HIMPower Magazine HimPower September 2017 | Page 17

ulating hormone), thyroxine levels (T4) and
other blood parameters may lead one to
believe you are in the “normal” range when
the normal range may be far too broad. A
test initiated by Dr. Broda Barnes, consid-
ered to be one of the premier experts on
thyroid, is far better. Plus, it has the added
convenience of being able to be performed
at home.
The procedure is simple:
• Take a non-digital thermometer and
place it on your bedside table
• In the morning upon wakening –
without getting out of bed – place the
thermometer in your armpit and hold
arm close to body for 10 minutes
• Read temperature and record (women
in menstruation should wait for ovula-
tion to cease)
• Repeat procedure each day for three days
Normal is 97.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
Anything under 97.8 probably means
varying degrees of suboptimal thyroid
function or actual hypothyroidism. In
general, the lower the temperature is, the
worse the condition. But in these cases, it’s
not unusual to find readings as low as 96
degrees.
Unfortunately, in many cases of hypo-
thyroidism, doctors fall back on the catchall
diagnoses: stress, anxiety or depression,
because these are symptoms of the real
disease. They overlook the root cause of
these symptoms.
Let me emphasize the fact that under-
active thyroid is very serious. Beyond weight
gain, disruptions to the health of the thyroid
can alter your personality significantly,
completely taking away the enjoyment of
life and eventually leading to depression,
anxiety and anti-social behavior.
WHY YOU NEED IODINE
Because most of us figure that we get
enough iodine from salt, it’s easy to forget
that iodine was added to salt because of
widespread goiter development (iodine
deficiency) back in the 1920s. While this
did reduce the incidence of goiter and other
thyroid problems, many people have since
cut back on the use of table salt at home.
And processed foods, which are typically
very high in sodium, don’t necessarily have
added iodine.
Historically, iodine was always used
for infections and for pneumonia and bron-
chitis. Lack of it was considered to be the
cause of mental slowness. Even today, iodine
deficiency is considered to be the most
common cause of preventable brain damage
in the world.
But in the 1940s, a single paper written
by two researchers completely changed the
way we use iodine. This poorly documented
paper gave the impression that iodine use
was not only archaic and unnecessary, but
could even be dangerous, citing overactive
thyroid (hyperthyroidism) as a side effect.
Almost overnight, the use of iodine in medi-
cine was stopped and in its place we have a
fear of one of the most important and crit-
ical nutrients in our diet. With the advent
of modern drugs since the 1940s, could the
profits realized by the drug companies have
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