Hormone Dysfunction: What the Public Doesn't Know

Reading the comments at www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2008/05/16/normal/, made me both sad and angry for all the people who are suffering because of being mislead by well-meaning, but uninformed experts when it comes to hormone balance.

What I will share with you has been the result of successfully helping people with dysfunctions of the thyroid, adrenals, sex hormones, etc., since 1981, and in doing so I have learned something everyone needs to know.

The following is written in reference to thyroid hormone dysfunction, however, the principles apply to all hormones.

Minerals transport hormones (thyroid, adrenal, sex hormones, etc.) to the cells. The thyroid can be functioning normally, yet if the person has deficiencies in the specific minerals that transport the thyroid hormones from the glands (same with adrenals and sex glands), the hormones that do not get to the cells will collect in the blood. They are taken to the blood to be filtered by liver and excreted through the kidneys. This is a biological process for eliminating what the body cannot use.

When the hormones get transported to the blood for this purpose, it causes imbalances in thyroid levels (it can raise or lower TSH, T3, T4 and FTI, respectively).

If at that moment, a person has a blood test done by their MD, the MD will see this imbalance and immediately assume that it is a glandular problem. The MD then will diagnose hypo or hyper function of the gland, prescribe a drug for it, as in the case of Synthroid for hypothyroid. Consequently, the drug interferes with a perfectly healthy functioning gland, which in time causes the gland to become dysfunctional, even diseased, and the real cause continues, also making the condition worse and goes on undetected.

This is why so many continue to have problems and create more problems for themselves when they take the drug, or take supplements such as Armour or other thyroid supplements -- the real cause is not being addressed.

So though the person may feel initially better (which is due to the stimulation of the gland) once the gland has dealt as best it can with this source of stimulation or manipulation (drug or supplement), it tries again to communicate to the person (via the symptoms surfacing again) that the real problem has not been addressed. Thus, the person goes back to feeling fatigued or whatever their original symptoms were.

Please note, my referenced to thyroid supplementation, such as Armour, is mentioned only to convey that if the cause is not glandular, but mineral deficiencies, thyroid supplements will not help in the long-term.

Additionally, when a man or woman goes through menopause (fe)or andropause (male), the thyroid and adrenals are backup glands for producing sex hormones. However, most people have exhausted thyroid and adrenals glands by the time they reach this time of life. This causes even further dysfunction of these glands and more severity of symptoms.

Taking a multiple mineral supplement is not the answer and can make the above worse. I could write a whole article on the mineral-link to hormone balance.

Before taking any supplement, it is best to have your nutritional biochemistry tested to find out exactly what you are deficient or excessive in - there are specific tests for vitamin deficiencies and others for mineral deficiencies.

If you want to know more about this and how to identify and correct the real cause of hormone imbalance and glandular dysfunction, please feel free to contact me at (940) 761-4045 M-F 10 to 5 p.m. C.S.T. or email me at services@advancedclinicalnutrition.com. I am here to help.