Holtorf Medical Group

Low levels of thyroid during pregnancy is not an uncommon thing seeing as it can be caused by iron deficiency, which is a common side effect of pregnancy. That is why women are required to do various blood tests during pregnancy and are advised to eat a certain diet, which most likely consists of lean […]

In initial animal studies, the research found that all of the artificial sweeteners caused increased blood sugar. Their theory was that the sweeteners change gut microbes — the bacteria in the stomach that, when balanced, help with proper digestion. By transplanting microbes from artificial-sweetening using mice to germ-free mice, they were able to create glucose […]

2.5 OR LOWER Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels above 2.5 are considered to be suspicious for subclinical hypothyroidism by many integrative physicians. The "normal" reference range for the TSH test tends to run from .3 to 4.5, and many patients with levels above 2.5 are told their thyroid is "normal," while their physicians fail to […]

Are you upset about the last minute webcast on September 3rd? So are we. Holtorf Medical Group would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our faithful audience and give an explanation for our actions. I'm sure you're aware that this live webcast was originally set to air on Thursday, August 21st. So what […]

Here are five important things to know about thyroid cancer. 1. Thyroid cancer may have no symptoms. Some cases of thyroid cancer have absolutely no symptoms. In fact, some are detected only because x-rays or imaging tests on the neck or upper back area pick up the image of a suspicious thyroid nodule. When thyroid […]

1. Understand the Lab Tests for Thyroid Disease Some doctors only use the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) test to diagnose and manage thyroid disease, and tell patients that their results are "normal" or "abnormal" — nothing more. Integrative physicians take it much further — often including Free T4, Free T3, Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO), Thyroid […]

Similarly, many carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers aren't aware that it can be a symptom of an underactive thyroid, and that the symptoms may resolve with proper treatment. What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? The median nerve goes through a tunnel near the wrist bone (the carpal tunnel), allowing for sensation in the fingers. When there is […]

How Someone Ends Up Without a Thyroid There are several ways that someone can end up without a thyroid gland. First, you can be born without a gland, or with a malformed or non-functional gland. This is called "congenital hypothyroidism." When it's found, newborns are started on thyroid hormone replacement, to avoid the signs and […]

It also seems that the media is finally starting to recognize what integrative physicians have been saying for years — helping maintain healthy bacterial balance in the gut has a positive effect on many aspects of health, and probiotics can be a key step. Let's take a look at some probiotics basics, and the latest […]

To borrow the metaphor, you may have to kiss a few frogs along the way before you find that prince — or princess — or a practitioner. But in some cases, it becomes clear that this is not a working relationship, and it's time to move on.Here are seven signs that you definitely need a […]

The article didn't get much attention in the American medical community, and that's no surprise. The title of the British Medical Journal article was "Evidence Based Medicine: Why we can't trust clinical guidelines." In the June 2013 article, author Jeanne Lenzer describes how drug companies can negatively influence members of committees that create clinical guidelines, […]

Researchers know that obesity and Type 2 diabetes frequently go along with Vitamin D deficiency, but they wanted to study whether low Vitamin D levels actually contribute to these conditions. According to the study's principal investigator, Stephanie Sisley, MD, "Our results suggest that Vitamin D may play a role in the onset of both obesity […]

Researchers from the University of Kentucky looked at whether significant hypothyroidism could impair driving ability. They studied 32 patients who had thyroid cancer - and who were taken off their thyroid hormone drugs and became hypothyroid prior to radioactive iodine scanning to detect cancer recurrence. They had the patients do a driving simulator test, and […]

A study from the journal Thyroid found that the antibiotic ciprofloxacin — known more commonly by brand names Cipro, Proquin, Ciproxin, Ciprobay, Cirpoxine, and Ciflox — significantly decreased the absorption of the thyroid medication. [Keep in mind that some experts feel that the warning about ciprofloxacin applies also to similar quinolone antibiotics such as levofloxacin […]

More common are cases where the adrenal glands are producing some - but not enough - stress hormones. This is known as adrenal fatigue. (Note: the integrative health world is pioneering in this area, but conventional medicine still does not recognize that adrenal dysfunction includes more than just an absence or excess of adrenal hormones!) […]

A British study was developed, to look at the connection between childhood obesity and weight gain, and the later development of an underactive thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions in the 60 to 64 age range. The researchers were able to access a study group of more 2500+ women, and 2500+ men who were born in […]

The following infographic summarizes some of the key symptoms of hypothalamic dysfunctions, and hypothalamic obesity disorder, as well as key treatment options. For details, please read Weight Gain Despite Thyroid Treatment May Be Hypothalamic Obesity Disorder.

The research was presented in a poster session by Saad Sakkal, MD at the May 2014 annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). Before we take a look at the research, let's explain a bit more about the hypothalamus and its impact on weight and metabolism. What is The Hypothalamus? Your hypothalamus […]

On the one hand, it's promising to think that a group of prominent endocrinologists are joining together to discuss this important issue. The endocrinology community, after all, is not typically known for acknowledging — much less being curious about — the complexities of thyroid hormone treatment. The tendency is usually to prescribe Synthroid, Levoxyl or […]

The Thyroid Summit is going to be more educational and more informative than any health event in the past decade. It's fun, it's life-changing and better yet, it's ONLINE and FREE from June 2-9, 2014. America's Pharmacist Suzy Cohen and Dr. David Brownstein created The Thyroid Summit because they both had personal experiences with undiagnosed […]

If you are ready to lose that stubborn weight, the time is NOW with our HCG program special. Through the month of May, get a vial of HCG, syringes, an 8 pack of LipoB and coaching with Sherry Good, our HCG expert. What will HCG do for you? HCG will help you experience increased energy […]

As part of the awareness effort, it's important to know the various criteria, including assessment of pain levels. But the changing way the pain of fibromyalgia is assessed diagnosis is just a part of the challenges that frustrate fibromyalgia sufferers. There are actually five crucial issues that frustrate many fibromyalgia patients. 1. The Myth That […]

Now, according to the ACR, a patient satisfies the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia if the following three conditions are met: The Widespread Pain Index The Widespread Pain Index (WPI) rating looks at the areas where you've had pain over the last week. The score will be 0 to 19. Here are the 19 areas evaluated: […]

The randomized, controlled trial focused on getting the patients to a level between 32 and 48ng/ml for 20 weeks via oral supplements. The levels were reassessed at 5, 13 weeks, 25 weeks, and 24 weeks after supplementation was discontinued. The researchers found that even after supplementation was stopped, the patients experienced a significant reduction in […]