7 Thyroid Damagers Hiding Out in Your Home

Hey guys, Dr. Josh Axe here with Jordan Rubin. Welcome to Ancient Medicine Today. Today, we're going to be talking about the many things that are actually destroying your thyroid and some of the top foods and nutrients and herbs you need to start taking in order to boost your thyroid health. And Jordan, there are so many people today that are struggling with thyroid issues. I remember when I first opened my clinic in Nashville, I was surprised by how many women were coming to my office With Hashimoto's disease, hypothyroidism, a number of other thyroid-related issues, how prevalent is hypothyroidism? And then let's start jumping into some of the things we can start to do to fix our thyroid.

Well, I think the issues with our thyroid really is environmental, and that's perfect for today's discussion. We're going to talk to you about some of the hidden destroyers of your thyroid health in your home. But I would guess, and I'm just throwing this out there. I'm guessing that thyroid disease diagnosed in what they call subclinical probably affects more than half of the women above 35 years of age.

Wow.

I would add adrenal to that. The adrenal-thyroid axis, so to speak, is absolutely compromised today with all of the challenges that we have in our environment, everything that we're putting in our bodies, surrounding our bodies with, but we're going to help you change that. So if you know anybody today That is a female, and males have thyroid issues too, believe it or not. Go ahead and click that share button because we're going to teach you how to avoid some of these common thyroid destroyers and some ways to boost and balance your thyroid.

All right, Jordan, let's dive right in and talk about some of the things destroying our thyroid. Number 1 here, I'll have you talk about pizza boxes.

Well, first of all, this is a really small pizza. It's like the Alice in Wonderland pizza box. First of all, I want to be very clear, we're not against pizza boxes. This is an example of modern technology and packaging that's laced with chemicals. You can even smell the chemicals. There's various glues, there's various bleaches, etc. So when you expose yourself to some of these compounds, they actually can adhere to some of the receptor sites that are thyroid-specific. And so when you're dealing with a lot of particularly food-handling materials, you're going to get residue from here. And I will say this, it's probably better that there's nothing in here even though this would be like a tiny Elvis version of pizza. But what you wrap your food in, what you store your food in, plastics, plastic wrap, aluminum foil can be very deleterious to your health.

Oh, yeah, big time.

So point number 1, avoid tiny pizza boxes. Stay away.

Absolutely. Well, you know, one of the other things that might surprise people is popcorn. And I'm actually— I read an article here. Actually, this is a study out of Harvard that says a lot of these flavorings in popcorn are actually worse for you than cigarettes.

Wow.

And so pretty crazy here. So you can see these popcorn kernels. When you're doing popcorn, make sure it's organic. The other thing they talked about in a study Is the lining, when you're actually putting in microwavable popcorn, the lining in there actually has a plastic-like substance that actually then gets on your popcorn and they are endocrine disruptors. They cause liver issues, can cause kidney issues over time. So again, popcorn, I know it's typically thought of, Jordan, this is one of those diet snacks out there.

Yes, yes.

A lot of people are trying to do the low-fat popcorn, microwavable popcorn, but we know it affects the livers, affects the kidneys. And according to one Harvard researcher, it could be worse for you than cigarettes.

Well, and think about this, most of what we're going to talk about today, it's about convenience. You mentioned microwaves, microwaving food wasn't up here, but getting radiation into your body, I was told since I was young by my dad who's a naturopath and a chiropractor, don't have a microwave in your home, don't stand in front of a microwave when someone's using it, and don't ever eat food. It's been dramatically altered and destroyed. nothing else. So think about this, we are not against convenience, but in many cases, doing things the shortcut way shortcuts your health.

Yeah.

So now we're going to talk about dental floss. I'll admit, I haven't been a big flosser in my life until the last few years, and now I really believe in the health of my gums, so I am flossing. But the chemicals and even the materials that this floss is made from can be harmful. This is all about endocrine disrupting. Endocrine is your hormonal system. And these toxins and chemicals can bind to the thyroid-specific receptor sites, even causing Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Yeah.

So, it causes an autoimmune phenomenon. So, when you use dental floss, and not everyone likes this, use the kind that is more sustainable, get it from a health food store. The fibers are different and the junk they put in it is certainly removed. Make sure to read, you got artificial colors, dyes, etc. So, make sure to floss. But use floss that— it'll be off-color, it'll be from your health food store, but find safe dental floss is a good search term for online.

And one of the things Jordan and I both promote and love doing is oil pulling instead. Again, now you can get natural floss and that's great, but doing oil pulling, doing some coconut oil mixed with maybe some good essential oils such as myrrh oil and clove oil, swishing that around in your mouth, that's a good replacement as well. The next one here we've got. these pans that are made with things such as Teflon. And you can see here that obviously it's great because these are known as typically nonstick pans. But eventually, and I know in certain countries, Jordan, these types of pans are actually banned in actually certain countries as well.

Ban the pan.

Ban the pan. Yeah, these actually have something called PFOAs, and when you heat these pans, they give off carcinogenic agents, that means cancer-causing agents as well. So I definitely highly recommend getting rid of these pans that are nonstick. You know, use stainless steel when you are cooking. Typically, you want to put some oil in the pan such as coconut oil or ghee or avocado oil, letting it get warm and then putting your food on a couple minutes after it's warm and you'll actually have a lot less stick there. But this has actually been specifically connected to Kidney and liver disease as well, as well as being carcinogenic, cancer-causing. So stay away from this, switch to stainless steel, copper, ceramic. These things are better instead.

And this is really, really harmful also. You can see the surface, this is a beautiful new one, but when you begin to use a fork or a knife or even certain spatulas, you start to cut it up and fragments of this get in your food and certainly the gases. And this is a bummer because it is amazing. You can fry an egg in here and not use any oil. But here's the way I look at it. I overcome the issue of nonstick by having teenagers in the house and we make them clean the pots and pans. But it's true though, people don't like to make eggs and other entrees because they stick so much. And even the make the oil warm trick only works some of the time.

Yes.

But listen, remember, convenience is important but your health is more important. Wouldn't you be glad to know this now than later? And what a silly thing that this could be causing your thyroid issues and thyroid issues lead to so many other issues. issues. Picnic plates. Now, this is again similar to the super tiny pizza box. Trees don't have bark that looks like this.

No.

It's bleached, it's got chemicals, and these chemicals when you interact with them, they give off toxins in the air. We talk about breathing in essential oils, olfactory nervous system, this is the opposite. And again, you're eating, you're getting pieces or even On a micro level in there. So you want to avoid things that are excessively bleached including bleached flour because that can again disrupt your endocrine system.

Yeah, good stuff. Next one here is shampoo. We know that shampoo can be loaded with a number of additive ingredients, sodium lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol, different types of parabens, different types of synthetic fragrances that a lot of people can develop sensitivities to. All of these are found in our shampoo today. The thing is, Jordan, you and I both know this and use these ourselves, why not use natural things like aloe vera gel, essential oils, and other plant-based compounds that actually do your hair more good? I can tell you, I've made my own shampoo using aloe vera gel and rosemary oil and it works better. In fact, it's very volumizing to the hair. It's a better thing to do and implement.

Absolutely.

And it actually is just as cost-effective. And so again, aloe vera gel, rosemary oil, other oils work well such as sage and cedarwood are also good for naturally supporting and thickening your hair there as well. And we've got some great recipes for natural shampoo. If you go to draxe.com or just search Dr. Axe shampoo recipe, we've got some great ones there for you. And then Jordan, dust?

Actually, riding around on a broom is very dangerous for your— no, no, no.

This is— Be careful with that.

Dust can be a serious issue. I thought it was the— when I came in, I thought it was the broom, you know, like the handle is made of— anyway, dust is a serious issue. And I live in Florida part of the year, which is very damp and moist. And you go into some houses and you see the air conditioning ducts.

Oh, yeah.

Just changing them, you have to wear these special goggles. You've written an article not too long ago about the benefits of houseplants, not fake ones. See, that's the thing, people put fake houseplants in there. And then you're actually getting more chemicals. But certain types of houseplants can purify the air.

Yeah.

There are also various air purification systems. You can even buy for a couple dollars more better filters that will be on the micron level. And now there's UV light within the filters that can kill microbes, etc. But these dust particles and really things from your home, whether it's your carpet, your paint, obviously there's compounds that are lining the attic walls. We used to have asbestos, etc. These are all endocrine disruptors and they compete for healthy compounds and can damage your thyroid. And all of these things, the shampoo, I remember once looking at a baby shampoo ingredient panel. I didn't recognize— the average person wouldn't recognize a single ingredient. It wasn't like avocado, coconut oil.

Yeah.

Everything had numbers and letters in it and one word, which is not a word by the way, it's a chemical. We're putting this on our kids' hair.

Yeah.

And these babies have a much more ability to react negatively to that toxic load. So we've got to clean up our act, forget convenience, go for health. And guess what? Every one of these areas, you can find a healthy alternative, shop at the right stores.

So what?

Your plates will be a little brown. Pizza boxes won't exist because you won't get pizza in a box, that's the easiest way. You won't ride around on broomsticks. You'll have less dust. You'll use better shampoo than that and you won't use these beautiful nonstick pans. Make your teenagers clean and do the dishes. It works for us in our house.

All right, let's talk about some tips to support the health of your thyroid. Before I do that though, we want to give you guys a shout out and also ask you, hey, help us spread the word that food is medicine. So we talked about the things that are toxic to your thyroid. We're now about to get into the things that can help support the health of your thyroid. So take a minute right now, punch that share button, click that like button, and we want to say thanks for being on mission with us. We'll see who's joining us here, Jordan. We've got Candy Brazier watching from Killarney, Texas. Hey, Candy, thanks for joining me here today. Amber Roche makes a comment. She says, I use CBD oil and coconut oil to do oil pulling daily with those 2 together. We've got Angie Kennedy watching from Arizona. Hey, Angie, thanks for joining us here today. We've got Sharon Walls watching from Houston, Texas. We've got Gloria McCann watching from Maryland and May Toveyler watching from Norway. Awesome, guys. Thanks so much for joining us here today. Oh, another comment here, great comment said, you forgot to mention cast iron skillets. That's from Margaret Lopez. Margaret, you're right, cast iron. A great type of skillet you can use. So Jordan, let's first talk here. I'll talk about essential oils and have you jump into ashwagandha. You know, essential oils, number one benefit of them is that they can replace the toxins in your house. So as we mentioned earlier, for shampoo, using rosemary oil. You know, the chemicals in our deodorant supply that have things like aluminum, you know, making your own at-home deodorant with things like baking soda, coconut oil, beeswax, A great male scent is sandalwood mixed with bergamot. For women, I really think jasmine and ylang-ylang along with things like lavender and other citrus oils like lemon are great blends. So again, using essential oils to replace the toxins. And then certain oils have been shown to help support cellular communication, really support balancing out immune reactions in the body. Frankincense and myrrh are 2 of those oils. that have great support for the immune system. And those are oils you can actually rub directly on that thyroid area there as well. And then other oils as well, you know, a lot of times emotional stress can overwhelm our adrenals, our kidneys, and our thyroid. And so using essential oils that just reduce the stress, ylang-ylang, lavender, chamomile, even sage oil, all of these oils have been shown to naturally reduce stress and improve sleep, all of which Can help the thyroid.

Absolutely. Ashwagandha is probably the superstar herb for thyroid. It's adaptogenic. It helps to balance cortisol and DHEA levels. It helps to promote sleep, less weight around the midsection. But really, I would not be without ashwagandha, not just if you've got thyroid issues, but to protect your thyroid and keep it healthy. I use the term subclinical thyroid issues. These are found in people that don't have dramatic deficiencies in their blood, they don't have imbalances that are dramatic, but you can find just through basal temperature, underarm temperature, if you're in the 96s, you probably have subclinical hypo or low thyroid. Ashwagandha is a great protector. This is great for men and women, helps to balance hormones, promotes anti-aging, strength, endurance. If you're 25 or older, take an ashwagandha supplement, a supplement with ashwagandha in it, or make an infusion.

Totally agree. Next superfood we have here for the thyroid is bone broth. You know, bone broth is one of the most reparative foods on the planet. In fact, it's loaded with collagen, which is kind of the glue that holds your body together. It's important for having healthy skin, it's important for your digestive system, but it's also important for supporting the health of your thyroid, and part of your thyroid health starts with your gut and your immune system. You know, we've all heard of the condition leaky gut to where if you have too much intestinal inflammation, it can cause these gaps in your gut to where certain toxins can get through. Really strengthening that gut lining can in turn help your thyroid health. Bone broth contains proline and glycine and hydroxyproline, glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid, and other nutrients that can help support the health of your gut and your Absolutely.

Probiotics, speaking of the gut, are a great protector of this environment. When your gut's healthy, everything's healthy. Now, probiotics might not affect thyroid directly, but they certainly do indirectly because many people that have thyroid issues also have IBS or leaky gut, as you mentioned. Consume a probiotic supplement with SBOs, Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus plantarum. Look for organic and get fermented foods in your diet. There are many great fermented foods, kombucha, kvass, kefir, etc. Consume more fermented foods, boost your gut, and it will help your thyroid in turn.

Absolutely. Another thing you want to do to help support the thyroid is address nutrient deficiencies. You know, there are some specific nutrients that can really throw off your thyroid. I want to mention a few of those. One group is called our B vitamins, specifically thiamine and vitamin B12. When you are deficient in those nutrients, it really can affect the overall function of your thyroid, especially if you're a person who has low energy levels. You just even get a good night's sleep, you're tired the next day. Part of that can be these vitamin B deficiencies, B1, again, thiamine, and B12 as well. A few others, a big one is selenium. Selenium is key for thyroid function. I believe Brazil nuts are very, very high. So again, one of the Things you can do is start using food as your medicine and do some things such as more Brazil nuts and other selenium-rich foods on a daily basis. If you want to get a full selenium-rich food list, you can just Google Dr. Axe selenium food list and you find a list that I've posted there online. And last but not least is monitoring your iodine levels. I typically recommend potentially doing that with a physician or knowing if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. If somebody has The autoimmune form of a thyroid condition, sometimes they're not absorbing iodine. So the problem is not that they're not getting enough, the problem is that absorption. And if you do too much of it, it actually could have side effects. So in that case, what we would recommend is, again, getting your iodine levels tested and also just doing them in a food-based form, not doing high doses of iodine, doing things like kelp and seaweeds in small doses instead.

Interesting.

Eating other foods like strawberries, which are high in iodine, is probably a better idea. So, some nutritional deficiencies, again, B vitamins, selenium, and iodine are some things that can actually affect the thyroid.

Absolutely. And speaking of thyroid-friendly foods, sea vegetables are great. Even if you don't have iodine deficiency, they're still highly nutritious. So, look for kelp, kombu, nori. You can find them at your local health food or grocery store. Coconut foods, particularly coconut oil, is very thyroid-friendly. And in general, a diet that is higher in fat and protein—

Yep. Down goes the pizza box, all right.

Bad pizza box. See, just throw them off the table. We want to consume higher protein, higher fat, lower carb. You know, I see people, Josh, that are vegetarians and they're very heavy. And what that tells me is they're really carbitarians. There are many people who need to consume a higher fat, and we're talking about good fats, higher protein, lower starch diet, that is really, really thyroid-friendly. In fact, people that are on a ketogenic diet almost completely reverse thyroid symptoms because they are running on an alternate fuel.

Yeah.

So, you'll see people that are following a paleo-type diet, a low-carb diet, do really well. They lose weight not just because they're purging water but because they are balancing their thyroid. So, if you are a vegetarian, Or a vegan, it's difficult. You've got to go with the higher-fat foods because I really believe healthy sustainably raised animal foods are great for the thyroid, green vegetables, etc., limiting those starches and nutrient density is absolutely critical.

Yup, couldn't agree more. So again, guys, remember these tips. If you want to take your thyroid to the next level, just in general, get the toxins out of your household. You know, get rid of the chemically laden nonstick pans. Things that are bleached here, all of the chemicals, not just in shampoo but in your deodorants, in your skincare routine. Use essential oils, plant-based products instead. Get rid of the dental floss, the— there you go, thank you. I'm not going to say get rid of anything else because I don't want to break this glass here. And then as we talked about as well, Jordan, eat more superfoods.

Absolutely. More bone broth, ashwagandha is absolutely critical. We talked about so many good essential oils, not just for your mood. But for your thyroid, we talked about seaweed, address nutritional deficiencies such as iodine, thiamine, B12. Take a whole food organic multi, eat a diet that's higher in protein, higher in good fats, lower in starches.

Yep. You do that, you're going to take your thyroid health to the next level. We want to say thank you to all of you who would share this message, pressing that share button right now and like button. You're helping transform somebody's health because people need to hear this information. There are so many people that don't know the actual root cause. of their thyroid problems. Also, hey, don't forget to subscribe here to our Facebook Live and YouTube Live channels. We're coming to you every single week with more content, more natural remedies, and pop-ins. You know, Jordan and I are traveling to different places such as California and Florida and Texas and different areas. So again, make sure you're set up here so you can see our live pop-ins for our recipes and a whole lot more. So guys, thanks for watching. Jordan Rubin, myself, Dr. Josh Axe with Ancient Medicine Today. Thanks for watching.