Herbs, Autoimmunity, and Thyroid Balance: Insights from David Winston
In this exciting episode of ReInvent Healthcare, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo and herbalist David Winston dive into the world of personalized herbal approaches for thyroid health. They discuss the importance of considering an individual's constitution, energetics, and medical history when selecting herbal remedies, and the potential risks of adding supplements without considering the individual person. The conversation expands to cover the interconnected factors affecting thyroid function and practical strategies for reducing exposure to environmental toxins. Whether your clients are dealing with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or simply looking to optimize thyroid health, this episode offers valuable insights into holistic and personalized care. Listen to the full episode to learn more.
What You Will Learn In This Episode:
- Why it is important to personalize herbal remedies based on the clients constitution, energetics, and medical history
- Why simple herbal supplements are not recommended, especially in thyroid conditions
- How exposure to environmental toxins may disrupt thyroid health
- Why it is important to Incorporate balanced, moderate dietary and lifestyle choices while avoiding extremes
- How to improve detoxification and phase 1 and phase 2 liver detoxification with mild herbs as food to enhance the body’s ability to metabolize and get rid of xenoestrogens
Key Terms In This Episode:
- Thyroid-Suppressive Effects – The potential of certain herbs or substances to reduce or inhibit thyroid gland function, potentially leading to or exacerbating hypothyroidism.
- Immune Amphoterics – Herbs that help regulate the immune system, making it either more or less active as needed, depending on the condition, such as ashwagandha and Asian ginseng for one type of autoimmune thyroid condition but not another.
- Biphasic Effect – The ability of certain herbs, like self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), to have dual actions, either stimulating or suppressing thyroid activity depending on what the body needs.
- Xenoestrogens – Synthetic or natural compounds that mimic estrogen in the body and can disrupt endocrine function, including thyroid health, often found in environmental pollutants like plastics.
Resources for this episode
- Free Resource – Optimizing Thyroid Hormone Function
- Listen to other podcast episodes about the Thyroid here
- Read up about Food and Nutrients to Support the Thyroid here
- Create your own super-charging thyroid smoothie here
David Winston Resources