The Thyroid Pandemic
Are you one of the 27 million Americans suffering from a thyroid condition? Have you been told that you will have to be on medication for the rest of your life or get treated with a radioactive therapy to destroy your thyroid gland?
There is an increasing amount of disturbing evidence that one of the factors that could be causing the thyroid pandemic is the presence of fluoride in our drinking water.
This should not be surprising. According to a 2006 report by the National Research Council of the National Academies, fluoride is “an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function.” You might have guessed it; the thyroid is part of the endocrine system.
What The Thyroid Does
The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormones, which are needed by every cell in our body. A shortage or excess of thyroid hormones throw us out of whack causing symptoms like interrupted metabolism (weight issues, fatigue), memory loss, depression, anxiety, hair loss, infertility, high blood pressure, constant joint pains and many more.
The thyroid gland binds with iodine to produce one of the thyroid hormones, called T4, also known as an inactive hormones (as it does not do much for us). T4 is then transported to the intestine and the liver where it gets converted to T3, the active hormone that our body is actually using to function properly.
Fluoride’s Interference With Iodine
We are now finding out that fluoride inhibits iodine’s ability to bind with the thyroid gland. This means if we drink water with high amounts of fluoride, our thyroid is interrupted and cannot produce enough T4. Insufficient T4 means insufficient T3. It is also believed that fluoride slows down the conversion of T4 to T3 hormone which could explain why in spite of being on medication like Synthroid many people feel far from well. Again, this could be just one reason amongst many others (such as toxic load of the person, poor diet, chronic stress, etc).
In the case of people with hyperthyroidism (excessive thyroid hormone production) you might think this is a desired outcome to see your thyroid function reduced. Well, not really. People with hyperthyroid are known to have a high level of toxicity from water, food, stress, heavy metals, as well as nutritional deficiency and imbalances. Ingestion of fluoride will make the toxicity and imbalances even worse, it’s therefore key to address the quality of drinking water too.
Even the Government Is Backing Off Fluoride Now
The fact that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has announced plans to lower the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water is showing us that the government is finally making the connection between our health, our thyroid and the water we are drinking.
Would I Get Tooth Decay?
Think of it this way: most countries in the world do not add fluoride to their drinking water and they don’t have tooth decay any more larger than we do. In fact, many of European countries declared addition of fluoride to any food and liquid substances outright illegal. The United States is one of 8 countries in the world that still adds fluoride to its drinking water.
So, What Can I Do?
The truth is: removing fluoride from water can be difficult and depends in part on local water chemistry. My recommendation therefore is: buy a water filter that will reduce or remove the amount of fluoride in your drinking water.
The author of this article had Graves’ and later Hashimoto’s Disease, which she managed to reverse by implementing a number of detoxifying dietary and lifestyle changes. She attributes the Kitchen Defender water filtration system from Sweetwater LLC as one of the key milestones in her recovery.
Do what you can, but do something! Reduction of fluoride will not only help your thyroid but will also help your family stay healthy and happy for the years to come.
Contributed by Magdalena Wszelaki
Magdalena Wszelaki, a certified nutrition coach and a thyroid wellness expert, is the founder of Thyroid Diet Coach, a nutrition coaching practice dedicated to alleviating and healing thyroid conditions. Magdalena herself is no stranger to thyroid issues; she had suffered from Graves’ (hyperthyroidism) and later Hashimoto’s Disease (hypothyroidism) for over 10 years. In spite of being told by western medicine practitioners that there was no cure for thyroid and autoimmune diseases, she managed to reverse her condition and today enjoys better health than ever before. Her website is Thyroid Diet Coach.
References:
1. http://thyroid.about.com/library/articles/blfluoridefinder.htm
