The Thyroid Connection: Why You Feel Tired, Brain-Fogged, and Overweight (& How to Get Your Life Back).

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Body, Health & Wellness, Hormones, Mental Health, Mind-Spirit, Podcast, Podcast-new

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Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Are you exhausted all the time, plagued by brain fog, and unable to lose weight? Do you struggle with insomnia, panic attacks, and tremors? But does your doctor insists your labs are normal, and that you just need to eat less and exercise more?

As anyone who has been there knows, nothing is more frustrating, stressful, and emotionally draining than feeling unwell and being told you're fine by the very person who is supposed to heal you.

The truth is, your symptoms could be caused by a thyroid disorder – the hidden cause of a wide array of health problems that can threaten to ruin your life. Thyroid dysfunction affects at least 20 million Americans and yet conventional medicine frequently misses the diagnosis. The scariest part? Most doctors won't even order thyroid tests unless you specifically ask.

Now, in her new book The Thyroid Connection, Dr. Amy Myers, my guest on today's podcast, teaches you how to take your health into your own hands. Dr. Myers, originally misdiagnosed herself, understands the struggles of thyroid dysfunction firsthand. Fortunately, she also knows how achievable recovery and well-being are, and just how to get you there.

In The Thyroid Connection, Amy explains how to recognize the symptoms that could signal a thyroid problem, work with your doctor to ensure proper diagnosis, and make sure you're on the right treatment plan.

Amy is a renowned leader in Functional Medicine a 2x New York Times Bestselling author of The Autoimmune Solution and The Thyroid Connection and the founder and medical director of Austin UltraHealth, a functional medicine clinic that treats patients from all over the world who are overcoming chronic illness. She has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, The New York Post, Women’s Health, Huffington Post, and numerous other television programs, radio shows, and print publications. She has helped hundreds of thousands recover from chronic illness through her dietary-based program, The Myers Way®, and she has created multiple programs, tools, and free resources to guide readers through her revolutionary approach to health.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-How your body converts T4 into T3 and how you can enhance that enzymatic process…[11:45]

-Why cortisol is surprisingly vital to healthy thyroid function, especially for shoving T3 into cells…[14:55]

-What makes the body produce more Reverse T3…[19:55]

-What blood work besides a full thyroid panel is crucial to look at optimal thyroid function…[28:30]

-Why most labs don't test for red blood cell levels of things like selenium, zinc and magnesium, and why this is such a big problem…[29:30]

-The details behind the “iodine controversy” and where you should be getting your iodine…[30:27]

-Dr. Myer's opinion on the use of low-dose naltrexone (and something you'd never want to combine it with)…[40:20]

-Why your genetic “SNP's” are such an important part of detoxification and thyroid health…[48:00]

-What does a “typical day” look like for someone using the Myers Way? [53:50]

-And much more!

Resources from this episode:

The Thyroid Connection: Why You Feel Tired, Brain-Fogged, and Overweight – and How to Get Your Life Back

Everything You Need To Know About Kratom

The Emerald Cove nori Ben uses that is low in heavy metals

23andme genetic testing

The Paleo Autoimmune protocol podcast I recorded

Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Dr. Myers or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

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18 thoughts on “The Thyroid Connection: Why You Feel Tired, Brain-Fogged, and Overweight (& How to Get Your Life Back).

  1. Brett says:

    Hey Ben, thanks for the great podcast. I live in Switzerland and I’m having trouble getting the blood work I want done including a full thyroid panel with my current doctor.

    After your retreat in Switzerland would you by chance be able to recommend any doctors here? Particularly in the Luzern area?

    Thanks!

    1. I would contact the Swiss Clinic to see if they could help: https://www.swissmountainclinic.com/

  2. Yolanda says:

    Hi Ben! You are an inspiration! You mentioned a thyroid supplement, ‘Thyroid Gold’, I believe it was. Are you creating something comparable at Kion? If yes great, please let me know, otherwise can you let me know where I can obtain the thyroid gold you mentioned please?

    Thank you so much!

    1. You can get it here: BenGreenfieldFitness.com/thyro-gold

  3. Chris Eder says:

    Hey Ben…where do you source your Kratom you talked about in this podcast?

  4. Matt Wilson says:

    Just a note about methylation pathways like COMT and other genets… just because you have a gene or two that makes you more or less likely to methylate, process folate, b6, vitamin d, vitamin a, or vitamin e (yes, I found I have all these “mutations”) doesn’t mean that we are deficient. Those genes may or may not be expressing themselves.

    As I understand, genes give me a clue, but really it’s blood tests that will tell me how I’m doing at that moment in time. Diet, environment, epigenetics, all are at play here.

    Am I correct in this assumption? It wasn’t clarified in the conversation, especially in regards to supplementation. Thanks!

    1. Yep, you are correct…

  5. michael rosen says:

    one thing you said I LOVE, and just wanted you to know that many appreciate it (so you continue not doing it!)

    -at the end of the interview, Dr. Amy said how you are the only person who hasn’t asked her about her personal story/background, and you said something like “yea, I don’t care about the person being interviewed’s personal story, I want to get right to the science.”…BRAVO MAN! I ABHOR when podcasts are filled w/ so much worthless blabber completely unrelated to anything valuable that could be being discussed! Keep up the good work, and keep going straight to the good stuff!

  6. Meg says:

    Hi Ben, my apologies for posting this question here, but I couldn’t find the podcast where it was mentioned…. one of your guests made a passing mention of the book “The Oxygen Advantage” by Patrick McKeown. Since I recently started immersing myself in the Wim Hof Method, I was curious about this book. I’m only a quarter of the way into it and it describes my issues to a T (all this time I thought it was adrenal fatigue). I’m already seeing results in my energy. Can’t wait to finish the book. Wondering if you’d consider interviewing the author? Surely there are others who could benefit from rehabbing their breathing. Thanks a bunch!

    1. Yes, I'm on it. Stay tuned!

  7. Cara Zaller says:

    Can you please post the link to the 23& you to interpret the 23&me data?

  8. Pete says:

    Great podcast! I noticed she recommended starting the day with a relaxing activity (such as meditation or prayer). I have hypothyroidism and have been starting the day with a “5-minute cold shower” — is this too stressful of an activity? What is the benefit to starting the day with something of opposite effect (relaxing)?

    1. Cynthia B says:

      I’m also curious about this question…why does meditation etc help?

  9. Mark says:

    Sorry to see this one here.

    This is not the official way to deal with thyroid problems but rather an “alternative” way, not really supported by solid medical research and scientific fact.

    Autoimmune thyroid problems cannot simply be reversed by a change of diet.

    Her site, and many similar ones that rely on the same pseudo-science, just want you and me to buy books, video’s and supplements (Amy=LDN, Wentz=wobenzym, etc…).

    I have asked AuthorityNutrition to help do some digging into the claims and uncover what is the truth and what is not.

  10. Tori says:

    Hey Ben-

    Awesome podcast today. Lots of information was on par with some of my own health issues. Quick question.. my t3 was first to go low (similar to your situation- dropped with high activity/low cal) but now T3 and T4 is low and meds keep going up but are not upping the level. My TSh has never been high. I take LDN and NDT and b vitamins/iron etc. would an increase in calories or drop inactivity help raise my levels and to achieve some weight loss?

    1. Yep, both would likely help. Tons more you can do though. I'd be happy to help you via a personal one-on-one consult. Just go to https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/coaching. and then choose a 20 or 60 minute consult, whichever you'd prefer. I can schedule ASAP after you get that.

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