Sunday, September 1, 2013

the chicken or the egg

There are so many things which cause a body to dial back on its thyroid production and T4-to-T3 conversion!  Malnutrition (ie inadequate raw materials), illness, infection, excessive omega-6 or insufficient saturated fat, stress, a very-low-calorie diet, too-heavy exercising....  Anything which makes the body think it's in danger of hard times coming and needs to garner its resources -- a siege situation -- is enough to make it slow metabolism via the thyroid.

As i read about the assaults that "tainted" foodstuffs make (my histamine studies), and the postulated infective origins of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME), i can't help but connect dots until i get back to thyroid function.  (It may not be my only tool, but i DO have a hammer....)  I had already supposed that there was a chicken/egg situation going on before, and this complicates the matter further.

Bad nutrient absorption (amino acids, vitamin A, iron or B12 perhaps) because one has poor stomach-acid production due to low thyroid will lower thyroid function which will lower stomach acid which will ... ad infinitum.  Or h. pylori infection can lower stomach acid which will also ....  Or other viral, bacterial or mycoplasma issues -- whew.  All roads lead to Rome.

So for those of us who suffer from thyroid misfunction (low, high or fluctuating), does the trouble originate in a faulty body, or do infective or nutritional influences cause the poor function which snowballs into worse function?  I suspect all the above.


8 comments:

  1. Often the best strategy is doing nothing(if you can afford it) while trying to optimize life-style (amount of sleep , movement and diet) and let your body to self-regulate. We often in the mood of micromanagement - something is wrong, I HAVE to do something, while in reality we can most probably only contribute more to the current dis-regulation. Unfortunately we have more resources to dis-regulate that to heel, and our body is just opposite in that regard.

    Tess, I noticed on several occasions that using stimulants prolongs the recovery, it could be like beating a worn-out horse - appropriate for real emergencies only. There is a difference ,of course, between drinking some coffee while feeling slightly sluggish, and making yourself to do staff and taking something really energizing when you really want and need nothing but lay down and shut your eyes or at least spent all your day on your butt. Again, everything is in a reasonable amount.

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    1. I DO believe in prioritizing rest, but when I know I've had enough there comes a point where encouraging mitochondrial development is helpful.

      what I've found important is ignoring what "normal" people consider balance and moderation, and doing what I know to be clean eating FOR ME. then come the supplements that work FOR ME, then kinds of exercise that make me feel energized rather than what others like.... these are the kinds of things that everyone has to learn for themselves. :-) others' experiences can be a guide, but there's nothing like personal experience.

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    2. yes to that, even using modafinil has diminishing returns, like borrowing money and paying back with interest.

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    3. :-D you're talking to the wrong Crone -- what I know about pharmaceuticals will fit in a thimble.

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  2. May be moderation is what keeps a person in a balance? Who knows?

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    1. Moderation seems to be enough for some but not for others.

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  3. "others' experiences can be a guide, but there's nothing like personal experience."

    Hear hear. That is why it's good to share experiences, but then it's up to the individual to make choices, then either stick with that choice or experiment. It is our body and over the years we get to know how it re-acts to environment, eating patterns, what we eat, etc etc. Of course sometimes it can act in an incredibly re-active way. That is life I guess.

    Here's to a good first week of September ....

    All the best Jan

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    1. :-) but then, some in the medical industry think that physiology is physiology, and everyone should react like 20-yr-old test subjects.... Eh -- this is why i deal with my own day-to-day health!

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