Thyroid Health

06/15/15 • 43 min

I talk to Naturopath Lisa Costa-Bir (http://lisacostabirnaturopath.com.au) about thyroid health. We discuss the prevalence of sub-clinical thyroid problems, some common symptoms you experience with a thyroid disorder, links between thyroid, stress and depression, thyroid and cholesterol and also the way thyroid health can change during and after pregnancy. Podcast breakdown: 1:30 The prevalence of thyroid conditions; sub clinical thyroid problems are frequently going undiagnosed and taking into consideration more factors than just blood test results, the rate of thyroid problems (hypothyroidism in particular) would likely be much higher. TSH alone is not enough. 3:50 TSH can be artificially suppressed. 4:30 Reverse T3 6:15 Causes of elevated thyroid antibodies 7:47 Foods Lisa recommends for people with thyroid disorders 10:45 Wheat and thyroid 12:00 Soy and thyroid 14:14 Nutrients for the thyroid and how thyroid problems can cause reduced absorption of nutrients 16:35 Look the adrenals and stress first 18:38 Oestrogen, progesterone, PMT and thyroid 20:43 Thyroid medications - You need nutrients for it to work properly 22:00 Iodine and the building blocks for thyroid hormones 23:40 Vitamin D 25:30 Thyroid and Iodine in Preconception, Pregnancy and Post-Partum 30:22 Thyroid and Depression 31:26 Thyroid and Cholesterol 34:30 How long does it take to improve thyroid function? 35:35 Sleep for thyroid 37:44 Basal body temperature and salt in the morning 38:20 Our favourite thyroid herbs

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Reasons for Fatigue

Today I talk about reasons for fatigue. Energy problems can affect everyone and they come in all different variations - ranging from general sleepiness to chronic fatigue syndrome. A lot of people experience fatigue and don't know why, so I want to go into some different reasons for fatigue and share a bit of information about how I would Podcast breakdown: 2:30 Mitochondria - The powerhouse of your cells, where energy is made. The health and quantity of our mitochrondria determine our ability to make energy, and they can they are susceptible to oxidative damage, and can be depleted by certain nutritional deficiencies. 5:22 Inflammation, particularly chronic inflammation can affect energy and cause other imbalance. 7:40 Andropause, also known as male menopause 8:16 Some tips on reducing chronic inflammation 9:14 Stress is a major cause of fatigue, usually presenting in the form of adrenal exhaustion of HPA Axis dysfunction. 11:28 Thyroid problems are another major cause of fatigue, especially hypothyroidism. 13:36 Nutritional deficiencies that can cause fatigue, Iron, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc 16:12 Certain medications can affect energy levels 16:46 Inadequate exercise can cause fatigue, but this isn't always straightforward 18:27 The wrong diet - not enough food, too much food, or the wrong type of food for you. 20:39 Sleep. Most of us aren't getting enough, or it can be an issue with the quality of sleep. I discuss some tips on sleep hygiene. 23:00 Sleep apnoea 23:40 Shift work 26:30 Obesity and fatigue 28:57 The importance of gut health; gut problems can cause fatigue as well. 30:00 Toxicity affects the mitochrondria- what is toxicity, where does it come from, how can you identify if you're toxic? 31:13 What do you do if you've been tired for a long time and you don't know why? Start by working out a timeline. If you can't do this because the fatigue has been going on for such a long time then testing may be helpful. There are several different types of testing available, but you may not need to do all of them. 33:00 Some tips for reducing inflammation and improving energy through diet 34:30 Depression is a common cause of fatigue. 35:29 My favourite herbs for energy