Month: November 2016

I’m not a doctor nor a dietitian, but I took care of a diabetic parent for 30 years and it caused me to learn as much as I could about nutrition and healthy eating.

My life style is probably a lot like yours – trying to do as much as I can, for as long as I can, for as many as I can. Throughout my life I have been allergic to dairy products and eggs. I used to take stomach pills daily. I’ve struggled with illness, allergies, inflammatory diseases, and the stresses of life. Working full time and taking care of an aging loved one is stressful – ones’ own needs are neglected. I am not one to fall for fads or fancies. But I know, after three years of eating a modified Paleo diet and no longer taking stomach pills, I’ve lost 30 pounds and feel better today than I have for a decade or more. It might not work for everyone, but I am convinced it is doing me good and giving me the energy I need to do good for my job, my family, and my friends.

Google “Paleolithic Diet” and you’ll find numerous observations on an eating concept first suggested by a gastroenterologist around 1975. If human beings were originally designed as “hunters and gatherers,” and only later in our evolution became “farmers,” maybe our digestion is best designed for foods that can be hunted or gathered rather than cultivated grains processed to death? The Paleolithic Diet has been dubbed the Caveman Diet but only extremists try to recreate a Stone Age diet while most just find it sensible that people are to eat meats, poultry, wild fish, Omega 3 eggs, natural oils, fruits, nuts, tubers and all the vegetables you can. The Paleo diet tries to do an end-run around processed foods and processed grains (bread, pasta, rice, corn) whose carbohydrates digest as sugars and are stored as fat. Gluten doesn’t set well with many people’s digestion, and Paleo advocates are wary of gluten and lectins (the natural toxins within many grains).

Dr. Loren Cordain is widely considered the founder of the Paleo movement and has written extensively on the topic. Websites like “Mark’s Daily Apple” or “Everyday Paleo” provide recipes in abundance that fit the Paleo diet’s ideals.

On a daily basis, I cook organic chicken and beef, and I eat fresh seafood as often as possible. I like to grill chicken, hamburgers, seafood and vegetables. I season food with garlic and fresh herbs that I grow in my garden. I also shop at the local farmer’s market. Year round fresh vegetables are such a treat.

I make a terrific antipasto plate with grilled vegetables. My neighborhood friends and I love raw broccoli – as seen in this picture of my two-year-old friend.

I’m looking forward to this year’s Thanksgiving break from work so that I can pull together some recipes to share with you!

 

“What’s wrong with your neck?!”

My friends had not seen me in a year and when I went to visit them last April, they were appalled at a growth in the front of my neck and rushed me to urgent care.

My thyroid gland was swollen and I began what would be over a month of tests including ultra sound, biopsy, and blood work. I learned that one in eight women in North America will develop some type of thyroid condition and while more women than men are affected, 60% of people who have thyroid conditions are unaware of their condition.

My endocrinologist said, “You’ll need surgery.”

The thyroid gland controls the rate at which the human body produces energy from nutrients and oxygen. Think of it like the gas pedal on your car. Don’t press on the pedal and there’s no gas for the car to burn, floor it and you’ve got way too much!

When the thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroxin, the condition is called hypothyroidism and some common symptoms include weakness, weight gain, cold hands and feet, joint pain, heavy menstrual cycles and in advanced cases, confusion and depression. Your system is processing at too slow a rate! Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a common autoimmune cause of hypothyroidism.

When the thyroid gland produces too much thyroxin, the condition is called hyperthyroidism and some common symptoms are anxiety, shaky hands, sweating, diarrhea, bulging eyes, weight loss, and light menstrual flow. Your system is burning too hot. Graves’ disease is a common cause of hyperthyroidism.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in my early twenties and took a low dosage of synthroid until my endocrinologist retired and my new doctor prescribed something which made me sick, so I simply stopped taking it.

After being told I would have to have surgery, I sought a second opinion. The new endocrinologist determined that I did NOT have thyroid cancer, nor an autoimmune disease, but still she urged me to have surgery for cosmetic reasons. Because the thyroid gland is so close to the vocal cords there is always the risk of them being nicked or slit. I teach for a living so I needed my voice intact!

For me, nutrition and exercise were the answers – NOT SURGERY!

My primary care doctor recommended the Paleo diet and exercise. Since beginning in June, I’ve lost 20 pounds and the swelling in my thyroid gland has completely disappeared. What amazes me is that I feel better than I have in years– without thyroid medication and without thyroid gland surgery.

November is national Hyperthyroidism Awareness Month, so I thought it timely and appropriate to start this blog with the condition that prompted me to change my lifestyle for the better. The universal frustration with thyroid issues is that they can be easily misdiagnosed or the symptoms ignored because we unfortunately equate weight gain, achiness, forgetfulness, weariness with just growing old. On the other hand, if you are jumpy, restless, having difficulty with temperature control and sleep, many a doctor or same-age friend will tell you, “It’s just perimenopause, nothing to do but live with it.” Only a little over a century ago, a woman displaying these symptoms would be labeled, “hysterical” and her problem treated as a mental disorder.

Let’s stop the madness and put the brakes on the surgery factory assembly line. That little gland at the base of your throat influences every cell, tissue and organ in your body!

If you don’t feel well, the tests for thyroid diseases are simple. If you don’t have an actual thyroid disease, then consider treating the hormone imbalances with diet and exercise before letting a surgeon take “the easy fix.”

My sources were Right Diagnosis, the American Thyroid Association and Stop the Madness.  A 3.5 min. video that explains the thyroid functions:  How does the thyroid manage your metabolism – by Emma Bryce

In my next entry to Mulligan Musings, I’ll give you the skinny on the Paleo Diet and what it has meant to me.