Friends, let me introduce you to another friend of mine, Dr. Dave Frahm, ND of HealthQuarters Ministries. I've known Dave for several years now, and if there's one thing I know to be true of him it is this: The man is passionate about helping God's people to walk in health and wholeness. An ordained pastor who for 20 years served as field staff for The Navigators, Dave dedicated his life to health and wellness ministry after losing his beloved wife Anne to breast cancer -- a condition Dave now knows to be entirely preventable. (Not convinced? You'll have to read his latest book!) For this post, I've asked Dave to share some of his wisdom about the thyroid gland, because it is a subject likely to shed light on many of my readers and their mysterious or misdiagnosed health concerns. (And since so many of you follow my blog because you deal with various mental health issues, I have to put this on the table: Did you know that an underfunctioning thyroid can produce, exacerbate, or mimic symptoms of despression and other mood disorders?) Please, friends, take a few minutes to read what Dave has to say. It just may open the door to understanding for you, and start you on your way to better health, greater energy, and renewed vitality... And I want that for you! Information about how to contact Dave for a consultation (or purchase his books) follows his post. YOUR ALL-IMPORTANT THYROID GLANDBy Dr Dave Frahm, ND
HealthQuarters Ministries
Your thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland that sits like a bow-tie at the base of the front of your neck.When adequately nourished, it makes three key hormones.Two of them-thyroxine (referred to as T4) and thiiodothyronine (called T3)-stimulate the energy production of every cell in your body.They do so by increasing both the number and activity of the little "engines" (mitochondria) inside each cell that convert calories into energy--a process known as metabolism.
But it's far too general to think of metabolism as merely the process of burning calories for energy.It's more rightly defined as empowering the "activity of each cell". (1).In other words, thyroid hormones empower brain cells to do brain work, heart cells to do heart work, bone cells to do bone work, colon and liver cells to do what colon and liver cells do, ovarian cells to do what ovarian cells do, and so forth.Your thyroid gland is the kingpin of their health, for it empowers the work of every cell of every part of your body to make its specifically designed contribution to the whole.
The third key hormone produced by your thyroid gland is called calcitonin.It's responsible for allowing your body to both absorb and utilize calcium--a nutrient plentiful in the American diet. When iodine is lacking, calcitonin won't be adequately produced, and thus calcium can't be adequately absorbed.Parts of the body that require calcium will weaken: bones (osteopenia, osteoporosis), joints (pain, weakness, deterioration, carpel tunnel), hair (coarse, dry, brittle, loss), nails (vertical ridges, thin, brittle), teeth (poor quality, loosening), etc.At the same time, calcium will get urinated out or deposited where it doesn't belong, causing problems: eyes (diminishing eyesight, cataracts), arteries (hardening leading to high blood pressure, diminished hearing, heart problems, stroke, etc.), kidneys (stones), bladder (calcification, urinary urgency), joints (arthritic pain), breasts (calcifications), bone spurs, etc.
By the way, calcium is an earth mineral.Its best source is the same place cows it get--green stuff growing out of the ground.Dairy products are not a good source, since dairy burns to acid ash after digestion, pulling calcium from bones to help alkalinize the acidity.
What Weakens The Thyroid Gland?
Of primary concern, of course, is that there's no iodine in the typical American's diet.Well, more correctly, there's no iodine that sufficiently benefits your thyroid gland.Iodized salt doesn't test as actually helping to strengthen a weak thyroid gland.Seaweed is the best source of this incredibly important nutrient, but if you're like most Americans, you don't tend to eat a lot of the stuff.Thus, the "workhorse" in your body that makes the hormones that run the show just doesn't get fed.
That said, you may also be beating that horse while it's down.Your already starving thyroid gland may be routinely subjected to additional forms of stress
*DIETARY STRESS: alcohol, caffeine (chocolate, cocoa, coffee, soda, tea ), dairy products (milk, cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream ),partially hydrogenated fats (margarine, Crisco ), refined grains (white pasta, white breads, white rice, pastries .), unfriendly sweeteners (aspartame/NutraSweet, brown sugar, corn syrup, date sugar, dextrose, Florida Crystals, high fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses, Splenda, sucrose, sugar )
*EMOTIONAL STRESS: anger, anxiety, confusion, fear, grief, guilt, worry, etc...
*PHYSICAL STRESS:excessive exercise (Weakens thyroid function.I have a client who runs 13 miles a day.He had one weakness when I did muscle response testing--low thyroid.He just past his 46th kidney stone.Makes sense.Low thyroid can lead to build up of calcium deposits in the kidneys.Exercise is important, but not in excessive measure.);pregnancy (A happy stress, but a stress to the thyroid, nonetheless.The child being formed in the womb draws upon whatever little iodine stores mom actually has available.Iodine is essential for healthy brain formation in the child.Post birth, mom's thyroid problems worsen due to lack of iodine now left in her system.Common would be things like post-partum "blues", depression, weight gain, hair loss, fatigue, low sex drive, etc all of which will continue until someone helps her learn to feed her thyroid).
*ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS: chlorine and fluoride (in toothpaste, drinking water, etc); mercury (in tuna and a few other fish, water, dental fillings, and used as a preservative (thimerosal) in vaccinations and flu shots);pesticides (found on conventionally grown produce and animal products; also found in water systems, the result of agricultural run-off; found in air supplies, due to drift from agricultural spraying);radiation (microwaves, x-rays, cell phone);other toxic chemicals ( PCB's, PVC's, red dye #3, cigarette smoke).
In today's American culture, our thyroid glands go under-fed and over-taxed.Can a person make changes that take some of the load off their thyroid?Sure.For instance, dietary changes are always important.Avoiding the "unfriendly" sweeteners listed above is a good start.Some of the sweeteners that won't tax your thyroid include: stevia, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice (Sucanat), agave, fructose, barley malt, blackstrap molasses, and sorghum.
But in many other ways, stress is just part of life.The key is to keep your thyroid strong against the impact of stress.Keep it nourished.Feed it a source of iodine daily.Don't let it starve. And by the way, make sure that the iodine-supplying supplement you're using actually tests as strengthening your thyroid.Many on the market don't.I've tested a bunch in my office.
How Exactly Does Weak Thyroid Predispose a Woman to Breast Cancer?
That's the subject of may latest book The Breast Cancer Pattern (It Starts With Your Starving Thyroid) available at
Dr Frahm is a Naturopathic Doctor (ND), Certified Nutritional Counselor (CNC), Master Herbalist (MH), and the author of seven books on health and nutrition. His office is based out of HealthQuarters where he does individual nutritional assessments using a technique called Muscle Response Testing (or Kinesiology). Dr Frahm does phone consultations focusing on each person's individual symptoms and the data found in the nutritional health assessment form to give you a personalized plan to follow. He can also help you by doing a blood analysis. Dave has the gift of motivating and enabling people to take practical steps toward improving their health, and he will give you a personalized plan to follow.
Dr Frahm teaches classes on the right environment for healthy living, proper foods to eat, how to rebuild your immune system, how to detoxify your body, and many more topics. He can assist you with your physical, emotional, and spiritual issues.
He is an ordained pastor and for 20 years served the Lord as field staff for the Navigators. Today he is known internationally for his books and teachings in the natural health field.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTHQUARTERS MINISTRIES, INCLUDING CONTACT INFO AND HOW TO GET DAVE'S BOOKS, PLEASE VISITOR FOLLOW "HEALTHQUARTERS MINISTRIES" ON FACEBOOK.
Full Post
No comments:
Post a Comment