatment protocol in an attempt to restore their health back to normal, there are numerous factors which will play a role in accomplishing this.  For the first blog post of 2014 I will discuss five factors which are important in restoring one’s health back to normal.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that following the advice given in this post is all you need to do in order to restore your health back to normal, although I can almost guarantee that those people who do follow the recommendations given below will have a much healthier 2014.

With that being said, here are five factors which can help greatly in restoring your health back to normal:

1. Eat at least five servings of vegetables each day. Just about everyone reading this knows that they should eat mostly whole foods while avoiding the refined foods and sugars.  But most people still don’t eat enough vegetables on a daily basis.  In fact, eating more vegetables is probably the most frequent piece of advice I give after reviewing the food diaries of my patients.  You want to eat a minimum of three to five servings of fresh vegetables each day, and ideally it should be at least five to seven servings on a daily basis.  I realize this might not be an easy transition for some people who are only eating one or two servings of veggies per day, but it is an important change to make not only in order to help restore one’s health back to normal, but also to maintain one’s health in the future.

I’ve mentioned in previous articles and posts how I use smoothies to add a few servings of vegetables per day to my diet, and I know many people reading this also have smoothies every day.  In fact, my average smoothie has approximately three servings of vegetables, and I have one or two smoothies each day.  In addition to this I try to have an additional one or two servings of vegetables with lunch and then again for dinner, and so on most days I’ll eat at least five servings of vegetables per day, and many days I will exceed this.  So if you’re not already eating at least five servings of vegetables per day then I would make this a goal for 2014.  I would also attempt to add a variety of different vegetables, as for optimal phytonutrient intake you want to eat a variety of different colored vegetables, as well as fruits.

2. Spend at least 15 to 30 minutes per day on stress management. In the near future I’ll be releasing a separate blog post on stress management, and so I won’t go into great detail here.  But this is yet another area that most people don’t focus enough on.  I do have some patients who tell me that they do things such as yoga or meditation for stress management, which is great.  But it’s important to be consistent, as while doing yoga a couple of times per week will help with managing the stress, you really do want to do something on a daily basis for stress management.  This is true even for those who already feel they do a good job of managing their stress without dedicating any additional time on improving their stress handling skills.  One problem is that many people think they do a good job of managing their stress but don’t do a good job.  Another problem is that some people currently don’t deal with a lot of stress in their life, but if an acute or chronic stressor were to come along they wouldn’t be prepared to handle it since they haven’t been in the routine of improving their stress handling skills.  So make it a goal in 2014 to block out at least 15 minutes per day to manage your stress, and 30 minutes per day would be even better.

3. Don’t underestimate the impact toxins can have on your health. This is yet another factor that most people tend to overlook.  Perhaps the reason for this is because most people know when they’re not eating well, and many people also realize that they aren’t doing a good job of managing their stress.  But from a symptomatic perspective it can be difficult to know whether toxins are adversely affecting your health.  Plus, with all of the toxins we’re exposed to I’m sure some people think there isn’t much they can do to avoid the negative impact these toxins have on their health.   While it is true that you can’t eliminate your exposure to toxins, you can still do a lot of things to reduce your exposure to them.  The home environment is a big source of toxins for many people, and in most cases this can be dramatically improved.  So another goal you should have in 2014 is to do a few things to minimize your exposure to toxins.  And if you haven’t done a liver detoxification then you might want to consider making this a goal as well.  In fact, even if you have done a liver detoxification in the past it still would be a good idea for most people to do another one sometime in 2014.  After all, since we’re continuously being exposed to toxins it makes sense to do regular detoxifications.

4. Focus on reducing the inflammation. Most thyroid conditions have an autoimmune component.  And autoimmunity is associated with inflammation.  In fact, chronic inflammation is associated with many different health conditions, and so one of the primary goals should be to do things to help lower the inflammation in the body.  Diet of course plays a big role in this, as eating a lot of processed foods causes inflammation.  Ideally you want to eat a diet consisting of whole foods and try to cut out common allergens such as gluten and dairy.  Omega-3 fatty acids can also help greatly with the inflammation, as can certain herbs such as turmeric and ginger.

But just eating well and taking supplements frequently isn’t enough to eliminate the inflammation.  For example, if someone has an infection such as H. Pylori, Candida, or another type of pathogen, then this needs to be addressed.  Chronic stress can also lead to inflammation, which is another reason why it’s important to improve your stress handling skills.  Having a leaky gut will cause inflammation, and this is common with autoimmune thyroid conditions such as Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

5. Try to keep a positive attitude. Although from time to time I talk about the importance of having a positive attitude, the truth is that I don’t bring this up enough.  Obviously one can have a positive attitude and not receive good results if they don’t eat well, do a poor job of managing their stress, etc.  But the reverse holds true as well, as if someone eats well, works on improving their stress handling skills on a daily basis, and does other things to improve their health, yet they constantly have a negative attitude, then this very well can affect their recovery.

I realize it’s not easy to have a positive attitude at times.  This is especially true when someone is dealing with a health condition such as a thyroid or autoimmune thyroid disorder.  I know from self experience that it’s difficult to have a positive attitude when dealing with such a condition, as when I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease there were times when I felt down, and perhaps even depressed.  But even though I didn’t know what the future would bring regarding my health I tried to remain confident that natural treatment methods would work.  Would I still have received good results if I had a negative attitude while following a natural treatment protocol?  Maybe, but I still believe that those people who are constantly negative are less likely to receive optimal results.

In summary, restoring one’s health can definitely be a challenge.  But those people who follow the advice given in this blog post will have a much greater chance of accomplishing this.   And while some people reading this post are already doing everything I mentioned, I’m sure many people aren’t incorporating all of these factors.  If this is the case then I don’t expect you to immediately begin eating five or more servings of vegetables per day, to block out 30 minutes to focus on stress management, etc.  If you can make these changes immediately that’s great, but if not then what I would recommend is to focus on something different each month.  For example, if you’re only eating a couple of servings of vegetables per day, make it a goal to increase the number of daily servings to at least five by the end of this month.  Then next month you can focus on blocking out time for stress management, and then the following month focus on minimizing your exposure to toxins, etc.  Whatever approach you take, the key is to go ahead  and take action, and if you do this then there is almost no question that you will experience some positive changes in your health.

We just went on a Disney Cruise, and so I couldn’t resist using the headline above. Although there was plenty of junk food on the Disney Cruise, I did try to eat a good amount of whole foods, and brought some healthy snacks onto the ship. I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t indulge every now and then, and probably more than I should have, and so I’m sure I can benefit from a prolonged liver detoxification!

Of course this time of the year many people will be ready to follow a detoxification program.  Between Thanksgiving and the holiday season, many people eat way too many “bad foods”.  I won’t go into great detail about this, and I actually discussed this in a previous blog post entitled “The Challenge of Eating a Healthy Thyroid Diet During The Holidays“.  Now that the holiday season is just about over I don’t know how much the information in that blog post will benefit you, but perhaps you can save it for next year.

Going on a vacation can be fun, but at the same time it can take its toll on your thyroid health.  First of all, it is more challenging to control the food you eat.  The key is trying to plan ahead, although it still can be challenging. 

For the last blog post of 2013 I figured I’d list 10 things you need to do in order to have a “healthy” vacation.  Following these tips will make it easier to eat a healthy diet, manage your stress, and minimize your exposure to toxins while traveling.

1. Whatever you do, don’t go on a cruise. Is a cruise relaxing?  Very much so.  But you really do need to have a lot of willpower to avoid all of the “free” junk food.  Of course it’s not free, as it’s part of the fee you pay for the cruise, but for those who have never been on a cruise there is food EVERYWHERE!  With that being said we’re already planning our next cruise.  I will say that while there is plenty of junk food available, there is also plenty of whole foods to choose from.

2. If traveling during the holidays, visit a place that nobody else visits during this time. For example, you can visit Idaho or North Dakota (for those reading this who live in these states, I’m not suggesting that they aren’t nice places to live or visit, but they aren’t places which typically draw large crowds during the holiday season).

3. If you have children, consider sending them on vacation while you stay home. Better yet, drop them off at a friend’s or relative’s house and go on vacation without them.  Don’t get me wrong, as I love my children, and this vacation wouldn’t be the same without them.  But driving eight hours with two young children from Charlotte to Orlando and then back to Charlotte can be very stressful at times.  And of course we’ll be driving another eight hours back to Charlotte in a few days.

4. Camp out instead of staying in a hotel. There are way too many toxins in a hotel room.  Just the toxins in the carpet alone is reason enough not to stay at a hotel.  Another option is to call around and find a hotel that has hardwood floors.  Just make sure they’re natural hardwood floors.

5. If you insist on staying at a hotel, bring along an air purifier.  This of course won’t help completely with the toxins, but having an air purification system will help to minimize your exposure to toxins while you’re in the hotel room.

6. Make sure to bring all of your own food and never eat out. To make things easier, when planning your vacation I would try to make sure you’re within driving distance of a health food store.  This way you can purchase your own food throughout the vacation.  It’s also a good idea to stay at a place where they have an oven so you can cook healthy meals every day.

7. Block out at least one hour each day to meditate. Even though you’re on vacation you ideally want to do more than one hour, as two or three would be even better.  I would recommend meditating one hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon, and one hour right before going to bed.

8. Don’t forget to exercise while on vacation. I would recommend to exercise every other day.  Do at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, and some light weightlifting as well.

9. Go to bed every night by 9pm. Most people who go on vacation stay up past their bedtime.  But since you’re trying to have a healthy vacation you want to go to sleep earlier.  I would try to get at least ten hours of sleep each night.

10. Heck…life is short, so forget all of the advice I just gave! Even though I want to encourage you to have a healthy vacation, you also need to enjoy your vacation.  This doesn’t mean you should eat loads of junk food all of the time while on vacation.  Eat well most of the time and indulge every now and then, try to manage your stress, and do what you can to minimize your exposure to toxins.  And make sure you do a thorough liver detoxification once you’re back home.

Okay, so this post wasn’t quite as humorous as David Letterman’s top ten list, but I tried my best.  Either way, I’d like to thank you for reading my articles and blog posts, and I look forward to sharing more valuable information with you in 2014.