Some Important Things To Me At least two (usually three) protein meals daily.  4 ounces of animal protein. For a "protein person" like me, (a blood type O), this increases metabolism and healing, rebuilding of body parts, neurotransmitters, enzymes, hormones, blood, skin, hair, organs, etc., etc. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Don't eat donuts for breakfast. If you're not hungry for breakfast you might not be eating enough protein and you may have slow metabolism due to it.  Coconut oil every day. Coconut oil is said to be the most stable oil on Earth, nourishes the thyroid, heart, and the rest of the body and will not deplete Vitamin E like the polyunsaturated oils will.  To read an important article on coconut oil, click here.  I buy organic expeller pressed coconut oil online by the gallon for about $43 shipped. Local health foods stores have it but usually only by the pint and quart, and it will cost you more per ounce to buy it in small quantities. Great Lakes Gelatin (gelled) daily, with meals.  I've found that this made a noticeable difference with me. According to Lita Lee PhD and other professionals, most people don't get enough proline, glycine, gelatin rich foods, and other pro thyroid amino acids and have too much tryptophan, cysteine, and other amino acids that are abundant in muscle meats and many other foods. Click here to read "Broth is Beautiful! Essential Roles for Glycine, Proline, and Gelatin"  (Used by permission of westonaprice.org) Oil Pulling (aka oil swishing) It may sound weird - I thought it did at first, but then a PhD friend of mine emailed me and told me she started oil pulling, and that's about the time I decided I should try it too. I started oil pulling on 3//4/07 and I have no intentions of ever stopping it. It has helped my sleep, moods, reduced my anxiety, improved my brain function, and more. Read about it, and then try it! Curezone.com has a forum on it. They say if you do it once daily for 2-4 weeks, you'll never want to stop it! This is an ancient Ayurvedic Healing Technique that's very effective. Read all about it here. At last - something that works and doesn't cost much!!  Here's another great website on Oil Swishing! My personal opinion is that it's better to stick to the recommended oils for OP : untoasted Sesame and Sunflower oils and not use coconut oil and other oils for OP. "All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." -- Schopenhauer To read "Hypothyroidism and Coconut Oil" by Bruce Fife ND, click here. To read The Facts on Flaxseed Oil by Bruce Fife ND, click here. "The diet-heart hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit, and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies, and even governmental agencies. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century." -- Sally Fallon and Mary Enig PhD

One body is all you're ever going to get, so be good to it. There is no substitute for basic whole foods nutrition.                          "Real" food in my opinion is (and this is mostly all I eat): organic, grass fed beef organic chicken organic turkey organic, free range eggs organic vegetables organic fruit properly prepared organic grains and legumes soaked or lightly roasted nuts and seeds cultured organic dairy products like kefir and yogurt high quality [preferably raw milk] cheese In my opinion organic foods contain more nutrition than commercial foods, plus they're pesticide free. Pesticides interfere with thyroid function and much more. Support organic farmers by buying organic at the grocery store. I think it's worth the price.

Think Thyroid The thyroid is like the computer chip or governor of the body. If it's not working right it can affect nearly every function of the body. Conventional thyroid blood tests are often unreliable and inaccurate. Many people have low thyroid symptoms with normal blood values of T3, T4, TSH, etc. Taking the oral temperature is the best way to detect low thyroid. It should be 98 on arising and 98.6 to 99 during the day. If it's much below this you're probably hypo-thyroid. Resting pulse should be 85. Much below 80 usually indicates hypothyroidism. Click here to read Lita Lee's very informative thyroid article. Modern day foods cause modern day diseases. We should eat what our ancestors ate 150 years ago - traditional whole foods - (butter, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds, whole grains, vegetables and fruit). Trans fats (margarine, etc.) and polyunsaturated (supermarket) oils clog arteries, and lack of exercise, among other things. Why Butter is Better - than margarine, polyunsaturated oils, and all that other stuff. No one can say what's best for everyone. We're all unique. I don't think vegetarian diets are a good idea for most people. I've read about lots of people with several health problems that for various reasons were not eating enough animal protein. Once a day is in my opinion not enough for many people. Animal protein should be eaten with every meal to maximize metabolism, thyroid function, the regrowth of new body parts such as  blood, hair, skin, sex hormones, neurotransmitters, enzymes, and many other things.

There is no magic pill, no easy way to good health. There never was and there never will be. That's why we have to take the bull by the horns right now, when we're healthy. No time is better than now. My name is Joe. I was born and raised in New Hampshire and lived there most of 52 years. I moved to Tennessee in December 2003. I've had physical problems most of my life but they are much more manageable nowadays because of what I've learned.

Potatoes - not Prozac! Whole foods are the first step. Then organic if possible. If you need more nutrients, then digestive enzymes or RealSalt might be an idea, (or ConcenTrace liquid minerals) rather than taking vitamins and minerals. The next step might be to determine your metabolic type or blood type and eat according to that. If you choose to get your diet / health info from the evening news and your food from convenience stores, you may someday find that you'll be inconvenienced by degenerative diseases sooner than you had planned.  They can't patent coconut oil so they'll stick with making $60 billion a year on cholesterol screening and statin drugs that people don't need and would be a lot better off without. That's why I say educate - don't medicate. Why take something that may cause more side effects than it's intended to treat? Drugs are usually band-aid solutions. The Big Fat Lie, and Other Cholesterol Myths Click here to go to the website of Uffe Ravnskov MD PhD   and THINCS (The International Network of Cholesterol Sceptics). Processed foods ruin health and cause disease. What are processed foods? Candy, cakes, hamburger helper, donuts, fast foods, most food sold at convenience stores, etc., ice cream, commercial white bread products,  fake butter, fake egg products and other synthetic foods, balogna, salami, hot dogs, margarine, vegetable oils (commercial), etc. Sugar and high carbohydrate diets can lead to diabetes and even cancer they say. Boxed cereal grains are an over processed food. If you're going to eat grains, eat whole, properly prepared grains, not a boxful of junk that's been through about 7 different machines.  The Dangers of Microwave Ovens This is why I donated my microwave oven to the annual humane society auction! I'm surprised that many people never think twice about what they eat and how they cook their food, etc. They won't eat it unless it tastes a certain way, like smoke, chocolate, or something. Smoke flavor is not good for health. Smoke in any form is bad for health, let alone putting it in food. The Miracle of Rebounding Read about one of the most beneficial exercises there is - rebounding. The gentle up and down bouncing is said to exercise every muscle in the body, even the eyes and brain! It also encouirages lymphatic drainage and circulation.

Updated on 5/3/08