Dr. Manoj Johnson Medical Director & Lifestyle Physician – Johnmarians Hospital
This master gland that is located in your neck controls many, far-reaching aspects of your health, and every cell in your body contains a thyroid hormone receptor. The thyroid gland is the primary regulator of cholesterol, blood sugar, temperature, reproductive health, growth, and weight. Hypothyroidism is very common and highly affects the population since it is common to have lifestyles with high stress, poor sleep, minimal exercise, and diets high in processed foods in this modern era. Unfortunately, hypothyroidism is so common that it can often be undermined. Heres your prescription. And theres the door. But the reality, is that if your thyroid isnt working well, nothing in your body will. Often times than not, thyroid issues even goes undiagnosed because only few doctors relate hair-fall and unknown joint pains and body aches to an underperforming thyroid.
Tips to Reduce Thyroid Antibodies-
? Add Omega-3 fatty acid rich foods or supplements. (1000mg per day)
? Fix your gut bacteria with more good bacteria rich food (buttermilk, pickles) or Probiotic supplements.
? Include Indian herbs like Ashwagandha and Guggulu.
? Good fats like coconut oil and ghee (at least 2 table spoons per day)
Lifelong pharmaceutical treatments are available to boost your thyroid, but as soon as they are stopped, the symptoms and thyroid issues persist. Can it be healed naturally through diet or lifestyle changes? There are mainly two types of thyroid dysfunction- Hypo- (underperforming) and Hyper- (over performing).
Hypothyroidism is also classified as Functional and Auto-immune.
There are two varieties of thyroid hormones, T4 and T3. Over 90% percent of the hormone produced by the thyroid gland is T4, which is an inactive form. To be actually useful for the body, it must be converted into T3.
In Functional hypothyroidism, even though T4 hormones are being produced by the thyroid gland in adequate quantity, the conversion of inactive T4 into active and useful T3 hormone is impaired. This conversion mostly takes place in the liver and so if you have fatty liver or any other reasons for inflammation in your liver, the conversion is affected. So the fatty liver and obesity is what needs to be targeted and treated instead of your thyroid hormones and gland.
Out of all the hypothyroid cases in my personal clinical practice, 50% were autoimmune, which none of us are aware of. In conventional medicine it doesnt matter what kind of thyroid issue you have, they will look at the treatment the same.
The first step towards healing the thyroid permanently is to distinguish normal thyroid from Auto-immune thyroid, for which the regular thyroid profile tests, TSH, T4 and T3 hormones, alone are not sufficient to rule out real cause.
So I request every thyroid patient to compulsorily undertake additional testing called Anti-TPO (thyro peroxidase) and ATG(anti thyro-globulin) tests to rule out the real cause of your thyroid issue. Auto-immune or Hashimotos thyroiditis is the condition where Anti-TPO and ATG are found elevated in your body, and this antibodys wrongly attacks your thyroid cells, causing cell death and improper thyroid hormone regulation. the thyroid isn’t actually the problem, so thyroid hormone replacement medication is not useful here. Your thyroid is merely the victim of your own immune systems attacks.
The good news is that by identifying the culprit, you can incorporate the needed foods, vitamins, and wellness approaches into your lifestyle to support your thyroid naturally via NATURAL MEDICINE!