Recent scientific estimates put the number of cells in the human body to 100,000,000,000,000 cells. That’s one hundred trillion cells.
Some people genetically have more! There are 80-100 organs in the body, depending on which PhD tissue specialist you ask. There are thousands of systems and processes needed to sustain life happening every second within the human body. These processes are all vital for survival. These processes occur on a cellular level. Tens of thousands of reactions per second going on in the various structures and substructures of the body.
It is crucial that our cellular health is at the highest level possible, as nourishing your cells equates to nourishing the building blocks of every organ in the body. Our organs make up our systems: The respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, the skeletal system, the muscular system, the endocrine system, the integumentary system, the lymphatic system, the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the urinary system. Together, these systems function to keep us nourished, detoxed, growing, thinking, metabolizing, and changing.
The endocrine system regulates your mood, development, metabolism, sex hormones, growth, and many other functions.
The thyroid is a very complex organ of the endocrine system that is connected to every single cell in the body. It sits at the base of the trachea, working as a gland to disperse hormones throughout the body. Hormones are biochemical messengers, and different hormones give different messages. These directions are vital instruction manuals for the functions that make living and thriving possible. If there are bad instructions (not enough, too much, or foreign instructions from another species, such as dairy) the thyroid may become out of balance.
The thyroid is a regulator, sending hormones into the bloodstream that control breathing, heart rate, menstrual cycle, muscle control and strength, levels of fats in the blood, temperature of our bodies, weight, loss of bone, energy put out by the body, the central nervous system, and metabolism.
The thyroid is also directly linked to the health of your skin, hair, and nails. Common symptoms of a stressed thyroid include hair fall, brittle nails, and stressed skin. Thinning eyebrows are conclusively linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
Even though our hair, skin and nails do not directly touch the thyroid, they are still connected. That connectedness is crucial to keep in mind when addressing the body in a holistic way.
All 5-7 litres of the blood in our body flows through the thyroid many times each day.
That blood also flows to every single cell in our bodies, bringing them oxygen, and nutrients. These cells are connected to the thyroid by the circulatory system and endocrine system which disperses the hormones in the blood to be transported to the cells to get their instructions. The thyroid is also connected to our lymphatic system, removing toxins from our cells.
What happens if those cells are backed up? If they are full of toxins and waste products, can they take in nutrients effectively? Can they accept hormones and get instructions effectively? What are the ramifications of a cell being “backed up”?
It’s similar to what happens when the highway is backed up. There is congestion. Everyone wants to get on the highway, use it to quickly get where they are going, and get off. The goal of getting on the highway is to arrive at your final destination.
The goal of nutrients, oxygen, and water is to enter the body and be used as nourishment for your cells- their final destination!
If your cells are packed with toxins, it is difficult to accept nutrients and instructions from hormones. There is simply not enough room!
In order for your body’s cells to function optimally, they must detoxify. This includes the Thyroid cells, and cells of every organ that the Thyroid is connected to.
There are Three Principles of Holistic Nutrition:
- Inflammation must be stopped
- Nutrition must enter
- The body will cleanse and rebuild
If something is entering your body that causes inflammation, that source needs to be stopped before anything else occurs. There are many sources of inflammation, though they all have one thing in common: they are not good for your health.
- Inflammation can come from “foods” like grains and dairy, both highly inflammatory #Foodsthatarenotfoods which further inflammation and exacerbate disease.
- Inflammation can come from known carcinogens like FD and C Red #40, a known carcinogen which is included in everything from baby food to toothpaste to protein shakes. MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup, and artificial ingredients in food all contribute to inflammation.
- Inflammation can come from viruses and pathogenic bacteria.
- Inflammation can come from using toxic cleaning or personal care products.
- Inflammation can come from taking pharmaceutical drugs.
- Inflammation congests our body’s cells, and it comes from many sources.
When traffic is congested bad, everything will halt to a standstill. No one can get on or off the highway ramp. Anyone living in a large city like Chicago, New York or Las Angeles will know what congestion does.
The same things happen in our cells. When toxins and inflammation keep building up and are not released, cells have a hard time accepting new information (hormones) and nutrients.
We NEED hormones and nutrients to be able to function. If our cells are not getting the nutrients they need, or waste products removed because of inflammation, we may start to show symptoms of a stressed thyroid.
The inflammation causes congestion which in a sense, leaves our body at a standstill, growing sicker and sicker until toxins are eliminated. Not everything can exit the body at once.
The second Principle of Holistic Nutrition is that simply- nutrition must enter.
After prominent sources of inflammation are stopped, the right nutrients must be introduced to support the body in it’s healing journey. It is the logical next step.
What are those healing nutrients? The specifics vary from individual to individual, but always include things like vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes, antioxidants, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, coenzymes and micronutrients. There is a common source for these nutrients, as they are all found in the same place.
Food!
Specifically, nutrient dense foods like raw organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, wild caught seafood, and whole meats. Foods that are most beneficial to your particular DNA and Environmental Factors is what your body craves.
Not all people tolerate all of these foods, or all foods within an entire category. Though these foods are all packed with nutrients that will help to nourish your body, which leads to
The Third Principle of Holistic Nutrition: The Body Will Cleanse And Rebuild
Once the inflammation sources have been prevented from entering the body, stress is reduced. When stress is reduced, immunity is raised, which protects us from illness. When immunity is raised, the body is able to function optimally in all of the areas: Digestion, Reproduction, Cognition, Movement, Nervous response, and countless Metabolic Processes necessary for life. The endocrine system, which includes the Thyroid- is able to properly disperse hormones in the blood without the “traffic jam” effect.
One of those areas that will begin to improve after eliminating inflammatory foods is your body’s Detoxification ability. Your cells will be able to properly eliminate the waste products already being created instead of the added burden of inflammatory foods racking up further toxins to get stuck in the “traffic jam” of inflammation.
When your cells can properly release their toxins, they are less stressed, and can more adequately use nutrients to their benefit.
Then the process of rebuilding a healthier framework begins, and true healing takes place.
New healthy cells are created through replication processes, with each generation being nourished by the nutrient dense foods that are now consumed regularly. Because inflammatory foods are eliminated, the cells can utilize vitamins and minerals brought in by the cardiovascular system, pumping blood to every cell in the body.
The thyroid is connected to the digestive, circulatory, nervous, cardiovascular, integumentary, respiratory, reproductive, and every other system in the body. Therefore, nourishing your body’s cells that are directly tied to the thyroid will nourish the thyroid itself.
These Three Principles of Holistic Nutrition go together in achieving optimal Thyroid Health.
Eliminating toxins, without eating lots of nutrients dense foods specific to your body will not allow for a strong rebuilding process, and will not flush many toxins from the body necessary for symptoms of thyroid disease to regress.
On the other hand, eating lots of nutrient dense foods, while still consuming inflammatory “foods” will do little good for long term health outcomes.
For true thyroid healing to take place, the inflammation must be stopped, nutrients must be introduced, and only then will the Cleansing And Rebuilding process occur.
