Dr. Chris Heimlich, DC, Scottsdale Phoenix Metro Doctor explains how Hashimoto’s can be managed from a natural and functional perspective…

Eighty percent of hypothyroidism in the United States is caused by an autoimmune disease   called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  An autoimmune disease is an illness that occurs when the tissues of your body are attacked by its own immune system. With Hashimoto’s it is the thyroid gland that is under attack.  The recent research also shows there is a strong incidence a part of the brain called the cerebellum that is also targeted and attacked with patients that have Hashimoto’s.

Although, Hashimoto’s Disease can cause hyperthyroidism, it most commonly causes hypothyroidism, which is a low thyroid state.   This can cause the following low thyroid symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Weight Gain
• Depression
• Constipation
• Hair falls out easily
• Dry skin
• Poor circulation and numbness in hand and feet
• Morning headaches that wear off as day progresses

Typically Hashimoto’s is a slow gradual immune attack, resulting in thyroid cell death, eventually destroying enough cells to cause low thyroid symptoms.

Medical management of Hashimoto’s disease doesn’t change because the mechanism is autoimmune, although it should. 

Replacement thyroid hormones are still the treatment of choice.  Absolutely no attention is given to the autoimmune destruction itself.  This is because the use of steroids to calm the immune system down could cause more harm than benefit in the overall health of the patient.

Focusing the clinical management on slowing and modulating the autoimmune attack is crucial in Hashimoto’s Disease. How can you have a properly functioning thyroid if the body is continually attacking and killing it?

We take a functional approach to naturally supporting and modulating the immune system in autoimmune cases. We do special lab panels to measure the specifics of the immune response. We can look at inflammatory cytokines, lymphocyte subpopulation analysis, and natural killer cells. Natural management of autoimmune conditions is complex. Support that is specific to the individual immune system is essential if you truly want to help Hashimoto’s Disease.

I see people every day that have medical histories that scream that they have an autoimmune problem, yet they continue to suffer because no one ever looked at the whole picture.

If you haven’t requested a free copy of our Hashimoto’s Thyroid Recovery Report fill out the form to your right.

 

Dr. Chris Heimlich DC, DACNB, Scottsdale Phoenix Metro Area Doctor Shares how the digestive system and hypothyroidism are connected

Did you know 20% of the healthy thyroid activity depends on the gut flora in the intestines?  Does your doctor?

Poor digestion function depletes the body of nutrients that support thyroid health, especially zinc, selenium, tyrosine, and vitamins A and D.  It is also believed that poor gut function can lead to autoimmune conditions.

Don’t go run down to the mall or health food store and buy the supplements I just talked about.   That is not the answer.

Hippocrates said that all disease begins in the gut.  Billions of dollars are spent every year in the U.S. on over the counter meds for gastrointestinal problems.  That doesn’t include the prescription medications.

Hypothyroidism has been shown to change the acid concentration in the stomach.  It has also been shown to alter gallbladder function.  It goes without saying, these are two very important parts of the digestive system.

How do you know if you have a problem with the GI system?

If you are on any medications for your stomach acid, reflux, bowels….. then you have a problem with the GI system.

Here are a few symptoms that show you are having issues:

• Greasy or high fat foods cause distress
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Lower bowel gas and bloating
• Increased thirst and appetite
• Excessive passage of gas
• Nausea and or vomiting
• Heartburn
• Temporary relief from antacids, food, milk, carbonated beverages
• Heartburn when leaning forward or lying down
• Excessive belching
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Hard dry or small stool
• Coated tongue
• More than 3 bowel movements a day
• Use of laxatives frequently
• Lower abdominal pain relief by passing stool or gas
• Offensive breath
• Difficult bowel movements

I know some of you are probably thinking that everyone knows that those mean you have a problem.  But we see a lot of patients that just think that’s the norm.  They have had problems so long, they just think it’s the way it is.  Or they have been told to just take this or that to help try to control it.

Doesn’t it make more sense to try to fix the gut and get it to function the way it was intended to instead of cover up the symptoms?

Find a doctor that understands that not only is your thyroid gland a suspect in hypothyroid symptoms, but also your digestive system.  (As well as a bunch of other things I have talked about in different posts and videos)

I see people every day that have medical histories that scream that they have a thyroid problem, yet they continue to suffer because no one ever looked at the whole picture.

If you haven’t received a copy of our Thyroid Recovery Report simply fill out the form to your right.

 

 

Doctor Chris Heimlich, DC, DACNB, of the Scottsdale Phoenix metro area Comments:

Eighty percent of hypothyroidism in the United States is caused by an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. An autoimmune disease is an illness that occurs when the tissues of your body are attacked by its own immune system. With Hashimoto’s it is the thyroid gland that is under attack.

The recent research also shows there is a strong incidence a part of the brain called the cerebellum that is also targeted and attacked with patients that have Hashimoto’s.

Although, Hashimoto’s Disease can cause hyperthyroidism, it most commonly causes hypothyroidism, which is a low thyroid state. Typically Hashimoto’s is a slow gradual immune attack, resulting in thyroid cell death, eventually destroying enough cells to cause low thyroid symptoms.

Medical management of Hashimoto’s disease doesn’t change because the mechanism is autoimmune, although it should. Replacement thyroid hormones are still the treatment of choice. Absolutely no attention is given to the autoimmune destruction itself. This is because the use of steroids to calm the immune system down could cause more harm than benefit in the overall health of the patient.

Focusing the clinical management on slowing and modulating the autoimmune attack is crucial in Hashimoto’s Disease. How can you have a properly functioning thyroid if the body is continually attacking and killing it?

We take a functional approach to naturally supporting and modulating the immune system in autoimmune cases. We do special lab panels to measure the specifics of the immune response. We look at inflammatory cytokines, lymphocyte subpopulation analysis, and natural killer cells. Natural management of autoimmune conditions is complex. Support that is specific to the individual immune system is essential if you truly want to help Hashimoto’s Disease.

I see people every day that have medical histories that scream that they have an autoimmune problem, yet they continue to suffer because no one ever looked at the whole picture.

If you suffer with a thyroid problem and you would like to become a patient in our office just click on the Schedule tab or give us a call at 480-991-9355.

Dr Chris Heimlich, Board Certified Chiropractic Physician and Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist

Dr. Chris Heimlich DC, Director of the Arizona Thyroid Institute in Scottsdale, AZ Reveals A Common Mistake Made By Women Suffering With Low Thyroid:

A long time ago someone miss-interpreted some research and they concluded that tyrosine would be good for thyroid metabolism.

There’s never been a single study to show that tyrosine improves thyroid hormone metabolism.

Tyrosine in fact doesn’t do anything good for improving thyroid metabolism.  What it does more often than not is actually suppresses thyroid metabolism by converting into sympathetic nervous system chemicals, adrenaline and noradrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine and what those things actually do is end up suppressing thyroid function.

Here is an all too common scenario… a woman starts getting low thyroid symptoms  like hair loss, quick weight gain, depression, feeling cold all over, constipation, brain fog.

Next she seeks help at her local health food store or she goes to the mall or she even sees a well-meaning alternative medicine practitioner. And that person, since they don’t understand the full spectrum of what can be causing low thyroid, suggests tyrosine–which will probably only make her symptoms worse.

This is where things can go wrong.  There are about 24 different ways the thyroid can go wrong…and tyrosine is NOT one of them.

The woman is told to take the tyrosine, and probably iodine as well.  I have already talked about iodine and the hidden dangers of taking it in an earlier blog.   So they give the woman tyrosine and what usually happens is…nothing happens.  Or they give her tyrosine and because tyrosine is converted into chemicals that will further squash her pituitary and thyroid…she feels worse. Yuck!

Tyrosine support should not be used with someone with low thyroid.

It just shouldn’t.  There are formulas available that do not contain tyrosine–But better yet, don’t even try to supplement yourself.  Find someone that understands the complex nature of thyroid hormones.  And it is more complicated than iodine and tyrosine.

The number one cause of low thyroid in America is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s.

If you have Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis, it needs to be controlled right now. Because if you don’t get it under control, that autoimmune process is going to march through your body and find other things to kill…such as your pancreas, brain, and cartilage. It’s going to ruin your life.

So it’s time to do your homework.  If you’ve got low thyroid problems, please, don’t take tyrosine.  Find a thyroid doctor that can actually do the detective work and find out what’s wrong.