Dear Thyroid^TM

I’ve been reading a bunch of 2010 top food trend predictions this past week and they got me thinking. I decided to make a list too. While everyone else may be predicting the most popular conventional and consumer-driven food choices for this upcoming year, I’d like to make some health and food predictions that I hope will become popular — especially in our lovely little (or, not-so-little!) thyroid community.

1. Superfoods are trendy these days, and usually happen to be exotic, inaccessible foods that most people have never heard of, let alone are willing to track down at the health food store and shell out the money to purchase. But we’re all familiar with coconut, and I truly consider it to be a superfood. Healthy variations of coconut (preferably organic, minimally-processed, unsweetened) are widely available on the internet and in grocery stores. Though coconut products are not recommended for hyperthyroidism patients, as coconut is known to speed the thyroid, those with hypo symptoms can use it liberally in their diets. I use coconut shreds in my salad for lunch everyday, and coconut oil in my cooking at night. Because it’s full of fat (good, plant-based fat), it satiates and leaves me feeling full and satisfied, and stabilizes my blood sugar so I’m not hungry an hour later and also don’t get the shakes. It’s good at speeding up the thyroid, aiding in weight loss, and treating underlying infection, all while strengthening the immune system.

2. Let’s kill “everything in moderation” this year. A little endocrine disruptor here, and a few bites of soy there — we may put it out of our minds, but it still does affect our bodies. Instead of believing everything in moderation is okay (ie: “a little can’t hurt you”), let’s remember that our bodies are already sick. Anything we can do to lighten their load is worth the effort.

Though, I also don’t think we need to get down on ourselves (or get neurotic). What I’m talking about here are the conscious choices we make that we know aren’t good for us. We simply cannot possibly avoid every chemical in the air, water, food, food packaging, etc. around us. It is so pervasive. But, when we can choose — when we have the conscious choice — let’s choose a lower toxic load for our bodies.

3. More and more of us have decided to go gluten-free, and also identify and eliminate other food allergies. For most of us, these choices have equaled big health gains. My hope for the New Year is that we’ll keep spreading the good word, providing our fellow thyroid patients with sound gluten-free (and food-allergy) resources for them to determine if adopting a GF lifestyle is for them. And hey, gluten-free eating is becoming very mainstream. Even those who aren’t “sick” are finding they feel better when eliminating wheat and other grains from their diet.

4. And finally, this year, I’d like to see the creation of a patient-centered symptom list. I’ve mentioned it over and over — the “acceptable symptoms” list for thyroid patients and the various incantations of thyroid disease is limiting, misleading, and exclusive. I’d like to propose that we create our own list. Meaning, share your symptoms with us — all of them. Whether you just have thyroid disease, or you have two or three or four other diseases and conditions to contend with… what are your symptoms? Because many of the symptoms we experience can be things we don’t want to talk about openly, I propose we keep it anonymous. I’m going to be ironing out the details in weeks to come, but for now, if you feel comfortable, email, Twitter, Facebook, or comment some of your symptoms — whether they’re on the “acceptable list” or not; whether you think they’re thyroid-related or not. Make sure to mention that it’s a symptom you want to add to our list. I’d like to display this somewhere for those pre-diagnosis, or those new to thyroid disease to learn from, and use as a legitimate resource, versus the ten-bullet symptom list they’ll find at their doctor’s office. It can also be used as a resource when their doctor tells them their symptom is “simply not related to thyroid disease”.

What are your health resolutions for the New Year? What trends do you hope catch on? What symptoms do you experience that you think need added to the list?

Until Next Week,

Love Always,

Liz

Have a question, comment, story, love letter, or rant/rave to send me?: Liz@DearThyroid.com

I’m starting this installment with a dedication.  I’m dedicating these words to our good friend and thyroid sister, Mrs. Anita Roberts.  She wrote a little note this week that, once read, prompted me to remember why it is I care about all this food stuff to begin with.  I start getting that excited-with-a-whole-lot-of-sadness-and-heavy-knotting in my stomach when I read things like that.  It’s the kind of emotion where you only feel so excited and ready to live and confront life because you just realized how many absurdities and how much perversion really exist (and how much needs to be fixed).  She says she relied heavily on Dr. Mercola in her note, of whom I am a fan and who is really a health pioneer and actually believes in people like you and I — the chronically-ill.  As Anita says, “I’m a bit new to doing it right; had massive illness kick my head into proper gear. But at the same time, I think I can be a testament to the efficacy of doing it right. It takes work. It takes effort, determination and thought. And it’s worth it in ways I can’t even articulate.”  I agree, and so, Anita, thank you. 

This week, I want to have a little heart to heart with you all; well, maybe more like “straight talk”.  There are a few things I think we should talk about.  You’re well aware — I’m constantly immersed in food:  thinking about food, reading about food, planning what I’d like to eat and shopping for such food (which, yes, usually turns out to be rather delicious).  It’s really always been this way — even long before thyroid disease and long before I’d ever heard the word “autoimmunity” or, as a writer, understood its sickly implications and all-too-sad metaphor.  Food was and is so much of me.

For the last two-and-a-half years, food has become something much more meaningful than what is a chinois?, or, quinoa is actually a fruit, or, “orecchiette” means “little ears” and “farfalle” means “butterfly”, or that you never press things down — pancakes (wait until you can see the bubbles), steaks, burgers — you let them cook and you let the heat from the griddle or grill do its job and you never press them down.

Now, food is much more about the science behind it (micronutrition it’s called) — what it’s comprised of and how it will either help or hurt my body to function.  What nutrients do bodies need to perform at their peak and am I getting those everyday?  What are the best nutritional strategies for easing inflammation and repairing my gut?  How do I feed my brain and which foods will help me avoid the infections to which I am prone?  In trying to sort of these kinds of questions, I’ve also gotten a rude awakening.  The food we eat in this country isn’t really food.  It’s been altered, coated, made artificial, concocted, sterilized, killed and implanted without our consent, and largely, without our knowledge.  It’s all so foreign at this point and no longer travels that straight and sacred path from ground to table.

I don’t write these things to scare you or to be all debbie downerish, which we all already know I’m very good at.  I write these things because they affect our health and have the ability to make us more well or make us more sick.  And because this information is being suppressed so that consumers like you and I continue buying our food all under the illusion that we are protected from disease-promoting foods, let’s be clear: we simply are not.  Food will either fuel our bodies, or it will cause our bodies to violently react or go into deficits.  Our food choices and our food purchases are that important and they are the very basis for any wellness at all.  These words are all in an effort to prompt you to see how our food system is corrupt and how this corruption affects our bodies.  But (and this is a big, huge, life-changing “but”) — we have the power to give a damn and do something the fuck about it.

As people with chronic illnesses, we have to be very in tune with our bodies.  After all, we’re scrutinizing every doctor’s appointment, every blood work and lab results, our medication level and the appropriate ways to take it (first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach and with a full glass of water).  We examine and scrutinize everything.  We like to pick apart test results and ask the physician why, if our numbers are in range, do we still feel like dog shit.  Or, if our numbers are out of range, why can’t he reduce/increase the dosage appropriately?  Or, the best of them all — why the hell wouldn’t our weight loss/weight gain/fatigue/depression/insomnia be related to our thyroid disease — just how can this be so???

In light of all of that, below is an abbreviated list of other things we need to scrutinize… things we have to scrutinize.  They’re current food-related issues that I think it’s important you know about.  This is what is happening to our food supply without our consent and while our bodies are acting out in rebellion. We have so many reasons to actually give a damn about this list:  125 million Americans with (diagnosed) chronic illness, 50 million with (diagnosed) autoimmune disease, and 27 million with (diagnosed) thyroid disease. No longer can each case and every incidence be solely genetically justified.  

1. Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs)  are those foods that are not indigenous to our planet.  The main purveyor of GMOs is the Monsanto Corporation.  They create seeds that have been implanted with bacteria or other foreign entities (such as proteins, for example) that either extend the shelf life of a crop, or make them resistant to pests, herbicides, etc.  Unlike many European nations, the American food industry is not required to label a food as genetically-modified.  If you eat processed foods, you will almost certainly be consuming a genetically-modified corn or soy ingredient/derivative. No one knows the health risks associated with eating foods that are foreign to our bodies and the earth’s ecosystem, though many diseases and side effects have been implicated.  And wouldn’t it make sense that, after time, the body reacts against these foreign entities?  Autoimmune disease, anyone?
2. 1 in 100 people (that number grows every year) are gluten intolerant. Period.  We are being exposed to gluten in epic proportions with every bite of processed food because gluten is used as a filler and flavoring agent. Standard blood work often does not identify a gluten allergy/intolerance.  Both blood work and intestinal biopsy can result in false negatives.  Most recently, cutting-edge research has shown that one need not have gluten antibodies in their bloodstream or damaged villi in their gut to be intolerant.  One study found gluten antibodies on the thyroid itself, in a patient with Thyroiditis!  An inflammatory protein on an inflamed gland — how revolutionary! Our understanding of this gluten protein is so minute compared with the damage it can be doing to our systems while we’re awaiting outdated and flawed tests to determine what action we will take.  Start listening to your own body versus a possible false negative.
3. An acronym you need to know: C.A.F.O, or Confined Animal Feeding Operation.  C.A.F.O.s are horrific close-quartered animal production “farms” (read: death warehouses) where cows (dairy and otherwise), pigs, chickens, etc. are contained in such close quarters and in such inhumane ways that they end up acquiring various illnesses and conditions.  Animals are forced to live in pools of their own feces, chickens are forced to sit upon ammonia-laced newspaper shreds which end up literally burning right through their feathers and skin, causing scarring.  Animals are given a sickly cocktail of hormones and antibiotics due to the tight space and communicable ailments, as well as have their beaks or tails cut so that they cannot bite each other in the tiny spaces in which they are forced to live.  Animals are not even fed a diet they would naturally eat in the wild, which means they are given grains and soy (both almost always genetically-modified).  This unnatural diet causes bacterial infection, which prompts antibiotic use as well.  This doesn’t just refer to the meat our country is eating, but also eggs and dairy, and it is toxic.
4. Pesticides used in growing our food contain endocrine disruptors and carcinogens.  Plain and simple.  Buy organic. (Also, don’t forget that these chemicals are damaging to the liver and the liver is vital in thyroid function and overall health). 
5. Our fruits, vegetables, some grains, and now, meat products are irradiated, if not purchased as organic.  Irradiation is a process used to kill bacteria and viruses from food products.  However, it does not kill all bacteria, which renders some “irradiation-resistant” (super bug, anyone?).  Also, of course, there are other major drawbacks that include reduced vitamin and mineral content in the food (as much as 5-80%!), creation of free radicals and new toxic chemicals, and the reduction or death of enzymes.  Killing enzymes is a big deal folks.  Our bodies require enzymes to digest food.  The enzymes naturally found in foods are what our body uses to process the food without putting strain on our organs and system.  According to the Organic Consumer’s Association (a great organization): “If unlabeled, raw foods that have been irradiated look like fresh foods, but nutritionally they are like cooked foods, with decreased vitamins and enzymes. The FDA allows these foods to be labeled ‘fresh.”  Each time we take a bite of a non-organic food that has been irradiated, we’re putting huge amounts of stress on our bodies and we aren’t even certain of the long-term side effects. 
6. The façade of pureness emanating from the bottled water industry is, quite frankly, a load of bullshit, as the industry is self-regulated (read: nearly no accountability whatsoever).  Most bottled water is not even filtered, but instead, sourced from municipal tap water supplies and, then bottled and sold under the guise of purity.  Both tap water and bottled water contain all sorts of pharmaceuticals, as well as chlorine and fluoride.  Chlorine will give you a yeast infection (systemic, intestinal, or otherwise localized) before you can say Diflucan, please.  Fluoride will slow thyroid function and has been linked to everything from spotting on the teeth (ironic, right?) to neurological damage.  Bottled water is not clean and is not pure and it is lacing our insides with chemicals. 
7. The breeds of cows from which we derive our dairy, called A1 cows, contains a genetic mutation which contains the small protein peptide called BCM 7.  What you need to know about BCM 7 is that it causes undesirable side effects in human beings and is linked to a variety of illnesses.  The milk we buy in the grocery store comes from A1 cows.  BCM 7 is not only an opiate, but is linked to everything from autism to schizophrenia, as well as interference with immune system response, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, mucus secretion, and inflammation.  In addition, according to some researchers, casein is “the most relevant cancer promoter ever discovered”.
8. I saved the most important for last: Codex Alimentarius.  If nothing else, please pay attention to this one.  Codex Alimentarius is a set of rules and regulations that are being imposed worldwide, which promote ideas of “consumer safety” in the food industry, which sounds like a good thing, right?  But in reality, its aim is to limit the scope of the natural health community, all in the interest of big pharmaceutical companies.  Things like organics and herbal supplements and vitamins are all in jeopardy.  The head of this committee, Dr. Rolf Grossklaus has announced that there is no room for nutrition in the realm of health and that nutrients are, in fact, toxic entities that are dangerous to the public health.  You realize this gives me a panic attack every time I think about it, right?  Hearing someone tell me that all my hard work — all these nutrients and vitamins and minerals, pesticide-free foods, omega 3s, probiotics, herbs and supplements that I have been putting into my body for the last year and a half have nothing at all to do with my no need for medication, with my antibodies in range, with my — hello!! — remission from an autoimmune disease!?! (how is this even possible??), infuriates me more than anything because food does and can bring about wellness.  My goal isn’t to preach a miracle cure-all, but my story has to elicit hope.  And the idea that hope is being taken from people like you and I — those with an official diagnosis — is simply vile, especially considering it’s all in the name of profit.  Please read more into Codex and spread the word and take action against it.  

On a lighter note — some people/organizations/websites that I like, maybe you will like, and whom I trust (though always with a discerning eye because we can’t and don’t always agree on everything):

1. Dr. Mercola
2. Organic Consumer’s Association
3. Michael Pollan
4. Civileats
5. Marion Nestle 
6. Food Renegade

Think about it.

Until Next Week,

Love Always,

Liz

Have a question, comment, story, love letter, or rant/rave to send me?: Liz@DearThyroid.com

I still have the jar sitting in my cupboard.  It hasn’t moved since I bought it, and it still hasn’t been opened.  I’m a little intimidated.  It’s a little exotic and I’m not sure what I would do with it, or how it’s going to taste anyway.  Red palm oil, it’s called; a cooking oil with a dark red tint?  I picked it up at the health food store only because I’d read a bit about the nutritive benefits (the only oil known to contains vitamins!: A & E, among others) and also because I like trying new foods.  Not to mention, it seems a little deviant… you know, laughing in the face of conventional nutrition and buying something so naughty and risqué: a saturated fat!

Prevailing dietetic rhetoric in this country go something like this: fat is bad.  All fat is bad. Anything that contains any kind of fat is bad, but especially, saturated fats which must be avoided at all costs unless you want high cholesterol, a heart attack and an early grave.  But many health professionals advocate for the consumption of saturated fat as a positive addition to a healthy diet.  Let’s take a look at why.

If we quickly scan the first “Think Fatty, Not Faddy”, we’ll see that since around the late 1970s or early 1980s, consumers/eaters have traded natural and good fats for highly-processed carbohydrate- and grain-filled foods à la the low-fat/”heart-healthy” diet revolution.  Our ratio of fat to carbohydrates has shifted and diabetes is an epidemic.  Grains skyrocket blood sugar and are high on the glycemic index, whereas fats stabilize blood sugar and provide a feeling of satiety.  Blood sugar spikes are implicated in everything from insulin resistance to obesity. Also, dietary fats are required for us to synthesize certain vitamins and for the body to perform certain functions; grains are not a necessary addition to an eating plan (remember “Don’t Be Grainwashed”?).

Coconut oil* and palm oil are fruit-derived and naturally occurring saturated fats.  Palmitic and lauric acid, found in both oils, are two kinds of saturated fats that are known to increase cholesterol.  Yes, increase.  While this may seem like a drawback and outright proof that saturated fats are bad for us (because, after all no one wants high cholesterol), it actually isn’t: palmitic and lauric acid raise both LDL and HDL cholesterol together and in proportion to each other, which means good things for your cholesterol.  Also, interestingly, saturated fats are found in the breast milk of mammals.  This means, we’re being fed and sustained on saturated fats right from birth.  If this is the case, could they really be so terrible for us later in life?

One study done on a nomadic tribe in Kenya and Tanzania, the Masai, revealed that though the people of the tribe ate diets high in saturated fats (namely from animal sources), they still had the lowest levels of heart disease and cholesterol recorded.  They were lean and in shape.  Perhaps this was due to their nomadic lifestyle, but it cannot be ignored that though their diet high in saturated fat should have potentially set them up for heart disease, it did not.  Once these same peoples went on a “modern” diet, their incidences of disease and heart/cholesterol problems soared.  And this is not an isolated study — it has been confirmed over and over via various researchers that the saturated fat-cholesterol link just isn’t so evident as many people and experts would like to believe.  (For such studies, see the MSNBC article below.)

Still more research has shown that the correlation between fats and high cholesterol or heart disease isn’t due to consumption of saturated fats, but instead, consumption of trans-fatty acids.  Trans-fats (you know, the ones that have been banned in certain cities) are found in processed and premade foods: margarine, vegetable oil, and vegetable shortenings.  These are oils considered hydrogenated, which means they’ve been processed so that they’re solid at room temperature, and therefore extend shelf life of premade and fast foods. Not to mention, many hydrogenated oils/trans-fats are made from soy, and the genetically-modified kind at that, which is something you and I want to avoid due to its goitrogenic properties.  Also, these sorts of fats are linked to inflammation (hello autoimmune disease) and lowered immune system function. 

So the moral of the story is this: some fats are good, and some fats are not good.  Some research and experts find saturated fat to be a good and essential part of a healthy diet.  It is controversial; it is risqué; and it if you buy into it like I do, it will make you nutritionally deviant (how sexy!).  Saturated fat has never been definitively proven to be a culprit in heart disease and high cholesterol — it has been assumed and implicated and we’ve created entire diet systems around the notion. By examining those cultures who rely mainly on saturated fats, we see that they have drastically lowered rates of “associated” diseases and conditions — just the opposite of what we’re told should result.  What this goes to show is that one isolated “component” of our modern diet is not the sole disease-promoting culprit.  Instead, what’s important and indeed, what is the best wellness-promoter, is a wholly-healthy approach to life that includes from-the-ground eating.  Eating natural foods, even if they are high in saturated fat (coconut oil, palm oil), is healthy.  Fake, substitute, low-fat, saturated-fat-free, genetically-modified foods simply can’t compare, nutritionally, to those things that nature grows herself.

Adding saturated fats to your diet isn’t so difficult.  Simply switch to coconut or palm oil for your roasting, sautéing, or for salad dressings and homemade condiments, or baking.  And I’ve gotta admit, for sake of realism (I pretend to be a method writer), I just cracked open the palm oil and took a scoop.  Like I said, it’s pretty intimidating — a bright red cooking oil — but it has a mild taste.  It’s earthy and smoky tasting and reminds me of a light sesame oil.  I’ll try it in cooking this week and update you via the liver detox blog.  Speaking of which, how is everyone’s liver this week?  Today marks one week for me on this program and I will be posting a blog in a bit on how it’s been for me and what results I’m noticing.

*Note that coconut oil is thyroid-stimulating and therefore may not be a good idea for those with hyperthyroidism. You can read more about the thyroid-stimulating effects of coconut oil here and here. 

Until Next Week, 

Love Always, 

Liz

Resources:

• Surprise — Saturated Fats Really Are Good For You
• What if bad fat isn’t so bad?: No one’s ever proved that saturated fat clogs arteries, causes heart disease
  
• Why Fast Foods Are Bad, Even In Moderation
• Healthy Fats: Is There Such A Thing?
• Are Saturated Fats Really Dangerous For You?

 Have a question, comment, story, love letter, or rant/rave to send me?: Liz@DearThyroid.com 

I’m a little upset that my doctors have never mentioned it.  I’m a little upset I had to happen upon this information on the internet.  You’d think this sort of data would be pertinent enough to be conveyed immediately, from physician to thyroid patient. Unfortunately, things just don’t work like that.  And anyway, I didn’t even get a basic explanation of my disease itself at the time of my diagnosis.  I guess I can’t expect too much.  I guess the internet would be the only way I’d ever learn about this thyroid-helper gland.  This week, pretty much, I’m shitting a brick, and I hope by the end of this, you will be too.

Previously, I’ve mentioned how important the gut is in managing thyroid disease.  That is, if our gut is dysfunctional and is unable to absorb nutrients and our medication, we’re screwed because those essential hormones aren’t being acquired by the body.  And this still holds true.  However, apparently, there is another system at work in treating thyroid disease: the liver.  Yes, the liver.  The liver as in that thing that is supposed to detoxify the body from bacteria and pathogens and chemicals and all that alcohol we drink over the course of our lifetime.  Well, aside from being the body’s detoxification system, the liver also metabolizes thyroid hormones.  Crazy right??!  The liver? Thyroid hormones??  Basically, it’s a whole long, complicated, scientific process, which you can read about here and includes some other details that I haven’t mentioned.  But here’s what we need to know today: the liver is integral in both metabolizing those thyroid hormones that are released naturally via our bodies, and also those we ingest via medication.  The liver regulates the systemic endocrine effects of thyroid hormones.  What this means for you and I is this: if our liver is weak, our thyroid hormones are going to be unregulated and/or not absorbed or utilized.   In order for our medication (and/or our body’s natural hormones) to be effective, we need a high-functioning liver.

In addition to thyroid hormone regulation, the liver also plays a role in supporting the digestive system, blood sugar regulation, and fat storage.  Did you catch that last one?  Fat storage.  The liver is responsible for burning fat.  However, if the liver is too busy cleansing our systems from the many toxins we ingest, it cannot be effective at burning fat.  When this important organ is overwhelmed and in a constant state of filtering and toxic overload, we will have a hard time losing or maintaining weight.  But why, you ask, would our liver be in this constant and over-worked state of detoxification?  Well, for one, the liver must eliminate the chemicals we ingest via food on a daily basis.  Things like pesticides (in every non-organic product we buy), chemicals and synthetics that have been added to food, unnatural flavorings, foods that individuals may happen to be allergic to, chemicals like fluoride and chlorine in our water and soda and juice (this includes bottled water), antibiotics and hormones in non-organic animal products, and the list goes on.  Most everything in our environment is toxic at this point, so unless we’re actively and purposefully making natural choices, we’ll be unwittingly putting a toxic load on our liver and body.

Taking care of our liver can mean better thyroid hormone absorption, as well as a better chance at a steady weight.  For me, this information is convincing enough.  I don’t see a downside to trying to help my liver, so I’m making myself a guinea pig.  I’m going to go on a two-month liver detox.  And, here’s the kicker: I’m inviting you along with me!  Yes, you, my dear readers!  But before you freak out like this is gonna involve eating nothing but alfalfa sprouts and carrot juice, hear me out.  A liver detox program actually requires no deprivation or fasting and you’re not doing anything extreme.  It simply involves eating whole foods (of course, organic is always the best choice, if you can), tons of cleansing and nutrient-dense vegetables, nuts and seeds, good fats (especially those known to aide in liver function, like coconut oil), fruits (citrus especially), herbs and spices and digestive aids, and if you choose to eat animal products just try and make sure they’re organic (meat, eggs) or wild-caught (fish).  Avoid common allergens (gluten, dairy, etc.) and starches.

What to include in your liver detox:

• Lemon water. Drink lots of water in general, but lemon has great flushing and antibacterial properties.
• Supplements. I bought the Renew Life brand Critical Liver Support, which not only contains extracts and antioxidants that are known to strengthen and detoxify, but it also contains amino acids that are utilized by the liver.
• A liver detox drink, such as Caisse’s Tea, which is nothing more than some more of those extracts brewed in a liquid form.  I’ll be taking it before eating in the morning, as well as before bedtime. Today was my first day trying it, and fyi, not at all gross. Actually pretty refreshing.
• More liver-friendly spices: turmeric, onions, garlic, dill.
• Whole, unprocessed foods. Plain and simple.
• Vegetable (and fruit) juices via a juicing machine.  I’m going to be adding vegetable juices to my snack repertoire.  I’ll probably be relying mainly on green, non-starchy vegetables like celery (really yummy and refreshing as a juice) and sprouts. 

What I’m not hoping for:

• A miracle cure-all
• Anything too difficult or challenging
• Hunger. I just can’t and won’t do it
• Any life-changing results in a two-month time frame

What I am hoping for:

• Greater immunity, even if only by a smidge
• My body’s ability to better fend off the infections to which I am prone
• A little more energy (perhaps due to my body’s ability to absorb my thyroid hormone a bit better)

So please, join me in this little (safe/not-too-complicated) experiment.  I’ll keep you updated over the next two months about the state of things via a special blog which you can find here.  I’ll be including pictures of what I’m eating, notes on how I feel, and any readings or research that relate.  I’m hoping to update it frequently, like, as in daily, if we’re lucky.  If you’re participating in the challenge, be sure to keep me updated how you’re doing too, either via the new blog, or here in the comment box, or via my email, Liz@DearThyroid.com.  I started my two months today, which means you can either join in now or begin at the start of this new week.  How exciting!

Resources:

• Chemicals in Our Diets Produce Fat People 
• Fast Track Liver Detox

Until Next Week,

Love Always,

Liz

Have a question, comment, story, love letter, or rant/rave to send me?: Liz@DearThyroid.com