Forgot An Important Key To Feeling Better
Over the course of about three years I bought two jars of coconut oil. Each time I let them sit on my counter until I figured they must have spoiled, and then I threw them away. But I kept reading that coconut oil helped increase energy levels and so, I bought a third jar…and actually used it.
Did it help?
Yup. Within about thirty minutes of gagging it down, I always felt better. But it was the ‘gagging it down’ that kept me at one tablespoon a day. It did get easier after awhile, and some days I remembered to take it twice. But I never got up to the recommended three to four a day.
After my hypothyroidism diagnosis, I was especially glad I was taking it because coconut oil has been touted to improve thyroid function…from many sources, Mercola being one of them. In some ways I think this doctor is a little over the top for me, but he also has some good information. It’s not practical, or economical, to change ones diet as drastically as he recommends.
So when, and why, did I stop taking it? I can’t remember. Probably for a variety of reasons….2011 was just one of those years.
But now the jar is back on my desk.
Why my desk? Because if that’s where I spend the majority of my time. If I don’t keep the supplements I want to take right in front of my face, it slips my mind. And if I want to remember to use the coconut oil, that’s where I have to keep it.
And I will start using it three or four times a day. It’s also supposed to help with weight loss, and I’d like to lose some extra pounds that won’t budge no matter what I do. Yes, coconut oil is supposed to help with that, too.
Oil?
Yes. Somehow the body doesn’t store it as fat, but uses it for immediate energy. Plus it’s a medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s), which can help with weight loss efforts.
I like how this doctor explains it.
As with anything you can try, there are those who say it will work and those who say it won’t. I choose to believe the supporters of this particular thing…because I’ve seen the proof that it helps. At least as far as energy goes. We’ll see if it helps the weight loss and thyroid numbers.
For the record, I use organic expeller pressed coconut oil because that’s what’s been most available in my small community. That variety still has the MCT’s and most of the benefits, but extra virgin coconut oil is the better choice.
Okay…
So I’m finally seeing my doctor on Thursday and will be requesting that she change my prescription from Synthroid to Amour Thyroid. She was perfectly willing to do it last year, but then scared me out of it by saying something about Armour causing heart problems. Has anyone else been told that? And if you’ve previously been on Synthroid (or other non-natural thyroid meds), and changed to Armour, have you noticed an improvement? If so, how long did it take?
Beating Hypothyroidism 
Kristy, I believe any thyroid medicine can cause your heart to race (among other things) if you have too much of it. Symptoms are part of how you balance the dosage. You probably know, but the dosage of synthetic and natural thyroid meds is not equal. Lucky you, about to transition meds and go through rebalancing.
Another thing that can really affect how your thyroid med works is if you are iodine deficient. Iodine and selenium are common deficiencies, and both protect and support thyroid function. If you start taking iodine, you may suddenly find your temperature running hot. It doesn’t mean you should quit taking the iodine, but it might mean you need to taper down the thyroid medication.
Regarding the coconut oil – have you tried it w/ peanut butter? I like to use it instead of butter on toast and spread the peanut butter on top. Or just have it on toast with nuts and cinnamon. Much better than taking coconut oil straight, especially if you have to gag it down. I hate that feeling!
Another thing to check is your pH level. If your body is too acidic (it’s very rare to be too alkaline), lots of other chemical reactions don’t work right. I’m not talking about stomach acid here. Taking acids like vitamin C (ascorbic acid) actually alkalinizes the body. I mention pH just because it’s one of those factors most conventional doctors wouldn’t check, but it can be the mystery factor that’s throwing off lots of other things. Fixing it can be foundational to letting your various systems recover (endocrine, digestive, etc.).
Rooting for you!
Well…I let her scare me out of it again, so it’s a moot point until I see her again in six weeks. This time she added something called thyroiditis to the list, saying things like if my throat starts to hurt, I need to contact her IMMEDIATELY. Plus she said that when women hit forty, or get close to menopause (and I don’t think I am THAT close because my periods come every 26 days like clockwork), hormones fluctuate and it’s hard to find a good dose of Synthroid to get the TSH level down. (I’m a little annoyed tonight because a Google search does NOT confirm that she’s right about the thyroiditis…AND, I found lists of side effects. The Synthroid list is quite a bit longer than the Armour. Grr!)
I had actually wondered about iodine because I don’t use a whole lot of iodized salt (or any salt). But I bought a bottle at the health food store last year and got so shaky after taking it that I threw the rest away. Maybe I should have gotten a lower dose but chose a middle of the road one instead.
Great idea about the peanut butter and coconut oil! Although I just look at that the same way I do the powdered greens. Not pleasant, but not awful, so just get it over with. But I may try it your way. I’m not all that much into gagging, lol.
How do you check your pH levels? I’ve read some things about alkalizing your body (when I was doing a lot of organic vinegar) but never could find test strips for anything but a fish tank. I didn’t realize that ascorbic acid could do the same thing though…and that’s the only kind of C I take. That’s what Linus Pauling recommended and I’ve read enough of his research to trust his advice.
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions…and for cheering me on. 🙂
fascinating info. i too threw out the coconut oil. i’ll ahve to give it a try
I think you’ll be happy with the results if you do, Louise. At least I know I was. In fact, I just took some more because I have to finish reading and editing Enza tonight…and it’s been a LONG day.
I don’t know if you noticed Shelly’s post, but she uses it on toast (in place of butter) with peanut butter. Some people put it in smoothies and yogurt (although you’d have to make sure it was melted for yogurt…unless you like it chunky, lol). 🙂
Kristy, WordPress says it published this comment, but I can’t see it, so I’m pasting it here again. Sorry if it’s a repeat!
****
I’m sure you’ve thought of this, but it sounds like you hate changing doctors as much as I do, so I’ll say it anyway. If your doctor is so firmly entrenched on the side of synthetic hormones, she’ll likely spend too much effort looking for evidence Armour thyroid isn’t working for you after / if you switch, as opposed to supporting your search for something that works. That’s not helpful.
Re: iodine, the kind you get in iodized salt is NOT a form your body uses well. If you are iodine deficient, you may need up to 50 mg a day to get back up to par, which requires a supplement like Iodoral. It has multiple forms of iodine, which reduces the chance of a negative reaction. However, you need to start slowly if you add iodine, because the natural forms WILL help your thyroid work better, which will likely mean you need less thyroid hormone supplement.
Re: salt, if you are very careful about your diet and eat at home a lot, you may have reduced your sodium intake too much. I started adding salt (real salt from old ocean deposits, not Morton’s) to my food a few weeks back, and it’s been a good change.
You may also need potassium, which is used a lot instead of sodium in salty-tasting low-salt foods (like potato chips). It’s hard to get enough potassium.
To test pH, my chiro gave (sold) me a roll of pHydrion Vivid litmus paper. http://microessentiallab.com/Category/132_1/pH.20_Paper.aspx
It’s for your standard urine test. Tear off <=2" of paper. Pee on it, shake off excess, and in 4 or 5 seconds compare the color to the chart on the package to see how acidic your system is. You're aiming for 7.2 – 7.8 or so.
Ascorbic acid is mildly alkalynizing. I take 9 – 10 grams a day, and I'm still acidic. My chiro gave me Potassium HP, which I think is potassium citrate. It's a powder, and I haven't found a way to take it yet that I can tolerate long-term. But my husband takes it a half-teaspoon at a time (in water), multiple times through the day, and does fine. This form of potassium stimulates stomach acid production, which is good for digestion, and alkalynizes the rest of your system. It also helps your body hold onto magnesium, which impacts energy level, muscle pain, mental accuity and more. Alternatively, choline citrate alkalynizes the body and improves mental function, including memory, but doesn't help magnesium levels.
Go, girl!
WP can be SO annoying. Why they would send one of your comments to the spam folder is beyond me. Actually it was two because that’s where I found the second one, too.
Anyway, that’s great information. I’ll check with the local chiropractors to see if any of them sell the litmus paper (at least now I know the name of it, thanks!). And before I forget, have you tried buying empty gel caps from the health food store for your powdered potassium citrate? I guess you can also buy some sort of digestible paper things to use for things like that but I’ve never tried it. I know my luck and the paper would get stuck at the back of my throat, sure as shooting, lol.
I will buzz over to Lansing over the weekend and look for the Iodoral at the health food store. And find a really LOW dose. I think the iodine supplement I got was in the mid-range for dosage (based on all of the ones they sold). But I don’t eat a whole lot of salt so I figured it had to be playing a part in my hypothyroidism.
Potassium is something else I’ve been trying to get more of, via bananas and baked potatoes…but you can only get so many of those down before they get old. 🙂
I’ll take note of all of these things and see what I can do to make the changes. This has been another kind of off week, and I’d like the energy to be more consistent ALL of the time. Thanks for taking the time to share all of this. And I apologize that they both wound up in the spam folder. I don’t even know what settings to change because it’s never happened before.
Iodine supplements are great specially for those people who have thyroid issues. I wont prefer taking extra seafoods instead of iodine supplements. `.,’*
Ciao http://www.healthmedicinelab.com/what-causes-pink-eye/
Thanks, Chauncey. I tried iodine supplements last summer, but they made me really shaky, so I threw the rest away. 🙂
Dietary iodine intake is obligatory for the production of thyroid hormones. Despite substantial public health advances over the past 3 decades, iodine deficiency currently affects 1.92 billion people globally.1 Dietary iodine requirements are increased during pregnancy due to increased thyroid hormone production, increased renal iodine losses, and fetal iodine requirements.2 Dietary requirements remain increased in lactation due to the concentration of iodine in breast milk.:
Look into our personal web-site as well
<'http://www.foodsupplementcenter.com/yohimbe-side-effects/