Most people don’t realize it, but many hormone imbalances are related to toxic overload.  The thyroid in particular is sensitive to environmental toxins.  Chlorine in  your water, bromide in your bread, fluoride in your toothpaste and your water and a long list of over the counter and prescription drugs can cause major disruptions in thyroid function.  Pesticides and preservatives in food, air fresheners and toxins in cleaning products all can play a role in thyroid imbalances.

By avoiding the toxins mentioned above, scheduling regular liver detoxification procedures and programs and nourishing your thyroid, you can restore your energy and reverse many of the widespread health challenges that low thyroid function causes.  We’ll go into more detail about hormones and their relationship to toxicity during the hormone teleseminar that’s part of the free 4 part series of teleseminars we’re offering this month.  Till then, here are  3 tips that you can easily put in place right away and start protecting your thyroid and increasing your energy.

• Avoid Gluten.Gluten is a protein found in the common grains that most people eat several times a day—wheat, rye, barley and oats, as well as the heirloom varieties of wheat, spelt and kamut.A huge segment of the population is intolerant to gluten meaning that their bodies produce antibodies that attack the gluten AND healthy tissue.There is a very strong link between autoimmune hypothyroid and gluten intolerance. I’ve had patients bring their abnormally high thyroid stimulating hormone levels to normal within as little as six weeks.  Gluten Free Diets are becoming more and more available.   There are many gluten-free alternatives to your staple gluten containing foods.  My favorite are kelp noodles.

  I’ve created a gluten survival pack, available for free on my website.  It contains e-books, mp3 recordings, and special lists of hidden sources of gluten. To order yours now, go to http://drritamarie.com/GlutenFree.htm Included in the gluten package are recipes for sea vegetables and a powerpoint presentation on thyroid health.

• Hydrate with pure water.This is actually 2 recommendations in one. Chronic dehydration can lead to inflammatory disease, so it’s important to consume at least ½ your body weight in fluid ounces every day.An even bigger concern is the quality of the water. Chlorine and fluoride added to municipal water supplies disrupt the binding of iodine to form thyroid hormones.Further, chlorinated water in the shower is even worse because the vapors enter the body via the lungs, in much higher concentrations that found in drinking water. Keeping well hydrated with pure spring, reverse osmosis or distilled water will protect you from the dangerous additives in our current water supply.
• Include sea vegetables daily.Greens from the sea contain a wide variety of minerals and vitamins that support thyroid function. The most important of these is iodine. Since most of our soil is deficient in iodine, there are very few vegetables that contain significant amounts of iodine.Iodine is critical for thyroid function. In fact, a certain species of kelp, laminaria digitata, has been found to contain measurable amounts of the thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. Eating 1-2 ounces of sea vegetation each week is a good starting point.

If you have a diagnosed or suspect thyroid dysfunction, talk to your doctor before beginning a new program. Ask your doctor to order thyroid antibody tests, especially if you currently have any type of autoimmune disease.
Being healthy is your birthright. Take good care of your thyroid gland and you’ll be energetic and clear headed well into your twilight years.

We’ll be covering lots more details about the thyroid and other hormones during our free teleseminar “Hormones, Thyroid Imbalances, Weight Gain & Water Retention”

In this teleseminar on detox, we’ll be discussing

• How toxic emotions like fear and worry disrupt your hormone system!
• Why some women suffer with PMS, painful periods, etc. and others do not!
• What it takes to avoid the hot flashes and go through menopause with ease.
• What happens to your hormones while you’re watching the evening news or reading the paper.
• Could negative thoughts, worry and stress be causing your weight gain? Menstrual problem? Fatigue?
• Why thyroid imbalance is an epidemic!
• Sluggishness and weight gain are symptoms! Find out what they are symptoms of and how to handle it.
• What foods are most responsible for upsetting your hormone balance and how to replace them with healthier alternatives.
• Which common, everyday choices are causing sluggish metabolism and weight gain?
• How dry skin, thin hair, coldness, weakness, and high cholesterol are all related to one thing!
• The biggest reason people can’t let go of excess weight in spite of years of juggling with diets.
• How foods from the ocean may contain the missing link to balancing your hormones naturally.

The teleseminar is free and when you sign up, you’ll also get access to the recordings of our previous teleseminars on candida, leaky gut and brain chemistry. Sign up at 6 Week Detox

Have an energized day.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie