“Help! I have low energy. I don’t know if my thyroid is working and I can’t figure anything out! What’s wrong with me?” — D. Q.

To figure out most health problems, you need a detective or you need to become a detective. A thorough investigation usually gets to the bottom of your problem, even it it takes a while.

There’s more to low energy than just the thyroid, but of course one of the main blood tests can determine whether your thyroid is working up to par. If you are having problems with a thyroid drug, you should know that all medications (drugs) have side effects. Your prescribing physician needs to know of your side effects to determine whether the drugs are too strong. If your thyroid values are normal but your doctor has you on thyroid medication anyway, you should ask your doctor why. If they are normal, why do you need thyroid medication? Your doctor gets paid by you, so never be intimidated to ask questions. If he doesn’t like to answer your questions, find another physician. There are plenty of good MDs out there!

In the meanwhile BFood Complex can be taken without any fear of side effects or drug contradictions.

What is your diet like?

Your diet, stress factors and environment are very important because all of these affect your energy levels and the way you feel. A daily journal of everything you eat, every stressful moment and all the supplements and medications you take should be kept. This includes what you drink as well. After doing this for a week or so you may be able to detect a pattern or cause-and-effect to see if something you are eating or doing is creating ill feelings. Regardless of your doctor this is a good idea for you.

Further, if you suspect you have allergies, this daily journal is a must. If your problem is caused by a gluten intolerance (read more below), and you stop eating all gluten, then it can take up to six months of being off of gluten to see a real change. This is a long time, but the problem is that the body takes at least that long to heal itself. When you have had a gluten intolerance that has gone on without correction, then the small intestine has become full of tiny holes through which food particles leak into your bloodstream. As a result, your body recognizes these particles and goes on alert and a war is waged inside of you, causing many possible side effects.

The body is a very complex system and so is each individual. Energy is produced in a few main ways:

1. with foods that contain B vitamins
2. with good fats (Fish Oils, Evening Primrose oil, unrefined olive oil, flaxseed oil)
3. via the thyroid
4. with certain foods that produce energy in the cells
5. complex carbohydrates

Factors that sap energy include (but are not limited to):

1. junk food
2. coffee (offers a short term boost, but in the long run can run you down)
3. sugar (for the same reason as above)
4. refined carbohydrates (ditto)
5. medications (always read the side effects in the PDR)
6. bad fats
7. stress

Never Underestimate Stress

Stress is a major issue affecting your health, although it is commonly overlooked, ignored or marginalized. Trauma is part of stress as well. Your body is affected by your mind and emotions even if you don’t consciously realize this is happening. All cells in your body are affected by trauma and stress of from your mind and emotions. The best way to work on this is with a counselor (preferably a psychologist) who uses EMDR, NLP or Brainspotting.

How Gluten Affects the Thyroid and Other Health Issues

What happens in gluten intolerance (1) is:

• The body lacks a particular digestive enzyme, intestinal glutaminase, that can digest gluten products
• Gliadin antibodies are produced as the body’s reaction to the presence of the gluten
• the villi in the bowels become flattened, making them less able to sweep along waste products and filter out toxins
• The bowel, in a state of irritation, becomes more permeable, allowing larger proteins to pass through, which further aggravates the “allergic” response
• The body responds by producing more histamine, seratonin, kinins, prostaglandins, and interleukins — which can trigger or aggravate autoimmune and inflammatory conditions

The incidence of full-scale gluten intolerance has been found to be substantially higher in people with autoimmune thyroid disease. A study reported on in the February 2000 issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences found that undiagnosed celiac disease may be part of the process that triggers an underlying autoimmune disease. In their findings they wrote: “”We believe that undiagnosed celiac disease can cause other disorders by switching on some as yet unknown immunological mechanism. Untreated celiac patients produce organ-specific autoantibodies.”

Of perhaps greatest importance to thyroid patients, those researchers found that the various antibodies that indicate celiac disease - organ-specific autoantibodies (i.e., thyroid antibodies) — disappear after 3 to 6 months of a gluten-free diet.1

Sources

1. Shomon, Mary, Is Subclinical Gluten Intolerance/Celiac Disease Sabotaging Your Health?
   The Celiac Disease/Autoimmune/Thyroid Connection, Sep 08

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