Great News!!

Got my thyroid test back after supplimenting with iodine for about a year....aaaaand my thyroid came back normal. 

Hurrrrray!  I am so excited, a tangable victory for me.

My resources

A friend of mine asked me to post links to where I purchase all my supplements etc...here it is, hope it helps!

Vitamin D...Costco, it's about $16 for two large bottles of liquid Vit D. It tastes a lot like apple juice. My kids like it and happily take it daily. I add it to my vegetable juice and helps to sweeten it up a little.

Iodine: HERE is where I buy mine (15%,) I have also seen it on Amazon.com. I purchase at Herbal Healers because they sell a more concentrated form of iodine. I believe the highest concentration you can get in the US is 2% which is supplement level. If your going to help your thyroid...it's just not strong enough unless you are going to take like 30-40 drops at a time. I bought a larger bottle of 5% for food storage.

Hydrogen Peroxide: I got mine in Idaho Falls at "Wealth of Health" natural food store along with glass dropper bottles. Not all health food stores carry HP, so get on the phone and call around before heading out to get it.

Sprouts: I order my sprouts from sproutpeople.com. Alfalfa is easy to sprout and you can get those seeds anywhere, but broccoli sprouts are more sensitive and I have had a significantly more successful harvest with broccoli seeds ordered from sprout people. I will be buying alfalfa seeds for long term storage at Walton Feed by the 50 lb bag and storing them in storage buckets. A food storage specialist summed up sprouting like this..."all the food you have stored for the long term is processed (it has to be to last years,) those foods are the fillers...your sprouts are the nutrients." I whole heartedly agree. It's a garden that grows in 3 days right inside your kitchen.

I sprout using the sprout master. I like it because it has good air circulation and drains easy. I can sprout 1/4 cup of alfalfa or broccoli in the large trays. I also have the easy sprouter (cups) they are about a quart in size and I use them when I travel, they are really easy to transport and you soak, grow and store all in the sami container. These both are also available at sproutpeople.com.

Coconut Oil: I have bought my coconut oil at Fred Meyer in their natural food section...also by the gallon at Nutivia.com. It doesn't matter what brand it is...just make sure is is extra virgin organic Coconut oil.

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Benefits of coconut oil...

The health benefits of coconut oil is obvious to anyone who has studied the health of those who live in traditional tropical cultures, where coconut has been a nutritious diet staple for thousands of years.

Back in the 1930's, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet, and that heart disease was virtually non-existent.

Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,[2] demonstrated that both populations exhibited positive vascular health.

In fact, no evidence exists that the naturally occurring high saturated fat intake had any kind of harmful effect in these populations!

That's not what you expected, is it? Based on 60 years of negative public policy towards naturally occurring saturated fats, you would expect these cultures to be rife with clogged arteries, obesity and heart disease.

It may be surprising for you to realize that the naturally occurring saturated fat in coconut oil actually has some amazing health benefits, such as:

Promoting your heart health
Promoting weight loss, when needed
Supporting your immune system health
Supporting a healthy metabolism
Providing you with an immediate energy source
Keeping your skin healthy and youthful looking
Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland
But how is this possible?

50 percent of the fat content in coconut oil is a fat rarely found in nature called lauric acid. The only other place that lauric acid is found is in mother's breast milk. Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.

Monolaurin is a monoglyceride which can actually destroy lipid coated viruses such as:

HIV, herpes
Measles
Influenza virus
Various pathogenic bacteria
Protozoa such as giardia lamblia.

Lauric acid is a powerful virus and gram-negative bacteria destroyer, and coconut oil contains the most lauric acid of any substance on earth.

Capric acid, another coconut fatty acid present in smaller amounts, has also been added to the list of coconut's antimicrobial components.

Coconut oil is also about 2/3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. These types of fatty acids produce a whole host of health benefits.

Coconut oil is nature's richest source of these healthy MCFAs which our bodies immediately burn for energy instead of storing it as fat.

Your body sends medium-chain fatty acids directly to your liver to use as energy. This makes coconut oil a powerful source of instant energy to your body, a function usually served in the diet by simple carbohydrates.

Coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. Coconut oil acts on your body like a carbohydrate, without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption!

Diabetics and those with pre diabetes should immediately realize the benefit of a fast acting energy source that doesn't produce an insulin spike in your body. In fact, coconut oil added to the diets of diabetics and pre-diabetics has actually been shown to help stabilize weight gain, which can dramatically decrease your likelihood of getting adult onset type-2 Diabetes.

One of the best benefits of coconut oil lies in its ability to help stimulate your metabolism.

Back in the 1940s, farmers found out about this effect by accident when they tried using inexpensive coconut oil to fatten their livestock.

It didn't work! Instead, coconut oil made the animals lean, active and hungry.

However, many animal and human research studies have demonstrated that replacing LCFAs with MCFAs results in both decreased body weight and reduced fat deposition.

In fact, the ability of MCFAs to be easily digested, to help stimulate the metabolism and be turned into energy has entered the sports arena. Several studies have now shown that MCFAs can enhance physical or athletic performance.

Additionally, research has demonstrated that, due to its metabolic effect, coconut oil increases the activity of the thyroid. And you've probably heard that a sluggish thyroid is one reason why some people are unable to lose weight, no matter what they do.

Besides weight loss, there are other advantages to boosting your metabolic rate. Your healing process accelerates. Cell regeneration increases to replace old cells, and your immune system functions better overall.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. And heart disease is often a silent killer. The first sign of cardiovascular disease is commonly a heart attack, and sadly, over one third of heart attacks are fatal.

And despite the propaganda, the truth is this: it is UNSATURATED fats that are primarily involved in heart disease, not the naturally occurring saturated fats, as you have been led to believe.

Plus, the polyunsaturated fats in vegetable and seed oils encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.

Coconut Oil in Your Kitchen

I only use two oils in my food preparation.

The first, extra-virgin olive oil, is a better monounsaturated fat that works great as a salad dressing.

There is only one oil that is stable enough to resist mild heat-induced damage, while it also helps you promote heart health and even supports weight loss and thyroid function -- coconut oil.

So, whenever you need an oil to cook with, use coconut oil instead of butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, margarine, or any other type of oil called for in recipes.

The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are considered so nutritious that they are used in baby formulas, in hospitals to feed the critically ill, those on tube feeding, and those with digestive problems. Coconut oil has even been used successfully by doctors in treating aluminum poisoning.

Coconut oil is also very hormone balancing (thus it's ability to aid your metabolism,) again, do just a little research on your own and you can find many more advantages to incorporating coconut oil in your diet.

Remember, our bodies function as a whole, there are many pieces of the health puzzle that have to come together to create a whole picture. None of the things that I post on this blog are a miracle cure or can or should act alone, but in conjunction with many other puzzle pieces to complete your health. This post is also not intended to diagnose, prescribe or to take the place of medical advice, but to add to your tool box of healthy habits. Cami

Iodine, why it's so important...

One of my research efforts I came across a link of two topics that intertwine and both have health interest to me. The first one would be thyroid as I have had a hypo thyroid for at least 4 years and the second topic being breast health.

As I was researching ways to support my thyroid naturally I came upon an article written by Dr. James A. Who is a board certified specialist in internal medicine and spent 34 years caring for office and hospital patients. After 4 years of personal study he became convinced that natural products and treatments are safer, more effective, and less expensive than pharmaceutical drugs.

I suggest you take time to read his whole article....but I will post some important excerpts here..

Dr. Howenstine

"There is considerable evidence for an increased risk of thyroid cancer as well as breast cancer in persons with iodine deficiency. Untreated iodine deficiency leads to goiter, thyroid nodules and eventually some of these nodules become malignant. The decreasing intake of iodine has resulted in an increase in thyroid nodules and increase in thyroid cancer. In 2001 there were 19,500 new cases of thyroid cancer in the U.S. with 14,900 of these cases occurring in women.

The mammary glands have a trapping system for iodine similar to that of the thyroid gland. The breasts effectively compete with the thyroid gland for ingested iodine. This distribution of iodine to both breast and thyroid gland in pubertal girls explains why goiter is 6 times more common in girls than pubertal boys. The disappearance of iodine into breast tissue in women leads to decreased ability to supply the thyroid gland with an adequate amount of iodine. The development of a goiter in young girls indicates deficient distribution of iodine to both breast and thyroid tissue. Treating such a patient with thyroid hormone is not sensible and appears to increase the risk of breast cancer."



target="_blank">HERE is an article about fibrosystic breast disease and iodine. Within weeks of adding iodine as a supplement to my diet I noticed my breasts were less fibrous. In the past I avoided doing self breast exams fearing the more lumpy texture of my breast tissue...which I feel has largely changed due to the iodine.

As for my thyroid, I have physically felt better almost immediately with the addition of iodine. I have not yet retested my thyroid function and plan to at my next Dr. visit which won't be until next January.

One thing to note about refilling your iodine stores is that it is a slow process...your body only absorbs a small amount daily and over months can return to normal thyroid health.

I would recommend finding a health practitioner who can help you with testing and dosing of iodine. Iodine can be measured in a test called "iodine loading test" or a patch test.

Iodine loading test is completed with a 24 hour urine catch by a MD or a chiropractor (not all do this test) whereas the patch test, while not as measurable by numbers can be done at home.
Patch test instructions

I chose to test and supplement on my own. While I can't advise anyone else on how much iodine they should supplement with, If you choose to supplement iodine on your own I suggest you do your own research and carefully weigh the information with what you determine would be a proper amount for your body. I personally have read many studies and monitor how I feel, combined with the patch test to make sure I am supplementing properly. Another thing my chiropractor told me was to watch for a metallic taste in my mouth...reduce your iodine amount as your body is getting more than it needs.

HERE is another good read (more technical, but good,) about iodine and gene expression in breast cancer, Its worth muddling through the big words.

Remember, our bodies function as a whole, there are many pieces of the health puzzle that have to come together to create a whole picture. None of the things that I post on this blog are a miracle cure or can or should act alone, but in conjunction with many other puzzle pieces to complete your health. This post is also not intended to diagnose, prescribe or to take the place of medical advice, but to add to your tool box of healthy habits. Cami