Show #142: Thyroid Health starts in the cells with Dr Eric Balcavage

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Our show supporter this month is…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m so happy to have a ‘non thing’ / strengthening your mind’ offering this month to support you!

Guy Lawrence is a coach, speaker, wellness advocate, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Let It In. A program designed to help people bridge the gap between the life they live and the life they truly want to live using meditation and the language of neuroscience. This is facilitated via live workshops, retreats and the online Let it In Academy membership-based community program. He also supports people via his podcast called ‘The Guy Lawrence Podcast’. These include conversations with pioneering experts that go well beyond conventional health, wealth and wisdom to inspire change in our lives. All episodes are freely available via Youtube, iTunes, Spotify & Stitcher.

In his words “I demystify meditation to create transformation from the inside out. I’ve taught hundreds of students a proven road map that I apply daily to create a future you TRULY desire.”

Download your free 7-minute heart coherence meditation and a free bonus PDF of Guy’s 5 step morning routine to help supercharge your mindset and your day here: https://www.letitin.com.au/alexx

And onto this week’s show!

How deep is your understanding of the thyroid? Dr. Eric Balcavage is my guest this week and is a chiropractic physician who has been in private practice in Glen Mills, PA since 1996. He received his Bachelor’s degree in 1990 from Kutztown University and his Doctorate degree in 1995 from Palmer College of Chiropractic.

Dr. Balcavage is a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, Board Certified in Integrative Medicine, along with being a licensed Chiropractor in Pennsylvania. Dr. Balcavage is continuously advancing his knowledge with post-graduate studies. In this week’s show, you’ll have a clear and deep understanding and feel more empowered to connect with doctors and other practitioners who can support you. So often people experience a range of symptoms caused by thyroid imbalances but did you know that A LOT is happening in the cells before the gland gets affected. And here’s the kicker: It’s often the TSH that’s tested (that’s the test that tells us if the gland is damaged.

This show with Dr. Eric Balcavage is your guide to not just the thyroid gland but what’s happening at the cellular level WAY before problems with the gland show up. We go through testing, what to test as well as thyroid markers to see what the big picture is, the cell danger response, thyroid health at a cellular level, identifying your key stressors and bringing your body back to balance. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. As usual, the show notes and show supporter offers can be found at lowtoxlife.com/podcast

The questions I asked Eric:

• So, Eric, you’re a young student, passionate about Chiropractic, excited to become a chiropractor: At what point in your medical career did you see that you wanted to weave in more options for your patients in clinic?
• And when it comes to matters of the thyroid – You weren’t just concerned for others: This was a very personal journey, too, right?
• Now let’s talk about the Thryoid in a 101 way: What’s the thyroid and why is it crucial to our overall health and wellbeing that we look after it as best we can?
• How is testing in the current standard letting us down? Starting with the oversimplification of thyroid ‘checks’, ie “TSH in the normal range? Nothing to see here”.
• Give us the rundown of the thyroid testing we should do – and how frequently (like should it be a part of our annual checkup?)
• And when it comes to the results, a couple of questions I’ve had from the community in the lead up to our chat, were around their confusion when various naturopaths/doctors they’ve seen about the results, have a different idea of what the optimal ranges they wish to see? What do you like to see?
• What do you mean when you say “It’s about more than a gland, it’s about what’s happening at a cellular level?
• You say symptoms can start BEFORE there seems to be anything wrong with the gland: What’s happening there? What are some of the earliest indicators that something’s off and we should be thinking: THYROID.
• What are some of the key nutrients we can focus on as a preventative strategy for nourishing our thyroid?
• What are some of the major autoimmune/thyroid conditions we’re dealing with today and how do these differ from each other?
• Let’s talk Hashimoto’s – Why the proliferation of diagnosed cases? Is it just that we didn’t know what it was before?
• Often people with Hashimoto’s or other autoimmune issues, are told they basically need to stop eating everything – dairy/gluten/soy/but often much more: Is this for life? Is there work that can be done for a couple of years to pave the way for being able to eat a large variety of foods again?
• Resistant weight loss and hair loss – two hallmarks of thyroid issues – considered less ‘urgent’ but nonetheless for the people experiencing them, not ideal. Why is this happening and what is often what needs to be done to get those people humming again?
• Why do people with thyroid issues often experience the spectrum of constipation or diarrhoea?
• Is leptin often high in thyroid patients or again the spectrum? What is your justification for testing it in the picture to assess someone and if high, your top strategies?
• Medication: What is synthetic thyroid medication doing and do some people just have to be on it for life/is there hope to come off it for people once they do the work?
• Your advice for people building their best thyroid health team?

And we have the community submitted questions from the low tox club members which will be shared in the club. Have you joined yet? Just $1 per show at $4USD a month and you’re in there with us. 

 

Other helpful links:

You can find out more about Dr. Eric Balcavage and his life story here: http://thyroidproblemsdoctor.com

You can also check out his work at https://rejuvagencenter.com/

Follow him on Instagram @drericbalcavage

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