By Mathew Diaz
•
29 Mar, 2021
What do you do if a lightbulb in your house goes out? Replace it with a new one. It’s not a big deal. What if your thyroid isn’t working like it “should?” You would think that a body part, a gland as essential to your health as, well, any other gland in your body wouldn’t be treated so nonchalantly as an inanimate and easily replaceable lightbulb but you would be wrong. The thyroid when enlarged, is discarded and replaced by pharmaceuticals. No thought about the repercussions of removal or why it was enlarged in the first place. Just throw it out like a broken lightbulb. Today we’re going to go into the potential reasons why goiters form from mainstream sources such as the Mayo Clinic and Textbooks and I’m going to connect the dots that are have been ignored for decades. I believe that this information is being ignored because the answers to the problem are far away from pharmaceuticals. Because there is less money in real answers. And because the answers dispels the myths that your body is malfunctioning and in order to function properly you need product X Y or Z or you will be forever doomed to live a subpar life. Words From The Mayo Clinic (*My two cent comments) What is goiter? Goiter is a condition in which the thyroid gland grows larger. The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck, below the Adam's apple. The thyroid gland produces the hormones thyroxine (also called T4) and triiodothyronine (also called T3). (Most of the T4 is changed to T3 outside of the thyroid.) These hormones play a role in certain bodily functions, including body temperature, mood and excitability, pulse rate, digestion and others. What causes goiter? Goiters have different causes, depending on their type. Simple goiters develop when the thyroid gland does not make enough hormones to meet the body's needs. The thyroid gland tries to make up for this shortage by growing larger. Endemic goiters occur in people in certain parts of the world who do not get enough iodine in their diet (iodine is necessary to make thyroid hormone). For instance, a lack of iodine in the diet is still a common problem in parts of central Asia and central Africa. Because iodine is added to table salt in the United States and other countries, this type of goiter usually does not occur in these countries. Sporadic goiters, in most cases, have no known cause. In some cases, certain drugs can cause this type of goiter. For example, the drug lithium, which is used to treat certain mental health conditions, as well as other medical conditions, can cause this type of goiter. Other risk factors for goiter include the following: Hereditary (inherited from family) Female gender Age over 40 *Scene 1 The Skeptical Patient With No Family History of Goiter Why do I suddenly have a goiter, Doc? Dang, there’s nothing you can do, you just turned 40 yesterday. I’m 31. So someone in your family has had a goiter? Nope You are female so there is that. Well yeah but not all females get goiters. Touché … Well, we may never know why but we do need to remove your goiter otherwise it may grow and suffocate you. Don’t I need my thyroid? I think air is more important. Isn’t there a natural way to shrink it? There are no known pharmaceuticals that can do that. Okay, but how about a natural way? I’m not a magician. No, no, no I said A NATURAL WAY. End scene. Other diseases and conditions can also cause a goiter. These include: Graves' disease. Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease (your body's immune system mistakenly attacks your healthy body). In this case, the immune system attacks the thyroid gland and the thyroid grows larger. Hashimoto's disease. This is another autoimmune disease. In this case, the disease causes inflammation (swelling) of the thyroid gland. This causes it to produce fewer thyroid hormones, resulting in a goiter. This type of goiter usually gets better on its own over time. Nodular goiter. In this condition, growths called nodules occur on one or both sides of the thyroid gland, causing it to grow larger. Thyroid cancer. Cancer of the thyroid gland often enlarges the thyroid. Pregnancy. Human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that a woman produces during pregnancy, can cause the thyroid to grow. Thyroiditis. Inflammation of the thyroid gland itself can cause the thyroid gland to grow. This can happen after the person has an illness caused by a virus, or after a woman gives birth. Exposure to radiation. A person who has had medical radiation treatments to the head and neck (but not diagnostic procedures, such as a CT scan) has a greater risk of developing goiter. What are the symptoms of goiter? The main symptoms of goiter include: A swelling in the front of the neck, just below the Adam's apple A feeling of tightness in the throat area Hoarseness (scratchy voice) Neck vein swelling Dizziness when the arms are raised above the head Other, less common symptoms include: Difficulty breathing (shortness of breath) Coughing Wheezing (due to squeezing of the windpipe) Difficulty swallowing (due to squeezing of the esophagus, or “food tube”) Some people who have a goiter may also have hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include: An increased resting pulse rate Rapid heartbeat Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting Sweating without exercise or increased room temperature Shaking Agitation Some people with goiter may also have hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. Symptoms of hypothyroidism can include: Fatigue (feeling tired) Constipation Dry skin Weight gain Menstrual irregularities Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12625-goiter The Mayo Clinic may be filled with the world’s brightest people but if they don’t specialize in removing the reasons for dis-ease then it doesn’t matter. The world’s best electrician isn’t going to be the best person to ask about plumbing. Goitres enlarge downward due to the muscles and facia surrounding it, preventing it from enlarging upwards. Read between The Lines If we simply look at the causes and work our way backward we can find many avenues to explore for potential root causes and if we remove enough of the causes the thyroid would have no reason to be enlarged. Make sense? (Simple Goiter) Over production or underproduction of thyroid hormones.—> How do we get it to produce the right amount? Inflammation or thyroiditis. —> Eliminate thyroid inflammatory exposures (Endemic Goiter) Too much or too little iodine —> Assess iodine intake and correct as well as all nutrient intake that affects the thyroid (Vit. D, Selenium, Iron, Zinc, Vit. E, B2, B3, B6, C, A, EX) (Sporadic Goiter or IDK) potentially drug induced —> Eliminate exposure to thyroid toxins environmental or otherwise Hereditary —> I doubt if you… Female —> Remove all the other… Over 40 —> Factors above that this will be the issue. Parathyroid There are pea-sized glands embedded in the rear tissue of the thyroid gland that secrete parathormone. Parathormone, calcitonin and vitamin D control calcium metabolism. Any issues with the parathyroids can cause problems with nerve, muscle and bone tissue since calcium is utilized in these tissues. Overproduction of parathormone can cause de-calcification of bone and kidney stones. This is another great reason to assess tissue calcium levels and tissue mineral levels in general with a HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis). A test not found or understood in mainstream medicine. When it comes to testing your thyroid the standard metrics are TSH, Free T3, Free T4 and maybe vitamin D. As you can learn very quickly this is a fraction of the overall picture when you have a goiter, hyper or hypothyroid, Hashimoto’s, Grave’s Disease. And we didn’t even discuss how stress affects the thyroid, how the HPA Axis Affects the HPT Axis. The whole person needs to be looked at and not treated in the same cookie cutter approach as the next person with the same diagnosis. The standard textbook approach is to treat the symptoms, ignore the person as an individual and solve the problem with drugs and surgery regardless of the long-term consequences. The standard text books will not connect these dots. How stress influences the thyroid. How the environment effects the thyroid. How nutrition is used by the thyroid. The why is missing but you can still see it between the texts if you know how to ask it. Root Level Testing In case you were wondering about better testing. A more complete thyroid test would be a Thyroid Adrenal Hormone Test and if you could only pick two I would say the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis as well. If you could pick three I would say you may as well go for the Big 5 (TAH, HTMA, Organic Acid Test, O3 Test, Food Sensitivity Test). I hope you enjoyed a deeper look at another piece of the puzzle of your health and life. If you would like more information like this, subscribe. New content will premiere every week. If you need help with your health, let me help you or point you to someone who is a better fit, email me at mathew@rootlvlwellness.com to set up a free exploratory call or to join my free health coaching group. Until next time, seek knowledge, take ownership and take constant action.