If you are one of the eight million Americans who has been diagnosed with thyroid disease (or worse, one of the 12 million undiagnosed), you may have joined a band of people with a lifetime sentence of taking Armour® Thyroid or Synthroid®, the most popularly prescribed thyroid medications. If you are uninsured or underinsured, these meds may come with an out of pocket cost of $1,200 per year, not to mention the costs associated with diagnostic lab testing, endocrinologist consultations, and other medical conditions associated with long-term use like osteoporosis and heart issues. We are here to help at New Life Chiropractic in Fort Wayne, In.

What if you could break away from the shackles of medical management, or better yet avoid it altogether? What if you could do it by committing to doing just five things continually for the next 100 days?

---

1. Chiropractic Care

It’s so important that your nervous system is healthy and has exceptional communication with every cell at every moment that I would absolutely make this the number one priority. The nervous system coordinates every single action that takes place in the body, including thyroid function.

Think about it this way – if your car needs to be aligned and your mechanic keeps selling you a brand new set of $700 to $800 tires each time you go for the alignment, you wouldn’t be a very happy customer, right? Addressing symptoms of thyroid dysfunction with no regard for the health of your spinal column and nervous system is no different.

Notice, too, that I didn’t say any old type of chiropractic care. You need to get Corrective Chiropractic Care. In a nutshell, that basically means a chiropractic care regimen aimed at restoring proper curvature of your spinal column, especially in the neck. It is believed that cervical curvature plays a significant role in regulating thyroid function, and corrective care chiropractors have had great success with both short-term and long-term improvements in thyroid dysfunction. Even autoimmune types of thyroid disease have been known to decrease because chiropractic care can boost immune system function by up to 200%.

---

2. Increase Iodine Intake

Iodine is used by your thyroid to make T4, a precursor hormone that travels to the liver and becomes T3. Without it, your thyroid is practically useless! Unfortunately, iodine is not produced naturally by the body, so it must be an essential part of your diet.

Iodine is contained naturally in:

• sea vegetables (e.g. seaweed)
• cranberries
• organic yogurt
• organic navy beans
• organic strawberries
• raw organic cheese
• organic potatoes

This does not mean you should increase your intake of iodized table salt! In fact, you should opt for unrefined Himalayan Pink Salt instead.

---

3. Join the Gluten-free Revolution

Gluten has been linked to a host of different autoimmune disorders, including those of the thyroid. You do not have to worry, however, because it has become much easier to find gluten alternatives for the starchy foods you love to eat. In fact, I recommend that you visit GlutenFree.com/glutenfree-me. (*NOTE: As of 2024, this article is no longer accessible.) This online source is a gluten-free menu generator that you can use to go 100% gluten-free after a short trip to the gluten-free section of your local grocery store!

---

4. Read Every Food and Product Label Before Use

Avoid all products with bromine or bromine byproducts. These include popular purchases like:

• Pesticides
• Plastics
• Bakery goods and some flours
• Soft drinks
• Fire retardants

Tips: Use glass food storage containers instead of plastic to avoid leakage of unwanted chemicals. It will take an initial investment, but they last longer than plastic containers. Also, be sure to check the tags on your clothes for fire retardants.

---

5. Support Your Liver and Digestive System

The liver is responsible for converting the T4 (inactive) thyroid hormone to T3 (active) thyroid hormone, so it has to be as healthy as possible. I recommend doing a liver detox and then supplementing it with a liver support like Liver-ND by Premier Research Labs.

The health of the digestive system is closely tied to the immune system. If you suffer from the autoimmune type of thyroid dysfunction, your body will definitely appreciate the help. Premier Research Labs also produces a probiotic supplement that I take daily myself. Trust me, yogurt alone is not enough!

You may be hearing ‘cha ching’ and thinking this 100 day challenge is going to be a huge financial investment. To be totally honest with you, it will cost some money upfront, but the long-term benefits will certainly outweigh the initial costs. Consider how happy you will be saving potentially thousands of dollars out of pocket in medical bills over the course of many years just by using these five strategies! Think, too, about how many more years of health and vitality you may likely enjoy as a result of purifying your body and naturally boosting its ability to heal and be well. Remember, my friends, you have a choice in what your future holds – you can just survive or you can THRIVE!