WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE OF FIONA MEALING, NUTRITIONAL THERAPIST
On our website you will find information about Nutritional Therapy, State of the Art Biochemical Testing including Food Intoleranc, handouts and useful links to health related and other websites and also information about talks/courses and events which I hope will be of interst to you - again they may well not be health related but just simply fun!
Please do scroll down so as not to miss information!
THE THYROID GLAND
Working with many people with thyroid problems both hypo and hyper, I was keen to attend a lecture by Dr David Browstein about the thyroid and iodine deficiency that appears to exist in much of the world.
The day was incredibly informative providing information about the many types of thyroid probem that may be present due to lack of iodine. You can test for iodine deficiency very which I feel will be extremely helpful to my practice as I often have clients who are being treated for hypo-thyroid who don't feel that much better once they start medication so there must be some other underlying problem.
. Many health professionals also believe there are many people who go undiagnosed or who appear to be at the lower or upper range when tests are carried out which means they are not bad enough to be diagnosed with a thyroid problem although they will display many symptoms of thyroid imbalance.
The thyroid gland releases hormones called thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) into the blood stream which mostly travel to the liver to be converted into their active hormones so that they can enter the cells and provide us with energy. Symptoms of an underactive thyroid can be depression, dry skin, lack of energy, weight gain, memory lapses, feeling cold, constipation, puffy ankles, wrists or under eyes.
Areas to consider apart from iodine are the adrenal glands which can be compromised due to stress. If the adrenal glands are tired and under produce cortisol then this can affect the release of thyroid stimulating hormone which in turn results in the thyroid gland producing less thyroxine (T4). Cortisol is also needed at the receptor site where thyroid hormone attaches itself to the cells to do it's work so a lack of cortisol equals a reduction in receptor cell activity.
Potassium levels if too low can make the cells less sensitive to thyroid hormones - again potassium balance can be altered by chronic stress
To help your thyroid:-
Look at stress reduction techniques such as yoga and meditation.
Balance your blood sugar levels in order to reduce physical stress - see handout link in next column.
Eat at least 2 brazil nuts a day as they contain selenium which is good for the thyroid.
Check your iodine levels
Avoid fluoride and bromide (may be difficult as in moving plastic parts!) as they compete with the iodine receptors around the body
Watch goitrogenic vegetables:- green leafy veg, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, turnips, soya, peanuts, millet -
www. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goitrogen
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