Vilma Brunhuber, Holistic Integrative Nutrition and Health Coach
In health news. “A truly good doctor always tries to cure with food,” said Chinese physician Sun Ssu-mo nearly 1,400 years ago. – See more at:
I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) many years ago. Per the usual procedure, my doctor prescribed hormone replacement medication and told me I will be taking it for life.
I am a medical doctor by education and I understand the need for medication. But I also know that I don’t like taking medication. I did as I was told though to see if it would help.
Over the next few years I was taking different variations of medication to boost my thyroid function. During that time I never felt 100%. If any of you have or were with someone who has hypothyroidism, you will understand what I was going through.
The symptoms include always being cold, having very dry and itchy skin, sleepiness, low energy, slightly depressed mood, and other unpleasant feelings. Being a young person it became frustrating not feeling as vibrant and happy as I was used to.
So what did I do? I started by insisting on something better than synthetic thyroid medication because it really wasn’t helping. Instead, I started taking a prescription medication which is isolated from pigs’ thyroid and provides a more comprehensive set of thyroid hormones that is included in the synthetic formulation.
Photo courtesy blog.mysanantonio.com
I also started doing yoga and switched to organic food as much as I could. These changes helped a lot but I still wasn’t feeling 100%. Finally I also started seeing a homeopathic doctor to help my efforts, which helped but I still wasn’t myself.
After doing a lot of research and trying lots of different things, I think I found the solution. After cleansing my body I made some very specific changes in my diet and I am finally feeling great!!! I don’t need coffee to keep me going, I feel I have energy, and I can smile. I am still on a reduced dose of the natural thyroid medication, and maybe I will have to continue taking for life, but I feel great, so it is now worth it.
As a test, I decided to try some foods again that were giving me problems. I enjoyed the food, but in a few days I was back in a groggy, bloated state. This meant my body needed more time to heal. So I went back on a detox/anti-inflammatory diet for a week, I am back to feeling great! I feel like I can “fly.” 🙂
I hope to inspire all of you not to give up if you are diagnosed with certain condition. Keep trying, researching and reaching for help and support. And definitely consider your diet.
Food is medicine; I truly believe in it.
