Natural Vs. Synthetic
Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy
By: Robert H. Sorge, N.D., Ph.D., D.O., N.M.D., P.N.D.
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine.
Since the introduction of synthetic thyroid hormones in the late 1950’s, the pharmecueutical industry has bombarded the medical profession and the public with an endless array of propaganda relating to the superiority of synthetic thyroid hormone replacement over the natural. This resulted in the almost complete abandonment of the natural in favor of the synthetic.
Few medical doctors have dared to challenge or question the synthetic thyroid doctrine in fear of being considered a medical heretic. In retrospect, when we consider that natural thyroid replacement was around well over 100 years before the synthetic, one has to wonder if the medical profession as a whole has given this matter any thought at all. It appears that they, like the “pied-piper”, lead us all into the sea.
I’ve been recommending Natural Thyroid Hormone Replacement to my patients since 1964. This has been frustrating when some of my patients would go to their medical doctors only to be told to go off the natural that was working perfectly well, and go on the synthetic because the synthetic hormone is controlled in the laboratory, so we can rely on its dosage, therefore its effectiveness. Natural thyroid, they have told us, is impossible to regulate into consistent doses, but the almighty drug is perfectly controlled.
Once again the orthodox drug establishment has been proven to be dead wrong. They should be compelled to apologize to the naturopathic profession and the public for 50 years of mal-practice but, don’t expect that too soon, but you can be sure they’ll come out with another new pharmaceutical with its usual propaganda.
A recent successful lawsuit was brought against Synthroid for their misleading marketing, in short: lies repeated over and over ad nauseating for five decades. The lawsuit was followed by a number of official statements from the FDA stating that, “No current marketed orally administered lenothyroxine sodium product has been shown to demonstrate consistent potency and stability and thus, no currently marketed orally administered synthetic thyroid product is generally recognized as safe and effective.”
The truth concerning pharmacuticals continue to surface. It took a lawsuit to get the FDA off its duffand almost 50 years to make this statement. Intelligent people of course are finaly beginning to question the entire system of alleopathic drug medicine and its system of poisoning. If they can do this to us with Synthroid for 50 years, just imagine what they’re pulling off with hundreds of other substances they call medication
As a result of the truth being confirmed, we have finally allowed for the resurfacing of natural thyroid hormone as a safe effective and sensible treatment for thyroid conditions.
Desicated thyroid is hormonally almost identical to natural thyroxin that is produced by the human body. Unlike the synthetic, it is not a controlled substance drug.
WHAT DOES THE THYROID GLAND DO?
The thyroid gland produces the hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism. The principle hormones secreted by the thyroid gland are:
- T-3 (Triodothyronine)
- T-4 (Thyroxine)
Because about 80% of the thyroid gland’s production is devoted to T-4, Thyroxine is often called “the thyroid hormone”, much of the same way estrogen is called the “female hormone”. Nevertheless, T-3 is functionally the more important thyroid hormone. It does about 90% of the work of the thyroid.
Proper thyroid function requires conversion of T-4 to T-3, which is the metabolically active derivative of T-4, if the conversion of T-4 to T-3 is impaired symptoms of hypothyroidism surface.
Many Americans have what is considered a healthy thyroid, but their conversion mechanism is not working effectively, thereby causing some of the same symptoms of a thyroid disease.
DIAGNOSIS OF HYPOTHYROIDISM
The most common method of diagnosing thyroid function has been the laboratory blood tests. However, most naturopathic doctors have found that these tests, although useful in diagnosing serious thyroid disease, are somewhat limited for determining thyroid function and their results are often misleading.
It is not unusual for a patient to be suffering with multiple hypothyroidism symptoms all of their life, only to be told that the tests came back negative, that they were perfectly healthy and their problem was all in their head.
Part of the problem is the range of what is considered normal is overly broad and their measurement is not sufficently sensitive. For that reason, in naturopathic medicine, we employ not only the medical range, but also what is known as the optimal range. We also show our patients what the perfect number on each and every test that should be if their body was working perfectly.
According to Broda Barnes M.D., one of the foremost authorities in the country on the thyroid, “more information can be brought to the physician with a mercury thermometer then with most thyroid function tests.” At AbundaLife, we teach our patients to test themselves and become more involved in their own health care.
HYPOTHYROIDISM SYMPTOMS
Undetected thyroid problems have plagued people for years and continue to be an underlying cause for a variety of physical and mental problems. Some people have been suffering with undiagnosed hypothyroidism all of their life, some even from birth without even knowing it. Doctors offices are filled with undiagnosed and underdiagnosed cases of hypothyroidism. According to Broda Barnes, M.D. it is the most underdiagnosed medical condition in America.
The onset of hypothyroidism is often subtle with symptoms gradually worsening over time. Symptoms can exacerbate greatly with age. To further complicate the diagnosis of this disease, the symptoms of hypothyroidism are varied, affecting each individual differently, often causing medical doctors not sensitive to the nature of this condition to say “its all in your head”, or worse, prescribe phycotropic drugs which only compound the problem.
UNDERACTIVE THYROID TEST
CHECK YOURSELF
- Feeling chilly even at normal room temperature (62o to 68o)
- Slow, rapid, or irregular heartbeat
- Menstrual problems
- Infertility
- Difficulty losing or gaining weight
- Fluid retention
- Unexplained weight gain or loss
- Puffiness around the eyes
- Coarse, brittle, or dry hair
- Excessive loss of hair
- Dry, rough, or scaly skin
- Depression
- Brain fog
- Inability to concentrate
- Poor memory
- Can’t sweat, even in hot weather
- Constipation
- Respiratory infection
- Prone to colds, flu and infection
- Muscle soreness or weakness
- Joint pain
- Undue fatigue
- Headaches or migraines
- P.M.S.
- Irritability
- Anxiety or panic attacks or clostrophobia
- Low sex drive
- Fine or thinning hair
- Lack of ambition or motivation
- Slow reaction, slow moving, slow thyroid
- Insomnia
- Hives
- Asthma
- Allergies
- Slow healing
- Emotional instability
- Intolerance to heat
- Intolerance to cold
- Itchiness
- Ringing in ears
- Blurred vision or poor vision
- Swollen eyelids or puffy face
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy or slow speech
- Acne
- Cold hands or cold feet
- Brain fog
If you’ve checked off three or more of the above symptoms there is a strong possibility that your thyroid is underperforming. Discuss this with your physician in light of this information.
Unfortunately, most orthodox medical doctors still do not recognize these symptoms as being potentially related to a healthy thyroid function. For this reason, most hypothyroidism is overlooked, remaining undetected until more severe symptoms develop. In naturopathic medicine, we believe in addressing an underactive thyroid at early inception, at the deficiency stage rather than the crisis stage.
MORE SERIOUS DISEASES
When hypothyroidism is not addressed at its early inception, more serious conditions can often result. So many menstrual irregularities and menopausal symptoms are related to hypothyroidism, that if it was even addressed properly, 80% of the gynecologists would have to seek a new profession.
The old medical textbooks going back to the turn of the last century, before drugs became the vogue, made it clear that there was a direct relationship to female problems and the thyroid.
In 1914, Dr. Eugene Hertoghe, a distinguished Belgian Endocrinologist noted, “The thyroid gland has a great influence on menstruation, pregnancy, lactation and even uterine involution after childbirth”.
In 1962, Dr. Broda Barnes confirmed that “there are many possible causes for menstrual, fertility and feminine difficulties. Among them are ovarian cysts, fibroids and cervical polypo, as well as endometriosis… but the vast majority of women there is no evidence of any organic related problem. What is commonly evident if it is sought is low thyroid function. (This was known 100 years ago).
Dr. Barnes continued, “Forty years ago leading gynecologists were reporting that natural thyroid replacement therapy had cured more menstrual disorders than all other medications combined. Unfortunately, that lesson seems to be largely lost”.
Even more unfortunately for many women suffering from feminine menstrual and pre and post menopausal problems, that lesson still seems lost today, 80 years later. In some areas of medicine, we don’t need more research money, but to simply re-read our old medical books.
According to Dr. Barnes most menstrual problems including miscarriage, P.M.S. and infertility could be remedied with natrual thyroid replacement therapy.
In the last two decades, infertility in both men and women has skyrocketed. There are multiple factors contributing to this fact, including malnutrition, environmental pollutants and heavy metal toxicity all interfere with proper thyroid function. Their appears to be a connection between unrelated hypothyroidism and infertility. 25% of our young men and women are infertile. Fertility clinics are booming at $20,000 plus per couple to conceive a child. Wouldn’t it make more sense to see a naturopathic doctor first?
Heart disease is also related to hypothyroidism. Thyroid secretions control cholesterol levels, which means there is a connection between hypothyroidism and atherosclerosis. Thyroid deficiency can also lead to accelerated blood clotting, setting the cardiovascular system up for a clogged artery, as well as high blood pressure and undue fatigue. All these factors related to improper thyroid function can increase the risk of stroke or heart attack.
According to Dr. Ray Peat, “Hypothyroidism whether natural or promoted by the administration of thyroxine, (the synthetic thyroid drug), retarted bone modeling and tissue repair”. Osteoporosis may result from hypothyroidism itself or from thyroxine pills because of their poor conversion of T-4 to T-3.
The orthodox medical profession has treated hypothyroidism with Synthroid for 50 years. This drug is a synthetic T-4. Naturopathic doctors have long questioned the value of T-4 only therapy. In fact, a recent New England Journal of Medicine article reinforced the significance of treating hypothyroidism. As one begins to see, sooner or later the Medical proffession comes back to Naturopathic Principles.
Dr. Mercola states that many people being treated for hypothyroidism with synthetic T-4 are actually being undertreated. He suggests that the excessive reliance on single thyroid treatments, (T-4) and the subsequent blood results that indicate a normal “TSH” level are the primary reasons for the oversight.
Dr. Ray Peat adds that, “if the liver is the main source of the thyroid problem, then synthetic Thyroxine pills, which are only T-4, can make the problem worse because the liver is not converting the T-4 to T-3 and the treatment is further suppressing T-3 production from the thyroid.”
This is just another example of “tomfoolery” medicine. The natural worked perfectly fine for over 100 years. The big boys from the pharmaceutical monopoly had to get in their with their patented synthetic drug Synthroid, now 50 years later it has been proven again that they have been doing more harm then good. The orthodox drug profession has been guilty of 50 years of malpractice and now we’re back to what we were doing since the early 1800’s. Using natural thyroid hormone replacement therapy, which contains T-2, T-3, and T-4, a comprehensive supplement, replicates what your thyroid gland is already producing. Natrual thyroid contains an ample supply of T-3 and T-4 as a back up supply for conversion into T-3.
Over the course of 40 years of medical practice the late Dr. Broda Barnes noted that many patients who were being treated with synthetic Thyroxine (T-4) complained of residual symptoms, specifically dry skin, weight gain and fluid retention. However, when their therapy was modified to the natural thyroid which more closely resmbles what the body produces with the full range of human thyroid hormones, all the symptoms disappeared within two months or less.
IMBALANCES THAT CAN AFFECT T-4 TO T-3 CONVERSION
EXCESSES
Nutrition: Junk food diet, excess fried food, sugar, alcohol, devitilized food, high protein diet, unsupervised diets
Heavy Metal Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Aluminum
Toxicity:
Drugs: Medications, over the counter antibiotics, recreational drugs, asprin
Environmental Toxicity: pesticides, preservatives, xyno estrogens, flouride, hairspray, electric frequencies, ick building syndrome, air pollution, tap water
Hormones: Estrogen, Cortisol, synthetic hormones, Medical Hormone Therapy, Premerian, birth control pills
Mental / Stress, anxiety, fear, anger, worry
Emotional:
DEFICIENCIES
Nutrition: Excessive fasting or detoxification, starvation, anorexia, amino acids, malnutrition.
Trace Minerals: Iodine, Selenium, Iron, Zinc
Vitamins: Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B Complex
Hormones: T-3, T-4, TSH
BASAL TEMPERATURE TEST
Has been proven over the last 100 years to be even more reliable than blood tests for detecting cases of mild to moderate hypothyroidism. Menstruating women should make sure to take this test on the second and third day of their menstrual flow.
Here’s how you do it:
1 - Shake an ordinary mercury thermometer (not a digital) down as far as it will go before placing it next to your bed.
2 – In the morning upon awakening, before going to the bathroom with as little movement as possible, place the thermometer under your armpit and lie quietly for ten minutes. Record to the tenth of a degree.
Here’s what it means:
1 – The optimal basal temperature is 98.2º.
2 – The ideal window is 98.2º never going less than 97.8º.
If your temperature falls within that window, your thyroid is probably functioning normally.
3 – If your temperature is consistently above 98.2º, you may have an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or an infection or an overload of toxins.
4 – If your temperature is below 97.8º you may have an under performing thyroid (hypothyroidism).
CONCLUSIONS
Hypothyroidism, according to Broda Barnes, M.D., one of the leading authorities in the country on the thyroid, claims that hypothyroidism is a national epidemic, and the most undiagnosed and underdiagnosed conditions in America. Many Americans are suffering needlessly, being told they have to live with their problem or worse, put on phycotropic drugs.
Mild and moderate hypothyroidism may be contributing to the lowering of our normal body temperature. In other words, normal does not mean optimal. Subtle hypothyroidism has become the common disease of the 21st century as a result of our junk food diets, deplotted soil, heavy metal toxicity, environmental pollutants, over medication, nutritional deficiencies, toxicity and stress.
Over hypothyroidism is fairly easy to detect, but for the majority of people who have this disease in mild and moderate forms, the diagnosis is often missed, even with extensive blood tests. Once diagnosed, natural thyroid replacement therapy, liquid ionic minerals, diet food, medicine and natural food over supplements can remedy the majority of symptoms and eventually correcting the root cause. According to Broda Barnes, M.D., 50% of his patients using the natural thyroid hormones corrected their hypothyroidism and needed no further treatment.
Everyone is different, not all people with hypothyroidism will exhibit the same symptoms. Different people are affected in different degrees. What makes this disorder so perplexing is thyroid hormone levels are not reliable indicators of how good or how bad you feel. Some people with considerable deviations in their laboratory tests results will feel just fine, while other people with a mild deviation will have multiple symptoms. This can be mind boggling to many physicians of the “science only” School of Medicine.
There are different aspects to natural thyroid therapy. One is augmenting the T-3 and T-4 itself that your body is presently producing. A second aspect is to feed and nourish the thyroid with its primary and essential minerals and nutrients that it is deficient in. The third aspect is to raise the thyroid’s vibratory rate using homeopathic remedies and microcurrent stimulation. At AbundaLife we employ a total holistic approach with correction as our goal, rather than a temporary surpression of symptoms.
WHAT TO DO FOR AN UNDER-PERFORMING THYROID
ABUNDA LIFE MEDICAL NUTRITION TESTING CLINIC NATRUAL TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR HYPOTHYROIDISM
Natural Food Is:
1 – Kelp 5 – Turnip Green 9 – Cucumber
2 – Dulse 6 – Summer Squash 10 – Spinach
3 – Sea Vegetables 7 – Mustard Green 11 – Asparagus
4 – Swiss Chard 8 – Watermelon 12 – Kale Turnips
Natural Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy:
Essential: Take one natural thyroid Rx 15 minutes before meals or as directed by your doctor
Recommended: Male/Female natural hormone replacement
Optimal: Optimal - Anti aging human growth hormone replacement therapy
Liquid Ionic Minerals:
Essential: Liquid Thyroid
Recommended: Liquid Iodine
Optimal: Liquid Mineral Selenium, Liquid Mineral Iron, Liquid Mineral Zinc
Naturopathic Food Medicine:
One Tablespoon Per Day
Essential: Thyroid Broth
Recommended: Irish Moss / Kelp
Optimal: Amino Acid Broth, Blue-Green Algae
Nutriceutical Food Supplements:
Essential: Sea Life Powder (1 x 3), DHEA (Pharmaceutical Grade)
Recommended: 24 Super Minerals Powder (1 x 3), L-Tyrosine
Optimal: Green Gorrila Powder (1 x 3), Melatonine at bedtime
Homeopathic Remedies:
Essential: Homeopathic Remedy #834
Recommended: Homeopathic Remedy #806
Optimal: Homeopathic Remedy #812
Botanical Medicine (Teas):
Essential: Liver Detox Formula Tea
Recommended: Detox Formula Tea
Optimal: Metabolic Balancer Tea
Special Physical Therapy:
Microcurrent Stimulation |
