Graves' Disease

What Is Graves' Disease

Graves' Disease is an autoimmune disease that triggers the overproduction of thyroid hormones.  The disease causes a certain type of antibody to attach itself to cells in the thyroid.  To put it simply, Graves' Disease causes too much 'thyroxin', a hormone produced by the thyroid gland.  An overactive thyroid causes increased heart rate and anxiety.  Graves' Disease is the most common cause of Hyperthyroidism, so the symptoms can be similar in both conditions.  Graves' Disease can occur in both men and women, but it occurs 8-10 more times in women.  While it isn't the same as Hashimoto's Disease, it is closely related. 

Signs Of Graves' Disease

While Graves' Disease can display similar symptoms to Hyperthyroidism, people can also experience other symptoms that aren't related to that condition.  It can be difficult to detect symptoms early on, which makes Graves' hard to diagnose.  Pay attention to the following symptoms to help make an accurate diagnosis. 

  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • Hand tremors
  • Bulging eyes
  • Increased sweating
  • Muscle weakness
  • Restlessness
  • Sensitivity to heat
  • Elevated blood pressure
  • Chest pain
  • Irregular heart beat
What Causes Graves' Disease

A normal immune system response is to send antibodies to fight viruses or bacteria in the body.  People with Graves' Disease produce an antibody to one part of the cells in the thyroid.  Without getting too technical, this antibody disrupts the normal brain signal and causes and over production of thyroid hormones.  While this is a malfunction of the body's immune system, the exact reason for why this happens is still unknown.  Possible causes can include:

  • Genetics (family history)
  • Gender
  • Age
  • Other autoimmune disorders
  • Emotional stress
  • Physical stress
  • Pregnancy
  • Smoking cigarettes

Dherbs Approach...adjusting your diet is always key!

Natural Remedies

Magnetic therapy can be especially helpful for those with Graves' Disease.  A powerful small-sized gauss magnet (2,500 - 14,000 g) can be applied over the thyroid gland with an adhesive and worn during the daylight hours, or 12 hours on and 12 hours off.

We recommend that you take part in the Full Body Cleanse to naturally rid toxins and waste from your system.  After cleansing, we recommend that you continue to eat healthily.  You can benefit your thyroid by eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, legume sprouts, vegetable protein, and foods that contain selenium, for example, Brazil nuts.

Graves' Disease, like all other thyroid disorders, can be managed by supplying the body with high amounts of natural iodine, also known as iodine phosphate.  Sea vegetables are probably the best sources of iodine.  You can eat things like kelp, arame, spirulina, kombu, and wakame.  You can also eat things like strawberries, cranberries, or organic potatoes. 

Increasing the amount of protein in the diet can help nourish the thyroid gland into functioning properly.  Protein is vital to any diet and also helps to carry the thyroid hormone to the tissues of the body.  Foods that are high in protein include almonds, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, Swiss chard, snow peas, and many more.

An all-raw foods and/or vegan diet will also facilitate the healing process.  It is beneficial to abstain from eating meat, dairy products, refined grains, and refined starches, as well as white table salt and white sugar.  These foods can be hard on the immune system, and you don't want that.  You want to eat foods the aforementioned raw foods to help nourish the immune system. 

Decreasing the amount of stress in your life helps to improve your overall wellbeing.  When you’re stressed, it causes your immune system to change almost instantly.  The thyroid gland is very sensitive to stress.  Keeping your stress levels down helps the thyroid carry out its normal functions. Things that help to naturally decrease stress include exercise, meditation, magnesium-rich foods, Epsom salt baths, or breathing exercises. 

Mercury is a chemical element found in rocks that contaminates the air and water.  This particular element is also present in numerous foods such as fish, high-fructose corn syrup and rice.  Mercury interferes with a variety of the minerals that are essential to the thyroid gland and the production of the hormone.  It’s also commonly used for dental fillings, in which a high amount is used to correct cavities.  Removing the silver fillings (amalgam) helps to decrease the amount of mercury present in the body, in addition to rationing out the amount of foods that contain high amounts of the element.

Things you should eat
  • Sea Vegetables (kelp, arame, spirulina, wakame, and and kombu)
  • Leafy Green Vegetables (chard, kale, spinach, and collards)
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Snow Peas
  • Broccoli
  • Strawberries
  • Cranberries
  • Organic Potatoes
  • Avocado
  • Chia Seeds
  • Olive Oil
  • Turmeric
  • Flaxseeds
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