Smart Fat Series: Eat Fat Lose Weight
Nutritional short falls may not be the direct cause of
thyroid imbalances but they sure can magnify unpleasant
symptoms. The ones I find most lacking are vitamin A,
vitamin B complex, vitamin E, zinc, iron, iodine, potassium,
selenium and the amino acid tyrosine. Please note that iodine
may be contraindicated with those who have Hashimoto's.
Virus
Viral overload is the last, but by no means, the least underlying
cause of thyroid disorders, in fact it may be the most powerful
root trigger of all. At least that's what my friend, Anthony
William believes.
He recently wrote a book entitled Medical Medium: Secrets
Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal
(Hay House, 2015) which I had the privilege of reviewing and
endorsing. His take on viral overload as a precipitating cause
of many modern day maladies like fibromyalgia, rheumatoid
arthritis, lupus, Lyme disease, Multiple Sclerosis and so much
more is nothing short of enlightening for all of us.
Here's what Anthony has to say about the Epstein-Barr
Virus (EBV) and your thyroid: "Medical communities aren't yet
aware that EBV is the actual cause of most thyroid disorders and
diseases—especially Hashimoto's, but also Graves', thyroid
cancer, and other thyroid ills. (Thyroid disease is also sometimes
caused by radiation; but in over 95 percent of cases, the culprit
is Epstein-Barr.)" Medical research has not yet uncovered the
true causes of thyroid disorders, and it's still decades away from
discovering that EBV is the virus that causes them. If a doctor
gives you a Hashimoto's diagnosis, it really means that she or
he doesn't know what's wrong. The claim is that your body is
attacking your thyroid—a view that arises from misinformation.
In truth, it's the EBV—not your body—attacking the thyroid.
Once in your thyroid, EBV begins drilling into its tissues. The
virus cells literally twist and spin like drills to burrow deep into
the thyroid, killing thyroid cells and scarring the organ as they
go, creating hidden hypothyroidism in millions of women, from
mild cases to the more extreme. Your immune system notices
this and tries to intervene, causing inflammation; but between
EBV's neurotoxin, viral byproduct, and poisonous corpses
confusing things, and with EBV hiding in your thyroid, your
immune system can't tag the virus for complete destruction.
While the above may sound unnerving, don't let it rattle you;
your thyroid has the ability to rejuvenate and heal itself when
it's given what it needs. And never underestimate the power of
your immune system.
As a fallback option, your immune system tries to wall
off the virus with calcium, creating nodules in your thyroid.
However, this doesn't hurt EBV. First, most of its cells evade this
attack and remain free. Second, a virus cell that your immune
system successfully walls off typically remains alive and turns
its calcium prison into a comfortable home, where it feeds on
your thyroid, draining it of energy. The virus cell might even
eventually transform its prison into a living growth, called a cyst
that creates further strain on your thyroid.
Meanwhile, these attacks against EBV can hurt you if you
aren't eating enough calcium-rich foods. That's because if your
immune system can't get the calcium to wall off the virus from
your bloodstream, it'll extract what it needs from your bones...
which can lead to osteoporosis.
Simultaneously, the hundreds of virus cells that aren't
imprisoned in nodules can weaken your thyroid, making it
less effective at producing the hormones your body needs to
function. This lack of adequate thyroid hormones, coupled with
EBV's toxins, can in turn lead to weight gain, fatigue, mental
fogginess, impaired memory, depression, hair loss, insomnia,
brittle nails, muscle weakness, and/or dozens of other
symptoms.
Some especially rare, aggressive varieties of EBV go even
further. They create cancer in the thyroid. The rate of thyroid
cancer in the U.S. has been rising rapidly. Medical communities
don't know that the cause is an increase in rare, aggressive
forms of EBV.
Game ON?
Let's start to address low thyroid along with all the other
reasons behind a metabolic slowdown by looking at an even
bigger picture. No matter what the metabolic trigger, there are
lots of easy fixes and all of them focus on fats. By creatively
using Smart Fats in your everyday diet, you will be utilizing the
very best medicine of all—which has never tasted so good!
The Smart Fats that can makeover your metabolism from
top to bottom include a select group of saturates and omegas
from the -6 and -7 families of fats.
They include the following oils and foods:
- Coconut Oil
- GLA (gamma linolenic acid) from hemp seeds and hemp seed oil, spirulina, borage, evening primrose and black currant seed oil
- CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) from safflower oil, grass-fed whey, butter and cream
- Omega-7 (palmitoleic acid) from anchovies, macadamias and sea buckthorn
- Pastured Butter—The Coconut Cure—From a metabolic perspective, coconut can do no wrong. It feeds the thyroid and is the only source of saturated fat that does not require bile to break it down for your body to use it. Coconut oil actually bypasses the gallbladder. This is great news for anyone with a gallbladder condition or fatty liver.
The Epstein-Barr virus invades your thyroid for a strategic
reason—it's seeking to confuse and place stress on your
endocrine system. The strain on your adrenal glands produces
more adrenaline, which is a favored food of EBV that makes
it stronger and better able to go after its ultimate target: your
nervous system.
Please don't overreact and panic because there are many
natural therapies that can vanquish viruses. The bottom line
about all of this is that you can turn around
a damaged metabolism and correct a
sluggish thyroid. You will first have to
carefully identify the right underlying
root cause and then target it with all the
appropriate remedies. In the case of virus,
this may mean medication like Zovirax
(acyclovir) for some individuals. There
are also a plethora of time-tested herbal
formulas that will help recovery.
Remember that we are all very unique
on a biochemical level. Not every strategy
will work for everybody so you may want
to keep careful tabs on your progress
or work with a health care practitioner
who can more specifically tailor the
recommendations to fit your exact needs.
A functional medicine and integrative
practitioner would be my recommendation.
It is a rich source of medium chain
fatty acids (MCTs) that really can improve
the efficiency of your thyroid and boost
metabolism over 50 percent. The MCTs in
coconut oil are fast burners that create a most efficient food
fuel not only for your thyroid but also for your brain where it
can aid cognitive function. In fact the MCTs produce ketones,
substances your body produces when it breaks down fats for
energy, which can play a major role in treating Alzheimer's and
other neurodegenerative diseases.
At least two studies document the effectiveness of coconut
oil on belly fat burn for both sexes. Both received a daily dose of
two tablespoons of coconut oil for a period of 12 weeks. At the
end of the study, both men and women evidenced a reduction
in waist circumference while the women also saw their HDL
cholesterol levels rise.
This newly revived ancient oil, which has become so wildly
popular has very few drawbacks. It does seem however, to work
best for those that have an A blood type due
to the presence of dietary lectins (proteinbased
antigens) in other blood types. When
it is not tolerated well, it may be due to
this type of allergic response as lectins can
disrupt digestion, impair immunity, and
create agglutination of blood cells.
Still in all, coconut oil has been proven
to be not only safe but also extremely
effective at targeting abdominal fat in both
men and women. With just the addition of
two or more tablespoons of this delicious
Smart Fat to your diet, it can reduce your
belly fat and elevate your good HDL
cholesterol levels. Many clinical studies
have demonstrated an increase of 12 to 36
pounds per year for lasting and delectable
weight loss with a Smart Fat addition of daily
coconut oil intake.
As a rich source of lauric and caprylic
acids, coconut functions as a marvelous
anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic food.
Let me also say a word about red palm
oil, because I know you are probably curious. Although it has
a Smart Fat composition even more impressive than coconut
oil in some respects, I am not recommending red palm oil, in
spite of its stellar carotenoid content, due to the environmental,
ethical and moral implications and controversy surrounding its
manufacture.
