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Is Your Depression Caused by Your Thyroid?

10/23/2019

According to the Thyroid Foundation of Canada, thyroid disorders are found in 0.8 - 5% of the population. Hypothyroidism specifically, affects over 2% of Canadians and many more go undiagnosed.

When we suffer from hypothyroidism, all our metabolic processes in the body “slow down”. This brings symptoms like feeling cold, weight gain, coarse skin, dry and brittle hair, muscle weakness, poor memory, and depression which we’ll focus on today.

A huge 38% of older people (age 60-79) with hypothyroidism reported symptoms of depression. It’s not just people with an official diagnosis either. People with subclinical hypothyroidism - a condition where your hormone levels are still within your doctors “normal” range, yet outside of “optimal functioning” ranges - may also be more vulnerable to depression than the general population. Over their lifetime, 56% of people with subclinical hypothyroidism suffer from depression, compared to 20% who do not have a thyroid problem.

These statistics reveal that treating the thyroid, the root cause, is often an effective way to treat depression. In Canada however, if your doctor suspects you have a thyroid problem they will test your Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test (TSH). Unfortunately, you can still have hypothyroid symptoms even when your TSH results are “normal”, making it hard to convince your doctor to help you.

According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, “The diagnosis of subclinical or clinical hypothyroidism must be considered in every patient with depression”.

Identify if your thyroid is the root cause of your symptoms of depression, then:

- Ensure you’re getting the essential nutrients you need to support your thyroid such as iodine, selenium, zinc, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin D.
- Support your thyroid with Truehope Nascent Iodine Advanced which is needed to build your thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3).
- Get enough amino-acids in your diet, maybe with Truehope Freeminos, to support brain health and T4 and T3 production.
- Manage your stress levels to lower your levels of the hormone Reverse T3 (rT3), which negates the hard work of your hormone T3.
- Support your mood with Truehope EMP, our micronutrient formula studied for it’s mood-stabilizing effects.
- And get gentle exercise to help with the immediate symptoms of depression.

It’s important to remember that mental health symptoms do not happen in isolation, there is always a root cause, and tackling this root cause is the best way to resolve any health issue.

Do You Believe Scientific Studies or Your Own Experience?

10/16/2019

Fake news! Raise your hand if you’ve heard this term in the last couple of years!

There has been a rise, and consequent push back, against factually incorrect news of late. Sometimes it can be hard to know who to trust.

The concept of fake news has spilled over into science too, providing an even bigger push to ensure health claims are backed up by scientific research studies. This is a good thing, but if you’ve read our recent article Why Don’t More Psychiatrists Prescribe Micronutrients? you’ll know that it’s not always that simple.

Today we’re going to dig a little deeper and help you navigate the world of health science.

A scientific research study is a process of discovery that researchers undergo to learn something new about a topic. They begin with a “hypothesis” (a tentative idea or problem), and their goal is to run experiments to observe and test their hypothesis. The goal is to do this without a particular result or bias in mind, just to be open to what happens and to learn from it. When the study is concluded the researchers can either confirm, reject, or modify their hypothesis. The results of one study may then generate a direction of further study.

As you might imagine, there are many ways to run a study. Each one has a different purpose, and a different mix of strengths and weaknesses. Some are more robust scientifically, some take years to complete or are very expensive, some are quantitative (numerical) while others are qualitative (non-numerical) or a combination of both. Some are intended as a quick snapshot to help guide more in-depth study, others study thousands of people over decades of their lives.

The studies done on Truehope EMP are a mix of: Double-blind placebo controlled: When neither the researchers running the trial, nor the participants know who is taking the treatment under investigation or the placebo. This means there is no room for bias, and provided the strongest evidence making the gold standard study design. They are expensive so many other studies will be done before advancing to this kind.

Randomized controlled trial: Participants are randomly assigned to the group receiving the treatment under investigation, or to a group receiving the placebo. The group receiving the placebo is also known as the control group which allows comparison of results between those taking and not taking the treatment. This helps avoid selection bias which could affect results.

Case studies: A detailed study of an individual or a small group of individuals, and usually quantitative in nature. It’s used to explore and describe a particular phenomenon, such as following the progress of an individual with Bipolar Disorder. Case studies may be used to guide more substantial research in the future.

Open label: When both the researchers running the trial, and the participants know who is taking the treatment under investigation or the placebo. It is often used to compare the efficacy of two different treatments, and the participants know what treatment they are taking. In some cases this might be less effective, in others there’s a reason for participants to know what their treatment is such as being chosen for a study because they already are using a particular medication.

Reversal design: When participants take the treatment under investigation for a set period of time, then they switch to the placebo (or another treatment) for the same amount of time, then return to the treatment under investigation (and vice versa).

Anecdotal information - This is your personal experience, or when someone has told a researcher their personal experience. Anecdotal information has value when the researcher starts hearing the same reports from different people, which can suggest a line of inquiry to pursue.

In addition to the many kinds of study designs out there, there’s considerable nuance, context, and confounding factors that must be considered too! Is the study independent or is it funded by the company who developed the medication? Who does the researcher work for, or have ties to (now or in the past)? Where is there potential for bias?

You must also consider if the money exists to study something. For example huge pharmaceutical companies will put billions of dollars into studies, meaning they are not independent studies and have a high risk of bias. They also have strategic plans to recoup their money. That level of financial investment does not exist for holistic solutions.

Just because something has not been studied, does not mean it won’t work for you. Just because a product has been subject to smaller studies, and not studied on thousands of people doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Equally, just because a treatment has been well studied on a population level and is well accepted, doesn’t mean it will work for you as an individual.

Which brings us to your personal experience, does it matter? Can it be trusted in the world of science? Your personal experience is valid, but remember that just because you have an experience doesn’t mean someone else will, and vice-versa.

Take an interest in where your health information is coming from, inform yourself on how the researchers reached their conclusions. Scrutinize their methods, follow the money, listen to the experts, then think for yourself. Treat yourself as your own scientific study, and trust the response your body gives you.

Can Hormonal Contraceptives Increase Your Suicide Risk?

10/9/2019

Introduced to women in the 1960’s, hormonal contraception introduced an era allowing women more and more control over when (and whether) they had children. Now, millions of women in Canada rely on hormonal birth control.

While the use of hormonal contraception is liberating, it’s also important to be aware of its side effects. It will come as no surprise to you that today we’re interested in discussing the side effects of the possible “mood changes” when taking hormonal contraception.

A Danish study published in 2017 investigated if hormonal contraception and those “mood changes” are positively associated with the use of antidepressants and a diagnosis of depression.

The study ultimately showed a shocking association between hormonal contraception and the risk of suicide and suicide attempts, particularly in women aged 15 to 33. In the study, 475,802 women considered to be healthy, with no prior history of suicide attempts, psychiatric diagnoses, or antidepressant use were followed for 8.3 years on average. Official data showed 6,999 first suicide attempts and 71 suicides, not to mention those that went unreported.

When compared to a group of women who had never used hormonal contraception: The relative risk of attempting suicide increased twofold one month after women started taking hormonal contraception. The risk of suicide attempts peaked after two months of use and remained at least doubled until one year after they had begun. This risk decreased after one year, but remained 30% higher over more than 7 years compared to those who never used hormonal contraception. The patch, vaginal ring, and progestin-only products were associated with higher risks for both suicide and suicide attempts than oral combined products (The patch and ring are thought to be about dosage rather than delivery method). All types of hormonal contraceptives were linked to a higher subsequent use of antidepressants, and a first diagnosis of depression.

Of all the women studied, adolescents (under the age of 20) were shown to be the most vulnerable (the risk likely exacerbated by hormones and social demands that come with being a teenager).

In the past, studies have had mixed results when studying the side effects of hormonal birth control. If this Danish study tells us anything, however, it’s that further studies into the influence of hormonal contraceptives on women’s mood is desperately needed. While “mood” is the term most often used in medication package inserts, we should really be telling women of the increased risk of depression, increased prescription of antidepressants, and increased risk of suicide that may come with use of hormonal contraception.

Depression and suicidal ideation enter our lives for many reasons. It’s important to be aware that everyday medications such as the hormonal contraception can be one of those reasons. We recommend monitoring your mood as you start (or change) your hormonal contraception, and consult your doctor if you notice mood changes. While the teens in your life are likely to know about the safety net that hormonal contraception provides, make sure they also know of the long term risks to their mental health.

Why Don’t More Psychiatrists Prescribe Micronutrients?

10/2/2019

If you have ever been to your doctor and told them about the supplements you take, you may have received a variety of reactions: disdain, curiosity, or “If it’s working, keep doing it!” But why aren’t doctors, particularly psychiatrists, so unlikely to recommend micronutrients to help their patients?

To date, Truehope EMP has 29 empirical reports done at independent universities around the world, such as Harvard University, Ohio State University, University of Canterbury, NZ, New York State University, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Alberta, University of Hawaii, University of Lethbridge, Argosy University, and the University of Manitoba.

It is hard to find a supplement company that has as many studies on their products as we do! So why are most doctors so resistant to using micronutrients (like Truehope EMP) in the treatment of mental health conditions? Why don’t they think of vitamins and minerals as being capable of providing the same (or better) effects as psychiatric medications?

Because doctors are typically not trained in the use of micronutrients, nor the transition from psychiatric medications to micronutrients, which requires even greater technical knowledge. To be fair, it’s easy (for all of us!) to build a bias against methods we’re not trained in.

All the nutrients in Truehope EMP are within safe limits and approved by Health Canada for sale as a health supplement. It is based on what we know about the effects of individual nutrients and their synergies, yet how it works is not fully understood. Any multi-ingredient supplement can have effects that cannot be predicted from its ingredients alone.

You might notice that your prescriptions have one active ingredient. That’s because science likes to study just one thing at a time, noting its effects. You may be on multiple prescriptions, and millions of dollars would have been used to study how they might interact. If you are taking more than 5 medications however, their interactions can be difficult to study, and for your doctor to predict.

In the same way, studying the effects of multiple micronutrients is complex. First you must study an effective dose for the individual micronutrients. Then you must study all the possible combinations of those micronutrients and their effects. Then you might consider how a formula can be optimized for different disorders, in different individuals of different ages, and different combinations of health problems.

The problem is, many people have been experiencing the side effects of psychotropic medications for years, and are not in a position to wait for these studies to happen. There are also many reasons why someone may want to try something more natural before they take pharmaceuticals.

Their doctors however, may not be comfortable recommending micronutrients due to lack of formal, empirical, large-scale studies. The only companies who have the financial means to do these are pharmaceutical companies.

Micronutrient and nutritional approaches to mental health are in their infancy for a reason. It will require teams of doctors and researchers to work together to address the traditional bias against nutritional supplementation for it to begin to be accepted in the mainstream as a treatment for psychiatric disorders.

In the meantime, our success Coaches at MicroNutrient Support Services are here to help anyone who wants to reduce or stop taking their anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and antipsychotic medications. They have helped over 100,000 people since 1996 reduce or come off their psychotropic medications while avoiding the unpleasant side effects.

Author

We want to provide nothing but the highest quality information and advice for our followers to improve their health, which is why at Truehope Canada, we're happy to say our writer is a Certified Life Coach and Registered Holistic Nutritionist.
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