Read The UltraMind Solution Online
Authors: Mark Hyman
The UltraMind Solution (50 page)
And more vague common symptoms that often are not effectively treated by modern medicine.
I remember the story of one patient who was seventy-three years old. This woman came to see me because when she went to her doctor with complaints of fatigue, sluggishness, poor memory, slight depression, dry skin, constipation, and a little fluid retention, her doctor said, “Well, what do you expect? You’re seventy-three and this is what seventy-three is supposed to feel like.”
I don’t believe that is true. I believe that most of the symptoms of aging we see are really symptoms of abnormal aging or dysfunction that are related to imbalances in our core body systems.
We tested this woman for a number of things and found she had a sluggish thyroid. She did not quite meet all the criteria for a conventional diagnosis of hypothyroidism, but had an autoimmune reaction to her thyroid that led it to function poorly.
After we simply replaced her missing thyroid hormone, supported her nutritionally, and implemented some simple lifestyle changes, she went from feeling old to feeling alert, energetic, and youthful and all of her other symptoms cleared up.
The research on how thyroid affects mood and cognitive function is clear. In one study of the elderly, “subclinical” hypothyroidism increased the risk of depression four times.
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Yet many doctors prescribe Prozac before taking a good hard look at the thyroid and treating those who don’t yet have fullblown hypothyroidism.
It seems that the thyroid hormone is critical for helping the brain make new brain cells (neurogenesis), particularly in the hippocampus, which is responsible for mood and memory.
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In fact, mood disorders in general, including bipolar disorder, are
increased in people with altered thyroid function.
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Research shows that lowthyroid hormone levels reduce the function of serotonin receptors (remember our discussion of these happy mood neurotransmitters and their receptors from chapter 6), which leads to depression.
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Aside from the clear effect thyroid has on mood, it is also clear that low thyroid affects cognitive function, memory, and other indicators of slowed mental processing,
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and that treating the thyroid improves all areas of mental functioning, including mood, mental processing, memory, and general cognitive function.
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Unfortunately, even those doctors who do treat for thyroid conditions usually use just the inactive thyroid hormone or T4 (Synthroid, Levoxyl), hoping your body converts it to the active form or T3, which is the form of the hormone that actually works to boost your metabolism and improve your mood and brain power. But it is often necessary to give T3 itself to correct the mood and memory problems associated with lowthyroid function.
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In fact, psychiatrists have proven that the use of T3 as a treatment for depression is more effective than just using SSRIs,
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even though most other types of doctors generally think this is unnecessary or harmful. This is just one more example of the absolute segregation of medical specialties and lack of communication about important and effective treatments.
Why Is There an Epidemic of Thyroid Problems?
It is clear from the research that environmental chemicals have a direct impact on the thyroid gland.
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The thyroid produces hormones that run our metabolism and influence almost every function of the body; therefore, the effect of these environmental chemicals on the thyroid gland has wide-ranging effects on our system.
For example, PCBs and other industrial petrochemical toxins lower thyroid function.
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Other pollutants such as chlorine, fluoride, and bromine negatively influence thyroid function.
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These toxins increase the elimination of thyroid hormone, leaving us with less of it to facilitate our metabolism and brain function.
Another important factor in thyroid function is food allergy. Food allergies, like those to gluten, and other food sensitivities also negatively affect thyroid function and are frequently undiagnosed. I will discuss food allergies and how they relate to inflammation in chapter 8. However, you should keep in mind they can also impact your thyroid.
It is important to understand the role of the environment and our nutritional
status, food allergens, and nutritional deficiencies—such as selenium, zinc, fish oil, iodine, and tyrosine (all of which are important for thyroid function)—if we are going to overcome this problem that has now reached epidemic proportions.
Unfortunately, many of the common diagnostic tests used to assess our problems are often inadequate or incomplete. Therefore, many people who need treatment go untreated. You may have a low-functioning thyroid, yet not be diagnosed with “hypothyroidism” (yet another name for a “disease” that isn’t really a disease), because the current diagnostic criteria are outdated and don’t pick up more subtle problems with your thyroid.
It is also important to understand that the current treatments for thyroid problems, including Synthroid, are often less than adequate for many people. Some require a more personalized approach that combines both the inactive, T4 hormone found in Synthroid and the active, T3 hormone found in other medications.
The thyroid also plays a huge role in weight control (and blood-sugar control) and, in fact, in determining your metabolic rate. I have seen so many patients struggle with their weight, only to have the pounds melt off and their mood and brain function improve when we addressed their thyroid problems.
Sex Hormones: Puberty, PMS, Perimenopause, and Andropause
“Seventy-five percent of women are found to have a mutant gene that threatens their relationships, work, and well-being.”
“Over half of aging men will lose their sexual function, their testosterone levels will drop, and their estrogen levels will rise, making men more like women.”
These are the beliefs that most of us unconsciously accept.
Women are defective, flawed, broken, and destined to suffer throughout their reproductive life from the curse of mood and behavior swings that are the result of the three Ps: Puberty, PMS or premenstrual syndrome, and perimenopause (the years leading up to and just after your final period). This is the “genetic flaw” that supposedly threatens them.
As they age, men, if you believe all the television commercials, supposedly need the little blue pill (Viagra) just to be men again.
Is this just a “normal” part of being a woman or a man? Is it the product of some defective, mutant gene?
Why do sex hormone levels drop up to 90 percent through the aging process?
Are we destined to suffer from impaired mood, muscle loss, poor sleep, memory loss, and sexual problems?
Of course not!
This suffering related to your reproductive life cycle is unnecessary. It is not bad luck, but bad habits such as drinking and smoking, our high-sugar and refined-carbohydrate diet, environmental toxins, and chronic stress that deplete our adrenal glands.
These glands are the ones that produce most of the sex hormones later in life. Beat them to death with chronic stress and poor diet and lifestyle habits and your sex hormones may suffer. Let’s look at the result of these bad habits.
But before we do . . .
Are your sexual hormones out of balance? Take the following quiz to find out.
(Note: There is one quiz for women and one for men.)
In the box on the right, place a check for each positive answer. Then find out how severe your problem is using the scoring key below.
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