What Every Woman Needs To Know About Hashimoto’s

I am excited that I had the chance to speak with Dr. Anshul Gupta and delve deep into the fascinating realm of thyroid health and Hashimoto’s! For all you amazing women out there who are in your fabulous 40s, listen up, because this is the moment you’ve been waiting for! Hashimoto’s may have crossed your path, or you might have suspected that your thyroid is wreaking havoc in your life, but fear not, Magic Makers, for you are about get schooled in all things thyroid.

Dr. Gupta, has poured all of his wisdom into his book “Reversing Hashimoto‘s.” This book holds the key to your burning questions about your precious thyroid, unraveling the lifestyle shifts needed to not only alleviate but reverse those troublesome Hashimoto’s symptoms!

Dr. Anshul Gupta has worked at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Department of Functional Medicine alongside Dr. Mark Hyman. He has helped thousands of patients to reverse their health issues by using the concepts of functional medicine.

How did you get into medicine and study the thyroid?
I originally went to medical school to be a cardiologist but soon realized I didn’t want to be associated with it.  I wanted to do the whole thing which led me to become a family physician.  Later on, I was working at the Cleveland Clinic Functional Medicine Department, and what I saw was this pattern.  A pattern of middle-aged females, 30-60 with all of these similar symptoms.
●      Weight gain
●      Brain fog
●      Mood changes
●      Tired all the time
●      Gut problems
●      Depression
●      Anxiety

Every single one of them was faithfully taking their medications, diligently following their doctors’ orders, and yet, they were stuck in a never-ending cycle of frustration and despair. They all shared a common thread, a some disfunction with their thyroids.

Thyroid – So many of you hear this and how this little gland can cause so many challenges! What does our thyroid actually do?
Without the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone there would be no life, we need it to live. It is responsible for the maintenance of each and every organ of our body from head to toe.  If we do not get enough thyroid hormone from our mom when we are in the womb, we will not develop our brains. It is needed for proper growth and for brain development.
Even when we get older, it is needed for our brain for proper functioning and proper utilization of energy, memory issues, and all those things.

The gastrointestinal system (GI) or gut relies heavily on the thyroid. The GI system needs the thyroid to digest our food and the movement of food throughout the gut tract.  Food cannot digest or move forward in the gut if the thyroid is not working properly. And without it working properly, we can have constipation, diarrhea, or bloating.

We need it to maintain energy, it is needed for maintaining body temperature. It is a Metabolic Hormone, so it regulates metabolism.  It can also cause people to gain weight or not lose weight because they don’t have enough thyroid hormone.

Hashimoto’s – What is happening with the thyroid to cause this?
This is an auto-immune condition of the thyroid gland.  In this disease, your body starts to produce antibodies which cause very slow destruction of the thyroid gland.  The thyroid gland becomes destroyed to the point that it is able to produce enough thyroid hormones.  Diagnosed as hypothyroidism, most people go to the regular doctor and only get 1 test (TSH) without getting tested for this and are not even aware of the reason the thyroid cannot produce this hormone.  Then they give you medicine, but in reality, there can be other reasons why we get this disease. So, you should have your doctor test for this specifically.

What labs should you ask your doctor to take?
There are different kinds of tests. The only one most are doing is TSH, so they are not actually measuring the actual thyroid hormone.  To check for Hashimoto’s, you have to check antibodies; TPO thyroid peroxidase antibodies and Thyroglobulin antibodies.  If any of these are higher than the reference range for the lab, it’s an indicator of Hashimoto’s. You don’t need any other testing, this will tell you they have it so you don’t have to go to any specialized labs and can be done at a normal lab.

I have Hashimoto’s, what does that mean?
There are 2 different things, Hashimoto’s, and low thyroid (hypothyroid) and they are not the same.  Hashimoto’s disease is telling you have an autoimmune disease and your body is producing antibodies.  Hypo is the destruction of the thyroid gland and leads to hypothyroidism.  Thyroid medication is not stopping Hashimoto’s disease. It’s just supporting your body for the extra thyroid hormone it needs.

What can I do to support my antibodies so that they are not eating away at my thyroid with or without medications?
This all depends on the situation.  Some may need it, but it is person-to-person. If you do have antibodies, it means you are destroying your thyroid gland.  The question is actually can we lower the antibodies and tackle Hashimoto’s? How can you do it?

Research suggests Hashimoto’s actually happens because of the interplay between our genetic makeup and the environment around us.  There are 2 parts of this, and I have identified 5 major categories for causing this. These 5 Are responsible for leading to Hashimoto’s in every person.

1. Food sensitivities – Wrong foods can lead to Hashimoto’s. Inflammatory food, processed foods, gluten, dairy, and sugar have been associated with increased auto-immune disease. More and more food sensitivities.
2. Nutritional Deficiencies – Your thyroid needs a bunch of different vitamins and minerals for proper functioning. We may be eating the best diet, but our bodies could not be getting the best nutrients.
3. Stress – We are getting more stressed out these days, especially females.
4. Our environment – insecticides, pesticides on crops, heavy metals, mold toxins.
5. Infections – Especially Epstein Barr, bladder infections, parasites in our gut can lead to it, Lyme disease, etc.  Chronic infections can also do that.

Are there natural ways that I can start to better support my thyroid so that I don’t end up with Hashimoto’s?
Yes! Lifestyle changes! Lifestyle is the core of our existence, and it can prevent as well as treat different diseases.  Food plays an important role as well.  A healthy diet is good for prevention or treatment. There are 2 approaches.

First – Remove foods that are bad for the thyroid:
●      Processed foods
●      Fast food
●      Gluten
●      Fried food
●      Dairy
●      Sugar
Second – Include foods:
●      Green leafy, non-starchy vegetables.
●      Vegetables are great.
●      A plant-based diet can be helpful for Hashimoto’s patients.
●      Good quality protein. – Chicken, fish, turkey, if you eat plant-based then eat lentils, beans, nuts, and seeds.
●      Good quality fats – not all fats are the same! Stay away from bad fats. We need good fats. Our brain won’t work if we don’t. – Avocado, nuts, and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, fatty fish.
●      An Inflammatory diet is very important, staying away from bad food is a good start for people to prevent and treat Hashimoto’s Disease.

Stress management is also very important.  Each and every person should incorporate stress reduction exercises in their daily routine.  10-15 minutes of deep breathing, meditation, and journaling.

In your book can I find ways to bring this into my life? What can I find in your book?
We go over the 3 steps for treating Hashimoto’s.
1. Find the root cause. – One major mistake people make is thinking there is only one root cause, but most people will have more than 2-3 root causes.
2. Start lifestyle changes. – What to eat and not to eat, supplements to help the thyroid.
3. Removing toxicities from our bodies -Stress is a big one. We all have toxins in our body.  How can we live a clean life to reduce the toxin burden in our life?
Do not start a detox process on your own because it can get worse. Detoxing is a complicated process and I recommend seeing a functional medicine doctor or integrative provider before starting that.  Talk to someone that knows how to properly detox a body

In my book, you can at least get started with lifestyle changes and supplements! If you want to speak with me however we take patients in our virtual medical practice from all over the country and world.  We take people through the 3-step process, and you can easily find information on our website about how to work with us.

How do you recommend we approach this on our own? Do we start with the minor and then work on the major?
No start with the major root cause first then move on to the minor root cause.  It doesn’t matter what root causes you have, lifestyle changes are huge to just start doing! Stress reduction, the right food choices, exercise regularly, and improving sleep routine are all necessary.

If I have Hashimoto’s, how does exercise fit into this?
This is a very important point!  In thyroid conditions exercise is fine but the right kind of exercise is very important.  Most people are going for HITT training and extensive exercise. Those are not good if you have a thyroid disorder or Hashimoto’s.  These stressful exercises cause too much pressure on the thyroid gland and that causes burning out of that thyroid gland.  That is where we see the waxing and waning of the thyroid hormone in the body, and it cannot keep up with the demand you are putting on your body needs for the metabolic rate.  You want a good mix of cardio and strength training exercises moving forward is the best for thyroid patients.

Intermittent fasting.
A lot of people are using it for reducing inflammation, healthy purposes, losing weight, anti-aging, etc.  But for Hashimoto’s and thyroid disorders, fasting has to be used very judiciously.  When we are doing longer fasts, our body is going through starvation mode and sends a signal to our thyroid to slow down.  Then it wants it to speed up when we eat a lot of food.  Going through these cycles, again and again, puts it at risk for Hashimoto’s. A lot of people do extreme ways to go more than 18-20 hours. They think the longer the fast the better.  14-16 hours of intermittent fasting is good enough. It’s the safe spot for Hashimoto’s and thyroid disorders.  Don’t go above this and put yourself in too much of a starvation mode.  We don’t want to harm your body this way!

I’m still researching for that magic pill that will one day come out and treat all of my Hashimoto clients but it’s not yet and we still have to do it the hard way! There is no rush, don’t get overwhelmed with the information, that you have to change all of this at once.  Do one thing at a time, pick one habit then change that. Then when you master it, move on to the next habit.

We are creating this culture of hating foods… you can’t eat this or this, what are you eating? Food is medicine, we need to eat food and we cannot replace it with supplements.  We just need to choose better foods.  Don’t hate food. We know certain things are not good and stay away from them! Enjoy your life eating good food!

It is about the quality of life you are living.  This is a huge thing here. To include a change of mindset.  Simple changes can be life changing.  What changes feel good for you? What changes can you make feel approachable?

A lot of people lose hope, there is no hope that they can get better. They have felt this way for years, how can anyone get me better? I have seen people who have seen 20-25 doctors and I always tell people just to trust me for 4-6 months! If you can trust me for that amount of time let’s work and things will change. And that amount of time is good enough for people to change and get better!

Magic makers… Definitely buy his book even if you don’t have Hashimoto’s because there are so many things, he has shared here that are just really a great basis for living!

What is one thing that makes you feel magical?
I just feel magical by the strength of giving hope to people that they can get better. A lot of them have lost hope, but they can get better. They think they have to live the way that is defined by this disease. I am so glad I can be that shining hope for those people.  There is hope you can get better. Don’t let anyone tell you there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  If you ask the right questions and do the right thing, you can get better and you deserve that quality of life that everyone is enjoying.

LINKS
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Facebook Group:
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Website:
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Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fit-girl-magic-healthy-living-for-women-over-40/id1476883661

5 Days To Consistency challenge – This 5-Day challenge will help you create a personalized plan and develop habits for long-term success in just 5 days.
https://kimbarnesjefferson.lpages.co/5-days-to-consistency/

Dr. Anshul Gupta’s Website:
www.anshulguptamd.com/
Dr. Gupta Functional Medicine Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/drguptafunctionalmedicine/
Dr. Gupta Functional Medicine Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/anshulguptamd/

Reversing Hashimoto’s
 https://amzn.to/42p4fbN
Youtube Channel:
 https://www.youtube.com/c/AnshulGuptaMD