Greetings from LIFESTYLE CHOICES!
Save the Dates!!!
November 4th Wednesday Water Filtration Systems Mike Wiechmann, Nature’s Garden
My husband better not miss this presentation as I am determined to do something about our drinking water and together we can make an informed decision. I now take stainless steel drinking containers to the gym (not bottled water) and yet what is the difference between our tap water and filtered water? Is bottled water good for you or does it depend upon the brand? What is the difference between the filtration systems? I’ve already seen Mike’s Power Point Presentation and been part of a group discussion and this is GOOD! This is a hot topic so although it is FREE, please sign up with me, Vicki Upchurch, at lifestyle_choices@yahoo.com or call me at 713.443.9400 so we have adequate seating.
November 12 Thursday Thanksgiving Open House Vicki Upchurch, Lifestyle Choices
Gwen Brehm, Center for Mind Body Health
Denise Cazes, One Body: One Choice
Gwen, Denise, and I would like to thank you and express our Gratitude for your support this year so what better time than Thanksgiving? We will be having our office open from 5-7:30pm and giving away door prizes. Please join us!
Spike in Hypothyroidism?
I don’t know about you but recently it’s seems there’s been a spike in the number of cases of hypothyroidism. Even Oprah has had it! So one day when I was speaking with my colleague, Denise Cazes (Exercise Physiologist/ Nutritionist with One Body One Choice) she exclaims, “Well of course Vicki, it has to do with stress!” Now here I am a coach for HeartMath® which is THE stress reduction company as well as an RN and I had not realized this. I immediately went into high gear perusing all information I could find and sure enough, it can be a result of excessive stress and it’s even higher in peri-menopausal and post-menopausal years! AND guess what? The Baby Boomers have hit menopause so of course there’s an increase. And wouldn’t you know it? Hypothyroidism is much more common in women than men.
Now why didn’t I know about stress being a factor? After all I know 75-90% people see their primary physicians due to stressed-related illnesses. According to the website for Women to Women, “Over 20% of menopausal women in the U.S. are diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction.” Recent studies suggest that millions more suffer from symptoms but are undiagnosed. Apparently this diagnosis is often missed because the wide range of physical symptoms can mask a thyroid imbalance as well as gynecological and hormonal symptoms can do so as well. There is also questioning as to whether the range should be lowered. It has been suggested instead of the normal TSH range being from 1.0-4.5, the normal range be 0.5-1.5.
What does this all of this medical jargon mean? It means our healthcare providers are missing this diagnosis quite frequently.
Check out these symptoms: dry skin/hair, weight gain, fatigue, depression, cold intolerance, low blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diminished sex drive, etc. Gosh, it seems as if many of these symptoms go along with menopause anyway. Don’t you think? No wonder there is so much difficulty for providers diagnosing this correctly but there is also probably confusion within the women themselves. According to www.drkaslow.com, “many of the best thyroidologists use the response to therapy as the major determinant of whether or not the patient was in fact hypothyroid.
So what treatment options are available?
This can be a subject of debate depending on your healthcare provider’s function of training and experience. Most just prescribe synthetic T4 (Synthroid, Levoxyl, or levothyroxine). But that may or may not work. Sometimes synthetic T3 (Cytomel) is prescribed. However, nutrition, stress management, and exercise are most important and optimal thyroid function is not likely to be achieved without them. Some people improve without pharmacological interventions but for some, thyroid hormone replacement is absolutely necessary. These choices must be discussed with your physician/nurse practitioner so you can make appropriate decisions for your care.
Dr. Ridha Arem in the book, The Thyroid Solution, suggests important points to remember:
Stress and an inability to handle stress can precipitate the onset of a thyroid imbalance.
- Thyroid imbalance, in turn, impairs your ability to deal with stress and makes you perceive trivial or annoying matters as more significant.
- The stress-illness-stress escalation cycle is a pattern commonly experienced by thyroid patients. The key is to recognize the cycle and halt it by obtaining diagnosis and rapid treatment.
- If you have been diagnosed with a thyroid imbalance, stress management techniques should be part of your treatment program to maintain optimal physical and emotional wellness. If you are genetically predisposed to a thyroid imbalance, stress management techniques may prevent the onset of an imbalance.
Suggestions:
For more information an excellent book to read is The Thyroid Solution, by the endocrinologist Dr. Ridha Arem.
For alternative treatment for hypothyroidism, consider accessing the following link, www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism/alternative treatments.aspx
For foods which support your thyroid, consider accessing www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism/foods-naturalthyroidhealth.aspx
For stress reduction, contact me at lifestyle_choices@yahoo.com or call 713.443.9400.
Sources utilized:
www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism
www.project-aware.org/Resource/articlearchives/thyroid.shtml
www.drkaslow.com/html/body_thyroid.html
www.associatedcontent.com/pop_print.shtml?content_type=article&content_type_i…
The Thyroid Solution by Dr. Ridha Arem
What Next: Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages?
Recently the New England Journal of Medicine released an online article which suggests a tax of 1 cent/oz. on sugar-sweetened beverages. It is estimated in the first year alone levying this tax could greatly reduce consumption and raise as much as $14.5 billion. For more information go to
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMhpr0905723