Re: General Info on thyroid problems

[Guest guest]

Hi

I agree that nutrition has alot to do with it yes!! But I also believe

that

vaccination (Toxin coctail) is also a huge dump on our systems. I was

fully vaccinated as a child and have read alot on the subject and can't

help but think that this also has had a huge affect on my health,as

well as my 5 sisters. My mother's family has no R.A or Lupus or

Diabeties or Thyroid problem (eccept for an aunt who has just been

diagnosed at the age of 70). My father's family have none of these

diseases. But 5 out of 6 children aged 32-42 are suffering quite

badly,(all fully vaccinated).

I also believe that vaccination is causing a weakness in our immune

system.

As for not breast feeding, I'm not sure that would be the wayto go

either.

There are so many reasons to breast feed,I have 2 children the first I

couldnt breast feed(for many reasons). the second I fed till 10 months

(she gave up on me). My first has numerous health problems and the

second is healthy. I put my son on soy formula(10years ago)and he has

so many alergies its not funny.

The second has none.

Science thinks it can do a better job than Mother Nature,but they sure

have stuffed us up!

Ali

" mary petrie " <petri00-@...> wrote:

original article:hyperthyroidism/?start=31

59

> Greetings All,

>

> I'm new to this list and am now mulling over issues and seeing

connections that

> are old to some of you. But made two observtions that I'd like

to comment

> on.

>

> The first, he notes that hyper and hypo problems may be part of the

same

> disease. I think he's right. The endocrinologist I saw at the Mayo

Clinic said

> that he prefers not to think of Graves or Hashimotos as distinct

diseases,

> because they're really different aspects of a single " disease " :

autoimmune

> thyroid disease. I think they use AITD to stand for this. He made

this point

> because I have antibodies for both Hashimotos and Graves, which I

thought was

> quite unusual. Instead, he said it's more common than people

realize. He told

> me that my antibody count and configuration would vary from month to

month, year

> to year, and that my symptoms (hyper or hypo) would vary accordingly.

>

> There's a web site (http://www.repro.med.net) from the medical school

at Chicago

> University that featured an M.D. named Beer who is a fertility

specialist. He

> speculates that one day thyroid problems will be recognized as one

part of a

> more complex endocrine autoimmunity -- he goes beyond calling

Graves/Hashimotos

> autoimmune thyroid disease, to autoimmune endocrine disease. I found

this

> interesting in light of all the other endocrine problems I've heard

about in

> other women and have moderately experienced myself since my diagnosis.

>

> The second point is 's belief that hypo and hyperthyroidism are

caused by

> nutrient deficiencies. Again, I would agree but have some " food " for

thought on

> this issue and a question. Could the nutritional deficiencies be

related to the

> consumption or absorbtion of toxins? I'm wondering, , what the

relationship

> between nutrient deficiencies and toxins is, especially in light of

the

> following info I thought I'd share.

>

> Perhas many of you are familiar with " Our Stolen Future: Are We

Threatening Our

> Fertiltiy, Intelligence, and Survival? " by Theo Colborn Ph.D., Dianne

Dumanoski,

> and Myers Ph.D. The foreward is by Al Gore and the

book is

> published by PLUME, a division of Penguin. The book is about

endocrine problems

> and environemntal toxins. The authors propose what they call " the

endocrine

> disruption hypothesis " as the cause for autoimmune thyroid disease.

>

> Their main thesis is that dioxins, PCBs, and other pesticides,

herbicides, etc.

> disrupt and ultimately change the structure and function of human

hormonal

> processes. They focus on the Great Lakes region because of the

extensive

> chemical dumping in those lakes and subsequent problems quickly noted

in teh

> animal population. Their point is that we're being exposed to

environmental,

> toxin-laden estrogens that alter our natural balance of estrogens.

The

> enviornmental agents that humans are exposed to come from a wide

variety of

> sources: pesticides used on food products, antiboitics given to

animals, lawn

> pesticides, household cleaning products, all bleached paper products

(tampons,

> sanitary pads, paper towels and toilet papers, diapers, hard plastic

toys and

> bottles, mini-blinds, some shades, kleenex, the list is mind

numbing). The

> dioxins and other chemical components are stored in human fat

(they've been well

> documented in animal fat. Whales are so full of these dangerous

chemicals that

> when a dead whale is found in the sea, it's labeled as harzardous

waste and

> unsafe for humans to be near -- and it's because of the toxic waste

in its fat).

>

> According to the authors, this is happening to us. The book has been

glowingly

> reviewed by the New York Times, endorsed by Al Gore who calls Theo

Colburn the

> next Carson, and I've seen it mentioned in several

publications recently.

>

> The book talks about all aspects of the endocrine system and the

thyroid has a

> prominent place in their analysis. The authors believe this

> endocrine-disruption problem is primarily a disease caused by

environmental

> toxins.

>

> Another book, The Endometriosis Sourcebook (by Lou Ballweg

founder of the

> Endometriosis Association), has supporting articles about

reproductive/thyroid

> problems and the connections to dioxins. The Endometriosis

Association funded a

> pivotal study of monkeys who died of endometriosis after dioxin

exposure (I'm

> trying to find out what thyroid problems these monkeys had -- dioxin

exposure is

> a key trigger for thyroid problems according to Our Stolen Future).

>

> The Sourcebook recommnends that women with endocrine related problems

who want

> to avoid further exposure to estrogen-disrupting elements do the

following:

>

> 1. Avoid contaminated fish

> 2. Eat more veggies, grains, fruits -- the more animal fat you

consume, the

> more stored estrogen-disruptors you get

> 3. If you do eat meat, trim away the fat and cook foods in a way to

allow the

> fat to drain out

> 4. Eat organic as the best route

> 5. Check on pollutants in your water supply and invest in a home

purifier

> 6. Substitute cloth products for paper ones that have dioxin residue

> 7, Switch to organic cotton menstrual products

> 8. Find sae substitutes for chlorine bleaches and cleaning products

> 9. Use recycled paper and encourage that (the bleaching process for

most papers

> produces organochlorines that, again, contribute to

endocrine-disruption in

> humans)

> 10. There's more but I'll just include the final one that REALLY

disturbed me:

> the Endometriosis Association is asking -- not advising yet, -- but

asking women

> if we should be dumping our breast milk instead of breast feeding.

Recent

> studies have shown that breast milk is the most concentrated,

effective way to

> transmit PCBs, dioxins, and other estrogen-disrupting chemicals that

are stored

> in our body fat to our children. The estrogen disrupting chemicals

are also

> passed in utero, so I'm trying to keep some perspective about this.

The

> breastfeeding " community " believes that the benefits of breastmilk

antibodies

> outweighs the toxins; also, they ask what's the alternative to

nursing? Toxic

> plastic nipples? Genetically engineered formula? Currently, it's

impossible to

> find a soy formula wihtout genetically engineered soybeans in teh U.S.

>

> For those of you who've waded through this far, it seems logical that

nutrition

> would also be altered by exposure to toxins. Perhaps the two are

going hand in

> hand? Perhaps nutrient deficiencies predispose some of us to

developing these

> endocrine problems; I'm sure some people are exposed to a lot of

dioxins and

> don't get sick.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

, I thank you for your in-depth info. I found it very useful. I also

want to point out that when I bought a new car a few years ago (a few months

before becoming HyperT), I noticed a strange film on the inside rear window

of the car. I was told by the car dealer that this was nothing to be

concerned about. It was some chemical that is used on the interior of new

cars (leather seats) and that over time it would disappear. But I keep

wondering about having inhaled and lived with those " fumes " or chemicals

which are undoubtedly toxic.

I also began drinking bottled water a few years ago, and know that the

plastic in the bottles contain estrogen. Makes me want to go back to tap

water.

By the way, Marin County, California (a somewhat affluent community) has

one of the highest (if the not the highest) rate of breast cancer in the

country, and most of the women drink bottled water. Maybe being affluent has

it's downside.

Esther

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/10/99 9:08:02 PM !!!First Boot!!!,

petri001@... writes:

<< The second point is 's belief that hypo and hyperthyroidism are caused

by

nutrient deficiencies. Again, I would agree but have some " food " for

thought on

this issue and a question. Could the nutritional deficiencies be related to

the

consumption or absorbtion of toxins? I'm wondering, , what the

relationship

between nutrient deficiencies and toxins is, especially in light of the

following info I thought I'd share.

Perhaps many of you are familiar with " Our Stolen Future: Are We

Threatening Our

Fertiltiy, Intelligence, and Survival? " by Theo Colborn Ph.D., Dianne

Dumanoski,

and Myers Ph.D. The book is about endocrine problems

and environemntal toxins. The authors propose what they call " the endocrine

disruption hypothesis " as the cause for autoimmune thyroid disease.

Their main thesis is that dioxins, PCBs, and other pesticides, herbicides,

etc.

disrupt and ultimately change the structure and function of human hormonal

processes. >>

Hi and Everyone,

Thanks to for the great information. I have looked into the

possibility that thyroid and other endocrine disorders are affected by

environmental toxins. While there is a lot of information to look at and I

haven't covered it all, this is my present thinking on this topic.

All of the dioxins, PCBs, pesticides, herbicides, etc. that are produced

by industries are found in much higher concentrations in the industrial

plants where these chemicals are produced. Workers in these plants and in

other occupations such as farming (exposed to pesticides and herbicides) are

exposed to much higher levels than the average person. If these chemicals

were causing endocrine disrupting diseases, then we should see higher

incidences in those persons who are the most exposed. I haven't seen

evidence that there is any huge effect of these chemicals on thyroid disease,

especially hyperthyroidism. I've seen some evidence that some chemicals may

contribute to hypothyroidism, however, but not on a huge scale. (However,

perhaps there is information in the book about these effects.)

For example we see that in countries where the soil is deficient in

iodine and/or selenium the incidence of goiter is sometimes as high as 60% or

more. I just haven't seen any effect of this magnitude caused by

environmental toxins.

However, I do believe that environmental toxins contribute to thyroid and

other endocrine disorders. Every toxin requires the body to produce

chemicals to deactivate those toxins or to deal with the toxin in another way

such as by producing extra fat for the deposition of those toxins. The

chemicals which deactive toxins usually require trace elements for their

production because the chemicals employ the metallic elements as catalysts

for chemical reactions. So long term exposure to toxins uses up scarce

resources of the body to detoxify these toxins. It seems very possible to me

that this process could lead to trace element depletion which could lead to

endocrine disruption.

Just as we've seen that psychological stress uses up copper and

contributes to a copper deficiency, environmental toxins can be a chemical

stress which uses up scarce trace elements like copper and can lead to a

mineral deficiency which may lead to thyroid disease.

Also, remember that Graves' disease (and I think Hashimoto's disease)

were both identified in the 1800's, long before these environmental toxins

were ever invented. It's not likely that they are the cause, but they

certainly may be contributors.

Twenty five years ago I was well aware of the danger of environmental

toxins. I developed hyperthyroidism after spending more than 25 years eating

organic foods and spending a very great deal of time, money, and effort to

avoid exposure to these man-made toxins. I would probably rank myself in the

top 1% of least exposed Americans in this regard. In the 1980s I had

hypothyroidism and I recently had hyperthyroidism. I really don't think that

these types of toxins are the root causes of thyroid disease. However, I do

think that they are serious problems.

[Guest guest]

dear john:

do you think that it could be possible that there are different types of

hyper thyroidism? it seems that some people like yourself, developed hyper

and then tried to correct and balance , and it seemed relatively quickly your

returned to normal. then there are others who take supplements and do

everything that they can think of and still battle with hyper for long long

time. Do you think that there may be different types of the same disease?

just a thought. shelley

[Guest guest]

Could this be the web site you are referring to from the " medical school at

Chicago " ?

<A HREF= " http://www.repromed.net/ " >Centre for Reproductive Medicine,

University of Bristol</A> I did not see any reference to Chicago (only

Bristol) but the url is the same minus the dot between repro and med.

In a message dated 12/21/99 10:38:52 PM Central Standard Time,

petri001@... writes:

<< > There's a web site (http://www.repro.med.net) from the medical school

at

> > Chicago

>

> Hi : Tried to connect to this site and got an error saying it

couldn't

> be

> found...is that the correct URL?

>

I went back to my notes and the URL is what I have written down, although

when I

tried it, I too got the " can't be found message. " I must have written it

down

incorrectly. >>

[Guest guest]

> There's a web site (http://www.repro.med.net) from the medical school at

Chicago

Hi : Tried to connect to this site and got an error saying it couldn't be

found...is that the correct URL?

> Another book, The Endometriosis Sourcebook (by Lou Ballweg founder of the

> Endometriosis Association), has supporting articles about reproductive/thyroid

> problems and the connections to dioxins. The Endometriosis Association funded

a

> pivotal study of monkeys who died of endometriosis after dioxin exposure (I'm

> trying to find out what thyroid problems these monkeys had -- dioxin exposure

is

> a key trigger for thyroid problems according to Our Stolen Future).

It may interest you to know....

" The list of toxic contaminants in the environment and in the bodies of many

animals (including humans) is a very long one. One of the two or three most

toxic

chemicals known today is not produced, nor does it occur naturally. Dioxins

(correctly dibenzo-p-dioxins or PCDDs) are produced as byproducts of the

manufacture

of some herbicides (for example, 2,4,5-T), wood preservatives made from

trichlorophenols, and some germicides (for example, hexachlorophene). Dioxins

are

also produced by the manufacture of pulp and paper, by the combustion of wood in

the

presence of chlorine, by fires involving chlorinated benzenes and biphenyls

(e.g.,

PCBs), by the exhaust of automobiles burning leaded fuel, and by municipal solid

waste incinerators. While there are 75 different dioxin chains, the most deadly

form

of dioxin is known as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD).

According

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the safe lifetime dose of

2,3,7,8-TCDD

for an average human is 10.1 million femtograms (or 0.01 micrograms). To make a

comparison, one aspirin tablet weighs 5 grains (or 325 milligrams, or 325

trillion

femtograms), so to express one " safe " lifetime dose of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, you would

take

a single aspirin tablet and divide it into 32 million (actually 32,172,218)

minuscule pieces. Then one of those tiny pieces would represent one " safe "

lifetime

dose of 2,3,7,8-TCDD.

Another comparison: A single grain of table salt weighs approximately 0.1

milligrams

or 100 billion femtograms, so to get an amount of table salt that weighs the

same

amount as one " safe " lifetime dose of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, you would divide a single

grain

of table salt into 9,900 microscopic pieces. One of those tiny pieces would

represent a " safe " lifetime dose of dioxin. The EPA considers dioxin in food

1,000,000 times (one million times) more toxic than cadmium or arsenic, not

counting

the cancer hazard from dioxin. For years, industry has been dumping dioxin into

the

environment in large quantities without paying attention to the consequences.

This

does not mean there have been no consequences; it just means no one has made any

systematic effort to tally them up. "

Me.

[Guest guest]

> There's a web site (http://www.repro.med.net) from the medical school at

> > Chicago

>

> Hi : Tried to connect to this site and got an error saying it couldn't

> be

> found...is that the correct URL?

>

I went back to my notes and the URL is what I have written down, although when I

tried it, I too got the " can't be found message. " I must have written it down

incorrectly. There's another page in that web site that I once visited, and

here's the URL for that: http://www.inciid.org/forums/immune/index/html

That URL will get you to a question/answer board about infertility caused by

autoimmune problems. I couldn't figure out how to get the main web page once I

hit this question and answer board, but I also didn't give it much of a shot.

If I'm remembering correctly, the doctor's name is Alan Beer (Beer is certainly

the correct last name) and the school is Finch something, I think Finch Medical

School as part of Chicago University -- not University of Chicago. You may be

able to use this info to do a search and get the right URL for the web site's

home page.

For years, industry has been dumping dioxin

> into the

> environment in large quantities without paying attention to the consequences.

> This

> does not mean there have been no consequences; it just means no one has made

> any

> systematic effort to tally them up. "

>

> Me.

Well put. And the dioxin comparisons were horrifying and important to know.

[Guest guest]

> Could this be the web site you are referring to from the " medical school at

> Chicago " ?

> <A HREF= " http://www.repromed.net/ " >Centre for Reproductive Medicine,

> University of Bristol</A> I did not see any reference to Chicago (only

> Bristol) but the url is the same minus the dot between repro and med.

Here's the correct information on this site and the school. The school is the

Finch University of Health Sciences and is part of the Chicago Medical School.

The doctor is Alan Beer.

The correct URL is: http://repro-med.net/

The main web page offers an option of viewing categories 1 - 5 of autoimmune

pregnancy loss. I think it's in this section that Dr. Beer puts forth his

theories that one day Hashimotos and Graves will be classified as one part of

endocrine autoimmune disease. Most of the web site is devoted to fertility

issues, but autoimmunity lurks as the backdrop against which infertility

problems are played out.

I'd be interested in hearing other's thoughts/stories on Graves as one part of

endocrine disruption. Fairly new to this issue, I'm still gathering information

and forming an opinion and am really curious what people think about Graves

disease as just one part of a larger set of endocrine problems.

Much of what Dr. Beer said resonated with me (although I haven't had fertility

problems) and my medical history. His theories seem to make intuitive sense.

On the other hand, I had a vague sort of visceral negative reaction to the BB

where Dr. Beer answers questions from pregnant and wanting-to-be-pregnant

women.There was a guru quality to it that I didn't like and possibly something

else. . . Can't put my finger on it, just a sense of skepticism that colored my

reading of Dr. Beer. . . . so, I'm not endorsing or discouraging, just steering

the curious.