Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is a condition where your body becomes confused and starts attacking itself. Within this disease, your thyroid gland is the target, and antibodies are the missiles. But why does this process occur and what can you do about it? While the answers to these questions will vary from person to person, if we take a second and pause……we can begin to understand that your body is not trying to hurt itself.
Like every animal on this planet, your body wants to promote life. It does not do things that will cause its ultimate destruction on purpose. Your body in all its wisdom during a bacterial infection decides to raise its temperature to destroy the bad bacteria that is causing an infection. So a fever is not bad, it is just a response from your body. You can think of symptoms that you experience as your body’s way of communicating that something is not right.
With Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, it is much the same. Your body becomes confused and starts attacking itself. You then begin experiencing fatigue, constipation, dry and thinning hair, weight gain, depression, slow heart rate, etc. These are the symptoms that lead you to go make an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will usually prescribe Synthroid or Cytomel after some basic lab tests. While these medications have their place, they do nothing to address the underlying reason WHY your body is attacking itself.
The Role of Blood Type
One of the interesting findings is that Blood Type O’s have higher amounts of autoimmune thyroid diseases (Graves and Hashimoto’s). A thyroid that is ‘sick’ will express high amounts of blood group ‘A’ antigens. These ‘A’ antigens in Blood Type O’s will cause an intense immune reaction as your body tries to get rid of this foreign invader. This is where the seaweed, bladderwrack, can play a role (please speak to your doctor first before beginning). This plant can actually help lessen the effects on the immune system by blunting the inflammatory response and by stopping the adhesion of different bacteria. Another little tip and trick you can do to see if your treatment is working will be monitoring your temperature.
“The best measurement of thyroid function is the basal metabolic rate, which involves taking an axillary (armpit) reading every morning before rising from bed. Several days readings should be performed sequentially and averaged. A resting axillary temperature lower than 97.5 makes me start thinking about improper thyroid function.” Peter D’Adamo
If we remember basic anatomy and immunology we can recall that a majority of our immune system is in our digestive tracks. If our digestive tract is under chronic inflammation from poor diet, bacteria, constipation it is only going to add to the problem. This especially holds true of people who have Type O Blood. If you are suffering from an autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and are sick of not feeling better, you should investigate the root cause of the problem. While this can be different for everyone, the worst thing you can do is nothing.
To schedule an appointment, please contact the front desk of the Personalized Natural Medicine Clinic, located in a beautiful Victorian house in the heart of Newtown, Connecticut.
