Still Having Thyroid Symptoms?

Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS, MNeuroSci, FAACP, DACBN, DIBAK, CNS is considered one of the leading experts in non-pharmaceutical applications to chronic illnesses, autoimmune disorders and complex neurological disorders.  His first book  Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal   quickly became the best selling thyroid book, is listed the number one thyroid book on Amazon and provides profound insights into what is happening to our health.  

Thyroid issues are much more than simply looking at TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) markers, it encompasses autoimmunity, gut response, blood sugar imbalances, anemia and so much more!  

Dr. Kharrazian’s book is a must read for anyone who suffers from any of these symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Weight Gain despite dieting or Difficulty gaining weight
• Morning Headaches
• Depression
• Hair Loss
• Constipation
• Sensitivity to cold weather
• Muscle cramps while at rest
• Slow wound healing
• Itchy, dry skin
• Heart palpitations
• Inward trembling
• Nervousness & emotional distress
• Insomnia
• Night sweats

  

Often thermography reports reveal abnormal thyroid heat patterns even though clients are on thyroid medications.  So, what is going on?  Since most insurance companies will only pay for one blood test which measure TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) levels, it is the only test performed, however, the thyroid is much more complicated than one single test.  Looking at a full panel of thyroid blood tests including antibodies against the thyroid is very important.  Particularly for anyone that is gluten sensitive since gluten has a similar molecular structure to the thyroid.  Every time you eat gluten and your body responds with an allergic immune reaction, it responds against the thyroid as well causing damage to the thyroid too.

Dr. Kharrazian’s book helps to address thyroid issues and ways to get symptoms under control.  He shares his clinical findings on how to address the thyroid and autoimmune conditions.  Learn how diet and lifestyle changes can change your life and manage your condition.

To help you find a practitioner in your area that has studied Dr. Kharrazian’s work to address thyroid and autoimmune dysfunctions, visit this website to find a practitioner near you.

 

Healthy Dietary Lifestyle

There is so much information out there on one diet or another that most people just don’t know what to do anymore.  You may have tried one diet after another with disappointing results and wonder if there is something else out there that makes more sense?   The answer to that is – YES!!

Let’s get back to basics and give the body what it needs to make the proper hormones and enzymes for the body.   Let’s give the body the right type of exercise and sunlight so that it can function in a healthy state rather than one filled with muscle aches, joint soreness and swelling and other poor health issues.

The Paleo Dietary Lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle for wonderful health with a clear thinking brain and balanced body weight.   What is this Paleo Diet Lifestyle?  Glad you asked! 

To get you started here are a few selected video clips to help you understand what this new lifestyle is all about.  If your interest is peaked, there are plenty of web sites, wonderful books and recipe books to help make eating this way sheer joy… Enjoy!!

If you still think you need formalized exercise check out www.crossfit.com for exercises that provide short interval bursts of training. 

Web sites:

http://www.paleodietlifestyle.com/

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/

Books:

The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat  by Loren Cordain   www.thepaleodiet.com

The Paleo Diet Cookbook: More than 150 recipes for Paleo Breastfast, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks and Beverages    by Loren Cordain, Nell Stephenson & Lorrie Cordain

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet   by Robb Wolf

Healthy Sinuses

We all like to breathe easily but sometimes we get sinus pressure and nasal congestion and wish there was an easy way to deal with it

There are four pairs of sinuses in the facial region which help to insulate the skull, reduce the weight of the skull and allow for our voice to resonate within it.  The locations of the four pair of sinuses are as follows:

·    Frontal sinuses are in the forehead region

·    Maxillary sinuses are behind the cheek bones of the face

·    Ethmoid sinuses are between the eyes

·    Sphenoid sinuses are behind the eyes

If our body’s defenses are down then viruses, bacteria and fungi can stick to the lining of the cells in the sinuses and cause irritation and infections.  One effective way to maintain healthy sinuses and to clean out the sinuses is the use of a Neti pot or nasal syringe.  

Webmd offers several videos on this subject including the use of a Neti pot http://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergy-tv-10/default.htm?catId=20024&vidId=091e9c5e80516bbd

The video below also provides instructions on how best to use these tools more effectively.

Thermal Imaging is useful in identifying which sinuses may be inflamed and causing you discomfort.

Thermal Imaging Case Study:  Left Jaw Pain

Patient presents for initial breast thermogram and region of interest study on a Saturday in March 2011.  She had no complaints regarding breast health but had noticed a pain in her left lower jaw for the past week prior to her initial scan.  She has been under a lot of stress at work and thinks the pain may be related to night grinding or early TMJ.

Patient requests thermographic evaluation of breast heath and head and neck study to evaluate potential source for jaw pain.  See image and report below.

EMI report was given to patient later the same day.

EMI Interpretation March 2011

Increased activity throughout the central facial region is consistent with sinusitis/rhinitis.  Perioral thermal activity may relate to some degree of diffuse dental or gingival inflammation.  Increase is present towards the right side but no distinct focus is present.

There are no findings with respect to the thyroid gland and this is consistent with normal endocrine function.

There are no thermal finding to indicate TMJ or carotid artery dysfunction.  There is no thermal correlate to symptoms of left jaw pain along with (possible) nocturnal jaw grinding.

Patient Follow Up

By Monday, the patient was not feeling well and called in sick to work.  Further diagnostic evaluation confirmed a severe sinus infection and was placed on a course of antibiotics.  After three days of treatment and bed rest, the patient was able to return to work.

Here's to Healthy Sinuses ... Naturally!

You Are Beautiful!

You are beautiful you know, each and every one of you is beautiful and unique both inside and out.  However, it’s the outside that is seen and judged first and perhaps the worst judge of our own beauty is the one sitting in front of the mirror …  ourselves!

Why do you suppose we are so harsh on ourselves?  Well, let’s evaluate what the world would have us look to as role models; the glamour magazines, the movie stars and television ads.  All screaming out at us “look how beautiful this face is” suggesting that you too can be this beautiful if only you wore this cosmetic, dressed in this outfit or did this to your hair.  In all the hype we forget that the models in the ads are airbrushed and computer graphically altered to look that way.  Really and truly, no one looks that way!  And yet we are encouraged to achieve this unachievable image for ourselves.

Is it any wonder that cosmetic surgery is on the rise and even performed on young girls?   Yes, young girls are having facial plastic surgery, breast augmentation, tummy tucks and other surgeries to their bodies.  Think about this for a minute, they don’t even have the emotional, hormonal or physical maturity to handle these types of alterations to their bodies and what is kind of message is this sending,  that before the surgery you were not beautiful,  how awful!

On 28 July 2011 a UK advertising watchdog organization banned advertisements featuring actress Julia Roberts and model Christy Turlington stating that their images were extremely retouched and that the ads were misleading.  UK Liberal Democrat MP Jo Sinson commented that the L’Oreal ads were “not representative of the results the products could achieve”.   Click here to view the article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14313408

These already beautiful women were airbrushed and graphically altered to look in a way that is virtually unattainable by any women, and the message it sends damages women's perception of body image and self confidence.  CNN and other media shrugged it off by reporting that the US doesn't need such bans on ads because women in the US realize that these ads are placed soley to sell products and that women in the US know that these ads are portraying a fictional version of what women look like.  Thus implying that women in the UK are totally duped by such ads.  How ridiculous!  If that wer so, why are so many US women and young girls depressed about their looks, opting for plastic surgery and buying all the make up?

Darryl Roberts wondered about this very thing, what is the “ideal woman” supposed to look like, so Darryl set out to find out and what he discovered was quite eye opening.  In 2007 Darrl Roberts directed the film documentary America The Beautiful which illustrates America’s fixation with body image and the problems it generates within our society.  This film illuminates the various issues of: child models, plastic surgery, celebrity worship, airbrushed advertising, eating disorders and dangerous cosmetics.  http://americathebeautifuldoc.com/

 

The media’s influence on our self image is one thing however, it goes beyond esthetics to affecting our health.  In Stacy Malkan’s book Not Just A Pretty Face The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry we learn more about the harmful accumulated affects generated by the chemicals in all the cosmetics, hair care and skin care products that we put on daily.  Many products contain chemicals, additives and hormones that alter our health in ways that are not fully tested.  The cosmetics industry states that these chemicals are in such minute quantities that they are not harmful.  What they fail to realize or don’t want to acknowledge is that the accumulation of these chemicals in our bodies over time can and is harmful.  For instance, some hair care products used by African American women contain placental extracts (containing hormones) which are producing breast buds in infants.  Is it any wonder that our young women are developing breasts at earlier and earlier ages?

The Breast Cancer Action  www.bcaction.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to holding corporations accountable for their actions.  Their Think Before You Pink campaign www.Thinkbeforeyoupink.org blows the whistle on corporations that are selling products under the guise of raising funds for cancer when in fact their products contain chemicals which have been linked to cancer.  Talk about a conflict of interest!

So the next time you wash your hair, lather up with soap, smooth on skin lotion and put on your make up ask yourself if you did your homework.  Are there chemicals in the products you are using that could harm and robe you of your health?

What about your daughters and granddaughters, what products are they using?  Could those products harm their future health?

Watch The Story of Cosmetics   

To find out what’s in your products check out the following web site:

www.ewg.org/skindeep

Resources:

Not Just a Pretty Face  The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry    By Stacy Malkan

Beauty to Die For  The Cosmetic Consequence   By Judi Vance

Exposed The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power    By Mark Schapiro

How Everyday Products Make People Sick  Toxins at home and in the workplace  By Paul D. Blanc, MD

Brain work out anyone!

Brain fog, difficulty recalling words, can’t remember where you parked your car or what you wanted out of the refrigerator by the time you got there?  If any of these sound familiar to you, you may want to consider a program that will give your brain a work out.

Posit Science  www.positscience.com  has been researching the brains plasticity and has come up with a series of computerized programs that are designed to:

1)     Speed up and sharpen the hearing portion of your brain for faster thinking, stronger focus and better memory.

2)      Improve how your brain takes in, reacts to and remembers visual information

3)      Strengthen cognitive skills essential for driving

These programs are great for anyone who wants to improve their brain function and have proven particularly beneficial to those with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  In fact, Posit Science has been working closely with the US Department of Defense and offers their programs at various military and veterans hospitals.

The IMPACT study with 524 participants led by scientists from the Mayo Clinic & University of Southern California noted that participants who used the Brain Fitness Program increased their auditory processing speed by 131%, on average improved in memory equivalent to approximately 10 years and three out of four participants self-reported positive changes in everyday life.  Wow, brain games anyone!  You can read the whole study on the Posit Science web site.

Some of the benefits to exercising your brain include:

1)      Awakens curiosity & motivation

2)      Greater ability to get things done faster and more efficiently

3)      Increases reaction time thus Safer driving skills

4)      Better listening skills

5)      Improved memory

6)      Faster recall of words leads to feeling sharper and more confidence in conversations

7)      Sharper vision skills as you improve brain processing time

8)      Improve mood – less frustration with clearer thinking

Posit Science offers a variety of games at no charge from their web site or if you really get serious about it, you can purchase some of their more extensive programs.  What better way to wake up your brain and get it going!

Of course good nutrition/diet and a healthy active & social lifestyle are all part of good brain health as well.  Fish, blueberries, spinach & garlic are all “foods for greater thought”!

Impeccable Dental Health

Incorporating dental health into your whole body health is an essential part of obtaining optimal health. 

Our oral health is an interesting subject because it can either be a contributing factor in some diseases or it can be influenced by other health conditions within our body.   A thorough exam by both your dentist and your health care provider should be considered before embarking on extensive work in the mouth.  For instance, a patient that is complaining of brain fog and difficulty recalling words on demand may have an autoimmune condition in which the breakdown of the blood brain barrier is involved.  Embarking on the removal of all mercury filings may trigger a worsening of their condition as the toxins cross into the brain through the damaged blood brain barrier and cause additional damage to the brain.

Many patients are given a clean bill of oral health yet something may have been missed.   Often when reviewing Thermal Imaging studies with clients their scan indicates an abnormal heat pattern in the oral region.  What happened, what may have been missed?  

Healthy vs Unhealthy Oral Heat Patterns

Most traditional Dentists examine the mouth in two ways:
                1)  X-rays to view problems with the teeth themselves
                2)  Visual inspection with their eyes to check for redness in the gums, oral cancer, etc.

Cavitation in the Jaw Bone

We are all familiar with the term, “cavity” to describe a hole in the tooth however, what you may not be familiar with is the term “cavitation”.  A cavitation is a hole in the jawbone that releases toxins into the body and up until more recent years has gone relatively undetected as they cannot be seen with a regular x-ray.

Biological Dentists are looking at the mouth as an integrative part of the whole body by incorporating other tools in order to detect cavitations and overgrowth or unwanted presence of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, spirochetes and parasites as well as looking at compatibility tests, lab results and thermal scans.  Microscopes are being added to the evaluation of oral hygiene and newer technologies such as specialized high powered CT scans and a pulsed ultra sound called a Cavitat machine are being used to detect cavitations.

A few Predisposing factors for cavitations:

·         Clotting disorders which may lead to oxygen depletion to the bone

·         Radiation or Chemotherapy for Cancer

·         Systemic Diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Lupus, Hyperlipidemia

·         Thyroid & Growth Hormone Deficiencies

A few Initiating factors for cavitations:

·         Physical trauma – anything that disrupts bone tissue

·         Extractions; Dental injections; periodontal surgery

·         Root canal procedures; root canal bacteria

·         Grinding – Bruxism

·         Metallic restorations

·         Bacterial trauma; Periodontal disease; Cysts; Abscesses

·         Dead teeth; Improper cleaning after extraction

I encourage you to learn more about oral health and it's relationship to your whole body.  Here are several books and web sites that will expand on this subject even further:

Whole Body Dentistry Discover the Missing Piece To Better Health  by Mark A. Breiner, DDS

Dr. Mark Breiner, DDS web site  http://www.wholebodymed.com/library_education_details.php?pid=10

It’s All In Your Head: The Link Between Mercury Amalgams and Illness   by Dr. Hal A. Huggins  and his web site  www.hugginsappliedhealing.com

Dr Ray Belum, DDS in Clearwater, Florida has a great description on his web site as well as information on how they form, predispositions and ways of treating:   http://behmnaturaldentistry.com/natural-dentistry-services/cavitations/

To Your Health... Naturally,

Dr. Pam

Achieving Health in Balance

27 July 2011 

Everywhere you go conversations are dominated by health concerns, however, having good health is a process most of us either don’t think about or fully understand.  First let’s define what health is:  health is vigor and vitality, the absence of disease and the soundness of body and mind.  Health is the balance of three vital components, a triad composed of Structural, Nutritional & Chemical and Vibrational, Emotional & Spiritual.  Without balance in all three components optimal health is difficult to achieve. 

Think about the components of a triangle, all sides must be equal in size in order for it to be considered a true balanced triangle.  The same principle applies to our bodies, if we have balance in all three components, our body functions at an optimal level.  If one side of the triangle is under stress or compromised, the other sides will need to compensate for that weaker side and we no longer have a balanced triangle.  This is when our health begins to break down and we begin the process of accommodating to various dysfunctions within the body.  Over time we accommodate so much that what was once abnormal becomes normal.  Knowing the difference between what is “usual” and what is “normal” is important because they are not the same.

Many people accommodate to various symptoms and consider themselves healthy - but are they really? Let’s look more closely at the triangle of health:

The first component is Structure.  This component represents our organs, machines with various functions, and the muscle and bones of the body that hold us together, help us to move and give us shape.  This component is easiest to visualize because it’s the most touchy feely of all the components and slightly easier than the other two components to recognize a problem when it arises.  In general we can use our sense of vision, touch and smell to evaluate how things are working.   Western medicine devotes much of its time and resources to evaluating the structure of the body using tools such as x-rays, CT, MRI, etc.

The second component is Nutritional & Chemical which represents the nutrients and chemicals within the body that benefit bodily function as well as the chemicals and toxins that can harm us.  This category is composed of things within the body and things from outside of the body.  From within we have oxygen, water, blood, lymph, hormones, nutrients, enzymes and neurotransmitters, etc.  From outside the body we have the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food and supplements we ingest, the chemicals and heavy metals that we are exposed to and other environmental factors that impact our bodies.   For optimal health and highest function everything we are exposed to must be of the highest quality and the appropriate quantity.   Western medicine usually evaluates this component by using blood, saliva, urine, and stool tests for the body. 

The third component is the Vibrational, Emotional & Spiritual aspects of our health which is a bit more abstract and harder for western thinking to quantify.  We are vibrational beings; every cell in our bodies vibrates at a certain frequency which is used as a communication means between cells and a measure of our energy.  Our thoughts have an impact on our vibration and health, what we think and say to ourselves and others impacts our health.  Our beliefs impact us as well and either ground us or set us adrift.  For many, a new awareness and understanding concerning this component may be the key to their health.

Think of a time when you were happy and excited, how did you feel?  You probably felt light as a feather and on top of the world, as if you could take on anything.  You were vibrating at a high level and every cell in your body was vibrating at a high level.  Now think of a time when you were upset or depressed, how did you feel?  You probably felt heavy, sluggish and may have even wanted to go to sleep.  You were running on a low vibrational level and every cell in your body was reduced in its ability to vibrate at a healthy rate.

When we begin to look at all three components of our health, we may begin to find the answers to what ails us.  Evaluate your lifestyle, are you fit and strong, do you exercise, stretch and strengthen your body?  What are you exposed to on a daily basis such as your skin and hair care products, are you eating organically, check for mold or toxins in your environment.   Here are two simple things you can do to learn more about your lifestyle and health:

1)       Keep a daily food diary of everything you intake for 1-2 weeks, this will not only tell you the good and bad of what you are eating but it will also provide you with information on what you are missing from your diet. 

2)      Start a daily journal, note your thoughts, how you feel each day, are you under stress, did anything unusual happen, people you were in contact with and how you felt around them  – write it all down and you will begin to see patterns in your life that may need addressing.   A journal  will bring to focus areas that should be reinforced because they are truly working for your health and well being and point out things within your life that may need improving or are not serving you well and should be changed.  With this information you can make the changes necessary to bring you back in balance.

Determining which of the three components is out of balance is a bit of an investigative process.  For some the answers are obvious but for others the answer may take more investigation and self evaluation.   The journal and food diary is a good place to start to begin the process of understanding the Nutritional/Chemical and Vibrational/Emotional/Spiritual components of the triangle.   As for the structural component, there are many tests and screening tools available.  One safe and non-invasive method is the use of Thermal Imaging.   Thermal Imaging evaluates the physiological functions of the body (the activity of the body) by mapping out abnormal heat patterns which can indicate areas of concern.  This will give you a place to start by highlighting areas of the body that need further investigation thus saving time and money by narrowing down the types of tests that would be most beneficial to a particular area/region. 

Listen to your body, be aware of subtle changes and you will be able to correct potential problems before they get a foot hold and become more serious.  For current or deep rooted health issues, evaluate the three components of the health triangle for clues to the root of the problem.  Ultimately, by taking a proactive approach to health and being aware of the components of the health triangle you will be in a better position to have true health.  Remember health is vigor and vitality as well as sound mind and body.  You can achieve it!

To Your Health... Naturally,

Pamela Howard, DC, CCT