Participants:
Series Code: AL
Program Code: AL000216A
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00:01 There is a gland in the body
00:02 that's nicknamed the "butterfly gland." 00:05 Do you know what gland that is? 00:07 Well, here's another clue 00:08 which is also today's program entitle, 00:10 "The Master Gland." 00:12 We'll be right back. 00:49 Hi, welcome to Abundant Living. 00:51 This is Curtis Eakins, the co-host 00:52 and this is my beautiful bride of 20 glorious, 00:57 wonderful years of holy matrimony, Paula Eakins. 01:02 Praise him. 01:04 It's been a wonderful 20 years, will you say? 01:06 Absolutely. Absolutely. 01:07 You want to expound on that a little bit? 01:08 No, I think that we're good. Okay, I just want to hear. 01:11 Because I know, I know for fact-- 01:13 You know for fact. 01:14 You start off this year with butterfly gland. 01:16 The butterfly gland. And then the master gland. 01:18 The master gland. Okay. 01:20 Just let them stew in for little while. 01:22 You call them stew? 01:23 Well, we can't too much 01:24 because we got to tape this show. 01:26 We got to tell them what it is 01:27 but-- it could be any gland or all the glands. 01:31 Now it's called a butterfly 01:32 that's a clue also the master gland. 01:36 Oh, that's heavy. That's heavy. 01:38 It's not the master man because the master-- 01:41 Is Jesus Christ. Right. 01:42 So this is the master gland. 01:45 Okay. Right, okay. 01:46 So let's let the cat out the bag 01:48 so we can start talking about it. 01:49 What do you think we are talking about, baby? 01:51 Do you have any idea? We are talking about thyroid. 01:53 We are talking about the thyroid 01:55 and there's a lot of people 01:57 that got some issues with the thyroid. 01:59 It really does and now those who remember 02:02 I guess back 30-40 years ago 02:04 was a guy name Rodney Dangerfield. 02:07 He said no one gives me respect. 02:09 I need some respect. 02:11 This gland gets no respect and we did this program 02:14 I guess many years ago, 02:15 but we're gonna talk about the thyroid, it's in two parts. 02:19 This is part one and then part two 02:22 would be hopefully next time we meet. 02:25 But the thyroid gland 02:26 is sometimes called the butterfly gland 02:30 because it's shaped like a butterfly 02:31 but also the master gland as well. 02:36 Okay, so I guess the question that people are asking 02:39 and that is it's a small gland. 02:42 But the question is what is actually 02:45 responsibility of a thyroid gland? 02:47 Okay, well, let's back up 02:49 before we talk about the responsibility, 02:51 let's talk about why is it called the master gland. 02:56 So you want to go there first and then go back-- 02:57 Yeah, and then we'll go over to responsibility. 02:59 Okay, let's do that. Let's do that. 03:00 Number one, there are two glands 03:03 in the back brace-- base of our brain 03:07 that's called the hypothalamus and the pituitary. 03:11 Those two really monitors or regulate the thyroid gland. 03:17 So therefore this thyroid gland 03:19 is based on how these two glands 03:22 in the base of the brain regulate the thyroid gland 03:25 and produce two main hormones. 03:30 Okay. T4 and T3. 03:34 These two main hormones control every gland, 03:39 every tissue in a body. 03:42 Stimulate every tissue in a body. 03:45 These two hormones within a thyroid gland. 03:48 Therefore that's why it's called the master gland. 03:52 Now most people think that-- done with the responsibilities. 03:56 Oh, thyroid, yeah that regulates my metabolism. 04:01 And, you know, and that's just really scratching the surface. 04:03 Everybody knows that we gonna go more into 04:06 just regulate metabolism, also regulates calcium balance. 04:11 If the thyroid gland is not working properly 04:13 then have a risk of osteoporosis, 04:16 brittle bones, breakage, fracture. 04:18 So I mean, that's the thyroid gland 04:20 regulating calcium balance as well. 04:22 It regulates heat, 04:24 it regulates growth, repair of tissues. 04:26 Remember it stimulates every tissue in our entire body. 04:33 The thyroid gland is connected to many other glands as well 04:38 and so has awesome responsibility of doing 04:40 those major things along with other things as well. 04:43 Go ahead, honey. 04:44 Oh, I guess though I mean, 04:46 who would think of solving all that? 04:48 Let's say for instance 04:49 when you are talking about the type of thyroid problems-- 04:54 But looking at that then because obviously 04:58 with the thyroid being so powerful, 05:01 there has to be certain problems 05:05 other than what you are saying to me, 05:06 you are giving me different ideas. 05:07 There actually is a part, 05:09 a problem of the thyroid itself. 05:11 Yeah, the number one dysfunction of the thyroid 05:16 most people know is hypothyroidism. 05:20 Okay. Okay. 05:21 Hypo, low active, okay. Okay. 05:24 Now, we're gonna be talking about hyper 05:27 which is not as common as hypo. 05:29 But let's talk about hypo. 05:31 Hypo, now of course women is ten to one, 05:33 women to men, hypo. 05:36 Lower active. Why is that? 05:38 Well, we get into that as well 05:39 because it deal with some estrogen issues as well. 05:42 So the hypothyroidism 05:44 and one of main issues of that is Hashimoto's disease. 05:49 It's about 40 million people get that 05:51 where the immune system actually 05:54 attacks the cells of the thyroid, 05:57 Hashimoto's disease, all right. 05:59 So, but again hypothyroidism 06:02 is the main dysfunction of the thyroid 06:05 in about 40 million people and it's climbing in a ratios 06:08 about ten to one, women to men. 06:11 So that's the main dysfunction of the thyroid 06:14 and because of that you have a lot of symptoms, 06:16 a lot of problems as well. 06:18 What are some of the contributing factors 06:20 so then for that? 06:21 Well, some of the contributing factors, 06:23 let's go to the screen, 06:24 I think we have a picture of the thyroids. 06:26 Look at the thyroid first of all. 06:28 Did you have this, the thyroid gland there 06:31 and that's why it's called sometimes 06:32 you look at it closely, the butterfly gland, all right. 06:37 You know, if we use imagination 06:39 but it's just around the trachea 06:41 and just below the larynx and so 06:44 and you can actually feel it too. 06:45 Before the show is over we're going to show people 06:48 how to actually do a self test of the thyroid gland as well. 06:52 So, but again, thanks for the graphic, 06:54 but a lot of times you see a person 06:56 who may have a goiter may be enlarged 07:00 and that's one of the symptoms of a under active 07:03 or thyroid gland being dysfunctional 07:07 and it can really wreak havoc in the whole entire system. 07:11 So contributing factors then are going to be... what? 07:17 Okay. 07:19 Well, let's go to screen, let's talk about some-- 07:21 because there are lot of factors 07:22 that will contribute the dysfunction of thyroid. 07:25 Number one, head and neck radiations. 07:28 Now I remember when I worked in surgery 07:30 where sometimes we're doing surgical procedures 07:34 which work in the neurosurgery with brain and spinal cord. 07:38 Lot of times they x-ray 07:39 the person's neck or the hair region 07:41 and we have something that goes around our neck 07:43 to guard us against radiation. 07:46 So a lot of times if people have radiation 07:48 around the head or neck region, 07:50 it's going to also affect the thyroid. 07:52 So that's number one. 07:54 Number two, exposures to pesticides, 07:56 particularly DDT. 07:58 And so what that does is it also prevents 08:01 the release of the thyroid stimulating hormone, 08:05 DDT a pesticide, all right, that's another thing. 08:08 Contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy. 08:12 That's why it's ten to one 08:14 because those who take those type of medications also 08:18 it's going to affect the thyroid. 08:20 Contraceptive and hormone replacement therapy, 08:23 so that's why for women it's more prevalent than men 08:27 as far as the thyroid being 08:29 a dysfunctional gland in the body. 08:32 That's just one some of the factors. 08:35 There are some others as well. 08:36 Let's go to the screen about the other factors as well. 08:39 The next one in our next group is the hormone-based foods. 08:42 Now we talk about the bovine growth hormone 08:46 that's found in milk. 08:48 Hormones fed to the chickens now, the animal kingdom, 08:52 people feeding the animal kingdom more hormones, 08:55 so that they can produce more milk, fed them up 08:58 so they can go to the market faster in half the time. 09:02 But and those hormones will affect the thyroid. 09:05 So that's one thing. 09:06 Cancer therapies, there are some cancer drugs. 09:10 When people have cancer and diagnosed with cancer. 09:13 A lot of drugs that cancer therapies have 09:16 will also affect the thyroid function as well. 09:20 Municipal water, now to me people now drink water 09:23 right out of the falls but those who still do that, 09:26 it will displace the hormone the thyroid, 09:31 so therefore municipal water 09:32 also affect that thyroid as well. 09:34 So we encourage people to if they are gonna drink water 09:38 the bottle water or filter water, 09:40 but not municipal water 09:42 because that can really affect the thyroid. 09:44 So those are some of the contributing factors 09:47 to thyroid not functioning properly. 09:50 I know we're gonna talk about you said, hyperthyroidism 09:53 and you talked about hypothyroidism. 09:56 So I guess my question would be, 09:57 the next question would be, 10:00 tell us what would be the symptoms of hypothyroidism. 10:04 Okay. 10:05 The symptoms of hypothyroidism is many. 10:09 As I mentioned before it has almost 10:15 by one estimate effects 47 medical conditions 10:21 if their thyroid is not working properly, all right. 10:24 So you have gain weight, weight gain, 10:30 lethargy, fatigue, always feeling tired, 10:35 you have of course calcium loss 10:37 or you may have also osteoporosis, 10:40 increase of fractures, cold extremities, 10:44 the hand, the feet, constipation, 10:48 bowel movement, depression. 10:51 Remember, this is the master gland. 10:54 So if this gland not working properly 10:56 as I said before by one estimate, 10:58 some 47 conditions can be associated 11:02 with this gland not working properly. 11:05 So that are some of the things that an under active 11:08 or hypothyroid can do to the whole body. 11:13 Okay. That's a lot. Yes, it is. 11:15 And you said 47, so I guess how would a person then-- 11:19 I mean, if I'm tired all the time, 11:21 is that mean that I got a problem 11:22 with my thyroid or you know, 11:24 how is it tested, how am I tested to find out 11:27 whether I'm having a issues with my thyroid? 11:30 Okay. 11:31 There are several tests, one test in particular-- 11:34 many tests you can take but one is called the testing 11:37 the thyroid stimulating hormone, 11:40 the T4 and the antibody, anti-thyroid, antibody test 11:46 but more or less the TSH 11:49 stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. 11:54 Now this test has need to be adjusted 12:00 as far as the range is concerned. 12:03 Let's go to the screen, and let's talk about this test. 12:05 I'm gonna talk about the ranges 12:07 because the range has been adjusted back in 2003. 12:11 Okay. 12:13 Now, we gonna leave this on the screen 12:14 just for little while. 12:15 Oh, you got little smiley faces, little sad faces. 12:18 That was good the graphic guy did that for me, all right. 12:20 Number one, okay now, currently years ago 12:24 to be in a normal or optimal range 12:29 you have your thyroid, this is the TSH, 12:32 Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, 12:34 that's the low end 12:38 and if it's high 5.0 or higher. 12:41 So if you are in that white bar 12:44 at the top of the screen there, 12:46 you are in the normal or the normal range. 12:50 Let me say this the normal range, 12:52 that white bar, all right. 12:53 Now, the Association of Clinical Endocrinology 12:59 discovered that really there's a lot of people 13:03 may be not in a lower range but near the lower range. 13:07 Okay. 13:09 They may have problems with their thyroid 13:11 but since it's still in the "normal range" 13:15 that white bar, there's no medication 13:19 or no treatment options for that person 13:22 although they are in the normal range. 13:25 So back in 2003, 13:27 the American Clinical Endocrinology decided that 13:32 that range need to be smaller to the optimal range. 13:39 Let's go back to our screen, 13:40 let's look at the optimal range. 13:42 There the optimal range or zone is the yellow bar, 13:48 the second bar there right under the white one. 13:50 Therefore, if a person is in the optimal zone 13:55 range 0.3 to 3.0 14:02 then they are in more of a optimal range 14:06 for that as opposed to the normal range 14:09 at the top white bar. 14:11 Therefore when you do that, 14:13 then you have about 20 million more people 14:17 who are now not outside-- outside of that optimal range. 14:21 And so therefore that range was narrow slightly, 14:25 therefore with those people outside of that optimal range 14:29 here and there, top and bottom, 14:31 therefore they need to have some type of treatment 14:33 as far as the thyroid was concerned. 14:36 Okay, so the range was wider which was capturing more-- 14:40 Well, the range was wide in the fist place, all right. 14:42 Which is capturing more individuals. 14:43 Yeah, 0.5 to 5.0. Okay. 14:46 But realize those people at both full range 14:49 just close to it still they are normal ends 14:51 but close to it they won't do nothing with them. 14:54 But you still having those symptoms 14:55 they realized back in 2003 14:58 that range to be more in the optimal zone, 15:04 0.3, 3.0. 15:07 In that range that's the range 15:09 that we want to be in and even a lot of your labs 15:12 today still have that normal range 0.5 to 5.0 15:19 and labs are different. 15:21 Labs are based on locality, based on different counties 15:26 or sections of the country, so all labs are not the same. 15:29 So realize that that range need to be smaller, 15:33 0.3 to 3.0, that's the range we want to be in, 15:37 that's the optimal zone that we want to stay in. 15:40 Now you said a comment 15:42 in the first part of the program 15:43 and that was that you could tell us 15:46 how we could actually check the thyroid. 15:48 You know, and that will be a good one. 15:50 Let's-- can you-- let's do that. 15:53 You want to come over here I can check you right now? 15:55 No, I'll stay here and you stay there 15:57 and then you just discuss it 15:59 and wherever you say I'll do it. 16:01 Okay, well, for you to do you have to drink some water. 16:04 I got water right here. Okay, yeah. 16:06 Now let me say this, now this is-- 16:07 okay, I didn't do this, this is not-- 16:09 I didn't make this out folks, all right. 16:11 But the Association of Endocrinology where, 16:14 this is like a self test of the thyroid. 16:16 Because remember now, 16:17 lot of people have under active thyroid 16:19 or may have nodules, all right. 16:23 And so first we need to determine 16:25 where your thyroid is located. 16:27 So if you put two fingers all right, 16:32 and just go ahead and swallow. 16:36 All right, when you swallow you see that-- 16:38 you feel a knot there, all right. 16:40 Your thyroid is right under that lump 16:43 and what you want to do, you want to take some water. 16:49 Now really have to take-- talk this out. 16:53 I can't have water in my mouth and still talk. 16:55 You talk it out. Okay, yeah. 16:56 So what you want to do is you want to take some water, 16:58 take a sip of water, you don't swallow it. 17:01 Take sip of water now just hold in your mouth. 17:04 Okay, you can put the glass down 17:07 and now you have a mirror. 17:09 You don't have a mirror 17:10 but just think we have a mirror. 17:12 Okay, that's a good mirror too by the way. 17:13 Tilt your head back, all right. 17:16 Well, look into mirror too, honey. 17:17 Yeah, there you go. 17:18 Now when you swallow you look and see 17:21 if there is any nodules on either side of the neck, 17:25 when you swallow. 17:27 Look into the mirror at your neck when you swallow. 17:31 You can do this maybe one or two times, all right. 17:34 If there is any nodules either left or right side 17:37 more unlikely you need to talk to endocrinologist 17:39 if you see if those nodules-- it may be cancers, 17:42 all right it may be goiter enlarge thyroid, all right. 17:46 And these are some of the things 17:47 that's a problem with the thyroid, 17:49 so you got the nodules, 17:50 you got may be cancer of the thyroid. 17:52 So that's just like a self test that a person can take at home, 17:56 that kind of give you an idea as far as 17:58 whether or not the thyroid may have nodules 18:01 or may be cancers or may be goiter 18:04 and may have to have a treatment 18:05 as far as that's concern. 18:07 Okay, so you got these different symptoms going on 18:08 but well, that's a good test. 18:10 That's a good test to try. 18:12 Okay, well, we're gonna continue this, right. 18:17 Because this is not over. This is not over. 18:18 This is not over, because you want to know 18:20 more about what's going on hyperthyroidism, 18:22 hypothyroidism. 18:23 So we come back the next time we are gonna talk about 18:25 something as we are going in the kitchen 18:27 because we are going in the kitchen 18:29 and we are going to be doing some cranberry maple scones. 18:33 Get your paper and your pencil and meet us in the kitchen. |
Revised 2015-02-19