Thyroid Health & Treatment: Dr. Mercola Interviews Jonathan Wright

 
Learn more at Mercola's site here. 

MY NOTES ON THIS INTERVIEW
One of the sites recommended in the interview was Optimox. 
Treat the patient and not the labs.
Here is Dr. Dennis St. John O'Reilly's on "Hypothyroidism and TSH."
David Lamson.

THYROID HORMONES
T1 or
T2 or
T3 or Triiodothryronine
Reverse T3
T4 or Thyroxine
TRH or Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone produced by the hypothalamus.  The TRH goes to the pituitary gland, which makes hormones that go to the thyroid to make metabolic hormones.
TSH or Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone comes from pituitary gland.  Turns out that heavy metals destroy the thyroid.  Reverse T3 is stimulated by toxic metals.  High levels of Reverse T3 may be normal but one can still be hypothyroid.  

Lack of sweating is a clinical sign of hypothyroid.  Constipation is another symptom of hypothyroid.  Also, high cholesterol causes hypothyroid.  Overweight also is a sign of hypothyroid.  If someone is not responding to a good healthy diet, then they've probably
got a hypothyroid.

Free T3 test. 

We produce Reverse T3 to keep us from starving.  We burn energy but no food available in our bodies.  Our bodies start making more Reverse T3.  

Dr. Wright suggests using whole thyroid that uses beef, pork, and sheep mainly from New Zealand because of all of the hormonal contaminates in the US meat supply.  And he recommends these as opposed to the T4 Thyroid Iodine.  

He mentions Leslie De Groot's textbook of endocrinology that identifies 12 iodine-containing compounds.  He explains that T1, T2, T3, T4, and so on are thyroids with equal number of iodines.  There is Reverse T3 , Regular T3, T2, and so forth.  T2, by the way, improves metabolic syndrome immediately.  The interview sounded more that he was talking to physicians within in the thyroid community or doctors and not necessarily to the lay person.  Still, it was interesting.  He recommends using whole thyroid, which uses the full spectrum of thyroid hormones T1, T2, T3, Reverse T3, T4, and so forth, instead of T3, T4, T2, or others in isolation.  Unless, he says, you've got an auto-immune disease, like Hashimoto's Disease.  He explains that Type 1 Diabetes is an auto-immune disease.  When referring to the Whole Thyroid, he did say to start with T3 and T4, adding that T3 is the most active thyroid hormone.  He stated taht T4 is mainly a signalling molecule for T3 but only if we have enough selenium in our bodies.  Don't use synthetic thryoids, like Synthyroid.  T2 works against metabolic syndrome.  And the last comment had to do with Junk DNA.  I have no idea what that is.  

WHAT DOES THE THYROID REGULATE?

TREATMENTS
1.  SYNTHETICS, i.e., drugs:
     a.  Synthroid.  Abbott Laboratories manufactures Synthroid. 
     b.  Mercola warns against synthetics. 
     c.  Dr. Weil advises the use of synthetics, like Thyrolar made by Forest Pharmaceuticals.
2.  SUPPLEMENTS
     a.  Avoid chlorine and fluoride.
     b.  2 to 3 grams of Iodine a day.
     c.  Whole Thyroid.
     d.  Targeting Isolated Thyroid Hormones with Replacement Therapy.
     e.  Herbs That Support Thyroid
     f.  Dr. Brownstein recommends Dr. Lugol's Iodine Solution, at around 12 to 13mgs a day, pointing to the Japanese daily consumption. 
 
The only product I've seen where you get that amount of iodine is in the product Iodoral.  And this place seems to have the best price on it.  It is not cheap.  Check out what it is selling for on Amazon.

3.  FOODS THAT IMPROVE THYROID & METABOLISM
     a.  Coconut Oil.
     b.  Iodine or Seaweed
     c.  Iodized salt.
     d.  Fresh ocean fish.

Dr. Weil explains things about healthy foods that may not be so good for your thyroid, "Some foods, especially cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower) contain natural goitrogens, compounds that can cause the thyroid gland to enlarge by interfering with thyroid hormone synthesis. Cooking has been reported to inactivate this effect in Brussels sprouts. Cassava, a starchy root that is the source of tapioca, can also have this effect. Other goitrogens include corn, sweet potatoes, lima beans, and soy. Some practitioners recommend that people with under-active thyroid glands avoid these foods, even though most have not been proved to cause hypothyroidism in humans."