Latest / Health with Hashimoto’s - Thyroid or Immune Education for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease / 162 // Tackle fatigue with this simple tool [Hashimoto's Health Lab]

Transcript

162 // Tackle fatigue with this simple tool [Hashimoto's Health Lab] · Health with Hashimoto’s - Thyroid or Immune Education for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

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  It is the last week of our summer series, and today we are talking about blue light.
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  And don't skip this one. I know that you have heard about blue light.
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  I know that you have heard that you shouldn't look at screens in the evening.
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  I know all of that. You know all of that. So I'm going to talk about some things
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  that are actually useful and simple.
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  And also, let's discuss quickly the FDA and the natural thyroid stuff.
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  That's going to be towards the end.
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  Welcome to the Health with Hashimoto's podcast. Our summer series is the Hashimoto's Health Lab.
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  This series is going to be 10-minute episodes.
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  Every week, we'll talk about a specific tool or practice.
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  We're going to cover everything from environmental detox to stress reduction,
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  energy boosters, biohacks, and all of it is going to be designed to give you
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  tools for better health with Hashimoto's.
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  I'm your host, Esther Yunkin. I'm a registered nurse helping women uncover their
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  root causes and regain energy.
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  So these episodes are going to be short. If you are ready for a deeper transformation.
• 0:59
  Check out the Holistic Hashimoto's course.
• 1:01
  It will help you identify your unique triggers and root causes so that you can
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  focus your own energy on what really matters for your health.
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  Are you ready to explore a new strategy for thriving with Hashimoto's? Let's dive in.
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  This is the Hashimoto's Health Lab. one classic
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  symptom of hypothyroid and Hashimoto's is
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  fatigue overwhelming fatigue bone weary
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  tired all of the time so of course
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  we want to focus on our sleep we want to make sure that we are getting adequate
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  sleep we want to make sure that we are getting really good sleep like the hours
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  we're sleeping are really quality sleep and one thing that impacts that is morning
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  light which we already talked about in an earlier episode in this series.
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  Another thing that impacts it is the blue light that we're exposed to.
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  Now one thing about light when you're outside the sun, it's a full spectrum.
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  There are so many different parts of light that we are exposed to and one reason
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  that the morning light is helpful is because it has some of the red wavelengths
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  and it has the blue wavelengths.
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  It's got everything and it helps your body wake up.
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  Listen to that episode because going outside in the morning is so simple,
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  so very simple, especially when it's nice outside.
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  And then because the outside has this full spectrum, your eyes and your brain
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  see the blue light waves as a signal to wake up and to be alert.
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  So when you are looking at a screen or a phone or whatever, I guess a phone
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  is a screen, it tells your brain it's time to wake up.
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  And when you're dealing with fatigue, and you're trying to make sure that you're
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  getting really good quality sleep, this blue light towards the evening and towards
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  the night impacts your melatonin, it impacts the.
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  Impacts your health. Because while you are sleeping, your body is doing the
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  work of healing and restoring and renewing.
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  We need to get good sleep. And the first and most common thing I hear when I'm
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  talking about this is, I fall asleep with my phone in my hand.
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  I have no problems falling asleep. And I don't doubt that.
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  It could be very true for you. I know it is true for so many people.
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  You are staring at your screen, playing a game, reading a book,
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  or scrolling on social media, doing whatever, and you fall asleep.
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  Sometimes you might drop your phone on your face. I have probably done that
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  before. I know I've witnessed it before. It's kind of funny to witness it.
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  I actually got a loopy phone case because I don't want to drop my phone ever, and I like the loopy.
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  My husband used to have it, and then he didn't drop his phone on his face when he fell asleep.
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  So I have heard this excuse and this rationale of blue light staring at a screen
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  before I go sleep does not stop me from sleeping.
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  Accurate. I know that you're tired. I know that you can fall asleep.
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  But are you getting the same quality sleep as you could be if you were not exposed
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  to blue light before bed?
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  Now, it really does matter because blue light going through your eyes to your
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  nerve signals to your brain, it tells your brain to wake up.
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  It tells your brain to suppress the melatonin production.
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  Melatonin is, first of all, it's an antioxidant. It's also your sleep hormone.
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  And when you have poor melatonin regulation, your sleep quality worsens.
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  Your fatigue could be absolutely affected then, right?
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  As well as your immune system. Because like I said, when you're sleeping,
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  that's when your body is renewing, healing, restoring, doing all of those things.
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  So, you know, putting away your phone is obviously, and all screens, is obviously a
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  best. If we're going to go good, better, best options, that is best.
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  The better option, if you're going good, better, best, is getting blue light
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  blocking amber colored glasses, because this is going to filter the most blue
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  light to support your natural melatonin production.
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  And when I'm talking about amber colored glasses to block the blue light,
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  I'm really talking about like wraparound so that the light can't get in through the sides too.
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  You can get these on Amazon for a variety of prices.
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  I think I've seen them as low as like $15 and as high as near $100 for wraparound
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  amber colored blue light blocking glasses.
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  They also, these blue light blocking glasses, they can improve your or they
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  can reduce your eye strain, especially if you're on screens a lot.
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  Now here is where the good comes in. Okay good, better, best.
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  Regular glasses or clear glasses can also have a blue light blocking filament
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  or something on them like a coating to block some of that blue light. It doesn't block it all.
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  Yes it blocks a lot of it and yes you can get the little cards and the little
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  flashlights that prove it's blocking the light but it doesn't block as much
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  as the amber colored ones.
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  So yes, good, better, best.
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  I have that coating on my regular glasses because I do work on my computer a
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  lot. So when I went to the optometrist last time and I got my glasses,
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  they asked if I wanted it.
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  And I said, yes, put that blue light coating on my glasses. Absolutely.
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  I don't think I got it for my teenage son. I don't remember.
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  So, you know, do whatever you can. Pick the good, better, best.
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  Good is any sort of blue light blocking.
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  Better amber colored blue light blocking glasses at least two hours before you're going to bed.
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  All right, now let's talk briefly about the FDA and natural thyroid medications.
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  So natural thyroid medications, like an actual animal thyroid that's dried,
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  ground up, and prescribed, natural thyroid medications have been in use since about the 1800s.
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  This was before the FDA.
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  This was before they needed studies to get approved. They tried it. They started using it.
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  They monitored the outcomes, and people realized that natural thyroid.
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  Natural desiccated thyroid, really, really helped people.
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  Fast forward to today. Today we have multiple options, including pharmaceutical T4 and T3.
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  Those are the most common things, and I've got a lot of episodes on them.
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  However, a lot of people still use natural desiccated thyroid because that has a broader spectrum.
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  Just like I was talking about the light, there's multiple different wavelengths.
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  Same thing with thyroid. There's not just two hormones. There's not just T4
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  and T3. There's also T1. There's also T2.
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  There's other things. And so a lot of women, especially women with Hashimoto's,
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  respond better to natural desiccated thyroid than they do a pharmaceutical brand.
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  And the FDA recently came out and said, oh, you know what?
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  Since this was in effect in the 1800s, we're not quite sure that we really like
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  it, so we're going to take it off the market.
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  We're going to give you a little while, but we're going to pull it.
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  Now they have backtracked a little bit, and they have said that they're going
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  to give pharmacies or companies a while to implement things.
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  And I'm just going to say, I'm not the expert in all of the legalese and the.
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  The political battles right now, but I will say that this impacts a ton of women
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  and men with Hashimoto's.
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  So if you are listening to this and you are concerned, not just about yourself,
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  but on access to something that works for other people, there are two petitions
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  right now that I would love for you to sign.
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  Go down to the show notes. There's two different change.org petitions that people
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  are trying to get enough signatures to make a difference.
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  And I'm telling you this because a lot of people really rely on the natural option.
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  They have tried the pharmaceutical and the natural stuff works better for them.
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  And we want access. We want to have the ability to say, this is what I need.
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  This is what works best for me. I want my medical autonomy.
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  I want to be able to track my symptoms and say, this worked.
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  And I want to be able to pursue that instead of the FDA coming in and saying,
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  sorry, all of you are out of luck.
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  So please head down to the show notes and sign these two petitions.
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  I will have more information on this in future episodes, but for right now,
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  just for yourself and for everybody else who is dealing with this,
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  please head down to the show notes and sign these two petitions. I'll see you next week.
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  This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.
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  Please discuss any changes with your trusted healthcare provider.
• 10:00
  To take your next step, join our school community and explore the courses available there.
• 10:04
  You do not have to figure your health out alone.
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  So that is school, S-K-O-O-L.com, and it is the Health with Hashimoto's community.
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  I'll see you next time on the Health.