Hypothyroidism Exercise Revolution PDF / Program Review Free Download Tom Brimeyer | Page 9

Up until the late 1940’s, hypothyroidism was successfully diagnosed and treated based
primarily on a number of common symptoms and oftentimes on your Basal Metabolic
Rate (BMR). Your BMR is entirely dependent upon your thyroid function.
Doctors would determine your BMR by measuring your body’s oxygen consumption,
which would indicate your body’s rate of metabolism. An inefficient use of oxygen was
clearly a sign of hypothyroidism.
Another one of the common symptoms oftentimes used to diagnose hypothyroidism
was cholesterol levels. Research studies at that time, and still today, showed that your
cholesterol levels were directly correlated to your thyroid function.
When thyroid function is low, cholesterol levels rise. When the thyroid is stimulated to
normal levels, cholesterol levels fall to within normal range. And so doctors began using
elevated cholesterol levels as another
indicator of hypothyroidism.
The relationship between thyroid and
cholesterol is easily explained through a
basic understanding of the human body.
Your body requires cholesterol, thyroid
hormone, and vitamin A in order
produce the hormone pregnenolone.
Pregnenolone is a very important
hormone because it is the precursor to
all of the highly protective steroid
hormones including two very important
ones, DHEA and progesterone.
When you are hypothyroid and lack
thyroid hormone, then your body can’t convert cholesterol as it normally would. Thus,
your cholesterol builds up as a protective mechanism in attempt to stimulate the
production of more protective hormones.
At that time, the diagnosis was conclusive based on therapeutic trials. You would be
treated for hypothyroidism while your measureable indicators (BMR, temperatures,
cholesterol, etc.) were charted over time. If your symptoms improved as your indicators
normalized, then the diagnosis was confirmed and treatment would continue.
Based on these well accepted methods that were used at the time,
hypothyroidism was commonly diagnosed and treated in 40-45 percent of the
population.
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