Though we may not think of it very often, the health of our breasts and the health of our thyroid are deeply connected. We know there’s an association between thyroid disease and thyroid cancer. Studies have shown that Hashimoto’s patients are three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer. (1,2) More recent studies have shown that there’s also an association between breast cancer and those with autoimmune thyroid disease. (3,4) There’s another breast condition that’s been shown to be connected to Hashimoto’s – fibrocystic breasts. (5) While having fibrocystic breasts is not associated wit ..read more

Before my Hashimoto’s diagnosis, I had always been very polite, and described myself as a “diplomat.” People knew me as someone who maintained patience and composure in almost any situation. But for me, one of the reasons I suspected something was off with my health, was that I started experiencing mood swings in combination with starting to feel as though I was on an emotional roller coaster… yet felt numb…! This was all completely out of character for me — but when I started addressing the root causes of my Hashimoto’s, I got better. Some of the other symptoms I experienced early on include ..read more

The free-flowing days of summer are now behind us, as we head into fall and a return to busy school schedules and a flurry of activities. Suddenly, it may seem more challenging to fit in the healing activities that you enjoyed over the summertime, whether it was a relaxing vacation, taking time for a restorative yoga class, or more free time to experiment with new thyroid-healing recipes. I’m right there with you as I send my little guy off to preschool in a new hometown and state, in the midst of working and creating new routines in our new home. Fortunately, I have several great resources t ..read more

Did you know that we breathe around 2,000 gallons of air each day? (1) Most of the time, we don’t think twice about what might be in that air — but it could actually be making us sick. As I searched for my own root causes, I found that many people with thyroid conditions can have multiple sensitivities to environmental toxins. Breathing in pollutants is inflammatory, and triggers an immune response as the body tries to process out the toxins. This process puts the liver into overdrive, since chemicals of all kinds are metabolized by the liver. I often find that people with Hashimoto’s have ov ..read more

Summertime is upon us, which means we get to look forward to BBQs, celebrations, gathering with friends, and maybe even some travel this year. For many of us, it’s a welcome relief after the past couple of years that changed our plans and kept us isolated from friends and family. But for others, it might feel a bit daunting to jump back into gatherings, where the food may not be Hashimoto’s-friendly. We worry about food sensitivities and cross-contamination, the weather is warmer and dehydration becomes an issue, and there are more opportunities to drink alcohol and otherwise indulge. Gluten ..read more

Early on in my journey with Hashimoto’s, I realized that my own health significantly improved with the use of nutrition. I had a hunch that I was not the only person that could see improvements in Hashimoto’s with dietary changes, though I wasn’t fully convinced that one particular diet was the answer for every single person. When I began working with clients with Hashimoto’s, however, I noticed that the majority of people I did see improvement with, had implemented a dietary approach that was very similar to my own. The question “What is the right diet to heal Hashimoto’s?” is very complicat ..read more

May 25th marks World Thyroid Day! This day helps bring awareness to thyroid conditions, and acknowledges those who have thyroid disease, those who study it, and the treatments that surround it. At the end of May, I’m always looking at ways to increase thyroid awareness. Did you know? Thyroid disease is prevalent throughout the world. The American Thyroid Association estimates that some 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. The vast majority (over 95 percent) of those diagnosed with hypothyroidism have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease. A research review paper pu ..read more

A few years ago, I had the honor of giving a presentation at the very first functional medicine conference in Poland, my birth country. The only problem? I hadn’t given a presentation in Poland since the second grade, so as you can imagine, my language skills were a little rusty! I practiced my presentation for a few days to be sure I had the technical lingo down that wouldn’t lend itself to my usual conversations in Polish, but a couple of opportunities to ad-lib presented themselves. One of them was a reaction to a question about how to lose weight when someone is not eating much. I wanted ..read more

Hello friends- Spring is in the air, and I am at that age when I am getting excited about spring cleaning (yes, I’m turning 40 this year, lol)! In full disclosure, I have never been as, ahem, “passionate” about home cleaning as my own mother, and would often roll my eyes when she recruited me to be her little helper every Sunday morning. Thanks to my mom, I learned the ins and outs of how to clean a home at a very young age… but I didn’t put those skills to great use. In fact, I vowed to NEVER clean my own house once I moved out of my parents’ place. While I’m a big proponent of having help ..read more

According to functional medicine, the gut is at the center of autoimmune disease — and a growing body of scientific research backs this up. As we look at the gut as a key factor behind many autoimmune diseases, including Hashimoto’s, we need to consider all parts of the gut — including the stomach, the intestines, and the mouth. So when we have an infection in the mouth, even a minor one, or something else that disrupts the oral microbiome (the community of microorganisms found naturally in the mouth), this has the potential to trigger autoimmune disease. Our teeth, gums, tongue, and throat a ..read more