My late Gramma Ella
Our genes are at the root of thyroid disease. Or are they? When my doctor declared the news that I had hypothyroidism. I looked at her with doubt. I asked her, “how is it that I have hypothyroidism? I was born with a healthy thyroid? What happened?” Her response was simply, “you would not have reached the age of 32 without getting a thyroid condition. It runs in your family. Your mother and your grandmother both have it!”
Great Grandma Grace is sitting second from the right with her family.
My great grandmother Grace held me in her arms when I was only two months old. She passed away shortly after. I knew little about her family. Then 30 some years later I attended her sister’s 90th birthday party. I was introduced to my wonderfully new and estranged family. Some of them asked what I did for a living. I am always eager to share my story about how I made a life change from the business world to the healing arts of nutrition. I enjoy talking about my work but most of all sharing about my struggles and how I overcame thyroid disease.
What I learned that evening is that my existence comes from a family with a long line of thyroid problems. I heard countless stories from one cousin who’s had her thyroid removed due to cancer. She has a young daughter with juvenille hypothyroidism and a sister with a goiter. It wasn’t only women in my family that suffered with thyroid problems. The men had goiter and hypothyroidism too! These folk, my blood line, my family carry the same genes that I do. It was only a few years before that evening that I was diagnosed with postpartum thyroiditis, then hypothyroidism and finally Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Mom and I
Given my mom’s thyroid disease and family history it would seem that I was cursed to have thyroid disease too!
I often wonder why I chose to go against the grain of mainstream medicine to heal my thyroid. No other relative did. As a child growing up I went to the doctor when I had an ear ache, a cold or a broken bone. As I got older I would still go to the doctor but I was always looking for an alternative way to help my symptoms. Allopathic medicine saved my life during child labor and has helped me with other medical emergencies too. So why did I have this intrinsic desire to heal my thyroid naturally? Every fiber of my being said, “the drugs will not make you healthy, choose food, choose life.” For a decade I searched for answers to my IBS, PMS, anxiety, mono and binging. I found the healing solution. I realized my doctor’s could only do so much. The rest was up to me. My diet turned into an amazing discovery of healing and not just my thyroid but my whole body. It all started in the kitchen.
Even though genetics plays a factor in thyroid disease, the power of healing nutrition, exercise and lifestyle change is more powerful than the disease itself.
The clients that I work with have an inherent understanding that they can heal their conditions too. They work against the grain of mainstream medicine looking for alternative ways to eating healthy, to overcome their thyroid disease, their anxiety and fears. I work with many women that are on thyroid medication who still don’t feel right. After hearing my story, they are more aware of health alternatives and want to know more. I’ve seen women being weened off their medication and avoid medication all together. Others stay on their medication and support their thyroid health anyway. The choice is yours. Your doctor will not offer you a choice. However, without choice there is no alternative.
Using my choice, my voice, I was able to heal my thyroid!
Does your mom or grandma have thyroid disease? If yes, learning now how to nourish your thyroid is your key to staying healthy. Learn more about my programs here.
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Hi, this is encouraging, I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and would love to wean myself off my medication. Carl.
Thank you for connecting Carl! So glad you signed up for the thyroid letters on Thursday for more inspiration.