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Hildreth on Health: Maintaining a happy thyroid

By Dr. Dewall Hildreth, D.O.

Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008 7:13 PM MDT

This is made up of nutritional areas of concern in regard to thyroid health and function. Any food intake in the way of additives that express toxic cellular manifestations will influence thyroid cells as well as other cells of the body. The thyroid cells will react in a pathological way, influencing the output of thyroxine. By influencing thyroxine output in a hypo- or hyperactive way will influence all other organ activities and bodily functions.

There are many nutritional deficiencies that will, over time, create permanent changes in thyroid function, particularly in the trace mineral area.

Two areas of concern where the thyroid appears extremely sensitive are in the refined sugars and artificial sweeteners, and fat metabolism. Quality fats are extremely important in all hormonal production because all hormones are produced from fats. Trans fats are deadly to the thyroid metabolism; they interfere with cellular membrane function.

To aid in maintaining good thyroid function, certain things are required. Otherwise, the thyroid will age and become dysfunctional faster than many of the other organs.

Six simple steps in improving your diet to support thyroid function are:

1. Eliminate refined sugars.

2. Eliminate artificial sweeteners.

3. Eliminate trans fatty acids.

4. Eat organic foods, not contaminated vegetables that we are finding in many of the stores today.

5. Drink more water.

6. Eat a balanced diet. Eating a balanced diet means minimal foods containing white sugar and white flour. Overuse of refined or white sugar will ultimately lead to multiple nutritional imbalances, particularly B vitamin deficiencies. Anything made from white flour has no particular nutritional value; it only has empty calories.

There is a difference between good and bad fats. Good fats are essential ingredients necessary for proper thyroid and immune system functions. Poor thyroid function secondary to nutritional deficiencies in most cases creates a hypofunctioning thyroid. We do see cellular metabolism and the accumulation of higher total cholesterol and higher low-density cholesterol within the bloodstream. A hypothyroid condition results in slower fat metabolism.

The higher levels of blood cholesterol, particularly LDL, invite an increased amount of oxidation of the fat molecules, particularly LDL, within the bloodstream, which is very toxic to the vascular walls.

Trans fats may start as a good quality fat but have been hydrogenated because of high temperatures, particularly under high pressure, which takes place in many of the fast-food outlets and many restaurants. This is the beginning of atherosclerosis and then arteriosclerosis.

Many times this is the beginning of a thyroid dysfunction and in many cases much earlier than any other organ dysfunction.

A similar pattern happens with excess intake of refined sugars. Excess and frequent intake of refined sugars, whether it is in sweetened foods or soft drinks, creates a higher blood insulin state which is very irritating to the vascular walls and cell membranes of the thyroid gland.

Much of our energy production comes from good quality fats. If they are not there or there is an imbalance between good and bad fats, like poor gasoline in your car, poor function is the result.

Fats also play a role in forming skin and coverings of the major organs of the body, including the thyroid. The majority of all the cells of our body are made up of phospholipids, which must be in good health to transfer needed nutrients into the cell as well as toxic byproducts from metabolism of the cell.

The fats provide the necessary raw ingredients for all of our hormone production including thyroxine produced by the thyroid.

Good quality fats are extremely important and the body will suffer greatly without them and result in poor function and accelerated aging. As you can see, our greatest challenge in reducing the chronic disease processes as we age centers around excess refined carbohydrates and sugars and bad fats in the form of trans fats secondary to hydrogenation.

Rancid oxidized fats are extremely toxic to all organs of the body. We use sugars and other forms of carbohydrates for energy, particularly the brain, but the basic foundation of our body’s makeup centers around different forms of lipids and proteins. The base of all of our hormones that dictate organ function and essentially all of our cell membranes that allow the needed nutrients in and the toxic byproducts out is made up of different forms and combinations of fats.

When altered fats are all there is to work with, cellular dysfunction and deterioration is the result. This is what we experience as the different forms of chronic diseases progress. The thyroid will be the first to suffer and become dysfunctional. Altered cellular function in all of the remaining organs resulting in symptomatic failure comes secondary to thyroid dysfunction.

Let’s close by quickly listing some of the illness associated, first, with refined sugar consumption, then sugar substitutes, then bad fats in the form of trans fats and oxidized or spoiled fats.

Under refined sugars we will see an acceleration as we age of ADHD, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, cancer, Candida, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, thyroid disorders, and tooth decay. Aspartame, a sugar substitute, will find anxiety, unexplained increasing pains, migrating pains, brain fog, confusion, depression, dizziness, eye problems, fatigue, hyper- and hypothyroid states, fibromyalgia, headaches, muscular weakness, neurological disorders, and altered immune function.

Under trans fatty acids we will find immune dysfunction, liver problems, lowered HDL and raised LDL, increased insulin resistance, obesity, and they create cellular membrane dysfunction resulting in altered cellular metabolism and hormonal dysfunction.

I appreciate the fact that in our new society, correcting some of these nutritional challenges is not easy, but the more we can refrain from refined sugars, artificial sweeteners and oxidized or trans fats, the better our thyroids will function and direct the cellular metabolism of the other organs of our body. You all have a good weekend, and I will be back in two weeks.

Contact Green Valley Dr. DeWall J. Hildreth at 625-1101 or cnhcgv@yahoo.com. Dr. Hildreth specializes in hormone balancing and musclo-skeletal degeneration. He practices with Continental Natural Health Clinic at 210 W. Continental Rd., Suite 130. His column appears biweekly in the Green Valley News.


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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of gvnews.com.

June Ray wrote on Jun 20, 2008 10:53 AM:

" Excellent article.

Check out this aspartame study... photos are graphic.

http://myaspartameexperiment.com

Thanks. "

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