Posts by Dr. Igor Schwartzman

The Effects of GMOs in Hashimoto’s

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The Effects of GMOs in Hashimoto’s

You’ve probably been hearing about GMOs, or genetically modified organisms. What is the big deal with GMOs, and can they really be that harmful to you since they are in our food supply? If you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and are working to manage your immune and thyroid health, GMOs can have a significant impact. Therefore, a GMO-free diet should be incorporated in the support of autoimmune Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. A GMO food has had its DNA altered through the insertion of genes from another species of plant, animal, bacteria, or virus. Examples of genetic modification include splicing fish genes into tomatoes and strawberries, jellyfish genes inserted into corn, or tobacco engineered with lettuce. Some genetic modification is done to create new medications or industrial products, but in agriculture it is used to increase resistance to herbicides, pests, or extreme weather changes. Why GMOs are dangerous if you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism Common GMO crops include soy, corn, canola, cottonseed, and sugar beets. Genetic modification creates new proteins the human body has never encountered. These new proteins are not food that our body’s immune system recognizes. Our immune defenses attack, destroy, and remove these perceived pathogens. This in turn, creates inflammation that can lead to a long list of health issues. For instance, an increase in allergies has been shown in populations after GMO foods are introduced, as well as in farm workers who handle the GMO foods. For people with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, this can create extra problems. Because Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder, its treatment approach is to balance the immune system and dampen the autoimmune flare-ups. If GMOs trigger an inflammatory response, then it increases the work of the immune system and thyroid function regulation in people with Hashimoto’s. GMOs are legal in the United States because of the dearth of studies on humans. The only research on humans shows that GMOs transfer into the bacteria that reside in the gut, which should be cause enough for concern. This means that long after you have eaten a GMO food its foreign proteins could stay behind in your gut, with unknown outcomes. For instance, if a food is modified with an antibiotic, it could create an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria in your body. Or a food modified with a toxin designed to kill insects could turn your gut bacteria into a pesticide. These new proteins could also make it into other parts of the body, including potentially a developing fetus. The studies on animals are alarming enough that many nations require GMO foods to be labeled, or have restricted or banned GMOs. The FDA’s own scientists have warned of allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems and urged long-term studies. In some studies GMOs have been linked to: Infertility, lower birth weight Immune problems Accelerated aging Insulin dysregulation Damage or changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system The very real threats of GMOs only give us more reason to avoid processed foods. If you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, you may need to be extra cautious so as not to provoke...

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Got Seasonal Allergies? Fix Your Gut

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Got Seasonal Allergies? Fix Your Gut

When the sneezing, sniffling, and runny eyes of springtime kick in, most people grab for the allergy pills, antihistamines, and eye drops. But did you know you can greatly relieve if not banish your allergy symptoms by fixing your gut? It may sound crazy that your gut health would affect your sinuses, but in fact the two systems are very intertwined. Both the respiratory tract and the digestive tract are immune barriers, meaning it’s their job to protect the body from outside invaders. The gut in particular profoundly influences the entire immune system. When gut health suffers so does the rest of your body, and the result for many people are allergy symptoms that flare up each spring. A common culprit in allergy symptoms is leaky gut, also known as intestinal permeability. Leaky gut is a condition in which the lining of the digestive tract becomes inflamed and porous, allowing undigested foods, bacteria, yeasts, and other toxins into the sterile bloodstream. The immune system launches an attack on these toxins, which creates inflammation throughout the body. For many people, this happens every time they eat. This inflammation manifests in different ways for different people. It can cause joint pain, skin problems, digestive complaints, autoimmune disease, issues with brain function, fatigue, chronic pain, and…seasonal allergies. What causes leaky gut and seasonal allergies? Leaky gut is very common today and can cause bloating, heartburn, gas, constipation, diarrhea, or pain. However, many people with leaky gut have no digestive symptoms at all. One of the most common causes of leaky gut is eating gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and other wheat-like grains. Wheat today is not like the wheat from past generations. It has been genetically altered, processed, and stored in ways that make it very damaging to people’s guts. Sometimes simply removing gluten from the diet can profoundly relieve allergy symptoms by allowing the gut to recover and repair. Because leaky gut leads to food intolerances and food allergies, you may need to eliminate other foods, such as dairy, eggs, or other grains. You may find significant allergy relief by following an anti-inflammatory diet, or you can ask my office about a lab test to screen for food sensitivities. Another factor that contributes to leaky gut and allergy symptoms is an imbalance of gut bacteria. The digestive tract holds several pounds of bacteria that play a large role in immune function. When the bad bacteria overwhelm the good, inflammation and allergies result. Leaky gut repair includes nurturing your beneficial bacteria with probiotics and fermented foods to improve allergy symptoms. Chronic stress also weakens and inflames the digestive tract, causing leaky gut and seasonal allergies. Stress doesn’t just have to come from a stressful lifestyle or lack of sleep, although those certainly play a role. Eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods is stressful to the body, as is an unmanaged autoimmune disease, or hormones that are out of whack and causing miserable PMS or menopausal symptoms. These are just a few metabolic factors that contribute to leaky gut and seasonal allergies. Find seasonal allergy relief by fixing your leaky gut You don’t have to needlessly suffer every spring and depend on allergy medicines to function. In fact, you should see your allergies as a red flag that your body needs attention. Leaky gut can lead to much more serious conditions than allergies, such as autoimmune disease (Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, etc.), depression and anxiety, neurological diseases, and more. By repairing your leaky gut and improving your allergy symptoms, you can prevent or...

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Functional Testing and Hormone Levels with Hypothyroidism

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Functional Testing and Hormone Levels with Hypothyroidism

Did your blood tests for hypothyroidism come back as being normal even though you suffer from fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, depression, or weight gain? Do your hormone levels come back as being normal or within the normal reference range, yet you are still struggling with fertility issues? Many doctors dismiss thyroid symptoms because of an incomplete blood test or ranges that are too wide. Similarly, when you have difficulty conceiving, and the lab values appear to be within a normal reference range, you are diagnosed as having infertility. In functional medicine, however, we use blood tests to screen for hypothyroidism before it gets too advanced for most doctors to catch. In the case of infertility, we use functional testing and ranges that help us evaluate your hormone levels even when they appear to be “normal”. Functional levels of hormones with hypothyroidism and fertility Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of symptoms instead of overriding them with drugs or surgery. One tool we use to accomplish this is to interpret blood tests using functional ranges, which outline the parameters of good health. In contrast, the ranges most doctors use are based on a bell-curve analysis of all the people who visited that lab over a certain period of time, many of whom are very sick. These lab ranges have broadened over the last few decades as health of the American population has declined. As a result, many people with real health problems are told they’re ok because their results fall within these ranges. For instance, the lab ranges for hypothyroidism are often overly wide so that many people are told they’re fine when in fact they have hypothyroidism. Another example, is if you have fertility issues, and your progesterone levels appear to be within the reference range, yet they are functionally low and this may be contributing to your luteal phase deficiency. Looking for patterns that contribute to hypothyroidism and infertility Because functional medicine is based on an in-depth knowledge of human physiology and how various systems in the body work together, we also look at a blood test for patterns instead of just looking at individual markers. By doing this, we see how these different systems influence one another to cause a constellation of symptoms. For instance, instead of just looking at a single lab value, we may evaluate immune, hormonal, blood sugar, or stress imbalances that may be causing hypothyroid symptoms, or fertility issues. Of course, there are many other factors that you may not be aware of to be contributing to your low thyroid, or infertility. Ready to find out more? Schedule your initial visit to learn...

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The Relationship Between Gluten, Anxiety, and Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism

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The Relationship Between Gluten, Anxiety, and Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism

Suffering from anxiety is like being held prisoner in a place where worry infuses every thought, your heart pounds, and the world seems jarring and disorienting. With anti-anxiety medications among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States, Americans are clearly suffering. Though medications relieve the symptoms, they don’t address the cause. Some causes of anxiety are obvious: stimulants such as caffeine, weight loss pills, energy drinks, or supplements that increase energy. Psychological or emotional stressors, such as having to speak in public or prepare for a major exam, can also bring on bouts of anxiety. However, chronic anxiety can have lesser-known causes that, if managed, can relieve symptoms and negate the need for medication. Although the cause of anxiety can sometimes be neurologically complex, other times it can be as simple as making changes to your diet and lifestyle. Unmanaged Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism The majority of cases of hypothyroidism in this country are autoimmune, meaning the immune system attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. When an autoimmune attack flares, damage to the gland spills thyroid hormone into the bloodstream, which can amp up metabolism and cause symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and heart palpitations. In this case proper management of the autoimmune thyroid condition can help subdue anxiety. GAD autoimmunity and anxiety GAD stands for glutamic acid decarboxylase, an enzyme that triggers production of the brain’s primary calming chemical, called GABA. Some people develop an autoimmune reaction to GAD, which means their immune system erroneously attacks and destroys it. As a result, they can’t make enough GABA to calm the brain and anxiety goes up. GAD autoimmunity is also linked to OCD, motion sickness, vertigo, tics, and other symptoms. GAD autoimmunity is more common in those with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. A strong link has been shown between Hashimoto’s and gluten intolerance. Gluten and anxiety Gluten has other links to anxiety. Gluten has been shown to trigger inflammation in the brain and autoimmune attacks against brain tissue, which can cause anxiety. Although a gluten-free diet is an important first step, many people find they also need to eliminate other foods such as dairy, eggs, or other grains to dampen immune flare-ups and anxiety. An anti-inflammatory autoimmune diet is a good beginning to address brain health. Because people with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism typically are gluten intolerant or sensitive, this is another reason to avoid...

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Hormone Effects on Sleep in Women: Estrogen and Progesterone

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Hormone Effects on Sleep in Women: Estrogen and Progesterone

Is there anything worse than hitting the pillow exhausted from a long day only to toss and turn for hours, unable to fall asleep? Or perhaps you fall asleep but bolt awake a few hours later? Although sleep difficulties can have many causes, hormonal fluctuations can steal many hours of precious sleep. Low progesterone and problems sleeping Low progesterone seems to have become increasingly common among women and can play a large role in sleep problems. Progesterone is referred to as the “calming hormone” whereas estrogen is more excitatory, and low progesterone is associated with sleeping difficulties. Chronic stress can impact progesterone levels. Every time you experience stress your adrenal glands release cortisol, a stress hormone. When demand for cortisol is constantly high the body borrows pregnenolone, which is needed to make progesterone and other hormones, to make cortisol instead. This is called “pregnenolone steal” because the body steals pregnenolone from the hormone cascade in order to keep pace with the demands of stress. Stopping pregnenolone steal may help improve hormone function and improve sleep. Strategies for stopping pregnenolone steal include an anti-inflammatory diet, which eases the body’s burden of stress. You may also need to work on restoring gut health, taming chronic inflammation, or managing an autoimmune disease appropriately, approaches that benefit from the guidance of an experienced practitioner. 

Estrogen and sleep problems When estrogen is too high and progesterone too low, it can cause sleep problems for the obvious reason—there is too much of the excitatory estrogen compared to the calming progesterone and the brain can’t calm down enough to rest. A proper ratio between the two is important. Low estrogen can also contribute to sleep problems. Estrogen is intimately connected with serotonin, a brain chemical that is converted to the sleep hormone melatonin. Low estrogen may lead to low serotonin activity and contribute not only to sleep problems but also depression and anxiety. The female brain is highly dependent on sufficient estrogen for normal function in general, and low estrogen can also cause symptoms that include brain fog and memory loss. Strategies to support hormone balance Tending to adrenal function and other health issues may help correct hormonal imbalances. This includes not only reducing lifestyle stress, but also eliminating dietary stressors. Eating a diet lower in carbohydrates to prevent blood sugar swings, avoiding foods that cause an immune reaction, not drinking too much alcohol, tending to bacterial gut infections and other aspects of digestive health, and supporting immune balance are all whole-body approaches that can foster proper hormone function and improve...

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