Tag: hashimoto’s

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Body Cleanses and Hashimoto’s


We live in a technologically advanced world. And while it may be a good thing in some areas, there is one area I can think of that may leave us asking, “why?”

If I Can’t Say It, I Can’t Eat It

I’m talking about food. You can walk into any supermarket and find aisles and aisles of processed food. You can make your way to the meat department and find refrigerated displays of many options, most of which are injected with antibiotics and hormones. If you look at the labels you will see many different ingredients in each item, most of which we can’t pronounce. I adopted the idea, if I can’t say it, I can’t eat it.

We Are What We Eat

This brings me to body cleanses. Because we spend much of our lives eating food we can’t pronounce, we have polluted our bodies with chemicals and toxins without knowing it. Today there are a growing number of people who are choosing to eat clean. Hopefully the change will encourage more companies to put the health of the consumer above profits.

Body cleansing has become more popular in recent years. The last decade at least has seen a growing number of people concerned with health and environment.

As a person living with Hashimoto’s, you now know that your thyroid is polluted. It has been absorbing environmental pollutants, heavy metals, and toxic food your whole life. Now it’s tired. It can’t function for being bogged down and unable to function. You can fix that with a body cleanse. Well you can’t fix the Hashimoto’s with the body cleanse, but you can clean the toxins out of your body and eat healthy so your body can repair itself.

Hashimoto’s, Detoxification, and Weight Gain

When you begin a body cleanse you are detoxifying your body systems. This detoxification begins in the liver. To use scientific terms, your liver first converts toxins to metabolites, then excretes the toxins. The liver plays a major role in detoxification, but your kidney, lungs, and gut play a role too.

When we are healthy, our bodies are more likely to be able to clean and heal from toxins. But when we have been exposed to an extreme amount of them, we can’t purge the pollutants from our systems. We get more and more toxic and our bodies can’t purge them. Our body systems grow sluggish and our metabolism slows down, causing fluid retention and bloating; weight gain.

Natural Food Cleanse

Ideally, we should be able to cleanse our bodies by changing our eating habits. Healthy food equals healthy living. By eating natural foods such as organically grown fruits and vegetables and grass-fed meat, we are on our way to being healthy. We also need to eliminate processed sugar or fructose. Fructose is a major contributor when it comes to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Both contribute to weight gain and the increase in obesity.

You should also avoid trans fats. Trans fats are found in processed foods. When you see “partially hydrogenated” on the label, you are looking at trans fats.

Now you know some of what to avoid, the list below are some foods to incorporate into your diet.

  • Natural fats and oils (extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil)
  • Nuts and seeds (You will be limited with these if you have Hashimoto’s. More in a later post)
  • Proteins
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables

Hashimoto’s and a Healthy Lifestyle

In addition to clean eating here are some detox suggestions

  • Eat right
  • Support your immune system
  • Exercise
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Support your gut
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Get plenty of sleep
  • Visit a chiropractor
  • Supplement with a body cleanse of your choice twice a year

If you have never done a body cleanse before, talk to your health care provider before embarking on the cleanse. Ask for suggestions, you may be pleasantly surprised. No matter what you decide, supplement it with a healthy diet and lots of water.

This is where you begin living healthy with Hashimoto’s.

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Getting Hashimoto’s Under Control

The first thing I did when I went home was to begin a search for the definition of Hashimoto’s. The first thing I learned was that it’s the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. It’s also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation when antibodies are directed against the thyroid gland.

It’s not known what causes Hashimoto’s, but it often runs in families.

As time passes, Hashimoto’s results in the thyroids inability to produce thyroid hormones and it becomes impaired. This impaired function leads to an underactive thyroid. Hashimoto’s is most often seen in middle age women but can be found in men and children.

Once I knew what I was diagnosed with, I moved on to natural cures. I found many sites where I was told once you have Hashimoto’s you’ll have to take medication for the rest of your life. I didn’t like what I was hearing so I continued my search until I found what I was looking for. Now we get to the nitty-gritty.

First, I learned if I was going to live with Hashimoto’s without taking medication, I was going to have to listen to my body. I needed to become familiar with the signs and symptoms of Hashimoto’s and learn how to manage them. I began the process of monitoring my thyroid by paying attention to my body temperature. If you have Hashimoto’s you will relate to always being cold. Well, I used that to my advantage. I began taking my temperature every three hours throughout the day to determine if my lifestyle changes were working. Take your temperature before you get out of bed in the morning, then every three hours after that.

When I began to monitor my temperature, it ranged from 96.8 to 98.5 depending on the time of day, and day of the week. The doctor didn’t instruct me in the temperature taking process. I found the idea when I was on the internet and stumbled across a website for Wilson’s Syndrome. I figured if it was related to symptoms of hypothyroidism, it could help me regulate what I was doing for Hashimoto’s. I knew as my temperature went up so did the function of my thyroid.

I did this for a month as I cleansed my body and changed my eating habits. The American Thyroid Association recommends a TSH range of 0.5 to 2.0mU/L. Mine was 5.12mU/L. Within 30 days I reduced it to 3.1mU/L. It wasn’t perfect, but I was moving in the right direction. Nothing, worth having or being, comes easily or quickly. If you choose to follow this method, it will take time. Every person is at a different place in their health and healing. We all bounce back differently. I have never been a drinker or smoker, so I had that going for me. Your situation may be different. Don’t give up you can get there.

In the next post I will talk about body cleanses. See you then.

Please remember my post’s are a journey toward good health that worked for me. Please check with your doctor before making any changes in diet or medication. I’m not a physician and am not directing any person to follow the information in any of my posts.

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Hashimoto’s – Help!

I left the doctor’s office in shock. No, I’m not dying, I’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. At first, I thought, “This has to be a mistake,” but once I had some time to process, and research Hashimoto’s, everything began to make sense.
For years I had been tired, unfocused, and in pain. When I started reading about the symptoms of hypothyroidism, I felt like I was reading about my life. When I was 29 years old, I found myself exhausted. I was the single mother of two small girls, working full time, and balancing parenting and career. I went in for my physical and was given a clean bill of health. Blood work came back fine.

I was still tired. For years I was tired, unfocused, irritable and in pain.
My doctor thought I had fibromyalgia, which was a new medical diagnosis at the time. I gave up and lived with the pain.

When I turned fifty, everything changed. I was still in pain, tired, and unfocused. Plus, now I was having trouble remembering simple things; tasks that I performed at work on a regular basis, and at home. I went in for my physical and again was given a clean bill of health. This time, however, the blood work revealed something new. Hashimoto’s, as it turned out.

My doctor wanted to put me on medication. “I’m a healthy person,” I thought. “I can’t be on medication for the rest of my life.” I shook my head and looked at her and said, “No. Give me 30 days to try to get it under control without medication.” To my surprise, she agreed.

For the next 30 days, I spend every free moment researching, reading, and changing my diet. What you will read in the following posts will show you how I managed to defy Hashimoto’s hell and live a life free from pain and the fog that I lived in for all those years.
I hope my journey will save you time and money and sanity. Here’s to enriching and renewing your thyroid health.

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Thyroid Awareness Month

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Before my diagnosis, I’d never heard of Hashimoto’s. I knew it was possible for a person to have a hypothyroid or Hyperthyroid. But I thought it was genetic and didn’t give much thought to the possibility that I would have to worry about it. My grandmother had Grave’s disease and had her thyroid removed when she was young, but again I didn’t think about how it affected me.

Healthy with Hashimoto’s

Today, many years later, I’m 54 years old and living with Hashimoto’s.  I spent the last three years working my way back to good health. Some days I struggle, and I spent many hours researching Hashimoto’s and how I could “beat it” or at least live a healthy life without having to take medication. Well, I continue to be a work in progress, but I’m at a point where I feel healthy, and I don’t need to be on medication. Some days I think that is a miracle.

Thyroid Awareness Month

Now I think back on the journey and realize I shouldn’t be stingy with what I have learned. So, I think it appropriate to begin this blog in January, which I now know as Thyroid Awareness Month. I am celebrating my good health by giving back to those who share my diagnosis.

Real Life Credentials

I’m not a doctor, I have no medical background, with the exception, of being the mom of a nurse. I spent many hours studying with her as she went through nursing school. She is now a nurse, I’m still only her mom; no degree, no real medical knowledge. I’m proud of her though.

So, when you read through my blog please remember I’m only a woman living with Hashimoto’s, trying to find the best way to be healthy and happy. I’m happy to share what worked for me, but please take my words for what they are; mine; my journey, my body, my results. If you have Hashimoto’s or think you do, please talk to your doctor, and if you like what you read here, share the information with him/her and use what information you can, leaving what isn’t possible for you.

Why Now?

I’m going out on a limb publishing this blog. I’m doing it because we need to make people aware that thyroid disease is serious. Twenty million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. Sixty percent of those don’t realize it. They may have symptoms of thyroid disease, but their bloodwork doesn’t show it. We need to be educating people to ask the right questions to get the correct diagnosis. I will discuss this dilemma in future blogs.

Now is the time for me to do my part. I want this blog to be interactive. If you are reading and have questions, please comment. We can help each other by supporting one another and educating others to see the signs. I hope it will help many to live with a healthy thyroid.