Tom's Blog on Life

Dr Izabella Wentz has a protocol for reversing Hashimoto’s disease. This week I received from her a pitch for her protein powder that contained some interesting data on protein I thought you might like to read:
Before I received my Hashimoto’s diagnosis, I used to start each day with a protein smoothie.
In some ways, this was a very positive habit, but in other ways, it was very much detrimental to my health.
Protein is an essential macronutrient and helps us to build up our body to ensure that all vital processes are taking place. Protein is an important source of amino acids such as glutamine and L-tyrosine, which repair gut cells and create thyroid hormones, respectively.
People eating the Standard American Diet or vegan and vegetarian diets may not get enough protein and can be at risk for protein deficiency. Some symptoms include: fatigue, trouble losing weight, brain fog, blood sugar imbalance, trouble building muscle, muscle wasting, intestinal permeability and hair loss. Sound familiar?
The Right Amount of Protein
For general health purposes, you should be consuming about 0.45-0.55 grams of protein per day, for each pound you weigh. (The official calculation is done by kilograms of body weight: 1.0-1.2 grams of protein per kilogram). This translates to roughly 50 grams of protein per day for a person who weighs 100 pounds.
Higher protein intake, of 0.55 grams to 0.68 grams per pound of body weight per day, is recommended for most older adults who have acute or chronic diseases (1.2-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight). In this case, a person who weighs 100 lbs should aim for 54-68 grams of protein per day.
Generally, the more active you are, the more protein you need. Bodybuilders especially need more protein, as much as 1 gram of protein per pound, so a 100 pound person would want to aim for 100 grams of protein each day!
Older people with severe kidney disease (who are not on dialysis) are an exception to this rule; these individuals may need to limit protein intake as their kidneys may not be able to properly process the protein.
Benefits of Protein Smoothies
Having a protein packed smoothie in the morning can help kick off our daily nutrition and keep our blood sugar balanced, as well as help the thyroid gland (if low protein was a contributing factor). A protein powder mixed with blended foods can provide the body with predigested nutrition, allowing for better absorption of nutrients, even when our digestion isn’t perfect.
The Right Kind of Protein
However, the wrong kind of protein can be detrimental as well. Back in the day, I used to put whey protein and yogurt in my smoothies, not realizing that I was sensitive to dairy! Dairy proteins casein and whey are highly reactive for up to 80 percent of people with Hashimoto’s. My “healthy breakfast” was causing my carpal tunnel, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and causing my thyroid gland to attack itself. Within three days of getting off dairy, my acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome disappeared, the carpal tunnel took a few months to resolve, and over time, I saw my thyroid antibodies reducing as well!
Most protein powders on the market contain soy and dairy, which are two very reactive proteins for people with Hashimoto’s. While egg white proteins are also an option and can be less reactive, unfortunately, those with Hashimoto’s who start using them often find themselves with new onset egg reactions, because egg whites are difficult to digest for people with intestinal permeability.
The protein powders that are best tolerated by people with Hashimoto’s, in my experience, are hemp protein, pea protein and hydrolyzed beef protein.
Hemp protein is vegan, gluten, dairy and soy free, but it has a strong taste that doesn’t blend well with most foods and can be an issue for some with estrogen concerns.
Pea protein is vegan, gluten, dairy and soy free, and has a mild taste. However, it is not compatible with the Autoimmune Paleo diet.
Beef protein, on the other hand, is Paleo and Autoimmune Paleo friendly. The protein is derived from grass-fed meat, but it doesn’t actually have that strong beefy taste! It actually has a nice, mild taste that can be compared to the taste of collagen or whey protein.
In contrast to collagen (which is also well tolerated by people with Hashimoto’s), beef protein is a complete protein, meaning it contains the essential amino acids we need to survive. (Collagen protein is not a complete protein, so while it’s a great add-on to smoothies, I wouldn’t recommend it as a base for smoothies, unless you’re adding another complete protein source as the base). I came across the beef protein option when I was personally looking for a protein powder that I could put into smoothies.
Beef protein is gluten free, soy free and is also free of casein and whey, two very reactive proteins found in dairy products.
Hydrolyzed beef protein offers a special advantage, as it is less likely to cause additional food reactions due to the hydrolysis process, which breaks the protein into tiny pieces. I recommend using hydrolyzed beef protein for building up your body in my new book, Hashimoto’s Protocol, in the Adrenal Recovery and Gut Balance Protocols.
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/

This is an absolute MUST WATCH if you are wanting to stay healthy for as long as possible.
https://www.livelongerfeelbetter.com/honest-doctors-can-no-longer/

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued this statement in response to today’s verdict in the case of Dewayne Johnson vs. Monsanto Co., awarding $289.2 million in damages to plaintiff Dwayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper who, after being required to spray Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is terminally ill with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“This verdict proves that when ordinary citizens, in this case a jury of 12, hear the facts about Monsanto’s products, and the lengths to which this company has gone to buy off scientists, deceive the public and influence government regulatory agencies, there is no confusion,” said Ronnie Cummins, OCA’s international director. “This is a company that has always put profits ahead of public safety, and today, Monsanto has finally been held accountable.
“We hope that this is just the first of many defeats for Monsanto, and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will pull this product off the market immediately. In the meantime, OCA looks forward to the next steps in our own lawsuit against Monsanto, for misleading consumers about the safety of Roundup for humans and pets. And we are grateful to Mr. Johnson for bravely facing down the ‘most evil corporation’ in the world.”
https://www.organicconsumers.org/press/monsanto-loses-landmark-case-roundup-weedkiller-case-jury-awards-290m-cancer-victim

“So much science, so much spin—who will the jurors believe?” tweeted Carey Gillam, research director of U.S. Right to Know and author of “Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science.”
https://www.organicconsumers.org/blog/monsanto-roundup-trial-jury-deliberations

The American Academy of Pediatrics is calling for stronger federal food safety requirements, warning families to avoid microwaving and dishwashing plastic containers that contain harmful chemicals.
In a report published online last week, pediatricians cited growing evidence against chemicals in food colorings, preservatives and food packaging materials.
“This report outlines not only safe and essential steps that the healthcare community can communicate to parents and families but also some steps that the FDA can take, and frankly manufacturers can take, to limit the exposures of greatest concern,” Leonardo Trasande, lead author on the policy statement and AAP Council on Environmental Health member, told USA TODAY.
Something that’s particularly catching the attention of parents:Heating plastics (including bottles) in the microwave or running them through a dishwasher increases the chance of leaking dangerous chemicals, according to the AAP.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/allthemoms/news/2018/08/03/dont-microwave-childrens-plastic-food-containers-doctors-say/896952002/

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the developed world, and yet we are still in the dark ages when it comes to treating and understanding it.
The colossal failure of conventional cancer treatments reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what cancer – the “enemy” – actually is. For one, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are both intrinsically carcinogenic treatments. The only justification for their use, in fact, is that they are highly effective at damaging the DNA within cells – with the hope that the cancer cells will be more susceptible to being harmed than the healthy ones (sadly, not always true).
The reality, however, is that the “collateral damage” from treatment is inevitable; it is not a matter of “if,” but to what degree the damaging side effects will occur. As in real modern warfare, the decision to strike is often based on deciding how much collateral damage to “civilian” populations is deemed acceptable. This is not unlike the fixation in toxicological risk assessments for drugs, environmental pollutants, food additives, etc., where determining “an acceptable level of harm” (a rather horrible oxymoron) to the exposed population is the first order of business.
https://australiannationalreview.com/2018/08/01/chemo-and-radiation-can-make-cancer-more-malignant/