Hyperthyroid Disorders

Lesson 7: Alternative Medicine and Lifestyle Influences

In this lesson students learn how alternative medicine and lifestyle changes help reduce thyroid hormone levels and induce remission.

Topics include:

Herbal medicine
Homeopathy
Diet, Iodine and Goiterogens
Stress reduction techniques
Miscellaneous therapies
Topics for discussion

Introduction

Alternative medicine, especially programs that incorporates a holistic healing protocol consisting of various elements, such as herbs and acupuncture, is particularly beneficial for people with hyperthyroid disorders. Many studies have found that dramatic improvement occurs when an alternative approach is used to complement conventional therapies. For instance, in one study conducted at the University of Shanghai, the addition of traditional Chinese Medicine to Tapazole showed dramatic benefits when compared to the group using Tapazole alone.

Holistic programs include recommendations for diet and for avoiding environmental toxins. A low iodine diet, which would be considered a holistic suggestion, is recommended by the American College of Pathologists as a first line approach for toxic multinodular goiter. In section 7, students are introduced to this concept and to the various alternative prescriptions used in the treatment of hyperthyroid disorders.

Alternative medicine has its roots in Eastern medicine and includes a number of different therapies. Holistic medicine refers to natural therapies and lifestyle changes that promote health. Alternative medicine practitioners, naturopaths, herbalists, homeopathic practitioners and energy healers all have the goal of finding a healing program that can abolish disease, promote health and be incorporated into a lifestyle plan. Treatments are prescribed on an individual basis, taking the patient’s disposition or constitution, unique symptoms and other factors into consideration. In herbal medicine, a combination of herbs is used in a tonic specifically prepared for the individual.

Besides prescribing tonics, homeopathic preparations or Ayurvedic compounds, naturopaths make recommendations for diet. Some protocols also recommend massage, acupuncture, meditation, tai chi or other forms of stress reduction. And according to conventional medicine, stress is the primary trigger for Graves’ disease. Rather than simply taking pills or tonics, patients are instructed on lifestyle changes.

This doesn’t mean that all treatments must be strictly followed for life. It means that the steps used to promote healing in hyperthyroidism can be followed to prevent relapse and continually improve one’s health status. With an understanding of the lifestyle influences and dietary changes that promote thyroid disease, students are shown why certain disciplines like energy healing have a place in healing protocols.

Alternative medicine incorporates a number of different disciplines. According to Dr. Rudolph Ballentine, the author of Radical Healing, homeopathy offers the best treatment protocol for hyperthyroidism, closely followed by herbal medicine. According to the German Commission E, the world authority on the use of herbal medicine, certain herbs such as Lycopus virginicus, block iodine absorption and weaken the effects of thyroid antibodies.

Alternative treatments are typically slower acting than conventional treatments. People with severe hyperthyroidism may need to combine alternative and conventional treatments to lower thyroid hormone levels faster. The effects of anti-thyroid drugs are complemented by dietary change and alternative protocols. Many people using long-term therapy are able to achieve remission when alternative protocols are added. Also, people with Graves’ disease who have been treated with radioiodine continue to produce the antibodies that cause Graves’ disease. When alternative protocols are added, thyroid antibody production tends to decline. This is particularly beneficial for people with thyroid eye disease or pretibial myxedema.

In this lesson, students are introduced to available therapies and they’re introduced to ancient concepts such as chakras that help explain why certain diseases develop. Students will learn to appreciate homeostasis and how the body works as a whole unit, with all cells contributing to healing.

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