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UPDATE Sept. 2018 – While the info I share in today’s blog post (and all of my “Let’s Get Personal” blog posts) will be helpful to those who are starting out on their healing journeys, I felt it pertinent to post a quick update as to where I am now in my healing journey. It has been quite the adventure with all sorts of ups and downs, twists and turns. I got to a point where I no longer felt drawn to share so many intimate details so I stopped writing the Let’s Get Personal series in 2016. If you would like to get the most recent update on my health and healing journey, please read this post, 3 Reasons Why I No Longer Share About My Healing Journey Online. or watch the video below. You are always more than welcome to email me with any questions as well! Cheers! ~Jessica
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Featured Image Courtesy of sxc.hu and BA1969 (immune system added)
Hello there!
It’s been a couple weeks, but I wanted to give you an update of what’s going on in my life.
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So, we are slowly getting all of the tests done that I need. We have the bulk of the lab work done and back. The last thing I need to do is get the adrenal test completed and mailed back. That’s all on me since I’m doing the saliva test (which sounds ridiculously complicated as I read and re-read the instructions). I plan on doing that test on Monday, so I can stick it in the mail on Tuesday.
As I expected, I have Hashimoto’s disease, which is an autoimmune thyroid disease. We got that blood work back and my antibodies are off the charts. I don’t know why my gut told me that’s what I should expect, but I did. Does it sound weird that I was almost excited to see that diagnosis? Finally, I can put a name to what’s wrong with me. And, I can better understand what I need to do moving forward.
According to the Stop the Thyroid Madness website, which is an amazingly awesome resource if you are suffering from any sort of thyroid disorder, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is:
an autoimmune thyroid disease based on a dysfunctional immune system in which your thyroid is being attacked by your immune system via antibodies, attempting to destroy your gland as if it’s some vile enemy. It may start out silently, but the attack will eventually cause an inflammation and gradual destruction of your thyroid gland and can go on for years with miserable side effects to match. It can also cause nodules or lumps. It may be the most common thyroid disease, especially with women. Gut problems can go along with Hashimotos disease, and should be addressed.
They hit the nail on the head with that last sentence. Gut problems should be addressed.
Because this is an autoimmune disease, that means that my immune system is out of whack, which also means that my gut health is out of whack. Since true health begins in the gut, that is one of the first lines of defense when it comes to treating Hashimoto’s, or any autoimmune disease, for that matter.
Working on the Gut
Thankfully, I am already off to a good start on this gut healing journey, since I started on the Blood Sugar Control Challenge with my Nutritional Therapist, Lydia from Divine Health, back on August 1st. Making the necessary changes to my diet in order to treat Hashimoto’s wasn’t any problem, because I had already done pretty much everything I needed to do! On August 1st, I eliminated:
- Grains
- Gluten (gluten is directly tied to Hashimoto’s)
- Dairy (dairy is often tied directly to Hashimoto’s if there is a casein allergy)
- Legumes
- Sugar
And, I started eating a lower-carb diet.
Oh no! There’s that dreaded word again. Please, for the love of all things holy, don’t start in on an anti-low carb tirade on me, OK? Please? Thanks!
I feel better when I’m low-carb. And, this is nothing new to me. I have known this for many years, but honestly, I was not diligent enough to stick with it — I do love my baked goodies and sweets. Well now, I don’t have a choice. I am eating lots of healthy meats, fats, and vegetables. I get my carbs from my veggies, my fermented drinks (like water kefir and kombucha), this awesome coconut bread, some soaked nuts and seeds, lots of coconut milk, and the occasional bowl of berries topped with tons of coconut oil and coconut milk. That is a decadent treat in my book!
But, I’m digressing, as I have a tendency to do.
Now that we know what’s wrong with me — autoimmune disease — we can now figure out a plan to rebuild my immune system and get things under control. I am working with a team of professionals and I feel pretty damn lucky. I’ve got an MD who I can see and get lab work done and he can get most of it covered by insurance. He is mainly focused on blood sugar and weight loss. I don’t feel like I can get much thyroid and adrenal support from him, which is why I have also started working with a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) who specializes in thyroid disorders. In addition to those two doctors, I am working with my amazing Nutritional Therapist, Lydia. Between the three of them, I am feeling like I’m in good hands. Plus, I am doing SOOOOOOOO much independent research, it’s not even funny.
I have to do this little shout-out here. I have this amazing, amazing, AMAZING local friend, Lori, who is consistently helping me. She is such a wealth of knowledge. Do you ever feel like people are brought into your life at a specific time for a specific reason? Well, that is how I feel about Lori. She is probably one of the main reasons that I am finally getting the confidence to deal with all of this. In reality, I haven’t know Lori very long — only since late Spring of this year. But, in all honesty, I feel like I’ve known her for years. I seriously would not be in the place I am right now without her inspiring me. And I hope she reads this so that she can see just how much I appreciate, and rely on, our friendship. 🙂 ?
And, there I go again … digressing.
In regards to how we’re treating my recent diagnosis, these are the things we’re working on now. These are our first steps, so to speak:
- We’ve eliminated the most common allergens (gluten, dairy, legumes, grains).
- We’re working on aiding digestion, by adding regular bone broth and gelatin, fermented vegetables and beverages, as well as some hydochloric acid. Read this great post on hydrochloric acid from Divine Health.
- We’ve upped my coconut oil intake from 4-6 tbsp. per day to a whopping 8-12 tbsp. per day! Whew! That’s a lot of coconut oil! Coconut oil is great for thyroid health, metabolism, and a host of other things.
- I’m working on getting enough quality sleep — in bed by 10pm at the latest. I’m striving for 9pm to 9:30pm most nights.
- I’m making sure to get regular exercise in, which in my case is walking, yoga, and body weight strength training. Nothing crazy and strenuous, considering that could burn my adrenals out even more.
- I’ll be starting on a new high-quality multi-vitamin, recommended by Lydia in this post, for some overall wellness support.
- Managing my blood sugar. Remember how I spoke about blood sugar a couple weeks ago? Remember how I told you that according to that glucose tolerance test that the MD made me do, I was Type II diabetic? Well, I have a blood glucose monitor that I have been using for the last week at home. I’ve been taking my readings when I wake up (fasting), 15 minutes before breakfast, 2 hours after breakfast, 15 minutes before lunch, 2 hours after lunch, 15 minutes before dinner, and 2 hours after dinner. My readings are all in the normal range. So, I just need to keep doing what I’m doing. And, it proves that the glucose tolerance tests are not a good gauge of someone’s blood sugar health. Lydia told me that from the very start of all of this, long before I had the test done.
The one thing I still need to work on is setting aside more time for me. I really need to assess all the things I need to do each week and stay focused so that I can reduce stress, as well as reduce the amount of time I am in front of the computer. Focus is often hard for me, because I suffer from brain fog. That is one symptom that I really notice about the thyroid issue. I need to find more time for me to disconnect, relax, meditate, and all those other wonderful things that happen when we’re not tied to our computers! If someone wants to book me a trip here, that would be rad. —>
(image courtesy of sxc.hu and Pale)
Also, once we get the results back from my adrenal test, we can better figure out how we need to best support my adrenals and thyroid. I’ll discuss that stuff in a separate post.
There is SO much more that I want to write, but this post is already way longer than I expected and I’m tired! I’m going to wrap things up here, but I want to hear from you. Do you have Hashimoto’s? How are you treating it? I love hearing your stories and experiences and there is always something new for me to learn from you, so please share below (if you’re comfortable of course).
Want to read about my journey so far? Check out these posts:
Let’s Get Personal: Simplyfying Life, Facing Adrenal Fatigue, and Taking a Stand for My Thyroid
Let’s Get Personal: Why Start Now?
Let’s Get Personal: Getting My Ducks in a Row
Health Journey Update – 8/18/15
Here are a few videos of my current progress. To see even more up-to-date info on my personal health journey, check out my YouTube channel here.
Support Your Stress Response, Adrenals, Thyroid, and Whole Body Through Herbs
When it comes to supporting overall wellness, herbs are a great tool to have in your toolkit, especially those who may be dealing with chronic illness of some type. Since 2009, when I started this site, I have met thousands upon thousands of people through my work and by far, the #1 health complaints are:
- adrenal fatigue (or adrenal dysfunction of some sort) (click here to read all of my adrenal health articles)
- thyroid disorders (hypo-, hyper-, or autoimmune) (click here to read all of my thyroid health articles)
Because of this, I wanted to add in a section into this post about the benefit of using herbs with chronic illness. Adaptogens are by far one of the most used herbs when it comes to working with people who have low energy, fatigue, and overall imbalance in the endocrine system (thyroid, adrenals, and blood sugar).
While the benefits of adaptogenic herbs extend far beyond just supporting that one system, this tends to be one of the main reasons people turn to adaptogenic herbs in the first place. That said there are a lot of other herbs out there that offer amazing support for the body, especially those dealing with chronic illness which is why I wanted to share this section today.
If you are dealing with any type of chronic illness, I’m sorry to break it to you, but caffeine may not be your best friend. 🙁 While you can find lots of info online in both the pro- and the anti-coffee camps, the fact of the matter comes down to the fact that are a lot of people dealing with chronic illness, especially thyroid and adrenal problems, that simply cannot tolerate coffee and caffeine.
While those with sluggish adrenal glands tend to feel run down and in need of a regular pick-me-up (like coffee and other caffeinated beverages), in the long run, caffeine can do more harm than good while you are healing. I go into the “whys” around caffeine and your adrenals in this detailed post here. In addition to the caffeine, there are other constituents, molds, and mycotoxins that can show up in coffee that some people find they react to and can further exacerbate the toxic load on the body.
When I was diagnosed with autoimmune disease and adrenal fatigue, one of the first things that had to go was coffee. In addition to dealing with these issues, we suspected that I was having some detox pathway sluggishness so we wanted to also focus on supporting the liver and lymph systems. Most people who are dealing with chronic illness are also going to have issues with detoxification of the body, which is why herbs can play such an important role.
To be honest, I never drank coffee because of the caffeine. I drank coffee for the taste and aroma, as well as the emotional experience I felt to my morning cup of joe. For me, it was a ritual that I looked forward to every day (and sometimes multiple times a day). Whether I was brewing it at home or going to my local coffee shops, the experience was one that I clung to tightly.
But, when I was faced with new health struggles, I knew I had to do whatever I could to support my body and give it the tools it needed to heal. Giving up coffee and caffeine was one step in this direction.
And it sucked.
I turned to the coffee substitutes on the market in a desperate attempt to recreate the ritual I had grown so fond of, but nothing ever tasted the way I wanted it to. Nothing ever gave me that same experience that my cup of “real” coffee did. I knew there had to be something better, but I simply could not find it on my health food store’s shelves.
Necessity is the mother of invention so that is why I created my own coffee substitutes. They were made with organic, sustainably harvested herbs with zero grains, zero gluten, and zero caffeine. Just herbs.
Herbs that not only tasted delicious but supported my body’s function, like liver detox, bile production, digestion, etc. All of the herbs used in my “coffee” blends have been used for thousands of years to support the body’s normal functions and help everything work a little better — something we all need in today’s toxic world! (psst, dandelion is one of the herbs!)
When it came to creating these blends, if I could get something to not only tasted amazing (and helped me recreate my dearly loved ritual), but also did amazingly supportive things for my body, then it’s a no brainer!
I sold these pre-made blends on Etsy for awhile and the demand was more than I could keep up with. People literally LOVED these blends and were stunned at how much like coffee they actually tasted. Customers who had been dealing with a variety of chronic illnesses had given up coffee to heal their bodies, but like me were deeply missing their morning cup of joe ritual.
After careful consideration and work with some highly experienced advisors, I decided to stop selling the pre-made blends and instead share my proprietary recipes in the form of an eBook. That way I could arm people with the knowledge and recipes they needed to make their own caffeine-free, gluten-free, grain-free blends in the comfort of their own home.
That is why I created the best-selling DIY Herbal Coffees eBook: A Complete Guide To Making Delicious Herbal Coffees to Support Healing & Stress Relief.
Now in its second edition, this ebook features:
- All of my proprietary herbal blend recipes to you can craft a homemade herbal cup of “coffee” at home.
- A ton of researched information about coffee’s impact on the health of those dealing with issues like adrenal fatigue, blood sugar dysregulation, autoimmune disease, thyroid disease, and any other chronic illness.
- Information about all of the herbs used, why I selected them, how to source them, how to prepare and store you “coffees”, and much more.
- Access to your own personal coffee shop where I show you how to recreate your favorite coffee shop drinks and pastries with wholesome, nourishing real food ingredients. No junk here. Only real food.
This book truly is a comprehensive guide to supporting your health, reducing your stress, and bringing a little something special back into your healing journey. You can learn more and download your own copy of this revolutionary wellness guide here, or simply click on the image below.
Delicious Obsessions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.Read our full terms and conditions here.
Jessica ~ you are handling this all so beautifully! It’s a pleasure to walk beside you on this journey! I am inspired by your passion and dedication to focus on your health and take it to the next level! Keep up the good work girl!
Thanks Lydia – That means a lot! 🙂
Stop the Thyroid Madness is a great resource. I am glad you are getting the help you need. Thyroid issues are not fun!
Sending you good healing vibes & lots of Kombucha love!!
Jessica – At least you know what you are dealing with. As for the low carb diet, I have tried Atkins and South Beach off and on in the past and had a hard time sticking with it for more than a month. This time, I am just starting month three and it is working well. I am doing it to take off a few extra pounds, which is a good enough reason for me, but if it helps you control your condition, so much the better. I am almost down to my weight goal and I feel great! I think I can keep the weight off this time if I just minimize my carb intake and try to get carbs from good foods that are not highly processed. I know I will stray occasionally, but as long as I stick to the basic program, I think it will be good.
Best wishes on your new journey!
Hi Dan – Thank you for stopping by! I think the key with food is to find what fits your body best. I have long known that lower carb was what made me feel better. But, with the recent diagnosis, I really don’t have much of a choice! It helps to go low carb when you get gluten and grains taken away. Time for lots of creativity. The interesting thing is that I don’t have any cravings anymore. The more carbs I eat, the more I crave carbs, then the more carbs I eat. It’s a vicious cycle! Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
I have been diagnosed with Hashimotos for almost 10 years and taking Armour thyroid. It has only been in the last 2 years of being gluten, grain and legume free that my antibodies have come down significantly and many of my sypmtoms have gone away AND I have lost 30 pounds. It took me TWO years to wrap my mind around going gluten free!! The book and website that convinced me was Dr. Datis Kharrazian’s “Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?”. His website is thyroidbook.com and the Facebook support group is Hashimotos411.
I also have been on low-dose naltrexone for the past 11 months. I am doing this to modulate my immune system and to help prevent getting ANOTHER! autoimmune disease. There is quite a bit of info out online about low-dose naltrexone and autoimmunity.
It wasn’t until I started thinking of my thyroid “problem” as an autoimmune disease and insisting that my doctor and health care practicioners treat it as such—ie. I am going gluten free and want low-dose naltrexone—that I have started to get better over the last year. It took at least a year of going gluten free before my antibodies came down and many of my symptoms started getting better.
My encouragement is to be patient—keep on with the wonderful diet—keep reading, learning and communicating well with your doctors and practicioners. It will come!
Marla – Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate you telling me what has worked for you! Datis Kharrazian’s book is great! I think I need to dig it out and re-read it. I have never heard of the naltrexone. I will have to research that. I am always open to learning, and between the Internet and all the friends I have, I am consistently inundated with new information! Oh, and yes, patience is key. I am definitely not a patient person, so this is probably going to be a major test and learning process for me on how to develop patience! 🙂
OMGoodness, I’m in the blog! Girl, I feel the same way about you – people are brought into our lives for a reason. You, Lydia, the other bloggers and others are doing such amazing and fantastic work…to put all of your information and ups and downs with health out there, for everyone to read and say hey, that’s me too, I’m not the only one! I believe it is saving lives, with these under-recognized endocrine and gut problems. You are kicking butt, girl, and I’m loving it.
🙂 Thanks Lori!!!!
I can relate to knowing the diagnosis intuitively. That happened to me when Rheumatoid Arthritis manifested in my body this years. My advice is to keep on trusting your intuition as you heal. If something someone recommends doesn’t feel right to you, follow your own instincts. It sounds like you’re already doing that by ignoring the recent anti-low-carb-vibe across the web. I’m actually not low-carb, but I think we’re all different and I get annoyed when everyone seems to just jump on the latest bandwagon, whatever that is, and tell everyone to do the same thing. My healing protocol is very similar to yours, as I’m following the Gaps diet to heal. I’ve seen good results, and fully believe soon RA will move to my past, rather than my present. I think I was attached to the diagnosis at first to honor the challenge I faced. Now, I’m ready to let it go and become healthier than I’ve ever been. I wish the same for you!
Hi Eileen – Thank you for your story and kind words! I think we all need some sort of gut healing of some sort — some might be drastic, some might be minimal. But, true health starts in the gut, so that’s where we have to start here! I wish you the best of luck as you continue healing! I know that our bodies are capable of amazing things when it comes to healing and regenerating! 🙂
Keep taking care of yourself. May you heal well. 🙂
Thanks Soli! 🙂
Hi Jessica – happened on to your bolg today and it sounds like I am just a little behing you in my journey. After decades, I finally found a physician that ordered the anti-TPO titer and we found out that I have Hashi’s in June. After much researchm I went paleo, lost 10 lbs and am feeling 95% perfect. I have one some symptoms that I haven’t read about anyone else having, my legs, arms,fingers, toes, and my jaw hinge – all these areas had a build up of fluid so badly that I couldnt even walk correctly or close my jaw to chew! After a week on paleo it all started to subside. Suspect enlarged lymph nodes / lymph – inflammatory response. The relationship to the gut is so interesting. I had been taking a proton pump inhibitor for years due to acid reflux. Just last week I went off that medication and hopefully with the new diet will stay off. Can you write more about the hydrochloric?
Hi there – Thanks for stopping by! I am glad you’re noticing such rapid changes in your body! That is fantastic. For the most part, I am feeling better, but definitely not 95%! That is so wonderful that you have obtained results so fast. I have to say that I do feel a lot better since eliminating so many potential allergens, which leads me to believe that they were definitely exacerbating, if not at the root of, the problem. I still have a long way to go before I’m at 95%, but I am hopeful that with the more positive changes I make, the quicker I will see results!
In regards to the hydrochloric acid, I recommend reading Lydia’s posts (below). I have not received my hcl order yet, but as soon as I do, I will be starting on them. I’ll be starting off with a pretty high dose and then over time, I should be able to lower my dosage.
http://divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/2012/03/digestion-101/
http://divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/2012/03/why-i-am-supplementing-with-hydrochloric-acid/
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story!! 🙂
Wow, I hope you get the results you are hoping for. I’ve got Hashi’s too and went gluten-free last Fall. I take probiotics too, but we still drink raw milk. I know my immune system isn’t where it should be because I seem to have developed an allergy (sneezing, watery eyes), and never had allergies before. Plus I’ve had these strange staph infections, eczema on my hand, etc… Do you really think that dairy is a culprit along with gluten?
Hi Laurel – Thanks! It’s going to be a slow process, but I know I’ll get better! While gluten seems to be the main allergen when it comes to Hashi’s, dairy is often right there with it. If you do a Google search for “dairy allergy and hashimoto’s”, you’ll find countless articles. I personally know several Hashi’s sufferers who were removed from dairy by their NDs. They say to go dairy free for 6 months and then try adding it back in and pay attention to how you feel. I am actually looking into getting a casein allergy test done to help determine if I have a casein allergy. If I don’t, I will add butter and ghee back into my diet. If I do, then I have to be completely fairy free, which kinda sucks 🙁 I miss cheese and butter. Also, since we are focusing so intently on the autoimmune aspect of it, it’s important to remove anything that could remotely be an allergen, in order to reduce stress on the body, so that is why I went so strict with the gluten, grains, dairy, legumes, and sugar. Thank you for stopping by!! 🙂
I just have to smile at the typo in there making it look like your diet is now free of the fair folk. 😉
HAHAHA! Awesome typo! I’m leaving it! It made me burst out laughing!!!!! :):):)
Hi Jessica – I am sorry to hear about your Hashimoto’s diagnosis. You are fortunate that your thyroid antibodies were tested. Unfortunately in mainstream medicine thyroid antibodies are normally not tested and millions of Hashimoto’s sufferers are left suffering all because their doctor isn’t testing for it. I look forward to following your journey here on your great blog. I went gluten-free myself and found it made an incredible difference. There is much research connecting gluten to Hashimoto’s.
Happy Holidays!
Dana
Hi Dana! Thanks for stopping by! I actually read the Stop the Thyroid Madness book and site before I went to the doctor, so I was armed with the long list of tests that I needed. There’s no way my doc would have ran them without me insisting. But, it’s our life and our health — we are in control, not the doctor! 🙂 I am sure the gluten and dairy free is making a dramatic difference, though the antibody levels are still high. Only time will tell, I suppose! 🙂
I have Hashimotos as well. I’ve never been instructed on diet. I know there are other foods besides gluten than can affect thyroid function (peaches, strawberries, spinach, kale, etc). I’m wondering if you have more information on these. And also, how in the world do you get 4-6 tbsp of coconut oil in your diet? What are you doing to ingest that much coconut oil daily? Thanks so much!
Hi Jessica – I would recommend looking into the Autoimmune Paleo Diet. It is specifically designed to help those with autoimmune diseases get them under control and even into remission. Here are two of the very best resources that I have found for that:
https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2014/03/paleo-approach/
https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/Autoimmune-Paleo-Cookbook
As far as the coconut oil goes, it is my primary cooking oil, which equals a couple tablespoons per day probably. I also add a good spoonful to my soup, smoothies, and herbal coffee. And, when I’m in a hurry, I eat a spoonful right out of the jar to help keep my blood sugar stable. I’d recommend checking out my other posts in my health journey series, as there’s a lot that goes into treating Hashi’s. Maybe some of my other posts might be helpful as well:
https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/health-wellness/#personal
Cheers! 🙂
P.S. I no longer eat this much coconut oil — My weight has stabilized and I dropped the amount back down to 4-5 tbsp. per day.
May I suggest that before you begin taking a multivitamin, or any vitamins, herbs or supplements, that you find out if they are gluten free. Interesting how these manufacturers sneak rice, corn and other grains into their supplements. This would also go for lotions, creams, toothpaste, cosmetics, shampoo and conditioner. Anything going into the body or on top of the skin or scalp can be laced with some form of gluten.
I did read that yes, dairy can be a problem because of casein allergy, but most cows and cattle are fed corn and wheat grains….that may just be sabotaging our struggles to remain gluten free, because they could be passed on to us in our food supply.
YES! That is critical. There are very select brands that I purchase from for this very reason. Most people don’t realize that supplements and skin care products can often be full of allergens. Until several years ago, I would have never thought to check my shampoo for gluten!
Hi…this is so strange…I have never even READ a blog before. I have pneumonia for the 4th time in six months. I had gastric bypass surgery 11 years ago, and have now officially gained back every pound. Every part of my body hurts…I have diverticulosis, my esophagus has been scarred shut, I live on sugar and struggle eating real meals. I had thyroid cancer in 2010, diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, struggle with depression and panic attacks, and for real, suicidal ideations in 2010. I think I had a nervous breakdown in 2010. I was thrilled to see your site. Will welcome any words of wisdom. Thank you.
Hi Mary – Thanks for stopping by and sharing some of your story! Legally I can’t offer any sort of medical advice, but I will say that focusing on your diet first is the best place to start. Food should be our medicine and as you start experimenting with what you eat, you should start noticing some patterns as to what foods might make you feel better and what might not. Best of luck on your health journey!! 🙂
I Love your site and your blog! Your articles are very important to all of us. I have an autoimmune disease called Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, Limited Scleraderma and Chronic Kidney Disease of which all of them were diagnosed in 2014. I think I seen an article of yours about Kidney Disease and symptoms but I haven’t been able to find it. If you did post something could you lead me there again? I also have food allergies and intolerances. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Donna! Thanks for the kind words. So happy the articles have been of help. I don’t have an article on kidney disease on this site. It must have been a different website. If I happen to stumble across something like that, I’ll let you know! Best of luck on your healing journey!
Jessica, I follow you on Pinterest & really enjoy everything you share. Thank you so much! ❤️
Awww, thank you Marie! I so appreciate that! 🙂
Hi Jessica, Happy that your health is improving and that you have the people you need to help guide you along. Have you tried taking Cinnamon to help control your blood sugar? I buy my products from www.thepeopleschemist.com. He worked for a pharmaceutical company for 17 years and quit. He is all about producing clean herbal products for good health. Good luck,
Hi there! Yes, cinnamon is great and I love The People’s Chemist! This post is several years old, so I no longer have the blood sugar issues that I did at that time. Working on my adrenal health, stress management, and balancing mineral levels has had the most benefit for blood sugar management for me personally. It’s amazing how much the minerals have helped specifically. I really need to do another post on that! 🙂
I have thyroid problems on both sides of my family. I have never been tested, but have had many symptoms. I have found bladderwort to work wonders on my daily energy as an iodine supplement. I eat nearly no preservatives and try to avoid gluten when possible. I have however learned my body can process natural sugars so much better than almost any alternatives and have had horrific (Slept for three days, no dexterity for five) reactions to even minimal stevia. Have you had any experience with this? So many people use it and it is in everything!!! Even staying organic, I have to obsessively read labels. Happy I found one shake mix without it… Took months! I was only able to find a (only one!) scientific article of the effects of stevia on the thyroid and metabolism and it was noted to lower T3 and T4 significantly. What do you use for sweeteners? I have a sweet tooth and sugar is a hard crutch of mine. I saw you avoid white sugars. I aim for raw sugar, honey, and maple syrup mostly – as I live in Vermont. So happy to see this disease getting more attention!! Ten years ago I could find hardly anything online!!
Hi Robin! Every person is different. I actually tolerate stevia really well while not tolerating other sugars (especially cane sugar) well at all. I have personally not seen any negative side effects on my thyroid levels from using stevia and we run them pretty regularly. I use molasses as a mineral source (about 1 tbsp a day when I remember) and on occasion I use maple syrup or coconut sugar. I really don’t eat much in the way of sweets though, so that is pretty rare that I use those. I use stevia in my tea and herbal coffee. I hear you on the attention too! There really is SO much more info now than there was even a couple years ago. The more time that passes, the more we learn! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!