Nourishing the thyroid gland

by | Jan 31, 2008 | Columns, Wise Woman Ways | 0 comments

Hi Susun,
I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have been on Armour Thyroid for about a year and a half. I have not noticed any improvement in my health and am considering trying herbs to nourish or rebuild my thyroid. Do you have any suggestions? My goal is to stop using the Armour and care for my thyroid naturally without supplements. Sincere thanks.


Karen Joy’s response (apprentice to Susun Weed):
The premiere herb/weed for thyroid health is seaweed. Any kind, especially fucus/bladderwrack, is wonderful. You can take it dried in capsules or you can prepare it in foods. The latter is preferable, especially when you do not know the harvesters, since this way you can see the quality. It may be preferable that you go off the Armour slowly and increase the seaweed slowly. This is only if you otherwise have a thyroid that is potentially functioning, though. Please do consult with your doctor to determine how best to go off the Armour, or if it is safe at all.

Assuming you are able to care for your thyroid naturally, you may wish to see if there is anything in your daily lifestyle that may have contributed to the hypothyroidism, so you do not continue it. For some, this can be sudden weight loss, lack of quality fats, excess exposure to xenoestrogens, excess of brassicas, salicylates and blood-thinning drugs, and even too much iodine.

Susun speaks about the myriad benefits of seaweeds at length in her book Healing Wise, along with recipes for use. For even more in-depth understanding of thyroid health, Ryan Drum, whom Susun refers to often, is an excellent source.

Love and blessings, Karen Joy
(apprentice to Susun Weed)

photos: Wise Woman Spiral ©iStockphoto.com / Chuck Spidell

Author

  • Susun Weed

    Susun S. Weed has no official diplomas of any kind; she left high school in her junior year to pursue studies in mathematics and artificial intelligence at UCLA and she left college in her junior year to pursue life.

    Susun began studying herbal medicine in 1965 when she was living in Manhattan while pregnant with her daughter, Justine Adelaide Swede.

    She wrote her first book -- Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year (now in its 30th printing) -- in 1985 and published it as the first title of Ash Tree Publishing in 1986.

    It was followed by Healing Wise (1989), New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way (1992 and revised in 2002), Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (1996), Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way (2011), Abundantly Well - Seven Medicines (2019).

    In addition to her writing, Ms Weed trains apprentices, oversees the work of more than 300 correspondence course students, coordinates the activities of the Wise Woman Center, and is a High Priestess of Dianic Wicca, a member of the Sisterhood of the Shields, and a Peace Elder.

    Susun Weed is a contributor to the Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women's Studies, peer- reviewed journals, and popular magazines, including a regular column in Sagewoman.

    Her worldwide teaching schedule encompasses herbal medicine, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, psychology of healing, ecoherbalism, nutrition, and women's health issues and her venues include medical schools, hospital wellness centers, breast cancer centers, midwifery schools, naturopathic colleges, and shamanic training centers, as well as many conferences.

    Susun appears on many television and radio shows, including National Public Radio and NBC News.

    View all posts



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