> Health and Disease > Blood and Glandular Disorders > thyroid disease

Feeling tired, depressed, and unable to shed those extra pounds? Have you experienced heat intolerance, muscle weakness, or changes in appetite or vision? These symptoms may
indicate that you have a thyroid dysfunction.

There are two main types of thyroid disorders: hyperthyroidism is caused by too much thyroid hormone production, while hypothyroidism is caused by too little. The thyroid gland produces hormones that influence metabolism. If the thyroid doesn’t work properly, neither do you. If left untreated, thyroid disorder can cause osteoporosis, infertility, and elevated cholesterol levels leading to subsequent heart disease.

The Thyroid Foundation of Canada estimates that 200 million people worldwide suffer from some sort of thyroid disease. In Canada thyroid disorders affect one in 20 people and are more common in women.

Conventional medicine treats thyroid disorders with surgery or pharmaceuticals, but for mild cases, there are natural treatment options. According to Jon Barron, a nutraceutical researcher and author, there are four triggers that often play a role in thyroid disorders.

Barron recommends addressing the four triggers simultaneously to achieve optimum health.

Treating Thyroid Disorders

1. Cleansing heavy metal toxicity

Heavy metal exposure has been linked to hyperthyroidism. Cadmium and mercury, in particular, can have devastating consequences on thyroid health. Barron recommends an oral chelation process using a tincture of cilantro and chlorella.

Alternately, add fresh cilantro to all of your cooked meals as well as three grams of chlorella a day. According to Barron, cilantro changes the electric charge on intracellular deposits of heavy metals to a neutral state, allowing them to be flushed from the body; chlorella possesses the capacity to absorb heavy metals.

2. Correcting nutritional imbalance

Copper, iodine, selenium, and zinc imbalances are found in people with thyroid problems. Since modern industrial aggressive farming techniques have stripped most minerals from the soil, we consume nutritionally depleted crops, and our intake of essential trace minerals is inadequate.

We can replenish the essential elements our bodies need to function by using unrefined sea salt–which supplies 92 vital trace minerals–and through multimineral supplements.

3. Combatting estrogen dominance

Because the North American population is exposed to chemical estrogens (xenoestrogens) in food and water, by the time the vast majority of men and women reach their early thirties, they suffer the effects of estrogen dominance, a common trigger for thyroid enlargement (goiter). To combat estrogen dominance, Barron recommends supplementation with a natural progesterone creme. If the product is not gender-specific, men may use half the recommended dosage. The cremes are applied topically and usage instructions come with products. For women, progesterone creme is generally applied topically 14 days after the first day of the menstrual cycle; some experts recommend 20-mg doses applied to areas of thin skin, such as the inside of the upper arm.

4. Strengthening the immune system

The most common cause of hypothyroidism is chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. In this autoimmune disorder, immune cells, which usually fight off infection and colds, attack the body’s own thyroid tissue instead. Barron has found that proteolytic enzyme supplementation significantly improves the immune system’s ability to do its job.

Melissa Miller is a freelance writer living in Springfield, Missouri.

Source: alive #291, January 2007