New Year, New Plans to Optimize Thyroid Health

I love this time of year… the holidays are an amazing opportunity to slow down and relax with family, as well as reflect on the past and future. Plus, the new year is always a great time to start fresh!

Over the past few years, my readers, clients, colleagues, team members and family have helped me evolve in so many ways as a human being, healer, friend, leader, bosslady, wife, daughter, sister, and most recently, a mommy to our handsome little #bossbaby!

On a personal level, my sweet #bossbaby Dimitry was born in April, and we’ve been falling in love with him more and more each day. He is such a lovey and has been my greatest teacher over the last 8 months! Right now, we’ve dialed in the major accomplishments of smiling, laughing, playing, nursing, sitting, and starting solids. Next, we will be working on crawling, walking and hopefully sleeping at night (we currently wake up every 3 hours, no joke!).

I have had quite an awakened year as a student of healing, experiencing and learning how to heal new conditions in myself as well as in those close to me…

I took time away from traveling, speaking and consulting during most of my pregnancy and have continued to do so since the birth of my son, but was a busy bee creating articles, recipes and protocols before his birth. After my maternity leave, I edited my new book during his naps.

I also wrapped up quite a few new solutions I had been working on over the past few years, and I’ve been focused on providing new helpful tools and resources to my readers!

• We created a Resource page that contains information about many of my recommended products, practitioners and tools that I hope will continue to serve as a quick start guide and a reference for anyone who is looking for support.

• We continued to enroll people into the Hashimoto’s Self-Management Program, and I’m so proud of the outcomes we’ve been getting! We will open up enrollments again in the new year.

• We developed a brand new Root Cause Reset program! Over 2,000 people enrolled in the program that we held in the spring and fall, and it was so exciting to help those people take back their health through liver support. Many of the Reset members reported that they were feeling better just one week into the dietary protocol. Here’s what some people had to say about the program:
  • “Nearing the end of the final day, and I’m really grateful to have gone through the Reset. My joints don’t ache and my hands don’t feel arthritic, no charlie horses anymore, my skin texture has improved considerably, my eyes aren’t itching even in high allergy season, and I’ve lost 11 pounds when I haven’t been able to lose weight in years. All this in just 21 days. I wasn’t expecting that much benefit in a short time. It is really the boost I needed to keep going with these lifestyle changes. Loving the Hashimoto’s Protocol book I just got as well. It’s the post-Reset guidebook I need. Signing off a happy camper.” – Rachel W.
  • “Here’s my update from doing the liver reset: […] Lab results show my total cholesterol came down 56 points, bringing me to normal levels for the first time in several years. My LDL (bad cholesterol) came down 51 points to almost normal as well. I have lost 6 lbs. I still have some other labs to work on but have never seen these kind of results 🙂 I quickly signed up for this amazing opportunity because of Dr. Izabella’s knowledge and then was so pleased with her team’s support as well! I have already signed up for the next!” – Michelle H.

We have the next one scheduled for March, so be sure to save the date if you’d like to get involved!

• We continued to expand the Rootcology supplement line to include six new solutions. The line now includes 16 high-quality, autoimmune-friendly products, plus a Liver Support Kit, so that everyone can have access to the supplements they need to feel better:
  • Betaine with Pepsin – Contains betaine hydrochloride (an amino acid derivative), and pepsin (a digestive enzyme), naturally occurring components of stomach acid that break down proteins. Taken with meals, this formula may help to support healthy digestive function, aid in the breakdown of protein-containing foods, and support optimal nutrient absorption.* It helped me to banish years of fatigue and write my first book, Hashimoto’s: The Root Cause.* I hope it helps you too!
  • Curcumin Absorb – A highly bioavailable formulation of curcuminoids, which are derived from turmeric root. Curcumin, which has powerful antioxidant properties, can help support a healthy inflammatory response and immune system.
  • Magnesium Citrate – Provides 300 mg of magnesium (as magnesium citrate) in each one teaspoon serving. Magnesium is a critical mineral for a host of biochemical processes throughout the body, and can be helpful for many common symptoms seen in those with Hashimoto’s. (Learn more here.)
  • Pancreatic Enzymes Plus – A Paleo-friendly, hypoallergenic enzyme formula designed to support proper digestive function. These enzymes, which are often deficient in those with Hashimoto’s, are instrumental in breaking down the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins in foods.
  • Veggie Enzymes – A plant-based enzyme formula that may be especially helpful for the digestion of plant foods like grains and beans, which commonly induce digestive upset. When our digestion is optimized, we can harness more of the essential, life-building nutrients in the quality foods we choose!
  • Pure N-Acetyl Cysteine – An amino acid that is a precursor to glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant. NAC helps support liver function, detoxification and muscle recovery. This is one of my favorite supplements for Hashimoto’s – find out why here.

• I put the finishing touches on the Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols & Healing Recipes to Take Charge of your Thyroid Health cookbook, and thanks to your efforts, I secured some wonderful pre-orders to ensure we get adequate placement. This fall, we were so excited to launch our Food Pharmacology Cookbook Crowdfunding campaign to invite our readers to support our mission to promote health through nutrition and lifestyle changes. I’m so grateful to everyone who has supported this initiative!

• In December, we re-launched The Thyroid Secret documentary series for a free weekend, which allowed our tribe and their friends and families to have the opportunity to watch or re-watch all the episodes and gain information to take back their health.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to turn my life’s passion for helping people recover their health into a movement that has created positive change all around the world!

Now, December is when I begin to think about resolutions and goals for the new year.

I hope that you’re taking a pause this season and thinking about all of the ways you’d like to grow into the best and truest version of yourself in 2019.

Here are a few of my goals and resolutions!

My Goals and Resolutions for 2019

• Take some more time for me and my family, until it feels right… to focus on snuggling, healing, and having fun. I love my work and I love to travel, so I thought I would want to jump right back in after the birth of my son, but that has not been the case! I can’t bear to be away from my little baby bear, and I’m having so much fun enjoying our home life with my hubby (we used to love to travel together)… So you likely won’t see me speaking at any major conferences in 2019, but I may just appear on Facebook live or host a webinar during one of the baby’s naps! As far as my health goes, I’m a work-in-progress at the moment. Pregnancy, nursing and 8+ months of broken sleep has affected my own health — the most obvious difference has been in my overall muscle mass. The 40 lb weight gain + lack of sleep + lack of exercise has led me to lose a lot of muscle… While I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I want to feel strong and muscular again. My adrenals have also been compromised (thanks to new parenthood + that sleep thing). I also had H. pylori. Coupled with an increased demand from nursing, this led to digestive challenges and numerous nutrient deficiencies. (Luckily, I know a thing or two about all of those, and after researching how to adjust my nutrients for nursing, my levels are balanced again.) I am focusing on gently restoring my own health, as well as the health of a few of my family members (more about that in 2019). I am being patient with myself, knowing that I’ll be able to exercise and recover more when my little one starts sleeping through the night. Most of all, I’m just enjoying these times. I know the nights may be long now, but the time with a new baby is super short and I’ll miss those nighttime snuggles when he’s a teenager!

• Launch the Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols & Healing Recipes to Take Charge of your Thyroid Health cookbook! My goal was to create the most helpful, most practical, and tastiest cookbook and nutrition guide to support you as you heal, grow, and become the best version of yourself! The book will teach you how to be your own nutrition guru. I want to give you tools you can use no matter what life throws your way. If someone else heals you, you will need to seek out their healing or someone else’s healing anytime you experience life changes; but if you learn to heal yourself, you can do so, no matter what life throws at you, just as I have. 🙂

• Create a new program to help support the adrenals for me and for all of you. My #1 strategy for adrenal support has always been getting plenty of sleep. The other strategies are the ABC’s (adaptogens, B vitamins and vitamin C) and giving up caffeine. (I share this in Hashimoto’s Protocol, and this works like a charm for people who are able to follow it.) But the program I am building will be more advanced, and will even help people who have trouble sleeping and giving up caffeine.

• Create more helpful supplements! Stay tuned and let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see.

• As I mentioned earlier, I have had quite an awakened year as a student of healing… I’ve learned all about how to heal several conditions: lactation failure, ulcerative colitis, chronic fatigue and eczema, to name a few… I’ve also learned new protocols for pregnancy, nursing, babies and rapid symptom resolution. I have high hopes of sharing what I learned in deeply researched and fact-checked books in the future that ensure that no stone is left unturned, but for now, I may start with a few articles. Anything in particular I can cover?

I also wanted to share some articles I’ve written in the last year, to support you in overcoming Hashimoto’s.

Here are some of the most popular articles of 2018:

• How Myo-Inositol Can Improve Hashimoto’s
• Lab Tests to Find Your Root Cause
• Thyroid Antibodies Part 1: An Early Warning for Thyroid Disease
• Thyroid Antibodies Part 2: Mechanisms to Reduce Thyroid Antibodies
• Could Nickel Be the Root Cause of Your Thyroid Symptoms?
• Fluoride and Your Thyroid
• 8 Benefits of the Infrared Sauna That Can Reduce Symptoms of Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism
• How to Overcome Hair Loss with Hashimoto’s
• Can Breast Implants Trigger Hashimoto’s?
• How to Shrink Thyroid Nodules

I often interact with readers on Facebook and Instagram, so if you’re haven’t visited my social media sites, I encourage you to do so! They’re a wonderful place for sharing tips and interacting with the Thyroid Pharmacist community.

It’s been an honor to serve you, and I hope that these resources have been helpful on your journey. If you have had an “aha” moment or success story from any of them, I’d love to hear about it!

To continue supporting you, here are some things I’ll be covering in 2019:

• Solutions for dealing with unsupportive people in your life
• The keto diet, intermittent fasting and thyroid health
• The effects of Hashimoto’s on the libido
• Addressing muscle wasting and building muscle
• Resolving brain fog
• Copper toxicity
• Vegan diets, FODMAPs and other dietary approaches

Do you have any insights on the above topics, or is there anything else you’d like me to write about? If so, let me know in the comments section of this article! Please also let me know if there’s anything else you want me to cover, such as specific symptoms, specific root causes, or specific solutions you may have heard about or experienced yourself!

And to ensure that we stay in touch in the new year, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter. By signing up for it here, you will also receive recipes, a diet guide, and the Nutrient Depletions chapter of my New York Times bestselling patient guide, Hashimoto’s: The Root Cause.

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