Living Better
In This Chapter
- Avoiding mercury, perchlorate, and fluoride
- Eliminating household toxins
- Getting stress out of your life
- Appreciating exercise
Chapter 18 described toxins in processed foods, produce, and meat that have the potential to disrupt your thyroid. Unfortunately, there are also other sources of dangerous chemicals you need to be aware of. In this chapter we describe some of the most notable environmental threats to your thyroid, and ways you can avoid them.
In addition, we discuss how to mitigate the intangible toxin stress, which can wear down your thyroid as well as the rest of your body.
Finally, we point out some of the immense benefits of exercise.
We hope the suggestions that follow help you enjoy a longer, healthier, and happier life.
Thyroid Threats
As explained in Chapter 1, your thyroid is designed to suck every bit of iodine out of your bloodstream and store it until needed. The problem is your thyroid will also draw in artificial chemicals that make their way into your bloodstream and that your body was never designed to handle.
While this can happen with a number of chemicals, there are certain ones to which your thyroid is especially vulnerable because their composition is very similar to that of iodine. Your thyroid will absorb every molecule of these it can find and permanently store them. As they accumulate, they can interfere with your thyroid’s functioning by displacing iodine, doing direct physical damage to your thyroid, and/or attracting the attention of your immune system, leading to an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s or Graves’.
The three substances most likely to threaten your thyroid because of their chemical resemblance to iodine are mercury, perchlorate, and fluoride.
Mercury
Mercury is a dangerous poison found in minute amounts in thousands of processed foods. Mercury is also present in fish. You don’t want to avoid eating seafood, because most of it is good for you. However, it’s wise to refrain from consuming fish likely to have the highest levels of mercury—which are swordfish, thresher sharks, and marlin.
Also worrisome is tuna. While its mercury levels aren’t as high as those of the somewhat exotic fish just mentioned, tuna is eaten so frequently that its mercury can accumulate at an alarming rate. And counterintuitively, it’s the highest-quality tuna that poses the greatest risk. That’s because top-grade tuna comes from larger, older fish, and they’re the ones that have lived long enough to build up the most mercury in their bodies. So you’re at lowest risk eating flaked “light” tuna, at moderate risk with albacore, at significant risk with the “tuna steak” grade … and you probably shouldn’t even think about consuming sushi-grade tuna beyond rare occasions.
Thyroidian Tip
You can find out how much tuna is safe for you to eat based on your gender and weight by visiting a tuna calculator provided by the Environmental Working Group at EWG.org/tunacalculator.
If you suspect you’re suffering from mercury poisoning, talk to your doctor about getting tested for it. The process involves taking a dose of mercury chelating medicine—which removes heavy metals from your body—and then providing your urine. By measuring the amount of mercury that comes out of your body, a lab can estimate how much mercury is stored in your thyroid.
Another chemical similar enough to iodine to fool your thyroid is perchlorate. While not as poisonous as mercury, perchlorate is a byproduct of rocket fuel production, so it’s hardly people friendly. Studies have found even low levels of perchlorate can interfere with the thyroid’s ability to absorb iodine, leading to hypothyroidism.
Perchlorate has been found in the water supplies of over 35 U.S. states. You can learn if it’s been detected in your local water supply by visiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s site at EPA.gov/safewater/dwinfo. If it has, the simplest way to avoid perchlorate is to drink bottled water from a source that either has no perchlorate or filters out such impurities.
Thyroidian Tip
Another way to avoid perchlorate is to install a special filter in your home that purifies your tap water. Most conventional filters (Brita, PUR) won’t do the job in this case, but a reverse osmosis system designed to trap perchlorate will. This can cost as little as $150, plus $20-$30 filter changes 1 or 2 times per year.
Fluoride
In contrast to toxins, fluoride is so relatively safe that many communities have put it in their water supply to fight tooth decay. At the same time, its ubiquitousness has led experts to wonder if fluoride is partly to blame for the current hypothyroidism epidemic.
Like mercury and perchlorate, fluoride is chemically similar to iodine. The more fluoride your thyroid absorbs, the less room there is for iodine; and the more likely it is that the fluoride will block iodine from your thyroid’s hormone construction sites. The result is a substantial reduction in thyroid hormones.
Fluoride is so effective at reducing T4 and T3 production that it’s used as a treatment for hyperthyroidism (see Chapter 12). If you’re on the verge of being hypothyroid, though, fluoride is likely to push you over the edge. And if you’re already hypothyroid, fluoride can make your condition even worse.
If fluoride is in your local water supply, you can avoid it by drinking bottled water; or, as mentioned for perchlorate, by installing a reverse osmosis filter for your tap water.
While mercury, perchlorate, and fluoride are the best-known threats to your thyroid, they’re far from the only ones. Any modern artificial chemical, or combination of chemicals, could have an unexpectedly adverse affect. Your best defense is to avoid as many of them as possible.
For example, a 2010 study found people with high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, are twice as likely to have thyroid disease. PFOA is used in nonstick Teflon cookware, microwave popcorn bags, stain-resistant carpet and fabric coatings, and certain cleansers.
Most of these are products you can live without. For example, you can use enamel-coated cast iron pans instead of Teflon; and you can microwave air-pop popcorn using brown paper lunch bags.
As for cleansers, you should ideally buy organic versions that contain no harmful chemicals. These include Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, Natural Soap Formula’s KD Gold, and a line of green products from Seventh Generation. (For a list of websites offering these products, and more, visit this book’s site at CIGThyroid.com.)
You can also use old-fashioned but still effective solutions, such as white vinegar and water on newspapers for cleaning windows, weakly brewed black tea for mirrors, lemon juice or vinegar for most stains, club soda for carpet stains, and cornmeal for spills. (For further details and suggestions, visit CIGThyroid.com.)
Similarly, you should choose organic products in place of:
- Artificial pesticides, especially when spraying inside your house (for instance, try boric acid, which is nontoxic).
- Chemical-based cosmetics and body care products.
- Insecticide- and herbicide-saturated wines and beers.
Most chemical engineers are never trained in toxicology, which means they invent new chemicals without deep knowledge of the potential effects on people. This has caused untold misery. In response, a green, organic movement has developed that allows you to live a safer, more natural, and healthier life. Don’t hesitate to join it.
Stress can have just as negative an impact on you as toxins. A common result of our fast-paced lives, stress triggers an adrenaline rush that raises your heart rate, makes your breath quicker, and moves your blood away from your organs toward your skeletal muscles, readying you to respond by either fighting or fleeing.
This worked great when our ancestors regularly faced off against tigers and rival tribes. However, it’s not as helpful when you’re being criticized by your boss or stuck in a traffic jam.
Stress impairs your digestive system, your immune system, and your body’s ability to repair itself. If sustained for a long time, it’ll wear you down and make you sick. Some experts believe stress is one of the reasons serious diseases—including thyroid disease—are on the rise.
You don’t have to helplessly suffer, though. There are a number of things you can try to reduce stress:
- Avoid the person stressing you out. If it’s a friend or colleague, be polite but firm. If it’s your manager and the stress is unending, consider finding another job.
- Avoid the situation stressing you out. For example, if standing in line is aggravating, get your chores done during non-peak hours or hire someone to do them for you.
- Say “no.” If you really don’t want to do something, then don’t.
- Talk it out. If it’s not possible to say “no,” then tactfully express your frustration. Maybe a compromise can be reached.
- Focus on what fulfills you. If you love spending time with your family, figure out ways to do more of that. If you have a book burning inside you, carve out an hour every morning or evening to work on it—with no excuses.
- Adjust your perspective. Sometimes if you decide to not let something bother you, it won’t.
- Do something calming. Meditation, yoga, visualization, gardening, listening to music … whatever relaxes you is good.
- Breathe. Breathe in through your nose for seven seconds, and then breathe out through your mouth for seven seconds. This can be remarkably effective.
- Laugh. Go to a live comedy show, see a funny film, or spend some time with four-year-olds—whatever it takes.
- Sleep. There are few things in life as healing as enough sleep. If you’ve been depriving yourself, revise your priorities to ensure a full eight hours each night.
- Cut out stimulants. If you’re drinking a lot of coffee or soda, switch to a beverage without caffeine.
- Help others. Caring for other people in need—or even pets—may make you feel differently about your own troubles.
- Be physical. Take a walk in the park … or better yet, a jog. Lift weights. Exercise. Any physical activity may help satisfy your body’s “fight or flight” response.
Stress can be as debilitating as any disease. Don’t let it damage your quality of life.
Embracing Exercise
It’s been said that if exercise was a pill, every doctor would prescribe it. Exercise is a great antidote for stress. It can also help cure depression, anxiety, and many other ills.
Exercise strengthens every part of your body, ranging from your immune system to your hair and skin to your libido to your mind. In the past it was thought exercise could wear out joints. We now know that even the worst arthritis improves over time with exercise. Exercise can also increase energy and enthusiasm, and improve the quality of your sleep. Exercise lowers your risks for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and stroke.
And as Chapter 20 explains, strategic exercises such as burst training and strength training are invaluable tools for weight loss.
If you’re perpetually tired and are chalking it up to old age, it may be that you’re just not getting enough exercise. A 2010 study found that regular exercise can delay aging by as much as 12 years.
If you haven’t exercised for a while, go slow. Do a little, give yourself a day or two to recover, and then do a little more. The rest periods will provide your body the time it needs to adapt … and to build itself up for a healthier and happier new you.
The Least You Need to Know
- Eat seafood 1 or 2 times a week, but reduce or eliminate fish that are known for containing a lot of mercury.
- If your local water supply has perchlorate and/or fluoride, drink bottled or purified water.
- Eliminate stress by ending the cause of it, avoiding the source of it, or changing your response to it.
- Make exercise an integral part of your life. There’s nothing better you can do for your health.