Hypothyroidism and Virgin Coconut Oil

[Guest guest]

--- Jeff <jeffAfrankel wrote:

 

> mscured

> " Jeff " <jeffAfrankel

> Tue, 17 Aug 2004 11:38:45 -0000

> [mscured] Hypothyroidism and Virgin Coconut

> Oil

>

> Hypothyroidism and Virgin Coconut Oil

> Many Americans suffer from symptoms such as cold

> hands and feet, low

> body temperature, sensitivity to cold, a feeling of

> always being

> chilled, headaches, insomnia, dry skin, puffy eyes,

> hair loss,

> brittle nails, joint aches, constipation, mental

> dullness, fatigue,

> frequent infections, hoarse voice, ringing in the

> ears, dizziness,

> loss of libido, and weight gain, which is sometimes

> uncontrollable.

> Approximately 65 percent of the U. S. population is

> overweight; 30

> percent is clinically obese. Research is pointing to

> the fact that an

> under active thyroid might be the number one cause

> of weight

> problems, especially among women, in the US today.

>

> Virgin Coconut Oil offers great hope for those

> suffering from

> hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) today. I

> didn't even realize

> how much hypothyroidism was affecting my life till I

> started on the

> Virgin Coconut Oil and suddenly had energy like the

> Energizer Bunny!

> I also gave up the white toxins (wheat flour,

> refined sugar,

> potatoes, and other high-glycemic index foods) and

> that, in

> combination with my Virgin Coconut Oil consumption

> has made a

> tremendous difference in my hormonal balance, mood

> stability, stamina

> and overall energy. And, I'm slowly but steadily

> losing a little bit

> of weight without effort. Ya gotta love that! Julia

> (Coconut Diet

> Forums)

>

> I began taking coconut oil to address a hypothyroid

> issue. Recently,

> especially over the last month, thyroid activity

> plunged and my

> temperatures would top out for the day somewhere

> between 97.2 and

> 97.8. Definitely hypothyroid territory. Now in just

> a couple of days

> the coconut oil has boosted my metabolism back

> toward the normal

> range (still subnormal but getting there) and my

> sleep has been

> incredible. From past experience with thyroid

> management, I know that-

> -in my case--greatly improved sleep and feelings of

> rejuvenation

> after sleep are related to more normal thyroid

> activity. Whatever the

> precise mechanism, it's a welcome development. Mike

> (Coconut Diet

> Forums)

>

> We have received literally hundreds of comments such

> as these from

> those using Virgin Coconut Oil with hypothyroidism.

>

> Hypothyroidism Reaching Epidemic Proportions

>

> In 1995, researchers studied 25,862 participants at

> the Colorado

> statewide health fair. They discovered that among

> patients not

> taking thyroid medication, 8.9 percent were

> hypothyroid (under-active

> thyroid) and 1.1 percent were hyperthyroid

> (over-active thyroid).

> This indicates 9.9 percent of the population had a

> thyroid problem

> that had most likely gone unrecognized. These

> figures suggest that

> nationally, there may be as many as 13 million

> Americans with an

> undiagnosed thyroid problem.1

>

> In her book Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What

> Your Doctor Doesn't

> Tell You. . . That You Need to Know, Mary Shomon

> quotes

> endocrinologist Kenneth Blanchard, M.D., of Lower

> Newton Falls,

> Massachusetts as saying, " The key thing is . . .

> doctors are always

> told that TSH is the test that gives us a yes or no

> answer. And, in

> fact, I think that's fundamentally wrong. The

> pituitary TSH is

> controlled not just by how much T4 and T3 is in

> circulation, but T4

> is getting converted to T3 at the pituitary level.

> Excess T3

> generated at the pituitary level can falsely

> suppress TSH. " 2 Hence,

> many people who are simply tested for TSH levels and

> are found to be

> within " normal " range are, in fact, suffering from

> thyroid problems

> that are going undetected.

>

> Ridha Arem, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine in

> the Division of

> Endocrinology and Metabolism at Baylor College of

> Medicine, agrees.

> He says that hypothyroidism may exist despite

> " normal range " TSH

> levels. In his book The Thyroid Solution he says:

>

> Many people may be suffering from minute imbalances

> that have not yet

> resulted in abnormal blood tests. If we included

> people with low-

> grade hypothyroidism whose blood tests are normal,

> the frequency of

> hypothyroidism would no doubt exceed 10 percent of

> the population.

> What is of special concern, though, is that many

> people whose test

> results are dismissed as normal could continue to

> have symptoms of an

> under active thyroid. Their moods, emotions, and

> overall well-being

> are affected by this imbalance, yet they are not

> receiving the care

> they need to get to the root of their problems.

> Even if the TSH

> level is in the lower segment of normal range, a

> person may still be

> suffering from low-grade hypothyroidism.3

>

> Thus, if we were to include those who may be

> suffering from " low-

> grade hypothyroidism, " the number could well be

> double the 13 million

> estimate from the Colorado study.

>

> What is Causing This Epidemic?

>

> While more research needs to be done, it is

> generally accepted that

> diet plays a major role in thyroid health. For

> decades we have known

> that low iodine intake leads to low thyroid function

> and eventually

> to goiter. Iodized salt was intended to solve this

> problem, but it

> has not been the answer. There are a number of

> foods known as

> goitrogens that block iodine. Two goitrogens are

> quite prevalent in

> the American diet—peanuts and peanut butter and

> soybeans used most

> often in prepared foods as textured vegetable

> protein (a refined soy

> food) and soybean oil.

>

> The rise of industrialization, corporate farming,

> and mass production

> of food has drastically changed our food supply from

> what our

> ancestors ate. Many studies show the detrimental

> effects of refined

> sugars and grains on our health. These foods are

> very taxing on the

> thyroid gland, and we consume them in large

> quantities.

>

> Environmental stress such as chemical pollutants,

> pesticides,

> mercury, and fluoride are also tough on the thyroid.

> A growing body

> of evidence suggests that fluoride, which is

> prevalent in toothpaste

> and water treatment, may inhibit the functioning of

> the thyroid

> gland. Additionally, mercury may diminish thyroid

> function because

> it displaces the trace mineral selenium, and

> selenium is involved in

> conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3.

>

> The Truth About Fats and Oils

>

> Many dietary oils can negatively affect thyroid

> health. We cook with

> them almost every day and they are plentiful in

> commercially prepared

> foods. Expeller-pressed or solvent-extracted oils

> only became a major

> part of the American diet in the last century. It

> is possible they

> are among the worst offenders when it comes to the

> thyroid. They are

> known as vegetable oils or polyunsaturated oils. The

> most common

> source of these oils used in commercially prepared

> foods is the

> soybean.

>

> Large-scale cultivation of soybeans in the United

> States began after

> World War II and quickly increased to 140 billion

> pounds per year.

> Most of the crops are produced for animal feed and

> soy oil for

> hydrogenated fats such as margarine and shortening.

> Today, it is

> nearly impossible to eat at restaurants or buy

> packaged foods that

> don't have soy oil in the ingredients. Often labels

> simply

> state " vegetable oil. "

>

> Ray Peat Ph.D., a physiologist who has worked with

> progesterone and

> related hormones since 1968, says that the sudden

> surge of

> polyunsaturated oils into the food chain post World

> War II has caused

> many changes in hormones. He writes:

>

> Their [polyunsaturated oils] best understood effect

> is their

> interference with the function of the thyroid gland.

> Unsaturated

> oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement

> in the circulatory

> system, and the response of tissues to the hormone.

> When the thyroid

> hormone is deficient, the body is generally exposed

> to increased

> levels of estrogen. The thyroid hormone is

> essential for making

> the `protective hormones' progesterone and

> pregnenolone, so these

> hormones are lowered when anything interferes with

> the function of

> the thyroid. The thyroid hormone is required for

> using and

> eliminating cholesterol, so cholesterol is likely to

> be raised by

> anything which blocks the thyroid function.4

>

> There is a growing body of research concerning soy's

> detrimental

> affect on the thyroid gland. Much of this research

> centers on the

> phytoestrogens ( " phyto " means plant) that are found

> in soy. In the

> 1960s when soy was introduced into infant formulas,

> it was shown that

> soy was goitrogenic and caused goiters in babies.

> When iodine was

> supplemented, the incidence of goiter reduced

> dramatically. However,

> a retrospective epidemiological study by Fort, et

> al. showed that

> teenaged children with a diagnosis of autoimmune

> thyroid disease were

> significantly more likely to have received soy

> formula as infants (18

> out of 59 children; 31 percent) when compared to

> healthy siblings

> (nine out of 76, 12 percent) or control group

> children (seven out of

> 54; 13 percent).5

>

> When healthy individuals without any previous

> thyroid disease were

> fed 30 grams of pickled soybeans per day for one

> month, Ishizuki, et

> al. reported goiter and elevated individual thyroid

> stimulating

> hormone (TSH) levels (although still within the

> normal range) in

> thirty-seven healthy, iodine-sufficient adults. One

> month after

> stopping soybean consumption, individual TSH values

> decreased to the

> original levels and goiters were reduced in size.6

>

> Traditionally, polyunsaturated oils such as soybean

> oil have been

> used for livestock feed because they cause the

> animals to gain

> weight. These oils are made up of what is known as

> long chain fatty

> acids—the kind of fatty acids that promote weight

> gain. In the North

> Carolina State University's Extension Swine

> Husbandry 1998-2000

> Departmental report, for example, was a study

> entitled " EFFECT OF

> DIETARY FAT SOURCE, LEVEL, AND FEEDING INTERVAL ON

> PORK FATTY ACID

> COMPOSITION " by M.T. See and J. Odle. Ironically,

> since the market in

> its low-fat dogma of recent years is demanding

> leaner meats, this

> study showed that one could produce leaner meat and

> reduce the weight

> on swine by reducing their intake of soy oil and

> substituting it with

> saturated animal fat!7

>

> According to Dr. Ray Peat, the fattening effect of

> polyunsaturated

> oils (primarily soy and corn) is due to the presence

> of Linoleic and

> linolenic acids, long-chain fatty acids, which have

> an anti-thyroid

> effect. Peat says:

>

> Linoleic and linolenic acids, the " essential fatty

> acids, " and other

> polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are now fed to

> pigs to fatten

> them, in the form of corn and soy beans, cause the

> animals' fat to be

> chemically equivalent to vegetable oil. In the late

> 1940s, chemical

> toxins were used to suppress the thyroid function of

> pigs, to make

> them get fatter while consuming less food. When

> that was found to be

> carcinogenic, it was then found that corn and soy

> beans had the same

> antithyroid effect, causing the animals to be

> fattened at low cost.

> The animals' fat becomes chemically similar to the

> fats in their

> food, causing it to be equally toxic, and equally

> fattening.8

>

> Of course in the 1940s the fat from pigs (lard) was

> highly desirable,

> as were most saturated fats. Today, saturated fats

> are fed to pigs to

> keep them lean, while most people buy

> polyunsaturated soy and corn

> oils in the grocery stores as their primary cooking

> oil! So we have a

> population now characterized by lean pigs and obese

> people…

>

> Coconut Oil: A-Healthy Choice for the Thyroid

>

> Coconut oil, on the other hand, is a saturated fat

> made up primarily

> of medium chain fatty acids. Also known as medium

> chain triglycerides

> (MCTs), medium chain fatty acids are known to

> increase metabolism and

> promote weight loss. Coconut oil can also raise

> basal body

> temperatures while increasing metabolism. This is

> good news for

> people who suffer with low thyroid function. We have

> seen many

> testimonies to this effect.

>

> The " proof is in the pudding " . Try it yourself and

> then you be the

> judge. All these people certainly can't " be wrong " .

> Everyone will

> experience different benefits, some more than

> others, but definitely

> something. In my own personal experience, I was

> suffering with

> hypothyroidism that even prescription medications

> couldn't help.

> After a few short weeks of taking Virgin Coconut

> Oil, my reading was

> normal for the first time in a year. I use it on my

> skin after a

> shower and no longer struggle with the incredibly

> dry skin that often

> goes along with hypothyroidism, and I have used it

> on my hair as a

> conditioner. All I can say that the phrase " The

> world's perfect food "

> is quite accurate. Try it and see for yourself.

> Warmly, Melanie

> (Coconut Diet Forums)

>

> I am just now jumping on the coconut oil bandwagon

> (about three weeks

> now) and I'm really starting to feel GREAT! I have

> suffered from

> severe migraines for the past 25 years, the last 15

> becoming

> increasingly severe, coinciding with the addition of

> soy and the " low-

> fat mentality " to my diet. Nothing helped! I should

> be experiencing

> my pre-menstrual migraine by now and instead I feel

> like I could

> climb Mt. Everest! Also I wondered if it decreased

> the waist to hip

> ratio because mine has gone from 7.2 all my life to

> 7 (or something

> like that). I think I had the sluggish thyroid too,

> with a low body

> temperature of between 96 and 96.8. Now it's

> starting to climb for

> the first time in years.

> Thank you... Sincerely, V. Potter (Coconut Diet

> Forums)

>

> For more information on how Virgin Coconut Oil works

> to promote

> weight loss, see our article on Weight Loss.

>

> Coconut Oil and Oxidative Stress

> One of the reasons the long chain fatty acids in

> vegetable oils are

> so damaging to the thyroid is that they oxidize

> quickly and become

> rancid. Food manufacturers know about this

> propensity towards

> rancidity and, therefore, highly refine their

> vegetable oils.

> Considerable research has shown that trans fatty

> acids, present when

> vegetable oils are highly refined (hydrogenated or

> partially

> hydrogenated), are especially damaging to cell

> tissue and can have a

> negative affect on the thyroid as well as health in

> general. Because

> the longer chain fatty acids are deposited in cells

> more often as

> rancid and oxidizing fat, impairment of the

> conversion of thyroid

> hormone T4 to T3 occurs, which is symptomatic of

> hypothyroidism. To

> create the enzymes needed to convert fats to energy,

> T4 must be

> converted to T3.

>

> Dr. Ray Peat says:

>

> When the oils are stored in our tissues, they are

> much warmer, and

> more directly exposed to oxygen than they would be

> in the seeds, and

> so their tendency to oxidize is very great. These

> oxidative processes

> can damage enzymes and other parts of cells, and

> especially their

> ability to produce energy. The enzymes which break

> down proteins are

> inhibited by unsaturated fats; these enzymes are

> needed not only for

> digestion, but also for production of thyroid

> hormones, clot removal,

> immunity, and the general adaptability of cells. The

> risks of

> abnormal blood clotting, inflammation, immune

> deficiency, shock,

> aging, obesity, and cancer are increased. Thyroid

> [hormones] and

> progesterone are decreased.

>

>

>

> Since the unsaturated oils block protein digestion

> in the stomach, we

> can be malnourished even while " eating well. " There

> are many changes

> in hormones caused by unsaturated fats. Their best

> understood effect

> is their interference with the function of the

> thyroid gland.

> Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion,

> its movement in the

> circulatory system, and the response of tissues to

> the hormone.

> Coconut oil is unique in its ability to prevent

> weight-gain or cure

> obesity, by stimulating metabolism. It is quickly

> metabolized, and

> functions in some ways as an antioxidant.9

>

> Because coconut oil is saturated and very stable

> (unrefined coconut

> oil has a shelf life of about three to five years at

> room

> temperature), the body is not burdened with

> oxidative stress as it is

> with the vegetable oils. Coconut oil does not

> require the enzyme

> stress that vegetable oils do, preventing T4 to T3

> hormone

> conversion, not only because it is a stable oil, but

> also because it

> is processed differently in the body and does not

> need to be broken

> down by enzyme dependent processes as do long chain

> fatty acids.

> Also, since the liver is the main place where damage

> occurs from

> oxidized and rancid oils that cause cell membrane

> damage, and since

> the liver is where much of the conversion of T4 to

> T3 takes place,

> eliminating long chain fatty acids from the diet and

> replacing them

> with medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil

> can, in time, help

> in rebuilding cell membranes and increasing enzyme

> production that

> will assist in promoting the conversion of T4 to T3

> hormones.

>

> More research in this area is necessary. In the

> meantime, those

> switching from polyunsaturated oils to coconut oil

> are reporting many

> positive results. For example, Donna has

> experienced encouraging

> improvements in her thyroid health. She writes:

>

> I've been on coconut oil since September, 2002 and,

> although, that

> doesn't seem like long, it has changed my life and

> the lives of my

> family and friends. My weight actually went UP when

> I started on

> coconut oil but I felt so GREAT! Being

> hypothyroid, I was on

> Synthroid and Cytomel and had been for years, but

> with inconsistent

> results and feeling worse. Other changes besides the

> addition of

> coconut oil were the complete removal of soy (and

> that is a major

> challenge in itself!), all trans fatty acids, no

> refined sugar, and

> organ cleanses seasonally. My thyroid meds were

> discontinued with my

> doctor's knowledge as I was getting too energetic

> and having trouble

> sleeping! [imagine], from being a " sleepaholic "

> couch potato that

> was cold! My weight stayed steady until the last

> three weeks and it

> has now started the downward move. My goal was

> health and just

> believed the weight would come off when I found the

> right diet and

> exercise routine that my life was comfortable with.

> I've tried

> removing the coconut oil but my energy drops and I

> don't feel as

> good. Donna (Coconut Diet Forums)

>

> Another coconut oil user writes:

>

> I have experienced thyroid problems . . . body

> temperature not going

> above 97 degrees, cold hands and feet, can't lose

> weight, fatigued,

> slow heart rate, can't sleep some nights, dry skin,

> etc..... My

> doctor did the thyroid test and it came back normal.

> I am 46 and

> peri-menopausal. My Naturopath symptomatically

> diagnosed me with

> hypothyroidism. She explained the blood tests

> currently used by

> allopathic medicine are not sensitive enough. I

> started on the

> coconut oil 5 weeks ago. In the first week I noticed

> my body

> temperature had risen and my resting heart rate had

> gone from 49 to

> 88 beats per minute. This has since settled to 66.

> My energy is now

> really high and I am slowly losing the weight - 3

> lbs. in the past 5

> weeks. I also had been taking flaxseed oil and gamma

> linoleic acid

> oil but have stopped eating every other oil but what

> Dr. Raymond Peat

> recommends, which is coconut oil, olive oil and

> butter… I take 3

> tablespoons of coconut oil daily. Cindy (Coconut

> Diet Forums)

>

> Purchase Virgin Coconut Oil

> References:

>

> 1. Gay J. Canaris, MD, MSPH; Neil R. Manowitz, PhD;

> Gilbert Mayor,

> MD; E. Chester Ridgway, MD The Colorado Thyroid

> Disease Prevalence

> Study Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:526-534.

> 2. Mary Shomon, Living Well With Hypothyroidism:

> What Your Doctor

> Doesn't Tell You. . . That You Need to Know (New

> York Harper Collins,

> 2002)

> 3. Ridha Arem, The Thyroid Solution : A Mind-Body

> Program for

> Beating Depression and Regaining Your Emotional and

> Physical Health,

> (New York: Ballantine Books,1999)

> 4. Raymond Peat Newsletter " Unsaturated Vegetable

> Oils Toxic " 1996

>

> 5. P. Fort, N. Moses, M. Fasano, T. Goldberg and F.

> Lifshitz " Breast

> and soy –formula feeding in early infancy and the

> prevalence of

> autoimmune thyroid disease in children " 'J. Am. Col.

> Nutr. 1990;

> (9):164-167.

>

> 6. Daniel R. Doerge, Hebron C. Chang, " Inactivation

> of thyroid

> peroxidase by soy isoflavones in vitro and in vivo "

> Journal of

> Chromatography B Vol. 777 (1, 2); 25; September

> 2002: 269-79

>

> 7. M.T. See and J. Odle, " EFFECT OF DIETARY FAT

> SOURCE, LEVEL, AND

> FEEDING INTERVAL ON PORK FATTY ACID COMPOSITION "

> 1998-2000

> Departmental Report, Department of Animal Science,

> ANS Report No.

> 248 - North Carolina State University

>

> 8. Raymond Peat Newsletter " Unsaturated Vegetable

> Oils Toxic " 1996

>

> 9. Raymond Peat Newsletter " Unsaturated Vegetable

> Oils Toxic " 1996

>

>

>

>