Thyroid Issues - Two Words: Progesterone & Iodine!

Epidemic. When you see that word what probably comes to mind is typhoid or AIDS. I doubt anyone thinks of thyroid disorders as being an epidemic - but it certainly is becoming one! I haven’t made tally marks or charted the number of women I have met in the past two years with thyroid issues, as compared to those who do not, but if I had to guess – I would say 1 in 5 of the women I meet are taking thyroid medication for hypothyroid – that is, their body does not produce enough thyroid hormone on its own.
In the past 48 hours I have met or had conversations with or about 4 women with serious thyroid issues. One just diagnosed with thyroid cancer, another is a continual conversation with the mother and mainstream medicine is not making a difference – her daughter has not experienced improvement and there are all sorts of issues. The latter surprises me not one bit, yet it seems there has been no effort to read any of the resources I have provided. PEOPLE – if we don’t self-educate ourselves and rely soley on our doctors with their Rx band-aid approach – our bodies are NOT going to be cured!
Yes, you may detect a little bit of frustration in my post today. I have a message to give that can HELP people, but I apparently cannot reach the masses quick enough. If you know of someone with a thyroid issue PLEASE send them a link to today’s blog post so they can check out the resources I am linking for their benefit.
For women with thyroid issues it is especially difficult to lose weight. Thyroid is needed for metabolism, what’s more, some thyroid medications actually cause weight gain. It is not only adult women, but thyroid disorders are reaching epidemic proportions in our young people as well. I know of one young pre-teen who gained 100 lbs. in a years time since being put on thyroid medication. This case is a matter of, sadly, what insurance will pay for, because a switch to a different med, such as one with natural thyroid hormone which her body can actually metabolize, such as Armour – would make all the difference in the world for this child, but the doctor tells the mother insurance won’t cover it. Middle school years are tough enough as it is without this poor girl going through it with a weight problem due to thyroid. Again, frustration in a medical system that is failing this child!
Two natural remedies to help the thyroid function more readily are not patentable, they are not expensive…and therefore, they are not prescribed by doctor’s either. Unless you are working with a holistic or alternative medicine doctor. PROGESTERONE AND IODINE – deficiencies that are reported in pretty much every hypo or hyper –thyroid patient. For the rest of this post I will simply cite the experts and provide links – I pray you check them out! (I believe it pertinent to mention that chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are also being linked to thyroid disorders – as people utilize bio-identical progesterone for thyroid disorders, their energy and muscle weakness/soreness also improve.)
The Natural Progesterone Advisory Network – a resource for mainstream medical doctors who desire to learn more to actually HELP CURE their patients, click on these links to learn more:
Relationship between progesterone and thyroid hormones
How estrogen dominance affects thyroid
More about estrogen dominance, progesterone and thyroid, and an accurate test to help determine your deficiencies.

One women’s health center in Texas that focuses on thyroid treatment writes:Progesterone is by far, the most common hormone deficiency in women. This deficiency is probably responsible for most of the long-term “female” problems including ovarian cysts, fibroid uterus, endometriosis, migraine headaches, PMS, depression, mood swings, blood clots, infertility, heart disease, painful or prolonged periods, etc. Birth control pills have destroyed a woman’s ovarian production of progesterone, in my opinion. Exposure to “xenoestrogens”, which are synthetic chemicals in the environment that have estrogen-like effects, have also suppressed ovarian production of progesterone. Nearly 100% of women who are hypothyroid are also progesterone deficient. Thyroid deficiency and progesterone deficiency march in lockstep with one another. Progesterone deficiency is so rampant, that I (Andrew Jones M.D.) have joked about putting it in the water supply. A daily dose of 50 – 100 mg of progesterone a day would really help a lot of women. Dosing is dependent on many factors. Maximal doses now go up to 800mg/day in severe cases. Most women that I treat take 100 – 200 mg/day in divided doses. Another consideration is whether a woman is still menstruating or not, and whether she still wants children or not. This influences whether progesterone is taken every day or just in the second half of your menstrual cycle. To read the full posting follow this link.

ON TO IODINE…Dr. David Brownstein, a world renowned expert on the treatment of thyroid disorders, is not at all baffled by the rise in cases of thyroid cancer among women. Because I have been meeting so many women with thyroid issues, I purchased Brownstein’s books on Thyroid Disorders and Iodine Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It, as well as a DVD on the subject. You can read Brownstein’s opinion of why thyroid cancer is increasing at this link.

It boils down to is IODINE DEFICIENCY. Ever since somebody or organization decided to make a decree that salt is the cause of hypertension people have been decreasing their salt intake, OR switching out IODIZED table salt for processed sea salt, which likely lacks the iodine. We THINK we are making healthier choices – I know I did! My family is switching back to IODIZED sea salt – the non-processed kind such as Celtic Sea Salt. Another resource in my w-book, Killing Cancer...Not People, recommends the Himalayan sea salt.
More thoughts from Dr. Brownstein...links...

• Increase in Thyroid Cancer




• Pregnant Women and Iodine Deficiency




• Children and the Iodine Connection




• Salt - Confused?

Another realm of thought on thyroid disorders is GLUTEN. Yep, you heard right. It makes sense as well. Gluten affects our hormone balance. Since this has been a long post already, the article in reference to gluten and the thyroid connection by Dr. Kresser, can be found at this link.



PLEASE help spread the word – thyroid disorders and even thyroid cancer to not have to continue on this rise to epidemic proportions if we can get the word out on the importance of consuming iodized, natural sea salt in your diet (this is not the pretty white stuff – it is gray, pink, and/or brown); and natural progesterone transdermal cream. Shake some salt on your food, rub some lotion onto your skin – as far as a remedy goes…it can’t get much easier than that!Always work with your doctor as thyroid patients utilizing these two natural products will be able to decrease their thyroid medication as the body begins to regulate thyroid production as God intended.



To your health!



Rita S.