Full Transcript Introduction and Guest Background 0:02 Well, welcome everybody to the Eat [music] Pray Faith podcast. I'm so 0:06 excited today because I have a good friend and colleague and brilliant 0:10 practitioner, Dr. Hilda Maldonado, who is a medical doctor, but she specializes 0:17 in so many wonderful ways of helping women and 0:22 people in general. Today though, we are going to look at the overlooked role of 0:27 the thyroid health and metabolism, muscle performance and recovery. Dr. 0:32 Hilda, I'm so glad you're here. Thanks for joining me. 0:36 Super happy to be here with you today, Dr. Tracy. 0:40 Yeah, I'm super excited cuz I know we know each other professionally and 0:44 personally and I always get to see you at events, but I never really get to sit 0:47 down and talk to you and pick your brain about your 0:51 brilliance and I'm super excited to do that today. But before we get into our 0:55 topic on thyroid, which I think is there's not a lot of information out 1:00 there, correct information on thyroid health. So, I'm excited about this, but 1:04 I'd like to know a little bit more about you, your practice and how you got into 1:09 the scope of medicine you're in. It's a long story, so I'll try to 1:14 I'll try to narrow it down. My background and formal training 1:19 >> [clears throat] >> is in internal medicine. 1:22 And very early in my career, I realized that that was not going to be my path 1:27 because it didn't make sense for me to do uh 1:32 symptom prescription approach. Growing up, I grew up with a grandmother that 1:38 had an herbal garden and she would make us home remedies and even though we had 1:42 our physician, she would always give me a home remedy first and it worked. So, 1:47 very rarely I had to take prescription medications. And I was very fortunate 1:52 that early in my career, um an acupuncturist introduced me to Dr. 1:58 Jeffrey Bland and that is his entire organization and I started going that 2:04 path of functional medicine. But what happened was that I was still working in 2:10 a conventional practice. So one of the incredible things that happened to me 2:15 was I was written off for recommending probiotics back then, officially 2:19 reprimanded for recommending probiotics. Yes. And that 2:25 was sort of the bad news, but the good news was I put fire under me to really 2:30 continue in the path of opening my mind and and furthering my 2:36 training. Doing that, I had a lot of swimming 2:41 against the against the conventional system that I 2:44 was doing, right? I was talking to people, spending more time, not getting 2:48 reimbursed. And with all of that, I started losing my health. So it was when 2:53 I started gaining weight out of control. At 38, I could barely get out of bed. 2:59 I could not play with my daughter. Hurting everywhere, brain fog, fatigue, 3:06 pain in the soles of my feet, just completely not feeling well. And 3:12 basically all my blood tests were normal. 3:16 And I I was told >> Maybe you're just depressed, Dr. Hilda. 3:19 Exactly. So thank you for saying that. I was going to go see one of my 3:24 colleagues, but I took her for lunch first. And while we're at lunch, she 3:28 looks at me and she says, "Well, yeah, come. I really think you need to go on 3:32 antidepressants." Oh my god. 3:34 >> And I canceled that appointment because I knew I did not have a deficiency of 3:40 antidepressants, nor I have ever been depressed in my life. And there was even 3:44 though I had already been studying functional medicine, clearly there was 3:48 something that was not making sense. And that's how I went into this journey of 3:52 physician heal thyself and and even as poorly as I was feeling, I started a 3:59 fellowship in functional and anti-aging medicine when they first started. And 4:06 through that was that I was able to finally connect the dots and really 4:10 start putting myself back together, but it wasn't myself. Of course, I had to 4:14 get mentors. I was very fortunate that I had mentors that took me under their 4:18 wing and guided me on the right path and helped me understand things that I just 4:25 simply had not been trained on. Yeah. And that's amazing because today, 4:30 I mean, I don't even think it's possible for you to be depressed. You're always 4:33 smiling. You're always so happy. You know, you're the epitome of health. You 4:38 know, you look great. I know that you work out, 4:41 like all of the things. So, just hearing that story, I think it's, you know, you 4:45 probably just related to probably half the women in the audience right now. 4:49 Probably with the same story. They go to their doctor, they're told their blood 4:52 work's normal, told maybe they're depressed, get put on antidepressants. 4:57 And I mean, even for things like postpartum
Functional Medicine Journey and Personal Health Crisis 5:00 depression, they're not looking at the numbers correctly. And that is really 5:05 where you're changing the game that I feel, you know, what you're doing in 5:09 clinical practice. So, tell us a little bit about your practice and your clinic, 5:13 where you're located, who do you see as patients, what are what are your top 5:18 three conditions that you see? Absolutely. Well, at this moment, I work 5:23 online, which is another cutting-edge thing. 5:29 I I worked for 30 plus years in Southern California. My practice um 5:37 was in Westlake Village and I still have many clients in California, but I'm 5:42 expanding in a role of mentorship and coaching for those that need the help 5:47 because it's really a nationwide problem what we're seeing when it comes to 5:54 metabolism and thyroid, but still most of my clients are mainly in California. 5:59 And the top three things that I would tell you I work with is exactly these. 6:05 Number one, I was told my blood work is normal, but 6:10 I don't feel well. My friend told me that you could figure it out and I'm 6:15 here for that. So, that's one. Another one is that 6:20 menopausal woman that really was never given the proper choices. And now people 6:26 are waking up because the black box warning on estrogen has been removed. 6:32 So, now a lot of women that were sitting on the sidelines are waking up and 6:36 they're they're realizing that they just never 6:40 got the help that they needed. So, a lot of what I do is going to to go around 6:46 general health, optimal wellness, metabolism, and of course thyroid. 6:51 And those things are not disconnected. Everything connects at the end. 6:57 But it's usually because a person has been dismissed from the system. They've 7:02 just been told there's nothing wrong with you, and then they're told 7:07 everything was normal, but the reality is not 7:11 everything was tested. Right. And not everything interpreted 7:16 correctly, either. Exactly. And especially with thyroid. 7:19 Thyroid is the most misunderstood hormone 7:24 because even internal medicine physicians that should 7:30 be well trained on on reading blood work, I have seen 7:36 people that have been told that their thyroid is high when in fact is low. 7:43 Wow. Well, I think that's a a big part of 7:47 this discussion is just getting into um 7:51 the interpretation of the numbers. What I find, and you probably see this too, 7:55 Dr. Hilda, is they don't run all the numbers, either. They just they'll maybe 7:59 TSH and T4. And it's not even free to you. They're 8:02 just Correct. >> two numbers, and then all of a sudden 8:05 you're clinically diagnosed with a thyroid issue. When it might not be a 8:11 thyroid issue, could be a deficiency issue, or a toxicity issue, or a viral 8:15 >> Correct. It could be a hundred things. So, let's just get into it, because I 8:19 think everyone is waiting for you to fix their thyroid through this podcast, 8:24 >> [laughter] >> which is not going to happen today. 8:25 You're going to get educated, and then you can make an appointment with Dr. 8:28 Hilda if you want to. But, 8:30 why is this so overlooked? How can we start educating our audience today on 8:36 what they need to do? Well, if we start in order, I like I'm a 8:41 orderly thinking person, we can start by what you said, the tests that are done. 8:47 The proper test need to be done, and that would be looking at not just a TSH, 8:53 but making sure that you have a free T3, a free T4, make sure that you have your 9:01 uh TPOs, which are the antithyroid antibodies. Uh some people need to have 9:06 reverse T3 done as well. So, those are things that are normally not done when 9:11 somebody is told that their thyroid is normal. In 9:15 addition to that, just like you very well said, there are nutritional reasons 9:19 why your thyroid may be under-functioning. So, uh nutrient 9:24 levels like iodine, selenium, zinc, B vitamins, um are all going to be very 9:31 important. Plus, you need to assess your level of stress. 9:36 Uh you need to know if if you're running with high cortisols, which is going to 9:41 interfere with your thyroid function. So, I would say 9:45 two things, getting the proper test done from the get-go, but also looking at the 9:50 person as a whole. Looking at potential toxic exposures as well, right? Like 9:56 heavy metals and different other things that are going to play a role. The 9:59 thyroid is like uh 10:02 an antenna. It picks up It picks up everything and I find it 10:06 fascinating that it's sitting here in the intersection of breast, voice, and 10:12 biochemistry. And and it's almost like 10:16 it it will know because if you're under a 10:20 lot of stress and I'm going to go on a tangent here, 10:23 but if you're under a lot of stress, your gut is going to suffer. And if you 10:28 have poor gut health and you have a lot of inflammation going in your gut, you 10:33 can start having what's called leaky gut, which I know that you're very 10:36 familiar with, which is going to make you more prone to developing antibodies. 10:43 Mhm. >> And one of those ends up being thyroid 10:46 antibodies. So, the thyroid is like this little 10:49 antenna that that sits there and and we have to look at at all things. So, you 10:56 asked me what do we do? Again, the testing, 11:00 the holistic evaluation to look at all the different 11:05 possible things that are going on. Then, of 11:08 course, the order. The order in which we do things to try to solve something. 11:15 That's very important. Because even if your thyroid is sub-optimal, for 11:21 example, if your adrenals are flatline, 11:28 you're not going to be able to tolerate thyroid replacement, even if you need 11:32 it. Thank you. Say it again for the people 11:35 in the back to hear you. >> [laughter] 11:38 >> I'll say it again. If your adrenals are flatline 11:43 even if you need thyroid replacement, you're not going to be able to tolerate 11:47 it. It's a simple explanation. Listen, it's like 11:52 the the car. You cannot accelerate your car 11:56 to run fast if you haven't been if you haven't done the proper fluids, the oil 12:02 change, the the maintenance. 12:05 You're not going to be able to. And then of course, lifestyle, the foods that 12:10 we're eating. Mhm. 12:13 And that's why everything has to be looked at. 12:16 Yeah, absolutely. I know you talk a lot about design, order, and stewardship. 12:22 And I think this whole conversation is amazing because 12:27 I truly think and I know you probably think this that people are taught, 12:31 physicians, and even the person that's receiving the care to think that the 12:34 thyroid is like a standalone problem. Or it's genetic, right? Oh, my mom had 12:40 thyroid issues or my grandma. Um how do you see the thyroid responding to like 12:45 the state of the whole system rather than acting alone? 12:49 It's beyond responding. The state of the 12:53 whole system is paramount when it comes to your 12:58 thyroid health. You cannot look at your thyroid as a
Why Thyroid Issues Are Missed 13:02 standalone. In fact, one of the things that happens so common commonly is even 13:09 if somebody is given thyroid replacement, 13:12 they often will tell you that they only feel 30% better, 50% better if at all. 13:19 If at all. Well, for many reasons. Because then 13:23 their system is not being looked at. But also then we have the situation of 13:30 people being replaced with T4. And for the benefit of the listeners, 13:38 the T4, which is usually the the number one prescription that's used, has 13:44 to convert to T3. >> right? Levothyroxine. There are people 13:48 that Right. It has to convert to T3, and most 13:53 of that conversion happens in the gut, in the peripheral tissues. If you have 13:57 nutritional deficiencies, that conversion is not going to happen. If 14:01 you take certain prescription medications like oral estrogens, that 14:05 conversion is going to be blocked. That's that's a good point. I mean, 14:10 that's something for people to listen to. 14:14 How many physicians do you think know that? 14:17 I don't know. I think most of the >> [laughter] 14:22 >> I think most of the people that have had functional medicine training should know 14:27 that. They should know that. They should. 14:32 Um but yes, this is one of my biggest pet 14:36 peeves right now, just to go on a little sideline here, with the black box 14:41 warning of estrogen being removed. You see all these influencers in social 14:47 media, and then being that there is a shortage 14:51 of patches because so many women have opted in to take the patch. There's 14:56 these influencers that are telling um people, "Oh, I ran out of my patch, 15:02 but I went to my gynecologist, who sent me to the compounding pharmacy, and gave 15:07 me an oral estrogen. It's so easy. All you have to do is take this pill." 15:13 Well, whether it is compounded or non-compounded, 15:18 you don't want to be taking oral estrogen. It goes through the liver. 15:23 It doesn't help because it increases the inflammation. 15:28 It This is where the increase in cardiovascular disease can really come 15:32 with estrogen, which doesn't really happen with transdermal. And more 15:36 importantly, you're going to create more thyroid binding globulin. 15:43 Wow. Which is going to bind to thyroid and not let the thyroid make its your 15:51 tissues. 15:54 So, this black box lifting off of estrogen has caused an influx of 16:00 women that are receiving estrogen, but they're not looking at the whole 16:04 body scope again, all the numbers, and perhaps the wrong delivery system as 16:09 well, kind of bouncing around. And that's why I had asked you how many 16:14 physicians do you think know that? I think in our world, right, where we know 16:18 all our friends who are functional and integrative people, because they've gone 16:22 to the schools and they've taken the extra step and paid the extra money and 16:25 put in the extra time, but how many of us are there? There's 16:28 not a lot, you know, not in comparison to what who are being graduated from 16:33 your typical medical school who don't have the functional and integrative. And 16:38 that's the issue. I had another person come on and we talked about the lack of 16:43 education just in hormones in general coming out of med school, but also the 16:48 lack of education coming out of natural or integrative as well. And what we're 16:54 seeing is the natural integrative is moving faster than the mainstream 17:00 medical education, where we have to step up and actually go seek out more 17:05 education so that we can help people. So, I think the black box lifting was 17:10 great, but now I hear you say this and I'm like, "Oof, we just created a whole 17:14 other problem." Well, I am thrilled with the lifting of 17:19 this warning because it was 23 years of misinformation of 17:24 of making estrogen be a villain when in fact it has never Let's talk about God 17:31 here for a second. God would have never made a mistake of giving us estrogen if 17:35 it was bad for us. Amen. 17:40 That mistake wouldn't have happened. Correct. 17:43 >> Okay, estrogen is not a mistake. What it is is 17:47 that when we replace we need to do it transdermal. At least 17:52 that's what I choose. I In fact, Tracy, let me give you a fun fact. I stopped 17:58 using oral estrogens in 1997. 18:05 Why? Because back then I was all things to 18:08 all people. I was their primary care, their GYN, 18:11 their psychiatry, their counselor, their everything, right? You've been there, 18:15 too. Mhm. And not GYN, but yeah. And I looking at the charts 18:22 I would see these people that would go on oral estrogens and I would see how 18:27 their cholesterol suddenly would climb up. People that never had problems with 18:31 cardiovascular disease, I was referring them to the cardiologists. 18:36 And then I said, "No way. This is not happening with these transdermal 18:40 people." Mhm. That was not a large-scale study, 18:45 but we have a responsibility to have critical thinking. 18:49 Yeah. And critical thinking was very clear to me. Was like, "No, we're not 18:53 going to use oral estrogens. We're only going to use transdermal." But when the 18:58 the fear, the preliminary study results were 19:02 released and the fear started and women started abandoning 19:09 this fantastic option of estrogen replacement. 19:14 I think there was so much damage done. I think it was such a disservice to women. 19:21 Yeah. Uh not that it's good for everybody or everybody should replace. 19:24 That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is just at least 19:28 get an educated choice. And and make your own 19:34 personal decision. Right. Um 19:37 >> And get help you make that decision who's educated. 19:41 Right. And also somebody that can help you clean your lifestyle. Because 19:47 estrogen replacement, if you put it in a dirty system, if you put 19:53 hormones in a dirty biochemistry, you're not going to be able to detoxify the 20:00 estrogen properly, which is 20:04 not a good thing, either. Right, exactly. Or even utilize it properly, 20:08 right? It's a double-edged >> it properly. Yeah. So, what I'm hearing 20:13 you say when it comes to thyroid, hormone imbalance impacts it, stress 20:17 impacts it, gut health impacts it, toxins impact it, deficiency impacts it. 20:23 So, this isn't an isolated situation. This isn't your grandma's thyroid issue. 20:28 This is a lifestyle deficiency, toxicity, hormone dysregulation, gut 20:34 dysregulation, and stress issue all in one. 20:38 And so, Correct. what all does the thyroid do in 20:43 the body? Just so our audience understands how valuable it is, but just 20:47 taking some levothyroxine may not fix it for you. So, what all does the thyroid 20:52 do? Well, let's start by how it works, okay? 20:56 So, we have the releasing hormone that comes from the pituitary in the brain.
How Thyroid Function Affects the Whole Body 21:01 It comes [snorts] to your thyroid, which sits in your neck, water shape um 21:06 gland, and it tells it to produce T4. T4 goes and takes a tour 21:13 through your body and it converts to T3. Hopefully it converts. 21:19 Hopefully you have the right nutrients, right? If you have enough iodine and B 21:23 vitamins and okay. And you don't have massive amounts of stress 21:28 or heavy metal taking oral estrogens or heavy metal toxins. Okay. So we got to 21:32 look at what's influencing us, huh? So and then once it converts, it's going 21:38 to go into the cells, then it's going to go inside the cells and it's going to 21:43 have a conversation with my favorite part of the human body, which is the 21:48 mitochondria. Okay. 21:50 >> And it's going to ask the mitochondria to produce ATP 21:55 and energy. So where does it work? Everywhere. The 22:01 thyroid works in every cell of the human body. 22:06 Wow. And the mitochondria 22:09 are the energy powerhouses for every cell in the human body. 22:14 So it works everywhere. That's why it's so systemic. When 22:18 somebody's thyroid is off, that's why they can't think clearly. 22:23 You can you you sometimes can have palpitations even with low thyroid, 22:27 which is also something that doesn't get uh, taught. 22:31 People think they can only have palpitations with hyperthyroid. Yeah. 22:36 Um, you know, your skin gets dry, your hair 22:40 gets thin, you have brain fog, you can't you're fatigued, you don't feel well. 22:48 Everywhere. It works everywhere. Your periods. I'm sorry to interrupt you 22:53 there. You get heavy periods. Because 22:58 here's the kicker. You need optimal thyroid 23:02 to recycle your estrogen. Mhm. [clears throat] 23:10 So, if you can't recycle your estrogen, you accumulate estrogen. If you don't 23:15 detoxify the estrogen properly, you accumulate estrogen, and what do you 23:19 get? Heavy bleeding. 23:23 Yeah. Fibrocystic 23:25 breasts. 23:29 Yeah, I don't realize 23:32 the connection between thyroid dysfunction systemically and breast 23:37 health as much as they should. Um you know, we really need to 23:43 I would rather educate women on getting their thyroid tested yearly than getting 23:48 a mammogram any day of the week for breast health prevention. So, it's 23:54 super important. And I love how you're bringing to light because 23:58 so, what I'm hearing is everybody wants a quick fix. You go to 24:02 your doctor, your TSH is high, maybe your T4 is low, and they put you on 24:06 levothyroxine. Is that going to fix it, Dr. Hilda? Is that going to fix all 24:11 this? Make us feel better? Depending on on the level, okay? Because 24:17 I I think that everything happens at levels. Depending on how hypothyroid a 24:21 person is, they may feel a little better. 24:24 They they may, but it's going to be woman, no. It's about 30%, 50% max. Mhm. 24:31 If the free T3 conversion is not happening, if they can And and here's 24:37 the other thing, and everybody, please listen very carefully. If you're taking 24:42 thyroid replacement, you need to take it in an empty stomach. 24:46 Mhm. You cannot take it with food. Sometimes 24:50 the person is just taking it with food and it's not working. In fact, let me 24:53 tell you something. I saw one of my clients, she's been my client now for 24:57 many, many years. When she came, she was seeing 25:02 one of the teachers at the American Academy of Anti-Aging 25:07 Medicine. And she was getting thyroid replacement, 25:12 but she was never told to take it by itself in the morning. So, 25:16 she would always take it with breakfast. Mhm. 25:20 And wouldn't feel well because she couldn't absorb it. 25:24 Yeah. Yeah, even supplementation I tell people 25:28 empty stomach in the morning for thyroid. So, you just want to be able to 25:34 get as much as possible. So, yeah, it it truly matters having an educated 25:38 practitioner to be able to relay all of the things that they need to know. So, 25:43 what is your approach? If someone comes in and you know, the the big, I think, 25:49 myth in the industry is that you can never get off thyroid medication. Now, 25:53 we're not advocating anyone stop their medications on this podcast, but what we 25:57 are saying is that we're looking at all of the dots that Dr. Hilda is making us 26:02 aware of from your gut health and your toxicity and your deficiency. 26:06 And by looking and changing all of the things, is it possible, Dr. Hilda, that 26:10 people can get off of their thyroid medication? 26:14 If you were started on a uh with a mis- 26:20 diagnosis, Mhm. which most people probably are, 26:26 Right. >> um some can. However, Tracy, my 26:30 experience has been that it's mostly been 26:33 able to decrease the dosing. I will never advocate for people to come off of 26:39 their thyroid replacement. Ever. I think that 26:43 it it turns out to to be your body can heal itself. So, if your body happens to 26:50 heal itself and you don't need it anymore, then your body did it. I will I 26:56 I will never promise somebody or lead them down that 27:01 path that they're going to be able to get off of their thyroid replacement. 27:06 Okay. >> But, 27:07 decrease it, or often the situation is they need to change the form that 27:13 they're taking as well. Okay. Or even, you know, the other 27:18 things that you had talked about. Correct? Correct. You might be And you 27:22 know, I have nothing against prescriptions when people need them. You 27:25 know, sometimes, while you're healing, you may need something that is going to 27:31 keep you functional. You know, say you break your leg in 27:35 three places and it's dramatically painful, 27:38 and taking a little bit of pain medication as it heals does not make you 27:42 a terrible person. No, it doesn't. People look at sometimes 27:47 taking a pharmaceutical like for your thyroid, you know, as some sort of fail, 27:52 and it's not a fail. It's a sustainability. 27:55 And until you get to the underlying root cause or some of the deficiencies or 28:00 toxicities that might be contributing to the low function, 28:04 it's not a fail. It's It's basically a crutch that you would use when you break 28:09 your leg. So, I love that you talk about whole body approach. So, what is your 28:14 approach if a patient would come see you for a low thyroid? What are you going to 28:18 do? What's the experience that I would have as your patient? 28:21 Well, first we would have a a a very long conversation on the front end 28:26 before we even get started because I want to make sure that we are a good fit 28:32 for each other, and that I'm very clear about what your goals are, and that I 28:37 feel that you are the type of person that is serious and has what I call the 28:41 WDD factor, which is willingness to get well, desire to invest in yourself and 28:48 teach ability so you become an active participant in your own healing. 28:53 Without those three things, I don't think that is possible for me to help 28:57 anybody because I don't believe on external motivation. I think that the
Hormones, Estrogen, and Thyroid Conversion 29:01 person may have not been getting better because 29:05 it wasn't their fault. They were just not given the right information, but 29:08 once they have the right information, they have to have their internal desire 29:12 and willingness and teach ability to really not only get well, but take that 29:17 with them for the rest of their lives. That's 29:20 number one. And number two, 29:23 once we decide that it's a good fit and we're going to move forward, I would do 29:27 extensive blood test. Like I we mentioned in here, we would do 29:31 not just a thyroid, but inflammation, nutrients, and different other things 29:36 that are going to be important. Internal organ 29:40 vital organ testing, leaky testing, some people need advanced leaky testing. 29:47 Whatever is going to serve that person. Not just do tests for the sake of doing 29:52 tests, but doing them because they're going to serve that person. And this 29:57 brings me to a subject that a lot of people don't get these tests done. It's 30:00 not because their doctors are bad doctors. It's because they're trying to 30:04 get help inside an insurance system. An insurance was designed for disease 30:09 management. It was not designed for optimal wellness. Why do I get to do all 30:14 those tests? Because I work on insurance system. So, 30:19 I I get to really work towards getting somebody to optimum health rather than 30:23 just getting them good enough or just right function enough even though you're 30:29 feeling terribly. Um the next thing that will happen is 30:33 that we would have a very extensive review of findings. 30:36 I my programs are designed so there's 30:39 always education alongside it. So, for the most part, the the entry point 30:47 when I work with people is about a 12-weeks commitment. I don't believe 30:52 that anything less than that is going to work for anybody or really changes in 30:56 90-day cycles. So, we would work in 90-day cycles and then assess that we're 31:02 achieving the goals. Because the most important thing for me is to help you 31:06 achieve your goals. Yes. And do it fast, saving you like a 31:11 10-year learning curve. For sure. Yes. 31:15 >> Yes, if you, you know, a lot of people I've met woman that have been trying I I 31:19 have one of my clients, you want to know how many functional doctors she had 31:22 seen? I'm talking functional doctors. Five. 31:27 Between nutritionists and functional doctors. 31:30 13. 13? Oh my [laughter] gosh. Wow. 31:36 13. Mhm. >> And she's a pharmacist. 31:40 Uh Very educated woman. Mhm. 31:44 >> This had nothing to do with It was just not the dots were not being 31:49 connected. All these tests were being done, but nobody was talking to each 31:53 other and and and the order in which she was being led 31:59 was not the right order for her, which is another part of this. I've said it 32:03 twice already. The order in which you do things can make or break your results. 32:10 So, as part of that initial evaluation is what is the order going to be for 32:14 you? It's a really good point because, you 32:18 know, sometimes the biggest symptom isn't the biggest issue. 32:22 You know, >> Correct. people think it is. So, that's 32:24 that's a great point. So, what do you think has had cuz I think thyroid 32:29 issues, I don't know if they're just more diagnosed now. 32:33 Maybe, you know, clinically misdiagnosed, I would like to say, um 32:39 within the conventional mainstream. But what do you think has had the biggest 32:43 impact on thyroid health when it comes to dysregulation of the thyroid? What 32:49 are you seeing most women What's the underlying culprit? 32:56 Um couple of things. I think when it comes to Hashimoto's, it's going to be 33:02 gastrointestinal health. Mhm. When it comes to Hashimoto's, it's going 33:07 to be food sensitivities, chronic stress, leaky gut, 33:14 uh 33:17 the thyroid ending up being as as a bystander of an inflamed system. And 33:23 with that goes toxicities as well. Okay. 33:27 >> Environmental toxic exposures. And 33:33 the next is poorly managed menopausal transitions. 33:39 This is my experience. Because a lot of times it is during 33:45 menopause that people people become aware that they had thyroid situation. 33:51 Mhm. But it isn't that it just happened during menopause, is that going into 33:57 menopause sort of unveiled it. 34:02 Okay. So it's it was always there, but kind of holding on, and then when the 34:07 hormones got a little dysregulated, Yes. showed its ugly little head. Okay. 34:13 And then you and I both know that a lot of the dysregulation in the 34:18 hormones also has to do with environmental hormone disruptors. Yes. 34:23 >> So we cannot disconnect lifestyle. I mean, something that everybody has 34:29 in their home that I have my clients remove 34:33 is air fresheners. Yes. Ugh. I have a friend that has those 34:38 all through her house. I can barely go visit her. I'm like, "Oh my gosh." 34:43 They're just chemicals. Hormone disruptors. Mhm. Yeah, they can 34:50 in your laundry detergent. Mhm. 34:54 Uh You know, it's everywhere. 34:57 So, I think hormone disruptors and gastrointestinal environment and stress. 35:04 I mean, stress. Stress is is it is not just external stress. 35:10 Is also internal stress. What do I call internal internal stress? Inflammation 35:15 is internal stress. Mhm. If you're not feeling well, you know 35:19 what? Another thing that's a massive stress that I think gets overlooked 35:24 is this pattern of woman being told everything is normal, but not everything 35:28 was tested. And yet they still have to face their family, they have to show up 35:33 to work. They are pushing, pushing, pushing. 35:37 They're feeling isolated. Mhm. 35:40 >> They can They get Some of them get to the point they don't talk about how 35:43 they're feeling anymore because it's starting to sound like they're crazy cuz 35:48 the doctor keeps saying that they're fine. 35:51 That's an internal stressor on itself. Yeah. 35:55 So, almost like a PTSD. So, they actually like stop talking about it.
Root Causes: Gut Health, Stress, and Toxins 36:00 So, that that's a really great point. I mean, if you get turned away enough, 36:05 you know, you're going to start being silenced and then it turns into 36:09 something bigger later. You know, that that's not good. 36:13 So, um So, basically GI health, stress, 36:18 hormones. And do you address all of these things as well within your 36:21 practice? I do based on the order. Okay. 36:27 And you talked a little bit about stewardship. Tell me a little bit about 36:30 that. What does that mean? Well, to me, it means that 36:35 to honor what God has given us as a gift. He's He's really given us an 36:41 amazing vehicle. Um 36:45 Human bodies are truly amazing. Look at the degree of 36:51 abuse that people put their human bodies through. 36:55 Um just start looking at our health as part 36:59 of our spiritual 37:03 being makeup. Understand that our body is the most important home we're ever 37:09 going to live in. And it's the most expensive vehicle 37:12 we're ever going to drive. And most important vehicle we're ever 37:17 going to drive. Yeah, absolutely. 37:19 >> And and have a sense of self-responsibility. 37:23 Learn to be the pilot. And 37:29 take self-responsibility. If you wake up every morning 37:34 and you do not have a healthy breakfast and you 37:39 survive in coffee and sugar and you don't 37:46 take nutrients and you don't supplement and 37:49 you decide to say yes to everything because nobody can live without you and 37:55 your stress level is off the roof, there has to be a certain level of 38:00 self-responsibility to take for that. I love that. You're very much about 38:05 accountability and empowerment all at the same time, you know. It's more of a 38:10 hand up rather than a hand out. Like I'll help you learn, but then you have 38:14 to take the wheel of this beautiful vehicle that you were given. You know, I 38:18 always tell people like you're driving a Mercedes. You're not driving a Pinto. 38:22 You know, let's act like it. And people take better care of their cars than they 38:25 do their bodies. So, you know, they get the oil changed and they wash the car 38:29 and they make sure the carburetor's clean and all the things. I don't even 38:32 know much about cars, but I know people take care of them. Not me. I make my 38:36 husband take it, but you know, he [laughter] 38:39 But these are things >> person. So, nice rims, nice nice wheels. 38:44 Nice. Okay, well, that's good. You like you like to bling it up. I love it. 38:49 Well, one of the things that I'm seeing more and more of um is younger women 38:54 with thyroid issues. And what what do you think's driving that? 39:00 I think it's the same things that we talked about. Yeah, stress, 39:04 gastrointestinal health. I mean, let's let's just talk about this 39:08 for a second. An exercise that I have my clients do, I call it the timeline. 39:14 Okay. And it's go back to when you were born. 39:21 Were you breastfed? Did you have to take a lot of 39:25 antibiotics? Did you have tummy aches when you would 39:29 go to school? And maybe had to leave school because 39:35 you would often have tummy aches. Did you grow up in a toxic household 39:42 where stress was off the roof? When you were in middle school, did you 39:47 start your periods from the get-go with cramps and pain? 39:52 Mhm. Did you do competitive sports? 39:59 Were you trained to be a type A personality 40:02 where you had to do all things for all people? 40:07 In your 20s, did you drink and maybe consume some drugs? Or maybe went 40:14 for your PhD in whatever subject you wanted and your 40:18 stress level was super off. Mhm. How many pregnancies did you have? 40:23 Did you recover well from those pregnancies? 40:28 Did you have complications? So, it's it's an entire thing. Where did you 40:32 live? >> very seen. I want you to know that 40:35 >> [laughter] >> I'm like, yes. Yes. And yes. 40:40 You know? Well, I'm going to go take some thyroid 40:44 supplements after this podcast, but >> [laughter] 40:47 [clears throat] >> I need to make an appointment with Dr. 40:49 Hilda, apparently. It is is truly like, why are we all 40:54 having this problem? Because we live in a world where and and and I at this age, 41:01 okay? I'm going to be 62, by the way. Oh my gosh, I would never have guessed that 41:07 in my life. I decided to be public about my age. Oh, 41:12 I'm public about my age, too. I'm I'm so much happier at 51 than I was 21, uh 41:16 100%. I like this age better. So, this is another thing that I I 41:21 finally learned at this age. And I wish I would 41:25 have learned it. You do not look at 100% and I'm sure you don't feel it cuz 41:30 you look wonderful. I know, I feel like 40. Right. 41:34 >> Because my 38s were so terrible. If you see my before and after picture that's 41:39 inside that book, it's it's it's not good. 41:43 It's not good. The before and after is really sad. 41:47 Well, the before is the sad one, not the after. But, um I was going to tell you 41:51 something. What was I going to tell you? You're public about your age, you're 61. 41:55 No, okay. So, something I've learned. So, we're talking about stress. 42:01 It's like >> It's like we have been indoctrinated 42:07 to operate like men in our society. Mhm. Yes. 42:13 And chase the lion. Mhm. 42:16 So, something I've learned now is I Yeah, I've been given these gifts. I 42:21 love what I do. I don't want to I almost had to quit 42:25 medicine when I was sick. I don't want to quit medicine. But, also for us 42:29 ladies to have a I feel like it's okay to talk about these on your podcast. Of 42:34 course. >> eat, pray, and live a faithful life. To 42:38 also like stay in our feminine energy. 42:42 Yes. 42:45 And we would be so much less stressed. Mhm. 42:50 And I think, you know, my generation, I'm 51, so I'm Gen X. 42:55 You know, my I was told you don't need to get married, go to college, get a 42:59 career. That's how I was raised. How I was raised. So, I ended up not getting
Testing, Treatment Approach, and Prevention 43:03 married till I was 34, not having my first son till I was 35, and my second 43:07 son when I was 40. Now, I'm I'm like I tell you I was I was a personal trainer 43:12 and, you know, went back to school to be a naturopathic doctor and was getting 43:15 healthier, but talk about the abuse in the 20s, you know, and the stress and 43:20 everything else. And so, the reason I asked about the younger generation cuz I 43:24 want them to hear you now. You and I finally got it when we were 43:29 like 40. Then we were like, "Hey, you know, this doesn't feel right. I don't 43:34 feel good." Mhm. I can personally say for myself personally, 43:39 I feel better and look better than I did in my 20s and my 30s, 100%. I want the 43:46 younger generation to hear what you're saying. The These girls that are coming 43:50 out of high school, my son's friends are on thyroid medications. They're 16 years 43:55 old. What are we doing? 43:59 And who is not talking to these young ladies about everything you just 44:03 discussed discussed today? Their gut health, their stress, their toxicity, 44:08 all of the things you said. We need to stop waiting for disease to 44:14 manifest itself, right? We only put >> Correct. 44:18 on health when we're sick. I would like Attention all 20-year-olds, please make 44:23 an appointment with Dr. Hilda now so you can prevent what we had to go through 44:29 and experience in our 30s and only learn in our 40s. 44:34 That's I think a huge part of of preventative health. When we talk about 44:38 preventing disease, it's not about waiting to get sick. It's about starting 44:42 your health path when you're not sick and making the investment into your 44:48 future self. That's really what we're trying to say. 100%. And if the 44:53 20-year-olds are not ready for that, at least the 35-year-olds should be. 44:58 I think every 35-year-old should have their baseline 45:02 um comprehensive test thing, their hormones 45:07 done, even though that this is not the conventional advice. This is 45:11 what I have told my daughter to do. Right. 45:16 Get everything ahead of time so you have your baselines and as things are 45:21 changing, then you can be on top of it because the reality of the situation is 45:28 that in our 40s, we're going to have a 45:32 certain biochemistry that's going to change in our 50s, right? So you want to 45:36 know where you are. And when it comes to this whole perimenopausal menopausal 45:41 transition, there are so many things that go wrong. 45:46 Some people are not given estrogen when they need it. Some people are given 45:49 estrogen when they don't need it because even though they were not having 45:53 periods, they were estrogen dominant and they needed progesterone all along. 45:57 Mhm. So 46:00 and insulin resistance in these kids and young women and 46:04 >> Yes. all the things. I'm so grateful that you're out there. I hope when 46:08 people hear this podcast, if they're a mom who has a daughter, 46:12 pass it along. I mean, it's so valuable. The information you're giving is so 46:16 valuable. So 46:18 And for people to be willing to even though this is not a podcast about 46:23 supplements, but you and I are very big into supplementation. 46:27 Yes. >> And for people to learn good quality 46:29 supplements, too. Yes. What are the right things to take together to get the 46:36 results that you're looking for instead of treating supplements like green 46:39 medicine. It's not like you have headaches and you take feverfew. That's 46:44 not it. You have headaches, find out the reason why you're having headaches so 46:48 you can support that system. Yes. 46:52 Absolutely. Well, you've mentioned your book a few 46:55 times, The Truth About Thyroid. You're relaunching this in May of 2026. 47:01 >> Okay. And so is it available for pre-purchasing or do 47:06 we all have to wait? Well, right now we all have to wait. But 47:12 but I do have a gift. I have a gift for your audience, which is called the five 47:20 metabolic mistakes Mhm. that keep women stuck 47:27 after 40 and how to fix them. So and you have a link for that. I do. In the show 47:33 notes for anybody that wants it, go click it right now, get it. It's great. 47:38 For those that get the guide, my promise to you is it's a free guide. There's no 47:44 no selling on that guide. It's all educational. So my promise to you is as 47:49 soon as we have the book launch information ready, 47:55 I will make sure that I send it to your audience. For those that 47:58 opt in for the guide. And I can I can also send it to you and you can share it 48:02 with your community. Of course I will. Absolutely. I love 48:07 this. Thank you so much. That is such a generous offer. And your before and 48:11 after picture is on the page of that guide. And so when you guys click the 48:15 link and you go, like what she's saying today, amazing amazing transition of 48:22 what understanding your body and really being a steward of your body means in 48:26 the right order in accordance to the design of the Father in heaven. Like 48:31 it's so important that we don't forget our roots, right? That we were made in 48:37 his image and we can heal doing the right things at the right times in the 48:42 right order in the right amounts. Um, but it is it's accountability. 48:47 Right? It's accountability. So, what what 48:52 information or any type of wisdom would you like to 48:57 give our audience listening today as a final thought as we leave this podcast? 49:03 The final thought, we already talked about it but we'll recap it, is that 49:07 your thyroid does not work in isolation. It is part of a body where you were 49:14 wonderfully made and that it is possible when you send 49:19 the right signals to your body to have your thyroid 49:23 restore. That's That's the most important part. 49:28 Whether you use replacement or not because even if you use replacement, 49:32 that restoration has to happen for you to be able to get the benefits of the 49:36 replacement. Yeah. Yeah. 49:40 Supplements and pharmaceuticals work better in a foundational body. That's 49:43 for sure. Well, Dr. Hilda, thank you for taking the time today to teach us about 49:49 our thyroid, our thyroid health, and and even beyond that. You just taught us 49:53 about hormones and gut health and everything else in one podcast. So, 49:56 we're so appreciative. I loved it. Remember guys, the body's always 50:00 communicating. It's always adapting. It's always trying to restore. So, when 50:05 we learn to listen to it in the right order in the design that it's made for 50:09 and you become a steward of this with an incredible physician who can help guide 50:14 you, you know, healing becomes less about fighting [music] to be heard 50:19 and more about alignment. So, thanks for being here today. If you like this 50:23 podcast, [music] make sure you share it with somebody who can benefit from it. 50:27 Also, don't forget to subscribe and make sure you hit the show notes for all the 50:31 links and the free gift that Dr. Hilda has promised you today. Dr. Hilda, thank 50:35 you so much. God bless you. God [music] bless you, too.
Comments