10 Ways to Help Prevent Breast Cancer – Part 9

9. Check your thyroid.

Hypothyroidism precedes most breast disease. By correcting this problem as early as the first symptoms develop, you will decrease your risk factors and improve your breast health.

Women are eight times more likely to suffer from a dysfunctional thyroid during their lifetime than men. Most thyroid conditions start in the perimenopausal and menopausal stages, when the endocrine system experiences many changes. A woman with an underactive thyroid may experience one or a combination of the symptoms such as: fatigue; dry skin; constipation; cold intolerance including cold hands and feet; puffy face in the morning; swollen or drooping eyes; hair loss or dry, brittle hair; low sex drive; weight gain or inability to loose weight; memory loss; yellow discoloration on skin and palms; PMS; as well as muscle aches.

Proper assessment will lead to the correct diagnosis and treatment; however, this is where things get a little tricky for some people. Conventional blood tests looking at your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels may be misleading. Elevated TSH levels indicate an underactive (hypo) thyroid, and low TSH levels indicate an overactive (hyper) thyroid.

In the United States, TSH levels over 3.0 are considered hypothyroid. Some physicians suggest that TSH results of less than 1 and over 2, combined with the presence of clinical symptoms, shows that there is a thyroid dysfunction, which may require treatment. In addition, two other tests that may be done are called T4 and T3. It is not unusual to see T3 and/or T4 levels that are low or in the low end of normal values, thus requiring a more detailed look with additional saliva testing.

In Canada, however, "normal" values are between 0.35 and 5.0. When the TSH levels are within this normal range, it is assumed that the thyroid gland is healthy and functioning normally. This “normal” range of health is much too broad.

Keep in mind that pregnancy, estrogen replacement therapy, birth control pills, and especially stress may interfere with these results. Iodine and selenium are co-factors in thyroid metabolism. A deficiency of these and other essential nutrients may be responsible for certain symptoms, as they all play a role in optimizing the health of the thyroid. Lacking these essential nutrients perpetuates a thyroid problem at the cellular level even though TSH lab values may seem normal.

Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated because many health practitioners rely solely on numerical values. The most important factor—the patient's symptoms—has to be taken into consideration.

Dr. Alex Mostovoy