thyroid

The liver/thyroid/serotonin and liver/GABA/progesterone connections: The Anxiety Summit 6

September 30, 2020 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

Dr. Ameet Aggarwal is one of my guest experts on The Anxiety Summit 6: Toxins/Meds/Infections!
and our topic is Liver Function and Bile: Anxiety, Detox, the Gut and Hormones. Here is some of what we cover in our interview:

The liver/anxiety connections: thyroid/serotonin, microbiome and GABA/progesterone
Foods and nutrients like NAC, triphala, turmeric, taurine and lycopodium
Gilbert’s syndrome and schizophrenia; misophonia; family constellations therapy; giving and endorphins

and much more.

We discuss a number of the mechanisms as to why poor liver function affects your mood. There is the liver/thyroid/serotonin connection, and the liver/GABA/progesterone connection.

In the discussion on the liver/thyroid/serotonin connection and anxiety, Dr. Ameet shares from this paper – The Relationship between the thyroid gland and the liver (paraphrased as I don’t yet have transcripts):

Thyroxine and tri‐iodothyronine are essential for normal organ growth, development and function
These hormones regulate the basal metabolic rate of all cells, including hepatocytes, and thereby modulate hepatic [liver] function
The liver in turn metabolizes the thyroid hormones and regulates their systemic endocrine effects.
Thyroid dysfunction may perturb liver function
Liver disease modulates thyroid hormone metabolism.

The catecholamine and thyroid interrelationship is well recognized but less is known about the serotonin and the thyroid. Dr. Ameet shares the synergy between the thyroid hormones, serotonin and mood:

animal studies shows that the thyroid economy has a modulating impact on the brain serotonin system
studies in hypothyroid patients have shown that thyroid replacement therapy improves serotonin production

In summary, if we have compromised liver function and/or low thyroid function this may impact serotonin levels and lead to increased anxiety.

Here is a snippet from our discussion on the liver/GABA/progesterone and anxiety:

We often think about mental health as being neurotransmitters alone but it also depends on hormones. Progesterone affects how GABA works in the brain.
GABA is your anti-anxiety neurotransmitter but it requires progesterone to work well in your brain and your liver metabolizes all your hormones through phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification
If your liver is compromised then you’re likely to have lower progesterone levels and estrogen dominance.
With low progesterone GABA won’t work as well as well in the brain, leading to anxiety and insomnia.

Again, if we have compromised liver function this may impact progesterone levels, having an effect on how GABA works and causing increased anxiety.

If you recall, I shared this GABA/progesterone snippet a few weeks ago before the site was ready and now it’s ready for you to register.

This interview is one of the registration gifts so you can listen to it right away as soon as you register (there will also be a complimentary transcript made available as soon as it’s completed.)

Here is a little about the summit… as you know, anxiety can be related to your daily life experiences BUT it can also be triggered by:

foods you eat and what you drink (like wheat, oxalates, alcohol and more)
environmental toxins (like lead, plastics, fragrances, insecticides, fluoride and more)
many types of medications (like the birth control pill, acne medication, fluoroquinolone antibiotics and more) and/or
chronic infections (like Lyme disease, PANDAS, parasites, candida and more).

Once you identify the root causes and understand anxiety’s mechanisms you can support the liver/gallbladder, detox, address infections, implement targeted and supportive solutions, and get relief!

WHY ATTEND?

This is my 6th Anxiety Summit, featuring all new topics and the latest research related to anxiety and toxins, medications and infections.

I’ve also experienced many of these health challenges myself – lead and mercury toxicity, gluten issues and candida – and I’m currently dealing with chronic Lyme disease and dietary oxalate issues. You’ll hear some of my healing journey and my solutions in a few interviews too.

WHAT SETS THIS ONLINE EVENT APART?

What sets this apart from other events on toxins and infections is being able to make the many connections to GABA (the main calming neurotransmitter) and serotonin (a happy and calming neurotransmitter) AND how to use the amino acids GABA and tryptophan to ease your anxiety right away while you are dealing with the other underlying root causes – which take longer to address.

You will see this woven into each of the expert interviews (just like this one with Dr. Schaffner) and also addressed in detail in my 3 interviews where I do a deep dive into specific applications.

For example, in my toxins interview, I share how GABA reverses fluoride-induced anxiety and hypothyroidism, and how tryptophan and vitamin C ease anxiety symptoms associated with lead toxicity (I’ll be sharing more about this in the future so stay tuned….)

Over the course of the next 6 weeks you’ll be seeing frequent emails from me with snippets and highlights from various interviews – like this one. I do hope you continue to enjoy them and get excited about the summit! Please do share if you know someone who has anxiety!

It’s been wonderful to get all the emails saying how excited you are and seeing so many of you signing up. These last few months have been full-time on research and interviews and I’ll shortly get to share it all with you!

You’ve heard me say the Anxiety Summit has been called “a bouquet of hope!” My wish for you is that this summit is your bouquet of hope!

I hope you’ll join me and these incredible speakers, be enlightened and find YOUR solutions!

Here’s to no more anxiety and you feeling on top of the world again!

If you’re already familiar with some of this information and practice some of this already please share how it’s helped you. That way we can all learn.

If you’d like to ask a question, please post in the comments below.

I’d also love to hear from you once you’ve listened to this interview. Please do come back and comment about some of the highlights of this interview and what changes you plan to make.

Even if you already receive my newsletters and signed up some time ago to be notified about the upcoming Anxiety Summit 6, you will still need to register at the new link here, because Health Talks Online is doing the production and backend work for me.

If you don’t register you won’t get access to the daily summit emails with all the interviews.

You will however, continue to get these emails from me.

This is my 6th Anxiety Summit and it is all new content!

The content is research-based and practical, and is geared to anxious individuals who are health-savvy and to practitioners who work with anxious individuals.

If you are totally new to functional medicine and nutritional solutions for anxiety, you will still learn so much so just take in what you can and know you’ll get all this eventually.

When using GABA for anxiety does tolerance increase and which amino acid to use for a low mood?

May 31, 2019 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

Today I’m sharing some great questions I’ve received about GABA and serotonin support for anxiety and low mood, and my feedback to give you some ideas on what to look for as you use the amino acids for your own issues (or with clients/patients if you’re a practitioner).

I cover possible reasons for ongoing low GABA levels, long-term use of the amino acids, low mood associated with menopause, problems with mainly sugar- and gluten-free, the role of the adrenals and thyroid, the amino acids I’d start with for low mood, how lithium orotate may help, how to know if collagen is causing a low mood and making you more anxious, and some resources for you.

GABA tolerance has increased

Gaba has been a lifesaver for my anxiety! I also use taurine sometimes for anxiety too, and that has helped too. Right now, I take 1000 mg [of taurine]. As for GABA (I now take 1000 mg of that also) I have noticed that my tolerance for it has increased.

Here is my feedback: I’m really pleased GABA and taurine are helping ease your anxiety. I have not seen tolerance to be a factor with my clients using GABA and I’m not aware of any research on this topic. I would look into what could be depleting GABA at a faster rate so you seem to need more and more.

This could be caused by:

increased stress which lowers zinc and increases cortisol
poor gut health and dysbiosis (there is a bacteria in the gut that may consume GABA – it’s called gabavorous)
low zinc and low B6 (which are needed to make GABA and other neurotransmitters)
toxin exposure (we’re now seeing that GABA has a protective effect – this blog covers have GABA is protective of the thyroid after fluoride exposure)
thyroid problems (the amino acids are less effective in this instance)

Keep in mind that long-term use of the amino acids is not the plan. Once the diet is addressed and the other underlying biochemistry, nutrient deficiencies, toxins etc. are addressed they should no longer be needed. At most, an occasional “top-up” may be needed.

Low mood associated with menopause

Which amino acids would you recommend for low mood associated with menopause? No panic attacks but a crashing low mood for 24hrs or more before slight recovery, a few easy days and then the cycle begins again. Diet is mainly sugar- and gluten-free. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thank you

Here is my feedback: When I hear “diet is mainly sugar- and gluten-free” with mood swings I always look into gluten exposure and blood sugar dips. Keeping a food mood log is an easy first step to see if the low mood is tied to what is being eaten and when.

I would recommend the complete removal of gluten and sugar. Gluten can trigger depression, anxiety, OCD and lead to many psychiatric symptoms. Blood sugar swings can cause both depression and anxiety. The amino acids make it easy to quite sugar and gluten – no willpower required and no feelings of deprivation. Do the questionnaire and do a trial of the amino acids that apply. Based on the above symptoms I’d suspect tryptophan and tyrosine may help and are always a good first step while everything else is being figured out.

I would also look at adrenal function as they take up the slack in menopause and rule out Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves (as you can get mood swings with both as the thyroid levels shift).

Low lithium can also cause mood swings too and lithium orotate can help to keep an even mood, allowing the amino acids to be more effective.

Finally, I’d want to know if collagen, gelatin or bone broths have recently been added to your diet and are being consumed in an on-an-off pattern that correlates with the low mood. Certain susceptible individuals find that it lowers serotonin and increases depression and anxiety, and causes insomnia.

Next steps are a full workup looking at sex hormones, low zinc, low B6, low magnesium, the gut, EMFs, sleep and other dietary factors like salicylates, histamine, glutamates etc. We look at all the possible 60+ nutritional and biochemical root causes and address them or rule them out.

It’s also important to have a good support system in place for those very low days – friends and family members, being part of a community and even keeping a mental health support line number close at hand.

And of course, I always say this: get out in nature, get some exercise, hug someone and have a good laugh.

Resources for you

My book The Antianxiety Food Solution (my Amazon affiliate link) has an entire chapter on the amino acids GABA, tryptophan, tyrosine, and DPA (and how to use them), a chapter on blood sugar balancing and glutamine and a chapter on gluten issues (and much more). Read it and become a savvy health-advocate for yourself. Become someone who is well-informed about the amino acids, the precautions and nuances, and all the nutritional approaches for anxiety-relief. Share a copy with your doctor and point out the references.
If figuring it out alone or reading my book feels overwhelming to you, or you’re afraid to use the amino acids on your own, my home-study Amazing Aminos for Anxiety program walks you through a step-by step approach on how to figure out which symptoms are tied to which neurotransmitter deficiency, and how to trial each respective amino acid. Stay tuned for a special upcoming launch with live Q and A calls so you can get your questions answered. (If you have recently purchased the homestudy ONLY version we will be contacting you to invite you to participate.)
Here is a blog to read if you’re new to GABA: GABA for the physical-tension and stiff-and-tense-muscles type of anxiety
Here is a blog to read if you’re new to tryptophan: Tryptophan for the worry-in-your-head and ruminating type of anxiety (it’s a blog about low serotonin anxiety but applies to low-serotonin low mood too)
Here is a blog to read if you’re new to tyrosine: Tyrosine for focus, motivation, energy, a good mood and possibly even anxiety
You can find the amino acids in my supplement store here.

Can you relate to either of these questions? And are you good at playing a detective to figure out why something may not be working as expected?

What has worked for your anxiety and/or low moods?

Feel free to post questions in the comments too.

And let me know if you’re interested in the homestudy program with live Q and A calls. (If you have recently purchased the homestudy ONLY version we will be contacting you to invite you to participate.)

Thyroid health and anxiety: fluoride, mercury, nitrates, phthalates and other toxins

May 18, 2018 By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

Dr. Amy Myers MD, author of The Autoimmune Solution, The Thyroid Solution and The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook, presented on thyroid health at the recent Bioceuticals Conference on Autoimmunity in Melbourne. I promised to share some highlights from her presentations (she did 4 different ones) and since toxins play such a huge role when it comes to anxiety, I’m sharing some highlights from the toxins presentation and the top thyroid toxins you need to avoid: mercury, perchlorate, halides or halogens, nitrates, plastics and parabens and phthalates. These toxins all also play a role in anxiety too.

We also have a new meta-analysis published earlier this month: Association of Depression and Anxiety Disorders With Autoimmune Thyroiditis – A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis confirming what functional medicine practitioners like Dr. Amy Myers, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Izabella Wentz have been educating about for years:

Patients with AIT [autoimmune thyroiditis] exhibit an increased chance of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety or of receiving a diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders.

Taming the toxins is one of 4 pillars that Dr. Myers covers in her approach for preventing and reversing autoimmune disease:

Pillar I: Heal your gut.

Pillar II: Get rid of gluten, grains, and legumes.

Pillar III: Tame the toxins.

Pillar IV: Heal your infections and relieve your stress.

Dr. Myers shared the top thyroid toxins you need to avoid:

Mercury
Perchlorate
Halides or halogens
Nitrates
Plastics
Parabens and phthalates

“A 2011 study found that women with high mercury exposure are 2x more likely to have positive thyroid antibodies.” The paper: Mercury and thyroid autoantibodies in U.S. women, NHANES 2007-2008, reports this increase for thyroglobulin autoantibodies.

As far as anxiety is concerned, Kris Homme shares much evidence to support her belief that mercury toxicity is a likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety in our Anxiety Summit interview.

Halogens or halides also have an impact on thyroid health. In areas where fluoride is added to the water there are “2x the rates of hypothyroidism than non-fluoride areas.”

Bromine is also an issue and is found in “flame retardants, plastics, many baked goods and citrus flavored drinks.”

GABA in relation to thyroid health and fluoride was not covered in the presentation but there is research showing that GABA reversed fluoride-induced hypothyroidism in an animal study. I blogged about this research here: GABA protects against hypothyroidism caused by fluoride and reduces anxiety. The fluoride-exposed mice that were subsequently treated with GABA were found to have improved results for T4, T3 and thyroid hormone-binding globulin (TBG levels) and healing of the structural abnormalities in thyroid follicles that were observed after fluoride exposure.

The authors conclude with this statement, reporting that GABA acted as a natural antioxidant:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to establish the therapeutic efficacy of GABA as a natural antioxidant in inducing thyroprotection against fluoride-induced toxicity.

The amino acid GABA helps with physical-tension and stiff-and-tense-muscles type of anxiety, often in certain settings like public speaking or driving, and the need to self-medicate to calm down, often with alcohol but sometimes with carbs and sugary foods. Insomnia can also be due to low GABA and you’ll experience physical tension (rather than the ruminating thoughts which is the low serotonin type of insomnia – although it’s not uncommon to experience both). GABA also helps ease panic attacks, muscle spasms and pain relief when muscles are tight.

“Nitrates, found in fertilizer and foods, resemble iodine enough to block thyroid hormone absorption.” In one study, Nitrate intake and the risk of thyroid cancer and thyroid disease women were found to be “more likely to develop thyroid cancer with higher nitrate levels in the water.” Research shows similar results with nitrites and children and thyroid cancer.

Since the amino acid taurine offers neuroprotection against ammonia in the central nervous system I suspect GABA may offer some protection against nitrates too.

Parabens and phthalates found in many personal care products (and fast-foods) “mimic estrogen and disrupt the hormonal cascade”, with higher estrogens resulting in higher TBG (thyroxine binding globulin).

“A CDC study found phthalates were 39% higher in the urine of individuals who ate 35% of their calories from fast food.” This CNN article: Fast food serves up phthalates, too, study suggests covers many of the hormonal impacts

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a report in 2013 stating that high levels of exposure to phthalates could lead to adverse reproductive outcomes in women. Research has linked these chemicals with increased risk of fibroids and endometriosis, which can cause infertility, and reduced IQ and behavioral problems in children exposed in the womb. High phthalate levels have also been linked with diabetes risk in women and adolescents.

There are countless ways that people can be exposed to phthalates. They are found in soaps, perfumes, nail polish, medications, and we can ingest, inhale and absorb them through the skin.

Out of all these routes of exposure, however, diet is emerging as a major one.

Dietary exposure is a major route of exposure of phthalates and this is one of many excellent reasons to cook and eat home-cooked meals. Dr. Myers makes it easy for you in her wonderful new book The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook.

Mycotoxins from mold are also an issue as is poor mouth health. I was pleased to see EMFs mentioned as it is a growing concern and is under-rated as having harmful effects on the thyroid and when it comes to unresolved anxiety, SIBO, oxalate issues and high cortisol.

As far as detoxification, Dr Myer’s has these general recommendations:

Infrared sauna
Glutathione, the master antioxidant and detoxifier
Milk thistle, magnesium and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage
Sulfur rich foods such as onions, garlic, eggs

In her bestselling book, The Autoimmune Solution (my Amazon link), Dr. Myer’s covers the four pillars in great detail. You can read more about taming the toxins in this blog post.

Have you identified and eliminated exposure to these toxins and seen improved thyroid health and/or reduced anxiety? Is ongoing detoxification a priority for you?

Hashimoto’s Protocol by Dr. Izabella Wentz

April 6, 2017 By Trudy Scott 4 Comments

The great new book called Hashimoto’s Protocol by Dr. Izabella Wentz just made #1 on the New York Times bestseller list!

Since I’m in Australia I have a kindle edition of Dr. Izabella’s brilliant new book that just released last week: Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back. It’s a must-read if you are dealing with Hashimoto’s or actually any thyroid problems (or if you suspect you may have thyroid issues)!

If you are a practitioner I highly recommend it too!

Here’s the official blurb:

Dr. Izabella Wentz, the author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, returns with a long-awaited, groundbreaking prescription to reverse the symptoms of this serious autoimmune condition that is becoming one of the country’s fastest growing diseases.

More than thirty-five million Americans currently suffer from Hashimoto’s—an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid gland and causes the body to attack its own cells. To alleviate the symptoms of this debilitating condition—including chronic cough, acid reflux, IBS, allergies, chronic pain, hair loss, brain fog, and forgetfulness [plus anxiety and depression] —patients are often prescribed synthetic hormones that have numerous life-altering side effects.

But there is a better way.

Diagnosed with Hashimoto’s at twenty-seven, pharmacist Dr. Izabella Wentz knows first-hand the effects of the disease, as well as the value—and limitations—of medication. The key to improved health, she argues, involves lifestyle interventions. In Hashimoto’s Protocol, she outlines a proven treatment that has helped thousands heal and many others feel better—in as fast as ninety days.

Drawing on her own personal experience as well as her work consulting with thousands of patients, Hashimoto’s Protocol offers a practical pathway for healing and reversing the autoimmune damage at the root of the disease. The first step is a quick-start two-week detox that includes foods to eat and inflammatory foods to avoid, advice on supplements to support the liver, and an adrenal recovery plan. Next, readers create a personalized plan with foods, supplements, and other lifestyle interventions tailored to their body’s own unique Hashimoto’s triggers, which they can identify using self-tests included in the book. Hashimoto’s Protocol also features original recipes.

Grounded in the latest science, Hashimoto’s Protocol is the first book to offer a proven protocol by an acknowledged expert in the field to treat this condition without dangerous hormones—and help sufferers reclaim their lives.

Izabella has done a wonderful job! I love that she covers the basics like liver support, the adrenals and gut health and then goes into advanced protocols for trauma, infections, toxins and nutrient deficiencies! I really LOVE how she dives deep into the newest research and connects ALL the dots in a really smart way!

And even if you don’t have thyroid issues you would benefit from these sections that are applicable for everyone:

Root Cause Liver Support Protocol — how to support your liver by clearing detox pathways so that you’re able to release toxins and get your energy back.
Adrenal Recovery Protocol — how to reset your response to stress so that you can regenerate your body.
The Gut Balancing Protocol — the right nutrients so that your gut starts working at its optimal level.

Here is a snippet from the Liver support section:

Halogens and halogen-containing chemicals: These chemicals include bromide, chloride, and fluoride; are structurally similar to iodine; and may take up receptor sites in the thyroid gland. Unfortunately, their presence in the thyroid gland can

lead to thyroid cell death and inflammation. Individuals exposed to high levels of halogen-containing substances have been found to have higher rates of thyroid antibodies.

Chlorine: When found in polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorine has been shown to be toxic to thyroid cells and to promote the onset of Hashimoto’s through increasing TSH, thyroid antibodies, and thyroid size. PCBs are found in industrial products. Chlorine is also found in water systems, pools, cleaning products, and plastics.

Bromide: This can be found in baked goods, plastics, soft drinks, and even our mattresses, which are coated with brominated flame retardants. Studies show bromine-containing substances—polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)—are connected to an increased incidence of Hashimoto’s.

Fluoride: This thyroid-suppressing halogen is found in water, toothpaste, and some medications as well as in black, green, and red tea. Using a reverse osmosis filter is the best way to get rid of fluoride.

The gentle two-week Liver support section

will guide you on how to eliminate hidden toxins from your everyday life and how to help your liver process out the toxins you may have in your body. Both are critical steps for anyone who’s had problems with taking supplements or is struggling with current symptoms. Most people see drastic changes just by completing this step alone.

Here is the Amazon link or support your local book store if you have one nearby!

Also enjoy the fabulous 2 week recipe plan Dr. Izabella is offering. It has 2 weeks worth of recipes, meal plans and shopping lists based on the autoimmune Paleo diet template. Click here to learn more and signup for the 2 week recipe plan.

Hope you enjoy these great thyroid resources!

If you already have a copy let us know what you think and which sections have helped you?

Thyroid Secret documentary – wise words of wisdom!

February 25, 2017 By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

The Thyroid Secret documentary is just around the corner! My colleague Dr. Izabella Wentz and her amazing team have produced this powerful 9-part documentary and it truly is groundbreaking! (It starts on March 1.)

Thyroid disease is one of the most overlooked diseases and is so often misdiagnosed. I see this all this time with my anxious clients (and I share more about this in the documentary!)

In case you’re not already signed up here is the link to sign up. And some wise words of wisdom from some of the experts that are part of the documentary

If you are already signed up enjoy these wise words too!

Dr. Izabella Wentz, host and producer of the documentary, and author of the forthcoming book, Hashimoto’s Protocol, sets the tone and I love it!

A person who has their health has 1,000 dreams. A person who does not has just one.

Allowing yourself to heal will allow you to do all these different things in your life that you maybe dreamed about but you never thought were possible. I have people within my community who’ve become like romance novelists or … they’ve gone back to horseback riding. They’ve done all of these things that they never thought will be possible and sometimes in their 40s, 50s, 60s, lucky ones in their 20s.

Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution, discusses the prevalence of thyroid disease in this part of his interview:

Thyroid disease is extremely prevalent, one in five women and one in ten men have low thyroid function. That’s an enormous number of people and half of them they don’t know it. They’re not even diagnosed and the ones that are diagnosed and treated most of those are inadequately treated.

You’ve got an epidemic or thyroid dysfunction that is really driving a lot of suffering and it’s subtle. People don’t know, they think it’s something else. Oh I’m a little tired, oh I have trouble getting up in the morning, my skin’s a little dry, my nails are cracking, I’m a little constipated, I have a little fluid retention. Can’t remember things as well, I feel little depressed, I might not be sleeping as well, I might get muscle cramps, my sex drive’s a little low… You add all these things up, oh my hair’s falling out a little bit.

Dr. Hyla Cass, integrative psychiatrist, talks about antidepressant side-effects in this part of her interview:

I think people have to be their own medical detectives in partnership with Functional Medicine docs like me because they know themselves better than I do.

I think the way conventional medicine is treating depression is really a disaster and that’s simply writing prescriptions for antidepressants. I get a lot of these women and women outnumbering men with thyroid issues coming to me, that have been failures. ‘Failures’ at antidepressant therapy, they’re still depressed and they’re not only still depressed but they now have side effects from being on antidepressants. They can’t sleep or they’re sleeping too much, weight gain, huge weight gain (with thyroid issues you’re already gaining weight). Then there is dizziness, nausea, lack of libido… I mean really? So many problems with the antidepressants and it’s not directed to the cause.

Dr. Alan Christianson, author of The Adrenal Reset Diet, covers our genes and environmental toxins in this part of his interview:

Thyroid cancer, thyroid autoimmunity are much more common among women. We’re seeing about a eight to one female to male risk difference.

So, we think that it’s really a perfect storm of three, three large factors; we’ve got the, the genes, you know. So, the first step is you got to be cautious about choosing your parents (laughter), however that works out, I don’t know. So, there’s some genetic susceptibility and then, and there’s some foreign substances. So, your thyroid like, there’s the shows about the hoarders you know, like those that like never let go of things. So, your thyroid is kind of a hoarder (laughter). It needs iodine, but the amount that it needs is way above what your blood carries, so it concentrates it and pulls it in.

We have a lot of weird chemicals nowadays that confuse that concentrator, that your concentrator thinks, “Well, that looks like iodine,” but it’s not. So, we have uh, Perchlorate for example in the soils in the southwest area, where we had someone just the other day who is working in aviation, in managing the airplanes out in the tarmac and what not and exposed to jet fuel, and they get Perchlorate from that as well.

Dr. Amy Myers, author of The Autoimmune Solution, covers diagnosis, root causes and supplemental thyroid hormone in this part of her interview:

Your thyroid is a vital organ. It is your engine, so to speak, and every cell in your body has receptors for thyroid hormone on it.

The average is 6 to 10 doctors in five years to get any kind of autoimmune diagnosis. It may be less for thyroid because that’s a little more common and people do screen at least with a TSH, but if that damage has been going on or you are just now becoming aware of it and you’ve had Hashimoto’s for 20 years, if you’ve had enough damage and destruction to your thyroid, I and no one can grow your thyroid back. We can optimize the function through, and I’m sure we’ll talk about that through this interview, we can optimize the function, we can prevent you hopefully from getting another autoimmune disease, we can get to the root cause of why you got it, but I can’t regrow thyroid tissue for you. You may still need to be on some supplemental thyroid hormone, and that’s okay. I just want people to know that there are people, and I have them in my clinic as well, that we get it early enough and we’re able to do all the things that we’ll talk about in the interview, and they don’t need to go on supplemental thyroid hormone, or they’ve gone on it and we’ve been able to get them off.

Dr. Tom O’Bryan, author of The Autoimmune Fix, discusses the key role the gut and microbiome play:

If you have an autoimmune disease, there’s no question that you’ve got intestinal damage.

It’s a shift. The first shift is recognizing that there’s no magic pill for thyroid autoimmune disease. There’s no magic pill. The second shift is recognizing that it’s going to take time to reverse the damage that’s accrued. If you can accept that and look for the small wins regularly, and the third is … My recommendation to people, one hour a week. Can you give one hour a week to just doing some research on this topic that you have? Just one hour a week.

The most important thing as we’re learning now in this last ten to twelve year period is if there’s one organ that is more impactful on the rest of the body than any other organ, it’s the microbiome. The microbiome controls our brain function. For every one message coming from the brain down to the gut, there are nine messages from the gut to the brain. It’s the exhaust, if you will, the chemicals that are secreted by the microbiome that go up to the brain to tell the brain what to do. It’s a nine to one ratio. For your heart, the microbiome sends direction to the heart. For your thyroid, the microbiome sends direction to the thyroid.

Dr. Eric Zielinski, host of the Essential Oils Summit, covers the dangers of conventional body care products and why use essential oils instead:

We need to work on preventing disease before they happen and I hope to God, that the researchers will come together, that the funding will be available so we could start testing how certain essential oils and chemical constituencies in these oils affect thyroid conditions. Until we do have that, I’m telling you one thing.

If you want to save your thyroid, if you want to save your health, stop these conventional body care products. I’m talking throw them away.

The lowest hanging fruit that anyone can do today, so easy, is literally to throw away all hand sanitizer. I’m telling you, it’s like the worst stuff for you. Conventional hand sanitizer, throw it away. To replace it, super simple. You get a one to two ounce glass spritzer bottle, you put a few drops of witch hazel in it, a couple drops of aloe, vitamin E, and seven drops of essential oils per every ounce that the bottle is.

Suzy Cohen, RPh covers low ferritin and low manganese:

The ferritin, which is a storage form of iron, that’s the one that came up low. It was dangerously low. I don’t know how I was walking, it was eight, and it was eight for years. It was eight when I measured it, so it was probably lower, but eight is a very bad number. We shoot to have it above 50, sometimes even closer to 70.

I’m often asked, “What did I do to raise that ferritin, how did I get my iron up?” You would think the answer is that I took iron supplements, but that didn’t work. I did try them. I tried them for six months, they tore me apart. I took the best forms. I’m a pharmacist, I know what the best forms are. Iron doesn’t really help you if you’re iron deficient. That’s a huge secret.

The things that I did were I bought a cast iron pot. I bought two, a little one and a bigger one, and I cooked everything in my cast iron pot because the iron leaches just a little teeny bit. It’s just a little bit, but cooking all of your food in a cast iron pot helped. I drank a little Dixie cup full of orange juice every day. I took betaine with pepsin. This was huge for me. You’ve written articles about this, where you have to titrate up with the betaine. You can’t just take five all at once, but I was so low in acid that at one point I was taking six with my meals. Isn’t that a lot? Today I don’t take any, but there was a point where I worked my way up from one capsule with a meal to six.

The final piece of this was manganese. If your iron is low, manganese is lower, count on it. Having your iron and your manganese in the correct ratio is very huge. I took one capsule of manganese every day and that worked for me. It allows you to better absorb your iron, you need less iron, and you maintain the manganese-iron ratio, and that was a very big piece of it. I took one manganese capsule every day for about a year.

Magdalena Wszelaki, creator of Eating for Hormone Balance, talks about raw cruciferous vegetables and oxalates in this part of her interview:

I cannot find a single study that shows raw cruciferous vegetables are causing thyroid failure or binding to the receptors, or whatever. It’s the stuff that I feel like the bloggers have copied and pasted the same information and just created fear. Having said that, I have come across people …This is anecdotal, but when you have people coming to you over and over again telling these stories of going on a health binge, on a health kick I should say, and they will do juicing or they would start blending smoothies that are full of kale, and beets, and almonds. Then three months into that health protocol, they start having a lot of issues with fatigue. They start putting on weight. They go and get a test that turns out it’s the thyroid.

I think that what is happening is that there’s an issue with oxalates with a lot of the vegetables. Kale has got some oxalates, but spinach is super high in oxalates. Almonds are super high in oxalates, so are hemp seeds, all the seeds and nuts. That has been well-documented that oxalates can deposit on the thyroid gland and be causing an issue. I suspect that could be a problem for a lot of people. With the cruciferous vegetables, I love them because they are so rich in … Nutritionally they’re so much richer than all the other vegetables. They’re also full of diindolylmethane, DIM also named, which binds estrogen and that really supports the thyroid function. I’m definitely for them.

Trudy Scott, yours truly (!), and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution:

A lot of people go to the doctor and get a diagnosis, you’ve got anxiety, or you’ve got depression, and they’ll be given a medication, benzodiazepine or an SSRI. It may be the thyroid that’s causing the problems. It’s common knowledge that thyroid problems can cause depression. It’s less well recognized that thyroid problems can actually contribute to anxiety.

I actually looked at a study that was published in 2010, and they found that there was three times the higher incidence of anxiety in women who have underactive thyroid. It’s more common than a lot of people realize.

Certainly in my practice, working with anxious women, most of the people that I work with are women, I work with men as well, but most of the women that I work with, with anxiety, have thyroid issues. They either have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, they have hypothyroid, or they may have had Graves’ in the past. It’s very, very common that I see this.

One of the things that we want to think about from a biochemical and a nutritional aspect when it comes to anxiety is, junk food. We want to eat real whole food. The additives, the colors, the pesticides, the trans fats, all of those can be problematic when it comes to anxiety, because we don’t have the raw materials to make our brain chemicals. GABA is a wonderful calming neurotransmitter, and serotonin is also calming, and if we don’t have enough of the raw materials to make those neurotransmitters, we can be more prone to anxiety.

I’d like to end with a perfect quote from Mary Shomon, thyroid advocate: Be your own CEO of your healthcare!

Watching this Thyroid Secret documentary will empower you, provide you with vital thyroid knowledge you and will truly allow you to be the CEO of your own healthcare when it comes to your thyroid health!

Here is the link to register for the 9-part online documentary The Thyroid Secret, which runs March 1-9.

I do hope you can join us online for this amazing 9-part documentary that I’m so honored to have been a part of!

The Evolution of Psychiatry: integrative psychiatry, anxiety and the thyroid

February 18, 2017 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

James Maskell is the founder of The Functional Forum and this month the theme was The Evolution of Psychiatry. It was such a great episode so I’m sharing it with you here today.

The first presentation was by Janet Settle, MD and Will Van Derveer, MD. They took the stage and presented on the fundamentals of integrative psychiatry, covering root cause-based psychiatry. Together with Scott Shannon, MD, they are also now offering their “Psychiatry Masterclass” training program to other doctors.

This presentation included:

The foundations of truly effective, root-cause focused mental health system
Typical unresolved physiological dysfunctions that manifest as mental illness
Concrete steps for creating the mental health centers of the future

Here is a sampling of what they covered. Isn’t it wonderful to see a slide titled “Integrative Psychiatry Model” and with physiologic root causes listed?

The section on child abuse, trauma and psychospiritual root causes was enlightening:

They cover MDMA- and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and I look forward to learning more from them about these approaches. However, until I learn more I’m wary of these approaches because of the side-effects. Based on the work I do with targeted individual amino acids I would use them before even considering MDMA or ketamine.

You can watch the entire video presentation here:

Next up was Thyroid Pharmacist, Dr. Izabella Wentz, returning to the Functional Forum stage for her first keynote. Dr. Izabella is a dear friend and one of my favorite thyroid experts and she covered the connections between thyroid health and depression and anxiety, looking at proven protocols to address the underlying causes. Her presentation is titled “The Misdiagnosis Machine: How Thyroid Problems Mimic the Symptoms of Mental Illness.”

Dr. Izabella shares the symptoms of the autoimmune attack on the thyroid gland. As well as fatigue, weight gain, gut issues and apathy, you can experience mood symptoms such as anxiety, OCD-like symptoms and mood swings.

You can watch the entire video presentation here (and listen for a mention of my name and how commonly I see anxiety with clients with thyroid symptoms):

If you enjoyed Dr. Izabella’s presentation you don’t want to miss her upcoming documentary called The Thyroid Secret. I’m thrilled to have been invited to contribute on my expertise on anxiety and how this ties back to thyroid health. You can read more about it and find a few snippets from my interview here.

Dr. Izabella also has a new book that will be released next month: Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back. I have a review copy and it’s brilliant! I’ll be sharing more via a book review and interview with Dr. Izabella, taking a deep dive into infections and Hashimoto’s, so stay tuned for that.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these two presentations! For me, hearing presentations like these gives me so much optimism for the future of mental health!

I’d love to hear what has inspired you?

If you’re a practitioner and would like to attend a live Functional Forum meeting in the future or tune in online, you can register here to be notified. James and his team also offer excellent practice resources for functional medicine practitioners. We appreciate him for what he is doing for functional medicine via the Functional Forum!