Dr. Dimitris Tsoukalas discusses Hashimoto's disease, a common autoimmune disorder affecting the thyroid gland. He highlights the prevalence among women, symptoms like low energy and weight regulation issues, and common associations with vitamin D and insulin resistance. The importance of addressing micronutrient deficiencies for optimal health is emphasized in the podcast.
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Quick takeaways
Hashimoto's disease is the most common autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid gland, leading to hypothyroidism.
Patients with Hashimoto's often exhibit vitamin D deficiencies, insulin resistance, and multiple marginal micronutrient deficiencies contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction.
Deep dives
Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases are noted to be more prevalent than both cancer and cardiovascular diseases combined, affecting approximately 50 million people in the United States. The immune system mistakenly attacks the body's tissues or organs in autoimmune conditions, leading to chronic inflammation and organ damage. Among autoimmune diseases, Hashimoto's disease stands out as the most common, particularly causing hypothyroidism due to the immune system attacking the thyroid gland.
Causes and Triggers of Hashimoto's Disease
Hashimoto's thyroiditis, being an autoimmune condition, results from the immune system attacking the thyroid and gradually causing its destruction. Factors preceding this disease include metabolic dysfunctions and deficiencies. Women, due to hormonal changes throughout their lives, are more susceptible to Hashimoto's thyroiditis, with 18% of US adults exhibiting thyroid autoantibodies.
Management and Reversibility of Hashimoto's
Hashimoto's disease can be addressed by halting the immune system's attack on the thyroid gland, reducing autoantibodies, and managing inflammation. While reversing the damage to the thyroid is pivotal, complete reversal post-medication initiation is challenging due to the slow tissue regeneration of the thyroid. Symptoms of hypothyroid Hashimoto's condition include low energy levels, weight regulation issues, hormonal imbalances, and emotional instability, all of which impact overall health and well-being.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Dimitris Tsoukalas. There’s a chronic condition that’s more prevalent than cardiovascular disease and cancer combined. Autoimmune disease is the most common chronic illness, with over 50 million people suffering from autoimmune conditions in the US.
Autoimmune disease is a condition where the immune system does not recognize certain organs and tissues, so it attacks them. Hashimoto’s is the most common autoimmune disease.
Dr. Tsoukala explains that Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a chronic inflammatory condition in which the immune system attacks and gradually destroys the thyroid gland. This reduces the thyroid's function, leading to hypothyroidism.
Around 26 million people in the United States are suffering from Hashimoto's disease—and 9 out of 10 are women.
One of the first symptoms of Hashimoto’s is low energy. This is because the hormones produced by the thyroid gland regulate metabolism and control the metabolic rate. People with Hashimoto’s also have difficulty regulating body weight because their metabolic rate is slow. Hormonal imbalance and emotional instability are other common symptoms of Hashimoto’s.
All of Dr. Tsoukalas’ patients diagnosed with Hashimoto’s also have vitamin D deficiencies. More than 90% of his Hashimoto’s patients are insulin resistant. Another common problem associated with Hashimoto’s is multiple marginal micronutrient deficiencies. These deficiencies lead to mitochondrial dysfunction.
Dr. Tsoukalas takes a unique and groundbreaking approach with his patients and utilizes metabolomic testing, which tests chemical reactions in the body to help determine any deficiencies.