The Thyroid is a very important little gland in the human body and chances are you have heard about it from time to time.  This popular little gland makes the news quite a lot considering it's major function in our metabolism.  Not only do you hear about it in the health and weight-loss news, but also quite a lot in the avenue of moods, depression, etc.  What do you really know about the thyroid though?  It's so easy for one to assume that they might be hypothyroid because they have a hard time losing weight, are depressed, and possibly fatigued.  Before jumping into the WebMD self diagnosed world, I'm here to offer a little more info on that important gland and what it does for us. 
Thyroid Physiology:
The Thyroid gland produces 2 hormones: T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine).The thyroid hormones act on nearly every cell in the body. They act to increase the basal metabolic rate, affect protein synthesis, help regulate long bone growth (synergy with growth hormone) and neural maturation, and increase the body's sensitivity to catecholamines (such as adrenaline) by permissiveness. The thyroid hormones are essential to proper development and differentiation of all cells of the human body. These hormones also regulate protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism, affecting how human cells use energetic compounds. They also stimulate vitamin metabolism. Numerous physiological and pathological stimuli influence thyroid hormone synthesis. 
As you have just read, that small little gland in your neck has a pretty big job.  When the thyroid starts to malfunction, you get one of two outcomes, HYPOthyroidism or HYPERthryoidism.
Hypothyroidism
Insufficient hormone production from the thyroid gland. 

• Insufficient iodine intake
• Autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's)
• Stress

Symptoms: weight gain, depression, dry hair and skin, cellulite, fluid retention, constipation, cold hands and feet, female infertility, thin or absent lateral third of eyebrow hair, goiter, birth defects, fatigue, slowed mental processes, hair loss, poor memory and/or focus, "brain fog" low libido, cold intolerance, abnormal menses, peripheral neuropathy.

Incidence
Diagnosed:  3% of the population (9.3 million in the US).  Most common in women over 35 (>20% of US menopausal women are diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction.

Blood Test Analysis:
High TSH (thryoid stimulating hormone), Low Free T3, High or Low Free T4
Hair Analysis:
High Calcium : Potassium ratio
          ***************Don't worry, I'm coming back to explain everything in more detail shortly*******************

Hyperthyroidism
Overactive thyroid hormone secretion. 

• Graves Disease (90% US cases)
• Thyroid Goiter

Symptoms: nervousness, irritability, increased perspiration, palpitations, hand tremors, anxiety, insomnia, thinning of the skin, fine brittle hair, muscular weakness, unexplained weight loss, cardiac arrhythmia, bulging eyes.

Incidence
Approximently 1.3 percent of the population.  This increases to 4 to 5 percent in older women.  Hyperthyroidism is more common in those whom smoke.  Graves disease is often found in younger women.

Blood Tests Analysis
Low TSH, High free T3, Normal to High T4
Hair Analysis:
Low Calcium : Potassium Ratio

Making Sense of the Thyroid Gland Function
Almost 90 percent of the hormone produced by your thyroid is in the form of T4, the inactive form. Your liver then converts the T4 into T3, the active form.  If everything is working properly, you will make what you need and have the correct amounts of T3 and T4, which control the metabolism of every cell in your body. If your T3 is inadequate, either by scarce production or not converting properly from T4, your whole system suffers. T3 is critically important because it tells the nucleus of your cells to send messages to your DNA to rev up your metabolism by burning fat. This is how T3 lowers cholesterol levels, regrows hair, and helps keep you lean. Your T3 levels can be disrupted by nutritional imbalances, toxins, allergens, infections, and stress, and this lead to a series of complications, including thyroid cancer, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism, which today are three of the most prevalent thyroid-related diseases.  

Today we are seeing far more HYPOthyroid related health problems due to the nature of our lifestyles.  The number 1 PRIMARY cause of an under-active thyroid gland is due to Iodine deficiency.  Iodine is deficient in our food supply, but equally deficient because of our bodies inability to absorb the iodine effectively.  The most common factors contributing to decreased thyroid function include food sensitivities, Stress, soy, and bromines.  Obviously we are all different and have different sensitivities, but any one food sensitivity that causes inflammation and an immune response can hurt your thyroid function.  I am not even going to go into the nastiness of SOY!  Just know that it is BAD BAD BAD, especially the nonfermented soy products like soy "meat" , cheese, and milk.  If you want to read up more on soy, simply google soy on the internet along with unhealthy benefits of soy.  Soy and the thyroid specifically: soy phytoestrogens are significant anti-thyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism.  Bromine, and element found in A LOT of things we eat and come into contact with daily such as pesticides, few bakery goods/flours, some soft drinks, vegetable oils, some medications, and some fire retardant products and hot tub water treatment.  Bromine can take the place of iodine in our receptor cells thus not allowing iodine into the thyroid.   Bromine toxicity can lead to psychiatric problems along with decreased thyroid health and many other health concerns. 

Lastly and I think is a massive contributor to thyroid health is STRESS!  If you have studied health and stress even a little, you know that stress is an adrenal killer.  The Thyroid and Adrenals are vital to each other and desperately need to work in harmony to keep our hormones balanced.  Many of us are under chronic stress, which results in increased adrenaline and cortisol levels, and elevated cortisol has a negative impact on thyroid function. Thyroid hormone levels drop during stressful times, which is when you actually need it the most. When stress becomes chronic, the flood of stress chemicals – adrenaline and cortisol – produced by your adrenal glands interfere with your thyroid hormones, causing a whole gamut of health-related issues like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or unstable blood sugar levels. A prolonged stress response can lead to adrenal exhaustion, which is also known as adrenal fatigue and which is often found alongside thyroid disease.

• Iodine
  

Iodine is a nutrient that can be secretly found in every organ and tissue in the body.  Iodine is anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, anti-viral, and anti-cancer agent. Iodine deficiency is now accepted as the most common cause of preventable brain damage in the world.  WHO estimated that over 30% of the world's population (2 billion people) has insufficient iodine intake. Our food supply is replacing iodine with bromine based agents, our toxicity exposure is at epic proportions, and our daily stress just keeps climbing.  What do we do?  We educate ourselves to get a better understanding and make better choices.  We learn how to manage our stress better. 
Lets revert back to the iodine sources in our food supply briefly.  The biggest contributors to decreased iodine consumption today include: diets focusing less on fish and seaweed, vegan/vegetarian diets, less iodide in the food and agricultural industry, fluoridated drinking water, food contamination, and decreased use of iodized salt.  What we can do to make healthier changes daily; eat organic as much as possible, avoid eating or drinking from plastic containers and choose glass or ceramic instead, look for organic whole grain bread flours that are "bromine -free",  and avoid sodas.  Outside of our dietary changes, steer away from Bromine in your hot tubs, read labels on your daily personal care products to avoid harsh chemicals, and try to ventilate with as much fresh air as possible as often as you can.

Two Main Points to Thyroid Care

1. Feed: Nutritional support for optimal thyroid function
2. Cleanse: Remove toxins

Four Key Minerals and Their Foods or Thyroid Support - Food Primary and Supplementation when needed

1. Iodine: seaweed / sea vegetation
2. Selenium: Brazil Nuts
3. Sodium: sea salt
4. Zinc: Oysters, grass fed beef, spinach, cashews, beans, buckwheat, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, grass fed lamb, lentils, and turkey

KEY Amino Acid for the Thyroid: TYROSINE
Tyrosine is the basis for thyroid hormones and the three catecholamines: epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine.  Great sources of Tyrosine are eggs, raw cheese, raw milk, raw almonds, avocado, grass fed beef, and organic chicken and turkey.
Key Supplementation for above: Vitamin C, Vitamin F, and Tyrosine

• Supplementation
  

As a health care provider, we only use two main companies that are dominating the market on their quality of supplements.  These supplements are professional grade and can only be purchased through a licensed health care provider (because proper management is essential) to assure they are taken safely.  The two companies are Standard Process and OrthoMolecular.  I refer to their products a lot, and I do so with complete confidence.  Both companies have an outstanding product list for Thyroid care.  If you are concerned about you Thyroid health, a great first step is a simple blood and hair analysis test.  Following up with a Standard Process Cleanse to help clear your system of toxins so you can absorb the much needed nutrients to rebuild a healthy endocrine system.  Standard Process carries Cleanses, Herbal Supplements, and whole food supplements along with many basic vitamins and minerals.  OrthoMolecular also has a fantastic Detox program to get you started along with top notch supplementation to support your glandular system.  They too, produce incredible products that are in the rawest and most potent beneficial form. 

Simply ask us at the office about a few of the products we carry, or just feel free to ask more questions about Thyroid health in general. 

Today is recognized as the day chiropractic was born!
​
​123 years ago, a man named DD Palmer delivered the first ever chiropractic adjustment to Harvey Lillard. This man explained to DD that 17 years ago, he felt a “pop” in his back and had been deaf ever since.  
After an examination, DD discovered a misaligned bone in Mr. Lillard’s spine which he hypothesized had been there since the injury. That same day, DD delivered the chiropractic adjustment, and Mr. Lillard’s hearing was miraculously restored!
DD never theorized that chiropractic was somehow a “cure for deafness”, but he knew that the spine influences nervous system function. When interference is removed from this system, communication between brain and body is restored. In Mr. Lillard’s specific case correcting the structural problem cause by his injury remedied his hearing loss. 

Dr. Chelsea Bachelor
 

            On this day in 2001 America suffered incredible tragedy. Every one of us remembers where we were when the nearly unbelievable news came across our televisions and radios. Shaken in an a way that this generation had never experienced, America stood frozen watching the events unfold.
            However, through the confusion and terror, aid swiftly rushed in. Rescue men and women sprung into action, pulling victims from the ashes and taking them to safety while the Red Cross, Salvation Army, New York citizens, etc. contributed everything from food to time to blood. Among the efforts, chiropractors, many of which had family and friends who worked at the towers, poured in to donate their expertise and help in the best way they knew how.
            After endless days and nights searching through the ruins, the rescue workers’ bodies were beaten and their hearts were heavy with loss. Groups of exhausted police officers and firemen stripped off their heavy coats and piled their weapons at the foot of the chiropractor’s table to benefit from the relief and ease following an adjustment. The chiropractic relief efforts were manned around the clock, spanning across 5 different sites around the debris. Dr. Jessi D’Amore, one on-site chiropractor, recalled an adjustment with a certain fireman who admitted with immense relief to the first deep breath he had taken in a very long time. He and many others left that table and continually returned with friends and co-workers, leading to one night around 3 am when the chiropractic sites were filled to such a capacity that the fire marshal was forced to close them.
            An estimated 1,500 chiropractors committed themselves to grueling, intense hours around the wreckage, adjusting up to 500 people per day and donating approximately $1.5 million in services. Their efforts received acknowledgement from the Red Cross, the Federal government and the New York police Commissioner. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani also expressed gratitude for not only physically helping the rescue officers, but for “boosting the morale of New York City.”
Healing is much more than simply pain relief. In an exhausting and perilous time, a kind touch goes a long way.
 

Today, we remember those who have been lost and honor those who stood up to help rebuild.
 

Abstract for article included below: 
https://www.facebook.com/vertebralsubluxationresearch/photos/a.347422321952341/2256974104330477/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/vertebralsubluxationresearch/videos/269027603720124/

Summer is simply the best, I think we can almost all agree, but fall isn't too far behind in the favorite season category for most of us.  Fall, especially in Northern Michigan as absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.  The weather is amazing and the colors are gorgeous.  As the temps cool of, sadly we put away the swimsuits and watch our tans fade away.  The good ol football hoodies become a daily favorite.  Along with the weather and wardrobe change come a huge schedule change for those of us with kids.  Back to the daily routine of alarm clocks, packing lunches and snacks, after school taxiing and activities, dinner, and homework all to go to bed and do it all over again the next day.  Not going to lie, but with an 8th grader, 5th grader, and 3rd grader I was kind of looking forward to putting these crazy girls back into a routine.  Although their new routine also changes up my routine A LOT!  This is the time of year where everyone gets incredibly busy and overwhelmed with activities, the comfy cushy clothes come back out, we get exhausted, then naturally put ourselves on the back burner.  No longer are you trying to eat as healthy, you are slipping into those cozy clothes, you aren't making your workout time a priority in your busy schedule, and you slip FAST.  You know as well as I do, a week or two off while you are trying to get into the fall grove and suddenly its a week, next a month, then a year goes by and you slipped away.  Right now the gyms are slow, the local trails for biking and running are nearly abandon, and everyone is trying to figure out what and how to eat during this in between of summer BBQ and winter comfy food. 

The heat of the summer has now passed, the humidity is nearly gone, and you can't beat the amazing color change outside!  Now is the time to get out and hike or mountain bike through the woods on nature trails, or get on the road bike or your sneakers on for a good cool jog or ride.  I know you are CRAZY busy, but you are missing out on SO MUCH of you let fall slip away from you.  Most importantly, make the time for yourself and make it a priority.  You may think you are being a good parent by carting your kids to their activities while staying on top of the important responsibilities of the household, but if you are doing these things while being crabby from a lack of exercise (which you know makes you a much happier person) then you are really not being a good parent at all.  The happiness you carry within you is the most important thing you give to them every single day.  For years and year and even still today I hear the same ol question, "why do you workout so hard?  Are you training for something?"  My answer, "heck yes I'm training for something...it's called life!"  "I'm training hard because I need to keep my sanity even more so than my physical fitness."  "I'm training because I have three daughters at home watching me."  "I'm training so that when one of my daughters coaches needs a fill-in on the soccer field or basketball court, I can get out there and play with them."  These are the reasons I train.   Training is not about vanity, and I need to make this a REALLY big point to those that think "gym people" are so vain.  There is a really good chance that people that think "gym people" are vain, have never really stepped foot inside of a commercial gym.  Most of us there are not supporting a six-pack set of abs and watching ourselves in the mirror nonstop.  If you have ever seen any of my workouts, then you know the level at which I am working, and I don't have the shredded bod to show off because quite frankly I like to eat and eat a lot.  The workouts are about my sanity, the athletic build is just a positive side-effect. 

Things to help you out.
Start getting your life organized.  You have had a week, maybe a few more, since the kids have been back in school.  That week was your week off.  Today, start getting organized and making a plan for this fall/school year. 
Set some fall goals or have a Fall Bucket List.  For example: write down three different places that you want to hike and three different places that you want to ride your bike for the month of September.  Get those miles in outside before the snow flies, plus the temps are perfect and the scenery is breathtaking. 
Make meal plans, menus, and shopping lists.  Nothing seems to be more time consuming and obnoxious then trying to decide what to make for dinner, plus making or buying enough food for school lunches, and lets not forget the million and one trips to the grocery store.  Pick a day that you are going to spend 30 minutes or so on meal planning.  Make a list of what you need from the store.  Get the grocery shopping done early.  I try to plan meals throughout the school year that are army sized.  A meal that will be dinner and school lunch for the next day or two.  Here's a helpful tip, give your kids little menu's to fill out.  You can find tons of different menu printables online.  Let them put some ideas down, plus anything extra they might need from the store on your next tip (like hairspray for your teenage daughter, or glue sticks for your third grader) so you don't have to make all of those extra trips for them.  You don't need to use their exact menu, but pull ideas from them, it cuts down on your brainstorming for meals. 
Map out your weeks activities and pencil in your workout times.  Nothing will pass you by faster than an workout time.  "oops, I miss the gym AGAIN (5 years later)."  You need to either get your bootie out of bed in the am before the kiddos wake up or be darn well disciplined in slipping that workout in before the evening settles.  Like I said, I get it...you are super busy, I am super busy,  Jack and Jill are super busy - MAKE THE TIME!  One hour in your day is NOT impossible.  One week of waking up a hour early and it then becomes a much easier habit. 
Make weekends about Active Family Time.  Those hikes, jogs, bike rides, etc can be done as a family.  Include your kids, your spouse, maybe a sibling, parent, or friend.  My husband and I are both strapped for time these days, so instead of date night this last Saturday evening at a restaurant, we went for a bike ride instead.  We had a little alone time, got our exercise in, and had a great time together.  How often to do tell friends that you need to hangout more?  Plan a hike together!  GET MOVING
WINTER IS COMING   I know it's the last thing people want to hear, for me anyway.  Please don't get swept away in the winter weight wonderland.  If you slip on your jeans from last spring and they are snug, don't switch them out for cozy leggings and blow it off.  Work to get into those jeans darn it!  I love leggings just as much as the next lady, but seriously there is no accountability in leggings.  Those puppies are going to fit at 135lbs or 165lbs.  The big bulky sweatshirts and sweaters do an amazing job a covering up what under them, but don't settle for that anymore. 
                  Keep working out     Keep Eating Healthy     Keep setting Goals and Slaying Them

​There are many misunderstandings and half-truths regarding chiropractic and what chiropractors actually do.
This week I came across a “Myth List”, organized by ChiroHealthUSA, and it makes some great points, but I’d like to expand on them a bit.
Hopefully this sheds some light and possibly answers a few questions!
 
Myth #5
Chiropractors are not real doctors

• Chiropractors are recognized as doctors and have to go through years of vigorous schooling, training, and board certifications. A large difference between a doctor of medicine and a doctor of chiropractic is the area of expertise. Chiropractic is a drug-free style of healthcare; therefore our training focuses on the nerve system and movement of the spine versus subjects such as pharmacology.

Myth #4
Chiropractic is too expensive

• The focus main advantage of chiropractic care is that it functions as a proactive approach rather than reactive. Similar to exercising and eating right, making sure that the spine is free of interference will allow for a healthier overall lifestyle.
• Many common illnesses today are characterized as preventable, lifestyle diseases - meaning if we spent more time investing in our health versus waiting for something to go wrong we could avoid them all together.
• Less time in the doctor’s office means more time out and enjoying life!
• But back to the point: The average cost per visit to the chiropractor can vary by region. Here in Northern Michigan, the cost is closer to about $40 per visit. Compare this to a typical visit to a primary care physician consisting of approximately 15 minutes with the doctor and costing as much as $104.

Myth #3
Chiropractors only treat back pain

• Chiropractic’s primary focus is the alignment of your spinal bones, but that’s not necessarily because we are addressing pain. Together, your brain and spinal cord make up your nerve system. From scratching your nose to digesting your lunch, you can thank your nerve system for coordinating it all! In fact, this system is so important that it is the only one that is completely protected by bones. These bones articulate with each other in such a way that allows us to move, but can also put pressure on the nerves when there is a misalignment.
• If there is interference in this network, the functioning of the body is repressed. A problem with function can manifest in many ways – aches and pains, headaches, indigestion, allergies, fatigue, decreased immunity etc. If your nerve system influences it, then it can be affected.
• A chiropractor finds and gently removes this interference, restoring the vital communication between body and brain.

Myth #2
Chiropractic adjustments hurt

• Honestly I feel that ChiroHealthUSA’s explanation of this is just about perfect for the great majority of people. It is common for someone to walk in with a headache and leave feeling clear-headed because removing pressure or strain on your nerves allows the body to heal as it’s designed too.
• In certain circumstances, such as a healing disc injury or strain, reintroducing motion into the joint can have some mild discomfort. However, these gentle movements accelerate healing by allowing fresh nutrients and blood to enter and repair the injured tissues.
• In all cases, communication between patient and doctor is fundamental!

Myth #1
Chiropractic won’t work for me

• Referring back to Myth 2, 3 and 4 - can you think of anyone who wouldn’t be better off without pressure on the system controlling every function in his or her body??

 
Special thanks to ChiroHealthUSA for creating this myth list!