Wednesday, May 28, 2014

a speculation

Ya know how some hypothyroid people seem to label themselves with adrenal fatigue?  They have a set of symptoms that are more typical of hypERthyroidism, but they have the lab tests that show high TSH, for example -- and it's gotta be SOMETHING....  So the wired-but-tired problem sounds like an adrenal complication.  Progressive doctors of endocrinology recommend treating the adrenal problem before tackling the thyroid imbalance.

What I think is happening is that the individual isn't hypO, isn't hypER, may not have abnormal adrenal function ... they have a histamine (or similar) issue that creates wildly-fluctuating responses by both glands.

To successfully treat adrenal fatigue, according to the websites, one needs to improve sleep (through various techniques, including "unplugging"), cultivate relaxation, eat the right things, supplement, get some exercise but "increase joy" -- that sort of thing.  But the bit is, that regimen is good for regularizing thyroid function, too!  In fact, there's probably not one system in the body which would NOT benefit from it.

When the thyroid isn't happy, but not actually diseased, one sees all kinds of variations in its output.  Add to that all the things that can exacerbate issues or interfere with transportation, reception and conversion, and you end up with SYMPTOMS.  Symptoms of hypo, of hyper, and of adrenal problems.  And WITH all these fluctuations, a physician who only treats via lab numbers will "never" get treatment right -- s/he will doodle around with (worst-case) Synthroid dosages for months on end, or -- if half-intelligent -- with an animal-source product.  This will take bloody forever, and may never result satisfactorily.  In that case, being frustrated with their own incompetence, they will conclude there's something special wrong with YOU, and will next propose killing or excising that part of you they are too ignorant to heal.

Yes -- before messing with thyroid, treat adrenal fatigue -- just don't be sold on the idea that milking your adrenals with stress is the whole problem.  What stresses your adrenals stresses your thyroid, AND the rest of the body's systems too!  Paleo/primal lifestyle is designed to help with those stresses.

BUT ... a lot of paleo/primal food darlings can be tripping your histamine traps!  Those big-ass salads are more full of antinutrients than they're telling you.  Raw cruciferous vegetables?  Their sulfur content -- or is it the cyanide? or both?  -- is BAD FOR YOU.  So much for the vegan's best source of calcium....  And the fermented vegetables -- concentrated histamine nightmare.  Potted meats, ditto.  It was after a yummy charcuterie platter (that made me feel absolutely awful) that I first suspected my problem was not "allergies" but histamine intolerance.

What to do, what to do....  It's not easy to define exactly what's wrong with us, when we just don't feel WELL, but we have no acute symptoms.  Some people are breaking the bank with diagnostic testing so extensive the blood used would satiate Dracula.  Ironically, it's very easy to begin with self-treatment because -- duh -- paleo-lifestyle tweaks can't possibly do anything but good!  More good-quality sleep for busy people -- who the HELL is going to object to that?  Even the idiots will have a hard time finding a sleep-equivalent for "but you shouldn't remove a WHOLE FOOD GROUP!!!"  ...but of course it's perfectly okay to be a vegetarian and remove a whole food group then....

I trust i'm not the only person who gets disgusted with all those "experts" who say one shouldn't try ANYTHING without competent authority in supervision.  Our collective conversion into a bunch of damned SHEEP seems to have begun with dieticians and personal trainers saying we MUST NOT go on a walk or cut out sugar without their input!  And what the AMA has done to protect THEIR monopoly looks kinda like the Mafia.

So, yeah -- do you feel nervous or anxious, but show symptoms of hypothyroidism too?  RUN TO YOUR DOCTOR!!!  (oops, I should have posted the "sarcasm alert" logo -- I need to find one of those.)   Or maybe, DON'T run to your doctor.  Turn off the television and put down the laptop two or more hours before bedtime.  Put on your amber glasses and read a pleasant book.  Stop eating sugar but don't substitute aspartame.  Don't have one glass of wine too many (alcohol may put you to sleep, but won't let you stay there, taken in excess).  Make sure you get all the nutrients you need, in a form and manner your body can actually absorb.  Take a relaxing 20-minute walk rather than pound the sidewalk with your running-shoes for an hour.  Do a couple of "planks" instead of worrying about beating the crowds to the gym.  Eat fatty fish instead of reading YET ANOTHER article about how fish-oil capsules don't do any good.  Eat a lamb-chop.  Eat some (cooked) greens.  Purge your facebook friends of those who don't make you smile (or at least "unfollow" people you can't dump).

BEFORE you add more pharmaceuticals to your life, sit down and think about what nourishes YOUR well-being.  Do that.  I promise -- you don't NEED an RD to tell you what your body really wants -- if you listen to it, it will tell you all by itself.

25 comments:

  1. What I don't know about thyroid or adrenaline would fill a very big book, but this reminds me of something I read in Glamour:

    "I hate that we look at women who choose not to run a country as having given up." -Zosia Mamet

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    1. I certainly can't disagree with that! :-)

      what _I_ don't know about them is pretty impressive too ... but the sad part is, I know more than quite a lot of professionals out there.

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  3. Sound advice, indeed. Sometimes I think we just need to step outside the box and unplug from life, in general. Not to trivialize those people with real hypo/ hyperthyroidism, but I think that just cutting down sugar and grains can really improve one's baseline health.

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    1. you're right -- that's good for EVERYBODY, no exceptions! it's ESPECIALLY good for those with any kind of chronic illness, whether it be metabolic, in the limbs, the liver, the brain, ....

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  4. Common sense is so hard for many to comprehend, huh?

    Great post!

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    1. thank you, Gwen! ...common sense seems to be a tricky thing.... ;-)

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  5. I have a question. Is there anything wrong with eating a raw spinach salad? Also is broccoli, brussel sprouts, and green beans a good choice for dinner every night? That's what I've been eating. I still feel great and I'm ten times healthier than I was before I started the Paleo lifestyle. I'm just getting conflicting information. Thanks for any advice.

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    1. If you feel healthy and great eating them, I don't see any reason to stop. Some people have problems with some of those vegetables, and green beans are technically neolithic, but it doesn't sound like you have a reason to be concerned.

      I think what's driving a lot of people around the bend is filling up on pounds of vegetables every day (no exaggeration) instead of animal foods. Especially if they're eating the vegetables raw--you derive far fewer calories from raw foods. My suspicion is that some people are afraid of everything but protein, fruits and vegetables and end up on a low-calorie, low-fat, low-salt, low-carb but high-volume diet and--surprise--end up feeling lousy. Then they blame LC.

      For another perspective from someone who has studied the benefits and drawbacks of vegetables, look up Georgia Ede.

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    2. knowing what specific foods do to YOU is the key. but you also have to remember that the "dose makes the poison" ... and raw spinach has oxalic acid in it -- the stuff that makes pokeweed and rhubarb leaves VERY TOXIC. if you eat a large enough amount of almost anything it's bad.

      not to mention, those wonderful vitaminsandminerals in fruitsandvegetables everybody raves about are not very absorbable, compared to their animal-source rivals. AND different minerals within the same vegetable can inhibit the absorption of each other. you may consume X amount of vitamin Z, but how much do YOU actually get of it?

      AND, as Lori said, some people are eating just outrageous amounts of things. did you know that JUST HAVING A FULL BELLY provokes an insulin spike, no matter what you ate? so much for filling up on fiber....

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    3. If somebody feels that some food is a problem, it doesn't mean it would be true for you. It is better not to consider any food to fit the category "the more the better". You can try to rotate foods, for example to eat red leaf lettuce instead of spinach, julienned zucchini instead of broccoly from time to time. I think green beans are great and I have never heard anyone had any problem with eating it.

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    4. green beans are kinda like snow peas -- the legume seed is immature and a negligible part of the whole. I've never met anybody with a problem with either ... either. ;-)

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  6. Thanks guys. I really needed to hear that. The problem I'm having is that it's almost too easy to eat this way. I don't have any cravings, I have awesome willpower and I can get by on very little food. I'm in the best shape of my life. I visited my parents for memorial day and my mom had a picture of my from fifteen years ago. I am thinner and have a lot more energy. No doubt what I'm eating is the key. I still weigh three hundred pounds but I'm just going to have to except the fact that it's going to take a couple more years of eating the right way. I feel fortunate that eating broccoli for me is like a treat. Use to be ice cream! Life is good, I am healthy, my allergies are gone and I feel better than I did when I was twenty. Thanks for all your help.

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    1. Sounds like you're doing great, Rick! If it ain't broken, don't fix it :)

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    2. Amen! I'm sitting here at the coffee shop with my kindle and a triple espresso and I just looked up the carb count on half and half. I was almost disappointed to learn that I'm only getting about three carbs. I thought it was a lot higher. I'm still considering it a treat cause it's so good. It's time to curl up with a good book.

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    3. Many coffee shops, especially Starbucks have a heavy whipping cream available, but you have to ask for it.

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    4. That is why people support each other on blogs - it is so easy to eat LCdiet, that you can get too relaxed.

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    5. eating delicious, "decadent" food that makes us feel fantastic -- it's like we're in heaven! :-) did you all ever see the movie, "Defending Your Life"? charming romantic comedy....

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  8. I wonder if onions and brussel sprouts might be a problem for me as I crave them like crazy. Who would have thought that SAD eating chocolate, sweets, savoury junk food queen like moi would one day be craving baked caramalised brussel sprouts and onions.Brussel sprout chips are heavenly.

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    1. Caramelized? I hope you're using sugar-free sugar (as my mom puts it).

      I don't think something is a problem just because you crave it. When I started LC, I craved coffee--something I'd always hated. But I drink it by the cup, not the pot.

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    2. I think there are at least two kinds of craving -- the craving of addiction, and the body's call for a food which can deliver something it needs. I suspect a sprout-craving is more likely to be the second. ;-)

      oh, yes -- there's quite a lot of sugar in onions, and even more in those horrible hybrids like Vidalia and the 1015! I do my best to buy the hottest, strongest onions to be found! it's bad enough that tomatoes are bred to be so sweet....

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    3. I don't eat onions anymore. I feed my dog home cooking and we often eat the same simple meals. And yes, onions are full of carb. I use seasoning and garlic instead and don't miss them.

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    4. It's not just tomatoes that are bred to be sweet-everything in the seed catalog says "sweet."

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  9. Caramelised by overcooking in animal fat dripping, stuck to the baking pan which I scrape off...

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