Treating Brain Fog Naturally In People With Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Many people with hypothyroidism suffer from the condition known as "brain fog", which is described by some as "feelings of mental confusion or lack of clarity". This condition will frequently lead to memory loss, as well as difficulty concentrating. This condition of course isn't just found in people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, but it is very common for people with hyperthyroid conditions to suffer from brain fog.
So what causes brain fog? In people with hypothyroidism, it is frequently caused by the imbalance in thyroid hormone. So for many people, simply taking synthetic or natural thyroid hormone will correct this condition. However, addressing the thyroid hormone imbalance doesn't always help. When this is the case, different areas need to be looked at in order to detect the cause of this condition. While there are many potential causes of brain fog, the following represent three of the most common ones:
Factor #1: Nutritional deficiencies. A deficiency in one or more of the following minerals can lead to brain fog: iodine, zinc, calcium, magnesium, selenium, as well as the B vitamins. These nutritional deficiencies are quite common in people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Different tests can be useful in detecting such deficiencies. For example, in order to help detect whether someone has an iodine deficiency, an iodine loading test will be helpful. For the other deficiencies I mentioned, a hair mineral analysis can provide this information.
Factor #2: Imbalance of the steroid hormones. In addition to an imbalance in thyroid hormone, an imbalance of the steroid hormones can also lead to symptoms of brain fog. One of the most common hormone imbalances is estrogen dominance, which is an imbalance of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Such an imbalance can be detected through a male or female hormone panel.
Factor #3: Toxicities. Certain toxicities can lead to this problem. For example, many people with hypothyroidism have a copper toxicity, which can lead to brain fog. A heavy metal toxicity (mercury, lead, etc.) can also cause or contribute to this condition. And most people do have some levels of heavy metals.In addition to these three factors, a few other potential causes include hypoglycemia, allergies, as well as an infection.
How To Correct Brain Fog In People With Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
In order to correct brain fog, one obviously needs to first find out the cause, which isn't always easy to accomplish. If it's due to the low thyroid hormone levels, then this should usually improve if the person takes synthetic or natural thyroid hormone, although not always. Of course even if doing this does correct the problem, taking this approach does absolutely nothing for the cause of the hypothyroid condition, as it's just managing the symptoms.
If one or more nutritional deficiencies are responsible for the symptoms, then of course one will need to both detect, and then correct this problem. The same concept applies with a hormone imbalance, as if it is determined that someone has estrogen dominance which is causing brain fog, then the hormone imbalance must be corrected. If a copper toxicity problem is responsible, then this must be addressed.
In summary, there are many potential causes of brain fog in people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. For anyone experiencing this, the obvious goal is to try to find out what is causing this to occur, and then correct the problem. Most medical doctors will attempt to manage the symptoms through medication, and so anyone experiencing this problem will probably want to consult with a natural healthcare professional.
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Posted by Dr. Eric Osansky at http://ezinearticles.com/?Treating-Brain-Fog-Naturally-In-People-With-Hypothyroidism-and-Hashimotos-Thyroiditis&id=7247186)
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