You might have heard the term “self-care” thrown around a lot lately. For some of you it’s a normal and everyday part of your vocabulary and daily routine. For others it might sound wishy washy, selfish, and a waste of time. 
At Truehope we believe self care is an essential part of a holistic approach to maintaining our physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. Self care is choosing to do the hard thing that’s good for you, rather than taking the easy option that isn’t. Doing small things (and even big things) to fill your cup not only supports our personal health, but allows us to be there fully for the people and causes we love. 
Regardless of what you think of self care, you’re most likely already covering some of the basics! Self care really becomes impactful in your life when you can practice being mindful, and noticing what you need to take better care of yourself. 

Here are some examples:
Learning how to saying “no” rather than feeling obliged to do things you don’t really want to do. It’s a powerful word, but it takes some practice! If you feel like you’re getting sick, take the afternoon to lie down, relax, and take some immuno-supportive supplements to give your body a good chance to fight it.  Don’t spend time with people you don’t really like. Notice negative self talk, are you saying things, or have expectations of yourself that you would never say or reasonably expect from anyone else?  Take the pressure off and go back to being a beginner by signing up for a class. Commit to time to recharge yourself - whether that be in nature, with a group of friends, or on your own.  Know yourself, are you an introvert, an extrovert, or someone inbetween? Knowing things like this allows you to take better care of yourself.  Drink more water. Eat more vegetables. Commit to getting more sleep. 

We often think of facials and vacations when we first thing of self care, but it isn’t necessarily what feels good in the moment, rather self care is what will benefit you in the long term. It might mean you decide to leave a job that is exhausting you and keeping you away from your family. It might mean making difficult decisions like asking your spouse to join you in couples counselling, or setting boundaries and reluctantly taking a step away from a friend for a while.
​
Stop and notice, what do you need right now? What would make this moment better for you? It might be a large drink of water, some quiet time to concentrate, or a difficult conversation with a friend. Whatever it is, it’s self care and it’s never selfish.

In Canada, doctors rely on the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test (TSH) to determine if your symptoms are due to hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, you can still have hypothyroid symptoms even when your TSH results are “normal”, which can severely impact your health and quality of life. 
The thyroid makes and stores the thyroid hormones T4 and T3 that affect nearly every cell in your body, and the varied symptoms attributed to hypothyroidism reflect that. 
Common symptoms your doctor may look for include fatigue, weight gain, depression, hair loss, constipation, menstrual irregularities, and lowered body temperature, but there are many more! You must also look out for combinations of symptoms like poor circulation, muscle cramps, lowered immunity, slow wound healing, low stomach acid (indicated by poor digestion of protein, mineral deficiencies, risk of parasitic infection and food poisoning), dry skin, swollen face, and the loss of the outer third of your eyebrows.
TSH is produced by the pituitary gland in your brain in response to how much thyroid hormone is in your bloodstream. If there isn’t enough, the pituitary will produce more TSH to tell thyroid peroxidase (the enzyme that makes thyroid hormone in the thyroid) to produce more. And if there is too much, it will produce less TSH to down-regulate the signal to the thyroid.
In theory, TSH tells us when this feedback loop isn’t working and is causing hypothyroidism, but doctors are expecting a lot from this test: it over-generalizes and ignores many other reasons you may have low thyroid symptoms.
​
Reasons you may have thyroid symptoms even though your TSH levels are “normal”: The pituitary which produces TSH is dysfunctional and does not produce enough TSH even though there are low levels of thyroid hormone in circulation.This is considered secondary hypothyroidism. The testing margins of “normal” TSH are too wide for optimal health, resulting in subclinical hypothyroidism. Under-conversion of T4 to the active T3 form, which happens due to certain medications, high cortisol levels (stress!), high carbohydrate / low protein diets, selenium deficiency and kidney/liver dysfunction. Elevated or decreased thyroid binding globulin (TBG) that transports thyroid hormone while in circulation. Elevated levels of reverse T3  which displaces active T3 thyroid hormones from cellular receptors, and is caused by stress, inflammation, low calorie diets, infections and kidney/liver dysfunction. Autoimmunity in the form of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis where the body attacks thyroid peroxidase (the enzyme that makes thyroid hormone) or thyroglobulin (a protein found in the thyroid). Approximately 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune and caused by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
As our doctors rely on a single test such as TSH to determine hypothyroidism, misdiagnosis is common. The TSH test is an indicator of pituitary production, and cannot be relied upon as a way to measure the effectiveness of the thyroid gland which it regulates. If you are experiencing thyroid symptoms despite a “normal” TSH level, request your Free T4, Free T3, and thyroid antibodies be tested. You may need to visit a Naturopath to get these tests done.

Truehope Nascent Iodine Advanced can help Truehope’s Nascent Iodine Advanced is not like other iodine supplements you see in your local health food store. It is the bioidentical form, meaning the form your body can use immediately without any having to do any conversion processes. This makes it a gentle yet powerful supplement.

You can expect great life changing results, whether you are experiencing compromised thyroid function or your thyroid is functioning optimally.