Thank you. And today we are going to be talking about Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's, you might think it's a thyroid issue, but it's not. It's actually a whole body issue. And if you have Hashimoto's, it actually is a loud, clear signal that your whole body has been battling a systemic problem for quite some time. And it's just now showing up in your thyroid. So if you're focused on your thyroid trying to fix the issue, you're looking in the wrong place. And it's... critical that you find out what's actually going on. So today we're going to talk about Hashimoto's, what it is, and why we should really be looking at the whole body and not just the thyroid. If you're on YouTube, don't be cheap. Go ahead and click like and subscribe. Help us get our message out to everyone because it's so helpful when you do that. And if you are listening on the podcast, walking your dog, mowing your lawn, being on a tractor, whatever, we just want to let you know that my hair looks fabulous. I'm wearing a black, you know, sweater with it says the new method Dr. E on it. And other than that, you're not missing anything. And wherever you are, follow us on Instagram or threads, because we're funny and we post a lot of really good topics for you to see. And share this with the people that you love in your life. You might not have Hashimoto's, but other people might. And this could really make the difference in how they're going to treat it. And in case you don't know who I am, my name is Afrat Lamandre. Everyone calls me Dr. E. I'm the NP with a PhD, and I invented the new method where I empower people to realize that their symptoms are not in their head because you always knew there was a better way. And let's start talking about Hashimoto's. What is it? I always start with definitions just to get us all on the same page. So first of all, your thyroid. Picture your thyroid as a thermostat in your house, right? It's a small little thing in your house. In this case, it's a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck. And it's just like a thermostat. It regulates the temperature to keep you comfortable. And with the thyroid, it produces hormones to control the speed and efficiency of your body's functions. Everything from how quickly you burn calories to how fast your heart beats. Now, hypothyroid means that your thyroid, your thermostat is set too low. It's just not doing what it's supposed to do. And that's a condition where your thyroid doesn't produce enough hormones, thyroid hormones. causing your body's function to slow down. And this can make you feel tired, cold, gain weight, and even depressed. Hashimoto's is the reason why you have this hypothyroid. So the way you can think about it is your thermostat is set low, and it's not because you set it low. It's because someone hacked your home security system, and now your security system thinks that your thermostat is a threat, and it starts to attack the thermostat. That's an autoimmune condition. where your immune system mistakenly attacks your thyroid. And this attack can lead to the thyroid becoming damaged and underactive, resulting in hypothyroidism. Okay, we got these definitions. So now we understand how it's being treated. So how do we treat it is always the question. So in conventional medicine, when we see a person with Hashimoto's, we say, oh my goodness, your thyroid's not okay. it's not producing the hormones that we need. The T4, that's the hormones that the thyroid is in charge of. And without this T4, the whole system is slow and sluggish. So we must fix it by giving you T4 in a pill form. That's usually called levothyroxine or Synthroid. So we give you the pills, we give you the T4, and then in a few weeks, we check again to make sure your blood tests are good. And we see if we need to adjust, maybe a little more T4, maybe a little less. And when we get the numbers right. you're considered okay. The fancy word for that is euthyroid. Everything is fine. But is it fine? Is it really enough? Now, when we take this medication, the problem is that we never actually address why this is happening in the first place. Don't get me wrong. You have to take this medication. It can get really dangerous without T4, so don't stop your meds. But the approach... is like trying to fix a leaky ceiling by mopping up the water on the floor without fixing the hole. You can mop all day, but until you fix that hole, you're never getting it right. And that's the same with Hashimors. You can take the meds and you should take the meds, but until you find out why it's happening, your dose will continue to go up and up and up and more issues will arise. In functional medicine, which is what we do at The New Method, they always ask, we always ask, why is the immune system attacking the thyroid? What is going on that causes so much disruption that suddenly your body will attack itself? And of course, this is not just for thyroid. We ask this for every disease and disruption in the body. Look for root cause because guess what? your thyroid issue, your Hashimoto, is actually the end result of a more systemic issue. One that you've had for a while. And if you don't correct it, not only will your thyroid get worse, but expect more things to go wrong. Because until we address that hole in the ceiling, you could expect more and more water to come in. Because surprise, surprise, the body's actually connected. And even though you go to one office for your thyroid and one office for your GI, they're actually connected and they actually influence each other. So let's talk about what are the things, what are the body parts, what's happening in my system that can actually affect the thyroid. Now, if you know me by now, you know that I am going to start with the gut. It's just where I'm going to start. But this time we're going to get a little more technical. This particular part of the episode is going to explain very technically how things in your system affects your thyroid. So if you have Hashimoto's, let's start with the gut. You might as well accept the fact that you have leaky gut. What is leaky gut? I did a lot of episodes on it, but I'm going to do a quick, super fast version for you guys who are catching up. Every time you eat something, you're actually bringing the external world into your body, right? You're bringing that in there. And that could get really dangerous because along with that sandwich comes a whole bunch of bacteria and other things, right? So you have this gut lining, and this lining is supposed to be a barrier between that outside world and the rest of your system. It's supposed to keep the bad stuff out. and out of your blood system, it's this bad stuff. You know, you poop it out or you urine it out, and that's how it's supposed to work, and only let the good stuff in. But people with a leaky gut, something happened at some point in your life. It could have been a virus, a trauma, a fall, a concussion, something that shook up your belly, causing that lining to be permeable or leaky, and now, instead of having this great gut barrier, you now have leaky gut. which allows certain things to get into the system that shouldn't. One of those things is gluten. That's right, boys and girls, brothers and sisters. If you have Hashimoto's, not only do you have a leaky gut, but you also have gluten sensitivity. And I'm going to explain to you very specifically why gluten is a problem for people with Hashimoto's and thyroid issues. So to understand that, you kind of need to understand what gluten is. It's a protein. It's found in wheat and other grains. and has two types of proteins in it, glutenin and gliadin. Okay, gliadin is the part that causes problems for so many people. Research suggests that people with leaky gut, there's a specific part of the gliadin molecule known as alpha-gliadin, and it can get in the system. The immune system recognizes it and says, hmm, this is not supposed to be here. This is a foreign invader and starts to produce antibodies to attack it. So you might say, okay, no big deal. So the gluten got in and the body's attacking it. What does that have to do with anything? And the big deal is that the gliadin molecule looks very similar to an enzyme in the thyroid called TPO. Now we really need this enzyme for our thyroid to work. And every time you eat gluten, your body mounts full attack on the gluten, but because it looks so much like the TPO, you're actually attacking your thyroid. This is something called molecular mimicry. So you think you're doing the right thing, you're having a nice whole wheat turkey sandwich, and you're like, look at me, I'm eating a nutritional whole wheat sandwich. And every bite is actually an assault on the thyroid. Imagine this over years and years and years of sandwiches and pizza and cake and cookies. Each time it's an actual assault on your thyroid. Now for the first few years, the thyroid manages and all your tests are normal. But eventually the thyroid loses the battle. and it becomes low-functioning hypothyroid. Now you can begin to see why taking the medication isn't the only answer. It's just part of the answer. Because if you keep eating the gluten and the assault continues, you're going to need stronger and stronger doses of medication as the years go by. Okay, so while we're on the top of gut, let's talk about microbiome. And since we're in the gut, we have to talk about the good old microbiome. And if you don't know what that is by now, I really need you to catch up because I did like 5 million episodes on it. but I'm still going to give you the Cliff Notes version. The Cliff Notes version is this. There's a world of bacteria and viruses that live in your belly, and they don't just live there. They're actually in charge of producing the things we need to stay alive. And that's true for thyroid also. Now, here's the thing. This should blow your mind if you're paying attention to thyroid, if you're on this thyroid. I said thyroid is in charge of making T4, but in order for your body to actually use T4, it has to convert T3. T4 converts to T3. And guess where that conversion happens? T4 to T3. in the belly, right there in the belly. Not only does it happen in the belly, but there's certain types of bacteria which produce the enzyme called intestinal sulfates, whatever, that this particular enzyme helps convert this T4 into T3. And there's other bacteria that have the opposite effect that slow down the conversion from T4 to T3. So maintaining a balance of this gut bacteria is essential for your thyroid to convert T4 to T3. So when I'm talking about the microbiome and I say take a probiotic, I'm not just saying it. I don't know, just because probiotics are cool. Literally, the type of bacteria that live in your belly are going to determine whether or not your T4 converts to T3. I don't know. I think that's pretty awesome. Moving on to other things that can affect your thyroid that have nothing to do with your thyroid. Let's move on to viruses and infections. Epstein-Barr. If you've ever had mono, you have Epstein-Barr. H. pylori. It's a bacteria that's super common, causes stomach issues. If you've had, you know, some sort of stomach bug from certain bacteria. There are bacteria and viruses that your body will appropriately create a response to. It's supposed to do that. The problem is that some of these bugs... have coding that are similar to certain enzymes in our thyroid. So as your body tries to constantly fight off these infections, it is actually fighting off the thyroid. And this is like a patient who will come in to me and say, ever since I had that infection, my thyroid's been off. Ever since I had mono, ever since I was diagnosed with H. pylori. That's not a coincidence. It's a fact. It's important to pay attention to that because that could be the trigger, the cascade that started it all. Other thing that can affect your thyroid that has nothing to do with thyroid seemingly is stress. And I don't just mean, oh, it's stressful, you know, when we don't feel well. I mean really specifically stress. If you have prolonged stress, like a chronic illness or something's happening in your life, that creates an overactive immune system. And of course, if you have an autoimmune issue, this overactive immune system can lead to triggering that autoimmune condition. So let me say this. You have a genetic predisposition, right? Mom had Hashimoto's, grandma had Hashimoto's, and you're fine. And you have a stressful event or you're under chronic stress. That could trigger your Hashimoto's. That inflammation can trigger it. And that is the patient who will say to me, ever since the divorce had Hashimoto's, ever since the death of my loved one, it's never been the same. That is not in your head. That's a real thing. Stress can do that. Another way that stress can do that. is that stress triggers the release of cortisol and cortisol and thyroid are linked. And when there's an imbalance in cortisol, it interferes with thyroid. Specifically, if your cortisol is high in a stressful event, it will actually lower, reduce the conversion of T4 to T3, which contributes to hypothyroid symptoms. So when I say stress affects your thyroid, I mean, chemically, it affects your thyroid. No joke. Moving on to more things that affect our thyroid that have nothing to do with our thyroid but everything to do with our thyroid. Toxins. Toxins like heavy metals and that's like a whole episode in itself but it can cause havoc to the immune system. They're endocrine disruptors. That means they interfere with the endocrine system. The endocrine is the body's glands that produce hormones like the thyroid gland. So you're exposed to these metals and they disrupt the hormone production. For example, mercury messes with an enzyme called thyroid peroxidase. Cadmium and lead can push out calcium and zinc, which are minerals that you need for your thyroid. The point is, these toxins get into your system and disrupt the way your thyroid hormone is made. So you can have a thyroid problem, but in reality, you have a heavy metal problem. Okay, I know it was super technical. And I hope by now that you're seeing that by the time you go to your PCP, and that blood test shows that your thyroid is off, you actually had a whole different underlying problem for years way before the thyroid issue. either your gut is off or you're dealing with an infection or a toxin, your abnormal low functioning thyroid is actually a check engine light that something is up to your system. And until you check under the hood, you're not really addressing the right issue. I hope that's clear by now. Let's do a quick talk about supplements because everybody wants to know what supplements are good for thyroid. Of course, let me put this on as I skip 400 different things as usual. Okay. So let's talk about some basics. There are some basics almost everyone needs if they're dealing with Hashimoto's. First one is iodine. I go like this with my hands because it's an important nutrient and it helps, you know, create the thyroids T3 and T4. But it's a little bit like Goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold, is if you have too much iodine, that could also make your thyroid go haywire. So iodine, take it easy. Don't overdo it. Selenium. Selenium is like the body guard for your thyroid. It protects your thyroid, helps make hormones, helps convert. you got to take some selenium. Zinc, amazing, also converts T4 to T3 and overall helps your immune system. So it's a good one. Iron is like fuel for making thyroid hormones. So if you're low on iron, your thyroid might not be working well. Vitamin D, vitamin D is just a big player in your immune system. And if you have autoimmunity like Hashimoto's, you need to get your vitamin D levels up. B12, people with Hashimoto's tend not to have enough B12, which makes them feel more tired and more fun. Get your B12 game on. Omega-3 fatty acids, not specifically for Hashimoto's, but anyone with inflammation, people with Hashimoto's have inflammation. It's like a fire extinguisher for inflammation. For those of you who have gut health issues, now you understand the importance of probiotics, of good quality probiotics, is going to make a significant difference in your thyroid. And if you're super stressed, consider ashwagandha because it can really help with that support level. And if you are dealing with any type of viruses, consider antiviral support. lysine, which is an essential amino acid, that has been shown to reduce and slow down viruses, including the herpes family, which Epstein-Barr belongs to. So quick recap. Yes, Hashimoto's affects your thyroid. Yes, Hashimoto's affects your thyroid. But it's much more than a thyroid problem. It's a whole body issue that requires a comprehensive systemic approach. Whether you work with me and my team or another provider, it's crucial to get to the root cause of your thyroid issue. a duress of root cause and move towards not just replacing your thyroid hormones with a pill, but optimizing your health. And if you want to know how to reach me and my team, it's the new method everywhere on Instagram, Facebook, threads, you name it, we're there. Send us a message. You always knew there was a better way. I hope this episode helped you and I will see you guys next week.