23/06/2023
Hashimoto’s Awareness Day
Hey People!
Today is Hashimoto’s Awareness Day. For those of us who live with it, every day is Hashimoto’s awareness day. 😉
It’s easy for me sometimes to forget what it was like back before I was diagnosed. I knew something was wrong, but I had no idea what it was.
I was twenty pounds heavier from inflammation and bloating, I was tired all the time, I had terrible brain fog and memory and focus issues, I suffered from chronic pain.
And not only did I have no idea what was going on, I had no clue that I had to make changes in my diet and lifestyle.
Fast forward to today and I am reminded about some important facts about Hashimoto’s:
1. Hashimoto’s affects 14 million people in the US alone. That means it’s not only the most common cause of inflammation of the thyroid (thyroiditis), but it’s also far and away the most common thyroid disorder in the US.
Women are 7 to 8 times more likely to have Hashimoto’s than men (I’m one of the lucky ones).
2. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease. Unfortunately, even many people who have been diagnosed with it don’t know this or fully understand the implications of what it means.
In my opinion, this is largely because many doctors don’t care, they don’t treat it any differently from any other thyroid disorder. And many falsely believe that the only treatment is thyroid replacement hormone.
If you follow this page, you know that, first of all, it way more than just a thyroid disorder or simply a thyroid autoimmune disease, it is a systemic multi-system disorder that can affect all the systems of your body and your brain.
And there are lots of things we can and must do other than just take thyroid hormone. Diet is hugely important, as is addressing stress and working to heal all the other systems that are impacted by it.
I write about this extensively in my book, How to Heal Hashimoto’s: An Integrative Road Map to Remission, published by Hay House one year ago today. (www.howtohealhashimotos.com).
If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it because it gives a good overview of the multi-system nature of this disease and provides you with lots of things you can do about it.
3. The main risk factor for developing Hashimoto’s is having another pre-existing autoimmune disease. And, unfortunately, having one autoimmune disorder can also put you at a higher risk for developing another autoimmune disease and, to a lesser degree, a specific form of thyroid cancer.
I can remember when I first learned about Hashimoto’s, I suddenly started to meet more and more people who had it and I started to really understand how common it is.
Please share this post with someone today because they may be in a position where they have it or someone they loves has it and yet they might have no idea it even exists.
Have a great day! Unless you have other, awareness inducing plans.
