The Autoimmune Cascade Behind Thyroid Breakdown

Introduction to Hashimoto's and Thyroid Autoimmunity 0:00

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Reversing Hashimoto's. I'm your host, doctor Anshul Gupta. I'm the world Hashimoto's expert. I'm former Cleveland Clinic functional medicine physician. I help people reverse the chronic Hashimoto's disease by making personalized functional medicine plans. So today I'm sharing with you an important topic of understanding what is the real problem with thyroid disorders and Hashimoto's disease. Most people think that this Hashimoto's and thyroid disorder is actually only thyroid gland issue, but in reality it is a systemic problem of autoimmunity which is leading to this problem.

So I want to I want all of you to understand what exactly is happening inside your body. Why are you dealing with this problem, what testing you need to get and how to fixing it. So let me do this presentation with you that is going to exactly walk you through about this problem over here. So today we are talking about this whole cascade of thyroid and autoimmunity and why your body is going to this problem. So let me help you to understand the underlying issue. So the shocking truth over here is that Hashimoto's disease is not even actually a thyroid problem.

It is an autoimmune problem which is attacking your thyroid and not only your thyroid, but other parts of the body. It attacks your gut. That's the reason most people will have gut related issues of either

Why Hashimoto's Affects the Whole Body 1:35

bloating, Sibo, constipation, diarrhea. It attacks your mitochondria. That's the reason people will feel tired or fatigued. It starts attacking your different kinds of hormones. That's the reason people will have either PCOS or hormonal dysfunctions. Then it attacks your brain function and that's the reason people will have brain fog issues. So in reality, Hashimoto's disease is not even just a thyroid problem. It's this autoimmunity which is attacking all different kinds of your, parts of the body.

So the wrong approach that is taking right now all over the world by dealing with Hashimoto's disease is that there are only focusing on thyroid symptoms alone, okay? They are only prescribing live Roxanne, which is a thyroid hormone medicine. And we know that the research suggests that more than 60% of people, even though they are taking the live orthodox in medicine, they do not feel good because obviously, they are still, not properly controlled that way. So they never work on the immune system, they never work on the underlying problem.

And that's where this whole Hashimoto's disease starts, you know, working havoc on your body. So what is the right approach? You need to stop this autoimmune attack okay. You need to test for antibodies. You need to find your root causes which are triggering your immune system to making these antibodies. So that's the approach that you need to take now first to understand what is autoimmunity okay. What means by autoimmunity. So we all have our immune system. Basically our immune system safeguards our body against any kind of infections, any kind of bacteria, any kind of viruses, which is attacking us.

So our immune system is basically our savior. It safeguards us from attack. But what happens is that when our immune system

Why Conventional Thyroid Treatment Falls Short 3:34

goes totally out of control, then it starts attacking our own body and starts creating these antibodies, okay. Which attacks different parts of the body, specifically our thyroid gland. This is where the thyroid antibodies are very important to be checked. So we know how high those antibody levels are. They're in our body and how much damage is happening inside the body. Now, interestingly, 90% of hypothyroidism is actually Hashimoto's disease. What that means is that majority of the people who are listening over here who have been diagnosed with low thyroid or hypothyroid is actually Hashimoto's disease.

But the standard of care is only checking the TSH people will not check their antibody levels because their physicians are not even ordering it. But for you, why is important to getting check your antibody levels so you can know how bad is your immune system so that you can take control of it. Now, autoimmunity actually has two different phases of destruction. And again very important to understand these two phases. So you know which phase you are in okay. So the very first phase is what we call as a trigger phase.

What that means is that, you know we all have genetic weak points okay. So that is the nature's way of making sure that we are not immortal, right? You know, we cannot live forever by making those weak genetic points. Now, when these weak genetic points meet certain environmental triggers, that's where this whole cascade of autoimmunity starts. Okay, now, people might say so that means that, you know, it is a genetic disease. So it is hereditary. And I want you to understand is that it is not a hereditary disease.

It is that we all have genetic weak points. Doesn't matter whoever is there in this whole world and when our genetic weak points meet certain kind of environmental triggers like gluten, like stress, like different kinds of infections, like viruses, parasites, bad bacteria, toxins in our environment,

Understanding Autoimmunity and the Two Disease Phases 5:47

as well as deficiencies, you know, in our body of vitamins and minerals, all these triggers when our immune system, when our genes get exposed to them, that's where we trigger our immune system and trigger this autoimmunity. So this is a phase one. Now the trigger phase, you know, keeps on coming again and again. If we are continuously getting exposed to our triggers. So that's the reason it is very important to identify your triggers so that you can stop this actually triggering phase from happening.

Now once you are, done with your triggering of your immune system, that is your phase one. Then you go to the phase two, which is a continuation phase. This is where the real damage starts happening because these antibodies start attacking different parts of your body. The major organ being attacked in Hashimoto's is thyroid. But as I explained to you before, they attack your mitochondria, they attack your gut, they attack your Reynolds, they attack your brain as well as your hormonal systems. So the attack is happening at multiple front level, but the main damage is happening to your thyroid gland.

Now, this multiple attacks actually leads to a massive inflammatory cascade in your body. Okay. And nobody is able to recognize these inflammatory cascade because it is not a life threatening situation. So it is not one of those situations where, you know, like suddenly you will end up in the hospital with a heart attack or swollen body or bleeding all over from your body. It is that inflammatory attack which is happening inside your body at a very subtle level, but it is damaging your body all over the place.

And that's where this vicious cycle starts happening, that this inflammation leads to the damage of the thyroid gland that creates more inflammation in the body. And that again, triggers also your immune system further so that you know, it again, keeps on going through this loop of triggering phase and continuation phase. So these are the two phases that you should be aware of which is happening in the autoimmune process. Now let's talk about why conventional treatment is failing okay. Because most of the people have tried you toxin or even when you are taking the natural version of thyroid hormone like NP, thyroid or whether you're taking armor thyroid, it doesn't matter.

Those are just taking care of external thyroid hormone, okay? They're not doing anything whether you're taking natural treatments or natural thyroid hormone, not doing anything for the whole autoimmune process. So that's what the conventional treatment fails. They only first of all, do not do complete testing. They only checking your levels. So when you check your THC levels you are missing the whole point of knowing how bad your immune system is being triggered to damage your body. The higher the antibodies in your system, the more immune system dysfunction is happening and the more damage is happening to your body.

Okay, so that's exactly the reason why it is very important to check your antibody levels. Okay. So that's where just replacing your thyroid hormone, whether it is to a synthetic hormone like Roxanne or through natural hormone like MP, thyroid armor is not going to fix your problem. You need to go beyond it. Okay. Now let's understand antibodies okay. What are the two antibodies which are present in the Hashimoto's disease? One of them is the TPO antibody which is a thyroid peroxidase antibody.

Hashimoto's Antibodies and How They Damage the Thyroid 9:20

This particular antibody is actually attacking your thyroid peroxidase enzyme. This actually thyroid peroxidase enzyme is responsible for thyroid hormone production. So by attacking this enzyme this basically blocks or prevents the hormone production in in the thyroid gland. And that's the reason ultimately people you know develop what we call as hypothyroidism or low thyroid. Now the problem is that these TPO antibodies can be elevated for years, you know, literally years before the passage finally changes.

So if you're not doing a complete thyroid panel, this is where we miss the chance of early diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease because nobody's checking these DPA antibodies. The second antibody is what we call it thyroid globulin antibodies. They attack what we call as the thyroid storage protein, which is the thyroid globulin. So thyroid globulin is a protein which binds to your thyroid hormone and your thyroid hormone basically stored bound to this hydro globulin molecule. Okay. Now when these antibodies are present, they are literally attacking the the storage of your thyroid hormone okay.

Basically it burns down all the storage of thyroid hormone in your gland. And ultimately it becomes empty. And that is again the reason that, you know, you become hypothyroid or low thyroid issues. Okay. So but the good news is that if you work on a root cause approach and identify your root causes and work on them, you lower these antibodies and can even bring them back to normal so that the destruction, you know, stops happening to your thyroid gland. Okay, now how does this trigger thing happens?

You know, most people say, well, you know, this gluten you're talking about, you're talking about Epstein-Barr, you're talking about toxins and things. How do they actually cause our immune system to rile up? Okay. So the way they actually fool your immune system is that these foreign substances. Okay, start mimicking your own body's tissues and hormones and things. Okay, so your immune system in friendly fire not only damages your own body parts like your thyroid part when they're trying to damage, you know, these invaders, which are, you know, attacking your own body.

So what that means is that let's say we take an example of Epstein-Barr virus. So Epstein-Barr virus has a chemical structure which is which mimics your thyroid proteins. Now I have seen by the virus enters your bloodstream. You know, your body's immune system wants to attacking it. But then slowly and slowly, the Epstein-Barr virus looks very similar to thyroid proteins. So your immune system is not able to differentiate between

How Triggers Like Gluten, Viruses, and Toxins Drive Autoimmunity 12:14

whether it is damaging a thyroid or your Epstein-Barr virus. And that's the reason your thyroid gets damaged by making these antibodies. Same thing happens with gluten. The gluten protein structure is very similar to thyroid tissue. So again, when you have leaky gut problem then that gluten enters your system and then gluten enters your system. Your body thinks it is an invader starts attacking it. But again, in friendly fire, because the gluten protein structure looks very similar to thyroid tissue, it attacks and damages your thyroid tissue.

Also, similar thing happens with toxins. Okay, like heavy metals and other toxins. Now what happens with these toxins is that they trigger cross reactions. What that means is that you know your immune system, when it is getting riled up, it starts creating ruckus in your body, which riles up your immune system, basically, and causes cross reaction between different places of immune system. And that leads to destruction of your thyroid gland. So there are different mechanisms, you know, like you know, which kind of leads to, damaging or causing this immune system to damage your, thyroid gland.

So this is what you need to understand. Very important a part of autoimmunity, why this is happening. So now let's say, okay, well, you know, you understand this part. So you will ask the next question, well, what should I be doing. So the path forward over here is that, first of all, you need to become a detective. You need to find those specific triggers because triggers are very unique. You know, for people, you know, your trigger might be different than the, you know, a trigger, then your mom or your dad, even the same family.

The triggers can be different. Okay. And get comprehensive thyroid testing done. That means you do need to do a search. You need to do a T3, you need to do T4, as well as both the antibodies, which include TPU, as well as thyroid globulin antibodies, and see how high the high those antibodies are. And as you remember, the higher the antibodies, the worse the situation is for you. Okay, so make sure you know those antibodies and then address those root causes without addressing the root causes. Your symptoms are not going to get better.

You're not going to get better. Your thyroid numbers are not going to get better okay. So that's where it is very, very important to address those root causes also okay. So that's where essential testing can me. Now the next question most people have is that okay. Well I got my thyroid levels checked. I have those antibodies. How do I know what is my root causes. So the good part is that, you know, with, working with the right functional medicine provider, you do have access to these advanced testing so that can tell you about your root causes.

Okay. So let's say we do have a, a stool analysis which tells us everything about your gut, whether you have good bacteria in your gut, whether your bad bacteria, the overgrowth of bad bacteria, which is called Sibo.

Testing for Root Causes and Hidden Triggers 15:07

Do you have Candida in your gut? Do you have leaky gut issues going on? Do you have inflammation in your gut? Do you have any parasites? So this gut analysis testing tells us everything which is going on in your gut. That is one big trigger that you need to be aware of. The second one is toxin testing whether it is heavy metals like lead, mercury or arsenic, whether it is mold, toxins or other environmental toxins like plastics, glycosides, bpas any of those things we need to know the total toxin burden.

Until you know the total toxin burden, how are you going to work on a detox plan? Right. And then checking your nutrient deficiencies, you know, our immune system needs specific nutrients. Our thyroid needs specific nutrients like vitamin C, like selenium, like magnesium, like zinc. So checking those levels of those are very important. Unfortunately. Again, regular blood test doesn't check for these levels. So you will never know whether you are low in them then checking for viral panels Epstein-Barr virus reactivation is a major problem, which leads to destruction of the Hashimoto's disease.

We have several research studies, not just one, but more than ten research studies, which has showed that reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus can lead again to Hashimoto's disease. We even know now that long Covid issues, which are again happening more and more often, are again, linked to Hashimoto's disease. So, a lot of these viral infections can lead to Hashimoto's disease, and these viruses can live in your body for literally your lifetime. Okay. So that's where these advanced tests can be very, very useful.

Finding the right functional medicine or a naturopath or a chiropractor or a holistic doctor who is well versed with these testing can be very, very useful for you so you can get those things done if you are unable to, let's say, get these testing done because these are too expensive for you, then start kind of investigating. If you do have gut related symptoms, then definitely your gut is not working good. How do you know where you are toxic with the different kinds of chemicals that meet? For that, if your body is very sensitive, that, you know, you walk into a room, somebody has a strong perfume and your you don't feel good, you know, in that room that means your body is toxic.

If your skin has hives or rashes with even minimal things, again, that means your body is toxic. What does that mean when you have nutritional deficiencies? Let's say if you're low in different vitamins and minerals, then what that means is that you will feel tired. A lot of times you will, have issues with your adrenal glands. That means you will feel fainting episodes, you will feel lightheaded. That means you are deficient in different vitamins and minerals. So these are very kind of some symptoms which are kind of associated with some of these root causes.

So that way you can know where things are. So the key takeaway is if you are listening over here, is that, first of all, thyroid hypothyroidism. Hashimoto's disease is not a thyroid disease. It is a systemic disease where your immune system is attacking your own body. We think the attack is only happening to your thyroid gland, but in reality, the attack is happening at multiple fronts and multiple organs are being damaged. And that's the reason you have all of these different kinds of signs and symptoms which are associated with Hashimoto's disease.

But here's the good news that your immune system can be retrained so that it doesn't attack your own body. For that, the first thing you need to do is that what are your triggers? Remember, there is never just one trigger. It is a combination. You have a combination of triggers, a minimum of 2 or 3 triggers come together

Key Takeaways and Hope for Recovery 18:58

that leads to Hashimoto's. So identifying your triggers, whether you do it through symptoms, whether you do it through advanced testing, that's up to you. Whatever is available. But identify the triggers and then start addressing those triggers. So if you feel it is your gut, fix your gut. If you feel it is a toxin, start working on detox system. If you feel it is your Epstein-Barr virus reactivation or your immune system being weaker, then start supporting your immune system. Okay, so that way you need to start addressing those triggers today itself.

Then only your body is going to get better. So very important aspects. I hope you understand that the key over here is that it is a systemic problem and not a local problem of your thyroid. So this is where, you know, as you know, we do I do run a virtual, functional medicine clinic. So if you are interested in doing consultations and going through our advanced protocol or reversing our Hashimoto's, then you can reach us back. Our information is obviously over here. Your website is unshielded. Gupta md.com.

You can find more information about working with me. You can get virtual consultation from all over the world. Otherwise, follow me on my YouTube channel. The handle is Ancient Gupta, MD, where I kind of keep giving lots of different natural tips and tricks so that you can again follow all those things to improve your Hashimoto's disease. Plus, I have a supplement line which is specifically dedicated towards thyroid and Hashimoto's. Check the link for that also on our website. So the last message out here, I that I want to give you is that think thyroid is thyroid disease is not just a local problem, but it is a body wide problem.

Start working on that underlying triggers, underlying autoimmunity. And that's the only way for you to get better and get your life back. But there is hope because the majority of the people that work with us now see amazing results. Their antibodies start slowing down, their body starts functioning better, and their symptoms. You know, also improve significantly. So that's what I have for you today. Thank you for listening over here with me. It was really pleasure sharing all this information. I hope you learned something new over here.

This is all I have for today. Thank you so much for joining me. I will see you again later. Until next time, take care. Bye bye.