Thyroid medications are the most popular drugs year after year, in 2022. Thyroid medicine was the third most often prescribed drug. Regardless of the medicines available, the rates of hypothyroidism continue to rise. The American Thyroid Association that hypothyroidism more than doubled from 1997 to 2016. My focus today is on the possible causes of hypothyroidism.

What are the symptoms of low thyroid function?

  • Fatigue
  • Weight gain
  • Lack of motivation
  • Acne
  • Constipation
  • Hair loss

Has anyone ever heard about what causes hypothyroidism?

Did anyone ever hear about the fact that heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and others, negatively impact the thyroid gland and its function? How about chlorinated organic pesticides? How about chlorine, fluorine and bromine, perchlorate, parabens, and BPA? In environmental chemistry the term is ‘endocrine disruptors’. These are well-known toxic chemicals allowed in our environment and food chain that have been shown to disrupt or damage our endocrine glands. There are other potential causes in addition to environmental chemicals that can cause hypothyroidism, including chronic infections such as viruses and bacteria. These might also be worth investigating. I am not saying anyone can cure their hypothyroidism but I am saying that as the disease is on the rise, we really should be investigating the causes.

How do these toxins affect my body and my thyroid gland?

The body is always trying to detox and push out toxins. There are many methods the body uses for this. The exit pathways include the sweat, urine, stool and breath. If at all possible the body will try and push out every toxin it is exposed to, but many times what comes in is more than what can be excreted, so the toxins end up being stored in specific body tissues. The endocrine disruptor chemicals have an affinity for the endocrine glands. Toxic heavy metal lead, has an affinity for the bones.

How can I find out what toxins are in my body?

There are a few testing methods that can be used to determine both the kind of toxins and the amounts in comparison to normal samples. I use the GPL-Toxin profile which is a urine sample for all major environmental toxins. For heavy metals there is a different urine test needed and your urine needs to be collected over at least a 6 hour time frame, after taking a chelator medicine. Heavy metals are most accurately tested when we have help pushing them out of the tissues first. Please feel free to contact me to do these tests and find out what toxins are affecting your health. Detoxification protocols are developed on a case by case basis. For handouts on Toxins and how to avoid them, go to the Resources page on my website and scroll down to Toxicity.

Hopefully the more people are tested and treated successfully, the healthier our thyroid and endocrine systems will be going forward.