WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.100 Prepare to have your health questions answered 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:07.059 here on Safe, Effective Natural Solutions with 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:10.439 Dr. Todd Binkley, owner of Binkley Healing Center 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:15.740 in downtown Ventura. Now, here's Dr. Todd. Good 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:18.039 afternoon. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley, board -certified 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:20.879 doctor of non -force chiropractic and practitioner 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.019 of functional medicine. Today, I'm going to be 00:00:23.019 --> 00:00:25.480 talking about thyroid conditions. I'm going to 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:27.780 do a really exciting case study of a woman, a 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:31.579 48 -year -old woman with hyperthyroidism, overproduction 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:34.719 of thyroid hormone. But whenever I talk about 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.369 thyroid conditions, 90 % of the time, We're thinking 00:00:38.369 --> 00:00:41.210 about hypothyroidism. Underproduction of the 00:00:41.210 --> 00:00:44.009 thyroid is much more common. 90 plus percent 00:00:44.009 --> 00:00:46.130 of the time, if someone has a thyroid condition, 00:00:46.350 --> 00:00:49.229 it's very likely to be low thyroid. And this 00:00:49.229 --> 00:00:52.429 is just underdiagnosed all the time. Millions 00:00:52.429 --> 00:00:55.609 of women are not getting the care they need who 00:00:55.609 --> 00:00:58.880 have fatigue. difficulty losing weight, swelling 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.460 in the hands and the feet, cold hands and feet, 00:01:01.579 --> 00:01:05.599 hair loss, dry skin. It can even raise your cholesterol 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:08.079 levels, in fact. So it's really important to 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:10.420 identify whether or not you even have borderline 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:13.040 hypothyroid because it can make a world of difference. 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:15.060 And I've just seen this with thousands and thousands 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:19.280 of mostly women over the past 35 years. And so 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:21.280 if you've never had your thyroid properly checked, 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:25.519 most doctors just test TSH. thyroid simulating 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:28.480 hormone. And they figure if that's normal, your 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:30.719 pituitary is not telling your thyroid gland to 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:32.439 make more thyroid, then you're probably fine. 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.640 Well, TSH is a useful test, but it doesn't give 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:37.680 you the whole picture by itself. It's important 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.739 to get a full panel of thyroid tests, especially 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:44.549 free. T3, when you hear about women who have 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:47.430 hypothyroidism and are taking thyroid medication, 00:01:47.829 --> 00:01:51.689 it's almost always the same. Synthroid, levothyroxine 00:01:51.689 --> 00:01:55.790 is just the standard T4 thyroxine, the main hormone 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.390 produced by the thyroid gland. The problem with 00:01:58.390 --> 00:02:01.870 that is T4 doesn't do anything in the body. It 00:02:01.870 --> 00:02:06.769 must be converted into the active form. T3, and 00:02:06.769 --> 00:02:10.069 some of that T3 must be unbound from its carrier 00:02:10.069 --> 00:02:14.629 protein into free T3. So free T3 is what actually 00:02:14.629 --> 00:02:17.590 executes all the functions of thyroid hormone 00:02:17.590 --> 00:02:19.629 in the body. And most doctors never test that. 00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:22.210 They just assume that if your thyroid is normal, 00:02:22.270 --> 00:02:25.349 or even if just your pituitary secreted thyroid 00:02:25.349 --> 00:02:28.289 stimulating hormone is normal, that you're fine. 00:02:28.629 --> 00:02:31.629 So it's important to test free T3, especially 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:34.830 because a lot of women, even if they're on medication 00:02:34.830 --> 00:02:37.250 or if they're just borderline low thyroid or 00:02:37.250 --> 00:02:39.069 if their thyroid tests look normal, but they 00:02:39.069 --> 00:02:42.310 still have the symptoms of low thyroid, it's 00:02:42.310 --> 00:02:44.849 often because maybe they're still producing adequate 00:02:44.849 --> 00:02:48.909 thyroxin, the main thyroid hormone, T4, but they're 00:02:48.909 --> 00:02:53.409 not converting it adequately into free T3. This 00:02:53.409 --> 00:02:57.370 is very common and very commonly undiagnosed. 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:00.500 So, I'll be doing a talk on this and presenting 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:03.099 some case histories on many patients I've seen 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:04.759 with hypothyroidism and how much better they 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:08.939 feel after we resolve that in a live presentation 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:10.979 at my office. So, mark your calendars. I hope 00:03:10.979 --> 00:03:14.340 you can join me on December 3rd. That's a Wednesday 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:17.960 evening at 6 p .m. I'm doing a presentation like 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.060 this on the first Wednesday of every month now. 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:25.599 Last month, we did toxins. And this month, December 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.120 3rd, 6 p .m. on a Wednesday evening, we'll be 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.419 doing a talk about hypothyroidism. I'll talk 00:03:30.419 --> 00:03:32.580 a little bit about hyperthyroidism as well, but 00:03:32.580 --> 00:03:36.539 mostly about hypothyroidism. I'll do a 30 -minute 00:03:36.539 --> 00:03:39.219 keynote presentation. We'll have some light refreshments. 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:41.240 And then we'll have as much time as you want 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.689 for questions. and answers. So I'd love to meet 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:46.530 you face -to -face, answer any questions you 00:03:46.530 --> 00:03:49.229 have, bring family and friends. We had a really 00:03:49.229 --> 00:03:51.490 good turnout last month for our toxins and looking 00:03:51.490 --> 00:03:55.270 forward to a good turnout this coming Wednesday 00:03:55.270 --> 00:03:57.340 in a couple of weeks, December 3rd. Wednesday 00:03:57.340 --> 00:03:59.759 at 6 p .m. live in my office in downtown Ventura. 00:03:59.979 --> 00:04:03.039 So today I'm going to talk about hyper, a case 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:06.599 study, a specific patient that I had with hyperthyroidism, 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.159 overproduction of thyroid, which is much less 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.439 common but always interesting, partly just because 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.579 it's less common. This is a 48 -year -old woman 00:04:16.579 --> 00:04:19.889 who had been diagnosed with hyper... thyroidism 00:04:19.889 --> 00:04:22.970 in her 20s. She also had two members of her family 00:04:22.970 --> 00:04:25.889 that had been diagnosed with Graves' disease. 00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:28.790 The most common type of hyperthyroidism is the 00:04:28.790 --> 00:04:32.250 autoimmune kind called Graves' disease. And when 00:04:32.250 --> 00:04:33.769 she went to her doctor back then when she was 00:04:33.769 --> 00:04:36.689 in her 20s, he recommended removal of the entire 00:04:36.689 --> 00:04:40.639 thyroid gland. And that's just ridiculous how 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.259 many times I've heard that when it's totally 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:45.240 unnecessary. Just cut the thyroid gland out. 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:47.740 We can just give you thyroid medication for the 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:49.180 rest of your life. No problem. You don't need 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:50.800 your thyroid gland. We'll just give you the drugs. 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:54.480 Well, she didn't want to do that. Instead, she 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.600 took medication for it for a year and dedicated 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.170 herself to maintaining her own health. And she 00:05:01.170 --> 00:05:03.949 actually got it with the meds and just taking 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:06.629 better care of herself. She got it completely 00:05:06.629 --> 00:05:09.750 under control. And she did this while undergoing 00:05:09.750 --> 00:05:12.730 the significant stress of going through med school 00:05:12.730 --> 00:05:15.430 at the time. She was in medical school in her 00:05:15.430 --> 00:05:18.250 home country when this happened. And she got 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:21.290 rid of it. She got it to complete remission after 00:05:21.290 --> 00:05:24.209 about a year. Got off the meds. Continued to 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:27.009 have regular blood tests. And then more recently. 00:05:27.500 --> 00:05:29.639 a year or two ago, found out a few months ago 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:33.420 that it had come back. So most problems with 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:36.259 the thyroid, whether it's underactive or overactive, 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.939 are usually the result of an autoimmune condition 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:42.980 where your body is overproducing antibodies that 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:45.480 create inflammation and eventually scar tissue 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:49.660 in the thyroid gland. And this disrupts the ability 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:54.850 of that gland to produce thyroid hormones. autoimmune 00:05:54.850 --> 00:05:57.410 hypothyroid, autoimmune low thyroid is called 00:05:57.410 --> 00:06:02.389 Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and autoimmune hyperthyroid 00:06:02.389 --> 00:06:05.430 overproduction is called Graves' disease. So 00:06:05.430 --> 00:06:08.550 this patient was already diagnosed with Graves' 00:06:08.569 --> 00:06:10.149 disease, and she was trained as a medical doctor 00:06:10.149 --> 00:06:12.709 in her home country, but was not licensed to 00:06:12.709 --> 00:06:15.370 practice here. She also knew she didn't want 00:06:15.370 --> 00:06:18.050 to take drugs again, so that's why she came to 00:06:18.050 --> 00:06:21.310 me. And I often describe Functional medicine 00:06:21.310 --> 00:06:24.389 as a means of identifying earlier signs of disease 00:06:24.389 --> 00:06:27.069 before it becomes a full -blown medical condition 00:06:27.069 --> 00:06:30.550 that requires medical care, mainly pharmaceuticals, 00:06:30.550 --> 00:06:33.329 with all of their perils and sometimes amazing 00:06:33.329 --> 00:06:35.889 benefits, but usually side effects as well. So 00:06:35.889 --> 00:06:38.750 she was a trained physician, and she already 00:06:38.750 --> 00:06:41.629 knew from what she saw there and what she'd been 00:06:41.629 --> 00:06:43.310 recommended before that she didn't want to do 00:06:43.310 --> 00:06:46.569 that unless she absolutely had to. Well, this 00:06:46.569 --> 00:06:49.029 case was definitely a full -blown medical condition 00:06:49.029 --> 00:06:51.750 that most doctors would recommend medication 00:06:51.750 --> 00:06:54.610 for immediately. In America, they wouldn't recommend 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:56.889 that they just cut her thyroid out immediately, 00:06:57.009 --> 00:07:00.149 not as a first step, but they would definitely 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:02.790 recommend that she take medication to suppress 00:07:02.790 --> 00:07:06.610 the overproduction of thyroid hormone. Hyperthyroidism 00:07:06.610 --> 00:07:08.589 can be dangerous when it gets out of control. 00:07:08.730 --> 00:07:11.879 It can cause cardiac arrhythmias. especially 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:15.019 atrial fibrillation, and in older patients, even 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:17.879 heart failure. It can cause unintended weight 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:21.379 loss, nervousness, hyperactivity, irritability, 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:27.079 increased sweating, fatigue, very commonly fatigue. 00:07:27.379 --> 00:07:30.720 It also dramatically increases the risk of osteoporosis, 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:34.420 loss of bone density, and it can cause weakness, 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.220 insomnia, diarrhea, and a host of symptoms in 00:07:38.220 --> 00:07:40.819 the eyes. which we're going to come back to, 00:07:40.899 --> 00:07:43.319 it's often initially diagnosed based on some 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.259 of these symptoms, blood work, and a good physical 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:50.300 exam. Both hyper and hypo thyroidism can cause 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:53.339 a goiter, which means an enlargement of the thyroid 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:56.620 gland, which is easy to feel in the neck. Easy 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.439 for a doctor to feel. Patients often don't notice 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:01.459 they have it in the beginning. But eventually 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:04.300 it can get so big that you can easily see it, 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:07.120 sometimes even from across the room. And hyperthyroidism 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:11.180 can also famously cause the eyes to bulge. This 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:13.139 is the condition that the actor Marty Feldman 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:15.839 had. Marty Feldman was the bug -eyed British 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:19.899 actor who played Igor in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:23.920 in 1974. So not everyone with hyperthyroidism 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:27.889 gets their bulging eyes like that. things that 00:08:27.889 --> 00:08:30.470 can happen if it gets out of control. So blood 00:08:30.470 --> 00:08:33.429 tests clearly show, when you run the blood work 00:08:33.429 --> 00:08:35.830 on someone with a suspected thyroid condition, 00:08:35.950 --> 00:08:37.870 the blood work will clearly show overproduction 00:08:37.870 --> 00:08:40.889 of thyroid hormones and a drastically lowered 00:08:40.889 --> 00:08:44.450 thyroid stimulating hormone, which is the pituitary 00:08:44.450 --> 00:08:47.070 hormone that controls the thyroid. If your thyroid 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:50.809 is low, your pituitary hormone, TSH, will go 00:08:50.809 --> 00:08:52.850 up, telling your thyroid to make more. And if 00:08:52.850 --> 00:08:55.080 it's high, then... It will do the opposite. So 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:57.720 if you're lucky, your doctor will also order 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:01.620 thyroid antibodies tests. Okay, most doctors 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:04.120 will order thyroid antibody tests if they suspect 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:08.519 hyperthyroidism, but far too few of them ever 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.179 order antibody tests for the millions of women 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:15.379 that have hypothyroidism. But I digress. The 00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:17.759 diagnosis of hyperthyroidism is confirmed with 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:20.389 an ultrasound. which shows the exact dimensions 00:09:20.389 --> 00:09:23.490 of the enlarged gland, and any nodules or scar 00:09:23.490 --> 00:09:26.549 tissue that may have formed in it, which indicates 00:09:26.549 --> 00:09:29.610 the severity of the disease. The more scar tissue 00:09:29.610 --> 00:09:32.110 you have, or especially if you have any larger 00:09:32.110 --> 00:09:35.269 than a certain size nodules, then the worse the 00:09:35.269 --> 00:09:38.190 prognosis for the hyperthyroidism, the more likely 00:09:38.190 --> 00:09:41.509 you'll have symptoms. The activity and aggressiveness 00:09:41.509 --> 00:09:44.789 of the disease is evaluated by a thyroid scan. 00:09:45.389 --> 00:09:48.129 And this is where the gland is injected with 00:09:48.129 --> 00:09:51.049 a radioactive tracer that produces a different 00:09:51.049 --> 00:09:53.950 type of image that shows increased functional 00:09:53.950 --> 00:09:57.009 activity in the parts of the gland that are overproducing, 00:09:57.009 --> 00:10:00.110 overproducing the thyroid hormone. So this patient's 00:10:00.110 --> 00:10:04.789 ultrasound showed a 53 % enlargement and a chickpea 00:10:04.789 --> 00:10:07.490 -sized nodule in the left lobe of the thyroid 00:10:07.490 --> 00:10:10.990 gland. And the thyroid scan confirmed the diagnosis 00:10:10.990 --> 00:10:14.309 of grave disease. It showed diffuse changes throughout 00:10:14.309 --> 00:10:16.950 the gland consistent with abnormally increased 00:10:16.950 --> 00:10:20.570 activity. And this is just the inflammatory process 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:23.850 that eventually produces scar tissue and enlargement 00:10:23.850 --> 00:10:26.889 of the gland. I'm Dr. Todd Bankley. You're listening 00:10:26.889 --> 00:10:29.789 to Safe, Effective, Natural Solutions to Almost 00:10:29.789 --> 00:10:32.190 Any Health Challenge. Today we're talking about 00:10:32.190 --> 00:10:35.169 a specific case of mine, a patient, a 48 -year 00:10:35.169 --> 00:10:38.340 -old woman with hyper... Thyroidism, Graves' 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:41.559 disease, overactive thyroid, which can cause 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:43.440 a lot of problems. It can be dangerous if it's 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:46.159 uncontrolled. And she had been diagnosed with 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:48.080 this originally in her 20s, and now it's come 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:52.159 back in her late 40s. And she wants to try and 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:55.419 get it under control without medication. Well, 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.360 when I saw her blood test, I told her that there 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.820 was a very good chance she would need to go back 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:02.679 on the medication. Because her thyroid -stimulating 00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:08.210 hormone was... 0 .005, 100 times lower than the 00:11:08.210 --> 00:11:11.529 lower limit of normal, basically barely detectable. 00:11:11.950 --> 00:11:14.769 Her free T3, the active form of thyroid hormone, 00:11:14.830 --> 00:11:17.230 was nearly double the upper limit of normal. 00:11:17.509 --> 00:11:20.669 Her thyroid peroxidase antibodies, some of this 00:11:20.669 --> 00:11:23.110 is kind of technical, but it'll make sense here 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:26.929 eventually. were over five times the upper limit 00:11:26.929 --> 00:11:29.990 of normal. And thyrotropin receptor antibody, 00:11:30.289 --> 00:11:32.070 this is just another antibody that's the most 00:11:32.070 --> 00:11:33.590 important. These are the antibodies that your 00:11:33.590 --> 00:11:36.350 body overproduces when you have an autoimmune 00:11:36.350 --> 00:11:40.049 thyroid condition. So thyrotropin receptor antibody 00:11:40.049 --> 00:11:42.950 is the most important one for hyperthyroidism. 00:11:43.049 --> 00:11:47.210 And it was 8 .04, which is also five and a half 00:11:47.210 --> 00:11:51.090 times the upper limit of normal. She also had 00:11:51.090 --> 00:11:53.289 some elevated liver enzymes, one of which was 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:55.610 twice the upper limit of normal. Her protein 00:11:55.610 --> 00:11:58.789 levels were low, and protein is essential to 00:11:58.789 --> 00:12:01.350 heal and repair every tissue in the body, so 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:03.269 I'm always looking at protein levels on every 00:12:03.269 --> 00:12:06.090 patient. And her white blood cell count was only 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:09.169 3 .7, which was low because of the chronic stress 00:12:09.169 --> 00:12:12.509 on her immune system. I also tested her serum 00:12:12.509 --> 00:12:15.870 iodine levels. She had been taking a relatively 00:12:15.870 --> 00:12:18.649 high dose of iodine for a while and wondered 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:21.549 whether that was helpful. or perhaps even part 00:12:21.549 --> 00:12:24.370 of the problem. And she's not alone in being 00:12:24.370 --> 00:12:27.409 confused about this. And every situation is different. 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:31.370 Iodine can often help a thyroid condition, especially 00:12:31.370 --> 00:12:35.629 hypothyroid, but even sometimes hyperthyroid. 00:12:35.909 --> 00:12:38.889 So her iodine level was right at the upper limit 00:12:38.889 --> 00:12:41.250 of the healthy functional range when we tested 00:12:41.250 --> 00:12:44.110 it. So I didn't recommend that she supplement 00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:47.429 it anymore. But I also was able to confirm or 00:12:47.429 --> 00:12:51.009 tell her, assure her that it was unlikely that 00:12:51.009 --> 00:12:53.750 what she was taking had aggravated her condition 00:12:53.750 --> 00:12:56.289 in any way. The upper limit of the healthy range 00:12:56.289 --> 00:12:59.889 is right where we want it. On the plus side, 00:13:00.009 --> 00:13:02.990 she looked fantastic. She was fit, otherwise 00:13:02.990 --> 00:13:05.450 super healthy. She took great care of herself. 00:13:05.690 --> 00:13:08.129 She ate a great diet. She regularly exercised. 00:13:08.330 --> 00:13:11.970 She busied herself with a rewarding career. And 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:13.929 even though she was thin, she had the musculature 00:13:13.929 --> 00:13:17.340 of an athlete. So she was also highly motivated 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:19.919 to do whatever it takes to reverse this disease 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:24.080 without drugs. Some minor symptoms that she had, 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:26.120 she was a little hyperactive, but said that she'd 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:28.639 always been that way since childhood. She had 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:32.879 no heart palpitations, no hypersensitivity to 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.639 heat, no sweating, no significant little bit 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.639 of fatigue. no appetite changes, no weakness, 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:43.039 and no eye symptoms. That's usually later. She 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.159 did have a rash on her lower legs, which is common 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:48.399 with most autoimmune conditions, and she wasn't 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.779 sleeping very well. So given the mildness of 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:54.200 her symptoms and her otherwise general good health, 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:56.919 I suggested we put her on an intensive program 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:00.200 for four months to flood her body with nutrients 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:04.039 and then retest to see how she's doing. I made 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:05.860 sure she understood that if her numbers weren't 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:08.379 significantly improved in four months, that she 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:11.159 would have to consider going on medication, at 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:13.220 least in the short term. And this is important 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:17.340 because this, like many conditions, may warrant 00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:19.840 taking medication for a few weeks, a few months, 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:23.139 to get a raging condition under control. And 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:25.200 then after that, there may be a very good chance 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:27.279 that you can get off the medication and heal 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.700 things naturally yourself with proper support. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:33.460 So autoimmune conditions are almost always driven 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:37.379 in part by exposure to toxins, which is why people 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:39.360 with autoimmune conditions often develop a rash 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:42.740 somewhere on the body. The skin is an organ of 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.480 elimination. And when it's struggling to flush 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:49.120 out mold, chemical, and heavy metal toxins, a 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.580 rash, a few little spots, many, many spots that 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:57.340 merge together, redness, itchy, dry skin, or 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:01.629 damp, oozing pustules, any kind of rash. is often 00:15:01.629 --> 00:15:04.250 the result. Most autoimmune conditions start 00:15:04.250 --> 00:15:07.690 in the gut, where stress, lousy diets, and a 00:15:07.690 --> 00:15:10.049 host of other things result in too many bad bacteria 00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:13.190 and not enough good bacteria in the gut, or this 00:15:13.190 --> 00:15:16.269 is called dysbiosis. An inflammatory process 00:15:16.269 --> 00:15:20.389 that results can allow foreign debris to leak 00:15:20.389 --> 00:15:21.929 into the bloodstream where it doesn't belong 00:15:21.929 --> 00:15:24.389 and then can migrate everywhere throughout your 00:15:24.389 --> 00:15:27.789 body. And this creates legitimate targets for 00:15:27.789 --> 00:15:30.370 your immune system to try and destroy. So your 00:15:30.370 --> 00:15:32.750 body's overproducing these antibodies for a reason. 00:15:32.789 --> 00:15:34.950 It's rightly seeing foreign debris in places 00:15:34.950 --> 00:15:36.970 it doesn't belong and is trying to attack and 00:15:36.970 --> 00:15:39.929 destroy that debris. And your healthy tissue, 00:15:40.110 --> 00:15:42.970 in this case in the thyroid gland, gets caught 00:15:42.970 --> 00:15:45.669 in the crossfire. So if we want to address this 00:15:45.669 --> 00:15:48.750 and do a good job without giving her a fighting 00:15:48.750 --> 00:15:50.570 chance to not end up on medication, we're going 00:15:50.570 --> 00:15:52.990 to need some more tests. So in addition to reviewing 00:15:52.990 --> 00:15:55.590 her scans and ordering some more extensive blood 00:15:55.590 --> 00:15:58.750 work, I also ordered a chemical toxins panel. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:01.899 which showed a high body burden of several significant 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:06.600 chemical toxins. Bisphenol S, the synthetic plastic 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.100 commonly found in drink containers, water bottles, 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:12.320 toys, cosmetics, and the lining of cans of food, 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:16.740 is a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it interferes 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:18.960 with your endocrine organs, including, of course, 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:21.840 the thyroid gland. Many people have heard of 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.220 bisphenol A. which it raised so many health concerns 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:27.799 that most companies removed it from their products 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:31.220 and now promote them as BPA -free. Well, this 00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:33.059 means that if it's still plastic, this means 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:35.740 they replaced it usually with another nearly 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:39.379 identical plastic like bisphenol S, slightly 00:16:39.379 --> 00:16:42.559 different chemical, which causes almost all of 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:45.379 the same problems. So this patient had high bisphenol 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:49.019 S. He also had high xylene, which is widely used 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:52.009 in industry and medical laboratories. We're also 00:16:52.009 --> 00:16:54.230 constantly exposed to it through automobile exhaust 00:16:54.230 --> 00:16:56.389 and a variety of consumer products like cigarette 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:58.889 smoke, paints, varnish, rust, preservatives, 00:16:59.370 --> 00:17:03.590 rust preventatives, and shellac. Long -term effects 00:17:03.590 --> 00:17:06.230 of exposure to xylene can damage the liver and 00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:09.769 the kidneys. She also had high perchlorate in 00:17:09.769 --> 00:17:13.130 her system, not to be confused with perchloroethylene, 00:17:13.329 --> 00:17:15.150 which is the toxic solvent you may have heard 00:17:15.150 --> 00:17:18.769 of that was used in dry cleaning. This is perchlorate. 00:17:18.789 --> 00:17:20.609 Perchlorate is a chemical used in fireworks. 00:17:21.289 --> 00:17:24.609 road flares, explosives, and rocket fuel. And 00:17:24.609 --> 00:17:26.490 it enters the food supply through contaminated 00:17:26.490 --> 00:17:29.509 water used for irrigation and food processing. 00:17:29.730 --> 00:17:32.529 It's also found in milk from the presence of 00:17:32.529 --> 00:17:36.289 perchlorate in animal feed. And it famously disrupts 00:17:36.289 --> 00:17:39.250 thyroid function by inhibiting thyroid uptake 00:17:39.250 --> 00:17:43.009 of iodine. Well, even worse, these were the ones 00:17:43.009 --> 00:17:47.319 that were high. She had very high levels. of 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:50.759 something called, this is a mouthful, phenylglyoxalic 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:53.180 acid. This is from exposure to the plastics, 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:57.180 styrene, and the chemical ethylbenzene. So styrene 00:17:57.180 --> 00:18:00.319 is a plastic that's widely used to make plastics 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:02.759 and rubber, which are manufactured into products 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:05.779 like insulation, pipes, automobile parts, printing 00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:09.380 cartridges, food containers, carpeting. Exposure 00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:12.099 often occurs through food, especially fatty foods 00:18:12.099 --> 00:18:15.960 heated in styrene containers like microwaving 00:18:16.380 --> 00:18:19.099 frozen dinners, and also through just breathing 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:21.880 indoor air with styrene vapors from building 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:25.420 materials, photocopiers, tobacco smoke, and many 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:28.539 other products. It is a known neurotoxin, reproductive 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:31.299 toxin, and increases the risk of certain cancers 00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:35.259 like leukemia and lymphoma. So this patient also 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:38.990 had... A very high body burden of, here's another 00:18:38.990 --> 00:18:43.369 mouthful, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. This is 00:18:43.369 --> 00:18:45.950 one of the most widely used herbicides in the 00:18:45.950 --> 00:18:49.769 world for agriculture and landscaping. And it 00:18:49.769 --> 00:18:54.029 is also a known endocrine disruptor. So we definitely 00:18:54.029 --> 00:18:55.890 found some chemicals that are directly related 00:18:55.890 --> 00:18:59.750 to her symptoms. I also ordered a heavy metals 00:18:59.750 --> 00:19:02.940 test. Because heavy metals are things that we're 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:05.559 all exposed to, and some of them can directly 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.019 affect thyroid function. And her results came 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:12.039 back and showed elevated lead, mercury, and especially 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:16.059 uranium. Well, ding, ding, ding. Iodine competes 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:19.059 for binding sites on cells with uranium, which 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:21.400 is why iodine supplementation is a common treatment 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:25.880 for uranium exposure. And if their body's constantly 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:27.859 fighting with that, it's going to disrupt thyroid 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:30.140 function. So this was further confirmation that 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:33.700 this smart patient had been wisely choosing to 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:36.680 take supplemental iodine in just the right amount. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:39.920 And the big takeaway here is most doctors never 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:42.740 test for any of these things because they usually 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:44.980 have no training in how to properly test for 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:47.140 them. And they know that they're ubiquitous in 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:49.140 the environment. So they figure even if they 00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:50.880 do show up on some test, what are you going to 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:53.900 do about it? Well, when you identify an increased 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:56.619 body burden of these things in a patient, it 00:19:56.619 --> 00:20:01.059 will hopefully, usually motivate them to do several 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.700 things. Number one, exercise more intensely. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.619 Sweating is one of the main ways your body continually 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:08.880 flushes out toxins that you're constantly exposed 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.640 to. And these toxins are part of the reason you 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:14.079 smell bad when you sweat. Sweating out toxins 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:18.420 is free. Number two, do saunas. People often 00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:20.920 notice that their sweat smells metallic. when 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:23.240 they do saunas. And this is because saunas are 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:25.880 very effective at increasing your body's ability 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:28.579 to flush out toxins. Eating better food with 00:20:28.579 --> 00:20:30.819 minerals that your body depends on to effectively 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:34.700 excrete toxins helps because most people are 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:36.460 deficient in minerals. And the main source of 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:38.720 minerals that you need are in vegetables, especially 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.059 dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:44.160 broccoli, etc. And fourthly, mainly the thing 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:45.660 that I help people with when we do these testing 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:47.339 and they have a severe body burden like this 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:49.579 patient did, is you can take supplements that 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:52.039 increase your body's ability to safely excrete 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:54.960 these toxins to permanently remove them from 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:57.480 your body. So mineral -rich plant sources like 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:01.019 chlorella and cilantro can help. Binding agents 00:21:01.019 --> 00:21:04.779 like charcoal, zeolite clay, fulvic, and humic 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:08.150 acid. Antioxidants that support liver detoxification 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:12.430 like glutathione, alpha -lipoic acid, and acetylcysteine, 00:21:12.430 --> 00:21:16.349 and others. One of my favorites is called Pectisol, 00:21:16.569 --> 00:21:19.910 which is modified citrus pectin. And this is 00:21:19.910 --> 00:21:22.970 the sponge -like pith from orange peels, specially 00:21:22.970 --> 00:21:25.190 processed in a way that it enables it to easily 00:21:25.190 --> 00:21:28.210 cross cell membranes, bind toxins, and escort 00:21:28.210 --> 00:21:30.250 them to the kidneys where they can be flushed 00:21:30.250 --> 00:21:32.569 out in the urine. So I recommended several of 00:21:32.569 --> 00:21:34.549 these things for this hyperthyroidism patient. 00:21:34.809 --> 00:21:37.549 I also ordered a stool test. Now remember, this 00:21:37.549 --> 00:21:40.230 is a very fit, outwardly perfectly healthy 48 00:21:40.230 --> 00:21:42.950 -year -old woman who has no gastrointestinal 00:21:42.950 --> 00:21:45.970 symptoms, no gas, no bloating, nausea, constipation, 00:21:45.970 --> 00:21:48.910 or diarrhea at all. But she already knew why 00:21:48.910 --> 00:21:50.990 I wanted to order a stool test because she listened 00:21:50.990 --> 00:21:53.710 to past episodes of this show and learned something 00:21:53.710 --> 00:21:55.650 that she was never taught in medical school. 00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:58.819 Most autoimmune conditions start in the gut, 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.859 and natural healing of them is rarely effective 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:04.359 without addressing the gut and restoring a healthy 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:07.759 gut microbiome. So her stool test showed very 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:11.079 mild dysbiosis, slight deficiency in a few important 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:13.579 beneficial bacteria, and a mild to moderate increase 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:16.039 in a number of bacteria that could cause problems. 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:19.420 She also had slightly elevated yeast shown under 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:22.119 the microscope. And these results basically show 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.640 two things. She doesn't have raging out -of -control 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:26.660 gut inflammation or super high levels of bad 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:29.519 bacteria. Both of these things make her prognosis 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.259 better. And given this and her general health, 00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:34.579 other factors are likely the primary drivers 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.380 of her current autoimmunity, especially the toxins 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:40.440 that we just talked about. So what did we do? 00:22:40.619 --> 00:22:43.339 Well, I recommended some basic nutrients to optimize 00:22:43.339 --> 00:22:45.480 general health, which I do for everyone. A good 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:48.200 multivitamin to provide essential minerals that 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:51.099 are usually lacking. Vitamin D and vitamin K2 00:22:51.099 --> 00:22:53.839 for immune system support and prevention of osteoporosis 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.680 that she's at risk of. Fish oil for omega -3 00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:59.079 fatty acids that everyone needs for general health, 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:01.839 reducing inflammation and protecting the cardiovascular 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:05.640 system. I also recommended some betaine hydrochloric 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:08.920 acid to help her stomach absorb more of the good 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:11.589 protein she was already eating. I recommended 00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:14.529 a good probiotic and some prebiotic fiber and 00:23:14.529 --> 00:23:17.430 antioxidants to feed the healthy bacteria in 00:23:17.430 --> 00:23:20.390 her gut and a natural antimicrobial to kill off 00:23:20.390 --> 00:23:22.970 the excessive yeast. I also recommended some 00:23:22.970 --> 00:23:26.150 L -carnitine and magnesium with malic acid to 00:23:26.150 --> 00:23:29.150 protect the heart, reduce nervousness and insomnia, 00:23:29.289 --> 00:23:31.910 and modified citrus pectin and binding agents 00:23:31.910 --> 00:23:33.670 that I spoke about earlier to help flush out 00:23:33.670 --> 00:23:36.089 the toxins we discovered. I also recommended 00:23:36.089 --> 00:23:37.970 she was already taking chlorella that she had 00:23:37.970 --> 00:23:39.890 begun to recommend. She continued that. I recommended 00:23:39.890 --> 00:23:42.539 a product. called loracetin, which is one of 00:23:42.539 --> 00:23:45.059 my favorite products for immune system support 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:49.480 that reliably boosts low white cell counts. Well, 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:51.740 we did follow -up blood work four months later, 00:23:51.859 --> 00:23:56.079 and the results were amazing. But we're about 00:23:56.079 --> 00:23:57.799 out of time, so you'll have to tune in next week 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:00.140 to find out the details, because they are lengthy. 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:01.599 It takes a little bit to describe everything 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:03.119 that happened, and they are really exciting. 00:24:03.930 --> 00:24:05.529 I've never done that before. Sorry, this was 00:24:05.529 --> 00:24:07.309 a long case history, but it's an exciting one. 00:24:07.369 --> 00:24:09.130 So I hope you will tune in next week. In the 00:24:09.130 --> 00:24:11.549 meantime, I'll remind you again, please join 00:24:11.549 --> 00:24:15.230 me Wednesday, December 3rd at 6 p .m. for a live 00:24:15.230 --> 00:24:17.670 presentation in my office about thyroid conditions. 00:24:18.369 --> 00:24:20.170 I'll do a 30 -minute PowerPoint presentation. 00:24:20.369 --> 00:24:21.930 We'll have some light refreshments and plenty 00:24:21.930 --> 00:24:25.509 of time for answering any questions you may have. 00:24:26.150 --> 00:24:29.000 Have a fantastic weekend. You've been listening 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:32.460 to Safe, Effective Natural Solutions with Dr. 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:35.160 Todd Binkley. If you have a health question you 00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:37.579 want discussed on the show, email your health 00:24:37.579 --> 00:24:41.420 questions to drbinkley at binkleyhealingcenter 00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:45.119 .com. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:47.740 questions for yourself and for your loved ones 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:51.579 because our health matters. Join him next Friday 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:55.599 at 2 p .m. for safe, effective natural solutions 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.839 here on 98 .3 FM, The Word.