Hypothyroidism and Cholesterol – What You Don’t Know CAN Kill You!

Take Your Life Back and Stop Hypothyroidism Naturally at the Source

The topic of cholesterol is one that has been near and dear to my heart for more than a decade now. I have a family history of high cholesterol and heart disease and when I was younger and didn’t know any better, I always feared my “genetics” were going to get the best of me.

As I got older, my cholesterol did become a problem but I’m happy to say that using the very principles that I now teach, my cholesterol has normalized to within normal range without the use of drugs.

For me, cholesterol was never a problem until I graduated college, got my first job, started a family, and began enduring the common stressors of everyday life. This is a common theme for most people which should go to show you that your cholesterol levels have a lot to do with stress.

As my cholesterol continued to rise, I tried a number of diets to help lower my cholesterol and improve my health. I tried low-fat diets, low-carb diets, the blood-type diet, gluten-free diets, the newer “fad” paleo diet, etc.

What I discovered is that not only did none of these diets improve my cholesterol, but many of them actually caused my cholesterol to reach all-time highs.

But within a few months of using the same dietary principles that I use today, my cholesterol dropped more than 30 points to within “normal” levels for the first time since my college years.

Little did I know at the time, but previously poor diets and stress had made me hypothyroidism which was really the underlying cause of my high cholesterol. And by simply improving my thyroid function, my cholesterol normalized.

The Link between Hypothyroidism and Cholesterol

Even though the link between hypothyroidism and cholesterol has been well known and documented since 1936, very few people today understand this connection or are even aware of it.

The truth is that you are being left in the dark when it comes to your cholesterol. Just mentioning the word cholesterol is enough to make most people cringe in disgust. But have you ever thought about WHY we have cholesterol in the first place?

Cholesterol happens to be the precursor to every vital protective hormone that your body produces. Without it, you would not be able to produce these protective hormones and you would die. It’s as simple as that. So, cholesterol is not quite as bad as you may think.

Your body needs cholesterol, vitamin A, and active T3 thyroid hormone (sorry Synthroid users but your inactive T4 thyroid hormone doesn’t cut it) to produce the multitude of protective hormones that play an integral role in preventing and overcoming hypothyroidism. Some of these protective hormones include:

·         Pregnenolone

·         Progesterone

·         DHEA

·         Testosterone

Think about it for just a minute…

Your body NEEDS active T3 thyroid hormone to use cholesterol. If you are hypothyroid and therefore lack active T3 thyroid hormone then your body simply cannot use cholesterol to make the hormones it needs. As a result of not being able to use cholesterol, it naturally rises.

Here’s a simple graph that shows this effect. Using TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) as an indicator of thyroid function, you can see that “bad” cholesterol increases as thyroid function decreases in both men and women.

The bottom line is that high cholesterol is nothing more than a sign and symptoms of Hypothyroidism.

What You Don’t Know About Heart Disease, Hypothyroidism and Cholesterol

There is a simple saying that you need to understand when it comes to Heart Disease…

“Correlation does not imply causation.”

Just because a study may show that people with elevated cholesterol have a higher risk of Heart Disease, it does not IMPLY that cholesterol is the CAUSE of Heart Disease.

I just explained how Hypothyroidism is the underlying cause of high cholesterol, so it’s sufficient to say that Hypothyroidism is also the true underlying cause of Heart Disease. High cholesterol is nothing more than a symptom of the real problem.

Using cholesterol lower drugs or even suppressing your cholesterol through diet does NOT solve the underlying problem of Hypothyroidism. It only makes matters worse because as you suppress cholesterol, you further suppress your body’s ability to produce those vital protective hormones that you desperately need to survive.

By suppressing cholesterol, you’re only adding the problem and taking one step closer to death.

This is why so many men at high risk of Heart Disease suffer from low testosterone and many associated symptoms including:

·         Fatigue and Low Energy

·         Loss of Libido

·         Erectile Dysfunction

·         Excessive Muscle Wasting

·         Inability to Handle Stress

This is also why so many women at high risk of Heart Disease suffer from low progesterone and many associated symptoms including:

·         Fatigue and Low Energy

·         Weight Gain

·         Osteoporosis

·         Breast Cancer

·         Depression

Between the extremely high prevalence of Hypothyroidism and the extremely high use of Statin Drugs and other cholesterol lowering medications, it is no wonder that today we’re seeing more and more cases of Hypothyroidism being misdiagnosed and mistreated.

Cases such as the one below reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine are becoming a common day occurrence:

Hypothyroidism Misdiagnosed as Statin Intolerance

http://www.annals.org/content/151/1/72

Case Report: A man age 56 years presented to a specialty lipid clinic for management of combined hyperlipidemia and myositis…. Over the next several years, the atorvastatin dose was increased to 40 mg/d. During this time, the patient developed leg fatigue while walking up stairs, diffuse muscle pain, and weakness.

What You Don’t Know About Cholesterol Drugs

Drug manufacturers have published a lot of research in order to persuade your doctor to prescribe you their cholesterol lowering drugs and to help make you feel all warm and fuzzy about taking these drugs daily.

You’re taking these drugs because they prevent heart disease, make your healthier, and improve your quality oflife, right?

You might want to think twice and educate yourself…

There have been a number of independent research groups that have analyzed the research data that these drug companies are using to promote the effectiveness of their cholesterol lowering drugs in preventing Heart Disease. Their results tell quite a different story.

In most cases, independent researchers have reported that there are just as many non-supportive research trials as there are supportive trials and the non-supportive research has been largely ignored while the supportive trials are being cited 6 times more frequently. It has also been brought to light that there has been NO non-supportive research cited after 1970, while such research does exist.

This only goes to show you that if there is research that does NOT support the efficacy of the drug, it can simply be ignored and disregarded in order to obtain the desired statistical results.

It doesn’t matter how you look at it. It’s biased research.

Because of independent research, there is now evidence that Statin Drugs do NOT prevent heart disease and some even show that they actually worsen your risk. Below are just a couple of studies showing this:

Statins for primary prevention: at what coronary risk is safety assured?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2014585

Results: The regression line describing the relationship between mortality benefit and risk suggests that statin use could be associated with an increase in mortality of 1% in 10 years. This would be sufficiently large to negate statin’s beneficial effect on CHD mortality in patients with a CHD event risk less than 13% over 10 years.

Cholesterol lowering trials in coronary heart disease: frequency of citation and outcome.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1638188

Conclusions: Lowering serum cholesterol concentrations does not reduce mortality and is unlikely to prevent coronary heart disease. Claims of the opposite are based on preferential citation of supportive trials.

Risks Associated With Low Cholesterol

Before putting your faith in any drug, it’s important to also look at the potential side effects. In most cases, using a drug to avoid one health problem only exposes you to an increased risk of developing a number of other health problems.

Statin Drugs in particular have been linked to an increased risk of:

·         Progressive Muscle Disease

·         Diabetes

·         Liver Damage

·         Digestive Problems

·         Immunological Disorders

·         Memory Loss

·         Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Maybe you’re a betting man (or woman) and you’re willing to take the risk of developing any of these other health issues and you truly believe that cholesterol lowering drugs are saving your life.

Maybe you’re of the mindset that whatever doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger?

Maybe you still believe that the lower your cholesterol the better?

Here’s some more research for you…

Low cholesterol is also associated with increased death due to both cancer and suicide. So, even if, by any stretch of the imagination, cholesterol lowering drugs were to improve your risk of dying from Heart Disease, you may just be increasing your risk of developing cancer or one of the many other degenerative diseases.

Protect Your Thyroid and Protect Your Heart – It’s That Simple

We could go on for days about cholesterol and heart disease but the bottom line is simple, correct the underlying problem of Hypothyroidism and you won’t have to worry about Heart Disease.

If modern medicine would place a little more focus on understanding Hypothyroidism and the underlying cause of the disease instead of trying to merely treat these various symptoms, we might start seeing some major improvements in our health and health-care system.

Endocrinologist and thyroid expert, Dr. Broda Barnes, said it perfectly when stated that if you suffer from Hypothyroidism and you don’t die early from infectious disease then you’ll die a little later from Cancer or Heart Disease.

Watch this Video Here - The Link between Hypothyroidism and Cholesterol - How Hypothyroidism Affects Cholesterol Levels

Author Bio:

Tom Brimeyer – The author of Hypothyroidism Revolution – is a practitioner of functional medicine, health researcher and author on nutrition, hormones and hypothyroidism.

His personal mission is to inspire and educate people to take control and achieve true health by correcting their hypothyroidism and underlying causes of their health problems instead of being stuck relying on doctors and drugs that merely cover up their symptoms while their health continues to suffer.

For more details on his program, click on HypothyroidismRevolution.com

3 Ways Coffee Can Heal Your Thyroid and Save Your Life

Take Your Life Back and Stop Hypothyroidism Naturally at the Source

Want to know why coffee can heal your thyroid? Read on.

In the not so distant past, coffee has been put through the ringer. It’s been called every bad name in the book. Many so-called “health experts” have even gone as far as to label coffee as a highly addictive drug that is equivalent to a number of illegal narcotics.

But now, the “coffee” tables have turned because more and more research is being published supporting the vast protective benefits that coffee has to offer. The truth is that coffee is a nutrient, not a drug like many would have you believe.

To be completely honest, I was never a fan of coffee. I couldn’t stand the taste of it. But when I started to learn the science behind coffee and how it can be used to correct hypothyroidism and restore healthy metabolism, my taste buds quickly changed.

Now, thanks to more recent research, it’s becoming easier to understand the connections between coffee and how it can help heal your thyroid and protect you from a number of thyroid related health problems.

Coffee, Longevity, and Thyroid Function

The health of your thyroid is one of the most important factors when it comes to overall health and longevity.

In simplistic terms, your thyroid controls your cells’ ability to produce energy. When you become hypothyroid, your metabolism slows and your ability to produce energy decreases. When your cells cannot produce enough energy to stay happy, healthy, and sustain life… You develop disease and eventually die.

It’s as simple as that.

This is why anti-aging scientists are discovering that the key to extending life and living longer is to improve thyroid function so that your body can continue to produce the energy it needs to sustain life.

So, what does this have to do with coffee?

The results of the largest coffee study to date were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine involving more than 400,000 U.S. men and women ages 50 to 71, over a 14 year span of time.

Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1112010

Conclusions: In this large prospective study, coffee consumption was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality.

Not only does this study show that those who drank coffee lived longer, it also shows that the more coffee they drank, the longer they lived.

·         Men’s Results: two to three cups of coffee per day decreased risk of death by 10% in men. And each addition cup provided an additional 6% decreased risk.

·         Women’s Results: two to three cups of coffee per day decreased risk of death by 13% in women. And each additional cup provided an additional 5% decreased risk.

Based on our understanding of human physiology and longevity, coffee reduces your risk of death by helping your cells produce energy, increasing your metabolism, and therefore improving thyroid function.

However, because of the nature of this study, they were not able to identify the exact mechanisms through which coffee reduces the risk of death and extends life.

Below, we’re going to explore just a few of these exact mechanisms through which coffee can provide amazing benefits for overcoming hypothyroidism and heal your thyroid as well as many of its associated health problems.

1. Coffee Can Heal Your Thyroid and Protect You from Thyroid Disease

When it comes to coffee and the health of your thyroid, it doesn’t get any more obvious than this. Coffee has been shown to have a direct effect on the health of your thyroid gland.

Research has shown that coffee drinkers have a significantly lower incidence of both benign and malignant thyroid disease, including thyroid cancer.

Does coffee consumption protect against thyroid disease?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2816215

“Statistical analysis revealed a strikingly negative (p less than 0.05) association between benign and malignant thyroid disease and consumption of coffee. After adjustment for possible confounding variables, the association remained statistically significant.”

It is well known that various thyroid diseases including Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and thyroid cancer are common causes of hypothyroidism today. Using coffee properly to help prevent these diseases is a big step in the right direction.

2. Coffee Protects You from Cancer and Estrogen

Coffee doesn’t just only heal your thyroid and protect you from thyroid cancer. It also protects against a number of other cancers, including breast cancer, which is especially a concern for menopausal women.

Coffee consumption modifies risk of estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21569535

“CONCLUSIONS: A high daily intake of coffee was found to be associated with a statistically significant decrease in ER-negative breast cancer among postmenopausal women.”

Many people don’t know this, but there is a link between hypothyroidism and breast cancer. This is because of the role that estrogen plays in suppressing the thyroid gland, disrupting healthy metabolism, and promoting cancer metabolism and growth.

Coffee has been shown to help support your body’s ability to produce progesterone, the hormone that plays the important role of offsetting the negative effects of estrogen and is essential in signaling your thyroid gland to release healthy amounts of thyroid hormone when needed.

So, it should be no surprise that coffee not only helps to protect you from breast cancer but that it also helps to promote healthy function of the thyroid gland.

3. Coffee Protects You from Liver Dysfunction

Coffee has also been shown to be highly protective of your liver. Below is just one of many studies that show the positive effects that coffee can have on the health of your liver.

Effects of coffee consumption against the development of liver dysfunction

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10680318

“These results suggest that coffee may be protectively against the liver dysfunction in middle-aged Japanese men.”

The health of your liver is very well understood when it comes to proper thyroid function. Your liver plays a major role in regulating your thyroid and converting your inactive T4 thyroid hormone to the active T3 thyroid hormone that your cells need to thrive. Liver dysfunction is a major cause of hypothyroidism today that deserves a lot more attention than it currently gets.

Because coffee can help improve liver function, it can also play an important role in improving your liver’s ability to properly regulate thyroid hormone and improve your overall thyroid function.

When it comes to your thyroid, the health benefits of coffee go much further than what I’ve described above. This is really just scratching the surface of the health benefits associated with coffee.

In a world where stress and disease are lurking around every corner, it’s important to take advantage of every thyroid protective nutrient that you have at your disposal, and coffee is one of the most important ones.

Watch this Video Here – Coffee Can Heal Your Thyroid and Save Your Life - Hypothyroidism Treatment

Author Bio:

Tom Brimeyer – The author of Hypothyroidism Revolution – is a practitioner of functional medicine, health researcher and author on nutrition, hormones and hypothyroidism.

His personal mission is to inspire and educate people to take control and achieve true health by correcting their hypothyroidism and underlying causes of their health problems instead of being stuck relying on doctors and drugs that merely cover up their symptoms while their health continues to suffer.

For more details on his program, click on HypothyroidismRevolution.com

Revealing Here an Extensive List of Hypothyroidism Symptoms

Take Your Life Back and Stop Hypothyroidism Naturally at the Source

Hypothyroidism Symptoms

Hypothyroidism is most well-known for its relationship to your metabolism and oftentimes weight gain or the inability to lose weight. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when you begin to look at the multitude of various hypothyroidism symptoms ranging from digestive to sensory symptoms.

But also keep in mind that different people develop different symptoms. There is no one set pattern of symptoms that all hypothyroid people progress through. It all has to do with how your body responds and compensates.

One person might gain 30 lbs. and be unable to lose it no matter what. And the next person may develop heart palpitations or chronic depression.

If you find yourself suffering from any of these symptoms then you have to strongly consider that you very well might be hypothyroid. And I encourage you to take an active role in your health because all too often we place our health in the hands of others who don’t have our best interests in mind.

So, do yourself a favor and educate yourself, or find someone who is willing to educate you on what is really happening with your body and what the underlying cause of your health problems really is. Only then can you make an educated decision as to what is best for your health.

A Quick Note on Hypothyroidism Testing Flaws

And keep in mind that most thyroid test options are flawed and oftentimes lead to a false negative hypothyroidism diagnosis. And so millions of people go untreated or are improperly treated for various other related symptoms that stem from underlying hypothyroidism.

Because of this, I often recommend what is called a therapeutic trial to confirm your own diagnosis. This is where you follow a proper hypothyroidism treatment protocol including the right hypothyroidism diet and monitor your symptoms.

If your hypothyroidism symptoms improve then you can confirm that your speculation was correct.

Below I’ve listed a very comprehensive set of hypothyroidism symptoms that are broken down into categories which shows you just how extensive these symptoms can be.

General Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Fatigue or Excessive Tiredness

·         Weight Gain or Inability to Lose Weight

·         Obesity

·         Excessive Weight Loss

·         Cold Extremities

·         Swollen Neck or Goiter

·         Loss of Stamina

·         Afternoon Energy Crash

·         Low Morning Temperature

·         Edema

·         Difficulty Breathing

·         Dry and/or Gritty Eyes

·         Slow Recovery

·         Inability to Exercise

·         Trembling, Jittery, or Shivering Feeling

·         Hoarse Voice

·         Cold Sweats

·         Lack of Coordination

·         Heavy Eyelids

Sleep Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Insomnia

·         Poor Sleep Quality

·         Waking Up Feeling Unrested

·         Difficulty Getting Out of Bed in the Morning

·         Frequent Nightmares

·         Sleep Apnea

·         Excessive Snoring

·         Night Sweats

Sensory Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Inability to Concentrate

·         Slowed Reflexes and Reaction Time

·         Sensitivity to Light and/or Sun

·         Sensitivity to Hot and Cold

·         Sensitivity to Strong Odors

·         Sensitivity to Loud Noises

·         Blurred Vision

Hair, Skin, and Nail Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Puffiness or Swelling of Eyes, Face, Hands, Feet, and/or Ankles

·         Hair Loss

·         Brittle Hair

·         Loss of Eyelashes

·         Loss of Eyebrow Hair (outer portion)

·         Brittle, Flaky, or Peeling Nails

·         Dry, Flaky, or Course Skin

·         Pale and/or Yellowish Skin Pigment

·         Dark Circles Under Eyes

·         Orange Calluses

·         Bruise Easily

·         Acne

·         Rashes and Various Skin Conditions

Digestive Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Loss of Appetite

·         Constipation

·         Food Allergies and Sensitivities

·         Difficulty Swallowing

·         Swollen Tongue or Ridges on Tongue

·         Dry Mouth

·         Alcohol Intolerance

·         Hemorrhoids

·         Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

·         Abdominal Distention

·         Excessive Gas

·         Bad Breath

·         Diabetes

·         Liver/Gallbladder Issues

·         Salt Cravings

·         Sweet Cravings

·         Hypoglycemia

Heart Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         High Cholesterol

·         High Blood Pressure

·         Low Blood Pressure

·         Slow/Weak Pulse (under 60 bpm)

·         Fast Pulse (over 90 bpm at rest)

·         Heart Palpitations

·         Heart Disease

·         Bleeding/Clotting Issues

Immune Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Recurring Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

·         Recurring Upper Respiratory Infections

·         Fungal and Candida Infections

·         Rheumatoid Arthritis

·         Lupus

·         Asthma

·         Multiple Sclerosis

·         Autoimmune Disease

·         Cancer

Mental Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Panic attacks

·         Poor Memory

·         Confusion

·         Restlessness

·         Mental Sluggishness

·         ADD/ADHD

·         Slowed Speech

·         Difficulty Learning New Things

·         Poor Concentration

·         Phobias

·         Loss of Motivation

·         Light Headedness

·         Vertigo or Dizziness

·         Postpartum Depression

·         Epilepsy or Seizures

Emotional Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Depression

·         Nervousness and Anxiety

·         Easily Upset

·         Antisocial Behavior

·         Mood Swings

·         Lack of Confidence

·         Bipolar Tendencies

Pain Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Migraines

·         Pressure Headaches

·         Muscle Cramps

·         Muscle Spasms

·         Back Pain

·         Wrist Pain

·         Foot Pain

·         Arthritis

·         Joint Pain or Stiffness

·         Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

·         Tendinitis

Women’s Health Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         PMS

·         Irregular, Longer, Lighter, or Heavier Menstrual Cycles

·         Severe Menstrual Cramps

·         Infertility

·         History of Miscarriage

·         Fibroids

·         Loss of Libido

Men’s Health Related Hypothyroidism Symptoms:

·         Loss of Libido

·         Erectile Dysfunction

Hopefully all of these symptoms of hypothyroidism have opened your eyes and given you a better understanding of the importance of detecting and properly treating hypothyroidism in order to properly restore and maintain your health.

Most people, doctors, and healthcare professionals fail to make this connection and far too often the underlying cause of your health problems is missed or misdiagnosed.

Your thyroid is responsible for so much more than increasing your metabolism and helping you to lose weight. It plays an important role in balancing and producing hormones, reducing cholesterol, reducing inflammation within your body, fighting cancer, reducing your risk of autoimmune disease, keeping your brain energized and mentally alert, and slowing the natural aging process.

So many of the hypothyroidism symptoms listed above can be both easily avoided or easily eliminated when you learn how to properly restore the function and health of your thyroid. And it always begins with properly educating and empowering yourself to take control of your health.

Watch this Video Here – Hypothyroidism - Causes, Signs, Symptoms,Remedies, Treatment and Pictures of Hypothyroid Gland

Author Bio:

Tom Brimeyer – The author of Hypothyroidism Revolution – is a practitioner of functional medicine, health researcher and author on nutrition, hormones and hypothyroidism.

His personal mission is to inspire and educate people to take control and achieve true health by correcting their hypothyroidism and underlying causes of their health problems instead of being stuck relying on doctors and drugs that merely cover up their symptoms while their health continues to suffer.

For more details on his program, click on HypothyroidismRevolution.com