A complete guide to improving thyroid health through diet and other natural remedies.
Emily Lipinski is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine; she also has thyroid disease. She struggled for years to get a correct diagnosis and then to control her symptoms. Through devoting herself to research, and working with her own patients, she found that healing the thyroid requires much more than prescription medication. A no-nonsense companion for the millions of thyroid disease sufferers, Healing Your Thyroid Naturall y incorporates the latest research in thyroid health while also offering a practical plan. Starting with an easy-to-grasp "Thyroid 101" chapter, Dr. Lipinski highlights many topics that are integral to understanding thyroid health, With the Thyroid Healing Diet, a customizable, food-based plan to help you reclaim your energy and your health, and 50 recipes to get you started, you will find improved energy, digestion; reduction of thyroid antibody levels; balanced mood; and even weight loss. In short, Healing Your Thyroid Naturally provides all the tools you need to take charge of your health and restore balance.
I have read the book, but I have not personally tried the diet prescribed. However, I found the book to be a valuable resource and would recommend it to anyone dealing with a thyroid disorder. It is definitely comprehensive! At first I thought the main focus was hypothyroidism, but it does go on to address hyperthyroidism as well. It gives a thorough overview of conditions, environmental causes, and testing. It then gives specific details on a variety of topics – including daily habits to develop, environmental factors to embrace and avoid, foods to consume and prohibit.
Properly managing your thyroid could be a full-time job. Navigating the details of this book is proof of that. There is an extensive reference list at the back of the book, should you want to follow-up on any particular detail addressed in the book. I wish Lipinski would have also included an index. She provides great descriptions of ingredients/factors throughout the book – and it would be nice to have an index so that you could go back and readily find something like “cassava flour.” Another plus to the book is the series of recipes found in the latter section.
Personally, I have two hesitations regarding this book. (1) As already noted, managing your thyroid could be a full-time job. Digesting this information, internalizing the key points, and incorporating everything into your daily life will require extreme focus and dedication. I’m not sure if anyone’s thyroid issues are dire enough for him/her to justify that level of commitment. (2) I think environmental factors are difficult to combat. First, you’re likely an adult when thyroid issues present themselves. There is no way to erase the results the habits you were exposed to by your parents. Forgoing conventional deodorants/antiperspirants, common household cleaners, and dry-cleaned clothes would be a difficult added adjustment if you aren’t already incorporating this into your lifestyle. Sometimes Lipinski’s approach is to ‘do what you can’ while other times I feel like her mantra is ‘you have to incorporate all of this to have success.’
I received an advance digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
If you are experiencing Hashimoto's disease, than this book will be very helpful since the author struggled with the health problem herself. However, before you pick up the book, Healing Your Thyroid Naturally, you should know the book is divided into three lengthy parts. The first part looks at the factors that play a role in thyroid disease, the second part discusses foods and diet, and the third part brings the information together to help sort out a plan of action. It also includes some recipes. The book contains some useful information in its appendix that can help your discussions with your physician or specialist. The book is extensive. It goes into a great deal of depth in each of the chapters. I would like to say its thorough, but at times, it felt like the research was largely done to help the author was sharing her research from her struggle with a thyroid disease. I would have preferred to see more insights or mentions about the varied thyroid conditions that exist. I really like the list she provides throughout the book, such as the foods to stay away from and foods to consume. For instance, if you felt like grabbing a burger at fast food joint, think again. She'll even have you take a second look at your salmon. Dr. Lipinksi even provides these lists when talking about items that can contribute to the thyroid problem. You may even reconsider placing a laptop, well, on your lap as well as your proximity to certain electronics. I ended up sharing some of the tips in text messages to a friend battling a thyroid issue. The book took a while to read. It takes a very scientific approach, which means you will need more time to digest the concepts. I think stories from people facing thyroid conditions would have helped to move it along more and make it more relatable for the reader. In general, while the book provides a great amount of detail related to the information it shares, it’s limited in its scope and its approach to various types of thyroid conditions. However, if you think you have an health problem, such as a constant lack of energy. This is a good book to help you understand how the thyroid may play a role.
There is a wealth of information in this book to help you through your medical diagnosis of a thyroid issues. Most medical doctors will prescribe you synthroid and call it finished. This homeopathic doctor refuses to agree that one should just accept taking a pill for the rest of your life that may or may not even help. I have been taking the synthroid for years and my symptoms have never went away. I still have a weight issue, freezing cold hands and feet, brittle nails, and hair falling out despite normal T4 levels due to synthroid use. I’m willing to try this method
What did I like? Like I originally stated their is a wealth of information here and if you have regular brain fog then you may need a partner to help you on your journey. Sorting through the homeopathic part was just daunting but it’s definitely worth it’s weight in gold. There is a ton of different environmental factors that could be attacking your immune system, and it’s really up to you to identify. From stress to what we put in our bodies as just the start. My doctor absolutely refuses to give desiccated thyroid medication since she claims you don’t always get the same amount of levothyroxine but this homeopathic doctor claims that since 1985 that is not true. I bought most of the supplements so we shall see if this has an impact.
Would I recommend or buy? I’d say this book is worth the money spent. I’d invest a couple of hundred dollars and try this for 30 days to see if you can feel better. If your suffering from thyroid issues like I am I think it’s worth a try. The last thirty pages of this book is medical references so obviously this doctor has done her research.
Thoughts for the author? I like the personal references in this book since you have already done most of the trial and error on yourself it seams. I’m not understanding why most doctors won’t offer this... just throwing synthroid at an issue and not finding a root cause. Honestly don’t understand why the initial test don’t include the antibodies. It’s real nerve wracking to not have a doctor take vested interest in your health and I commend you for this book and your research. Congratulations on your new release! Five stars.
Update.... it’s been nearly 30 days but I have added the Ashwangandha... really reduced stress. Feel better than I have... ever. I still get anxious but no where near what I used to. Black seed oil and horse chestnut are my regular daily vitamins and I feel years younger. No huge bloating issues. Also added a woman’s probiotic with d-mannose, still doing good. No dairy at all, and no big amounts of gluten. Have not been able to eliminate gluten totally, still working on it. Still feel better than I have in years. Added collagen and MACA powder to a green smoothie, apple, pear, banana,lemon juice, head of romaine, spinach, nut butter, flax and chia. Losing inches off my waistline, and looking better too.
I had a hard time getting through this book. The text is small and strange, it's very long and thorough (obviously not a bad thing) and my ARC was maddening to try to read on my reader's app. Every few pages it would go backwards and then I'd have to scroll through all over again and get to the page I wanted and it would go back 10 pages again, and it would keep doing that until some magic point 6 times in or so when it would suddenly go to the page it was supposed to. I'm sure that will not be an issue for anyone reading the finished copy but it had me hate-reading the book after a while. The 3 star rating isn't because of any of that though, it was just a good but not great book on the subject for me.
The book excels in explaining about thyroid disorders and the many things that can negatively impact the thyroid. It also does a great job of talking about foods and supplements that can help. It is very natural-based and recommends a lot of changes that may be hard for some, like keeping electronics out of your bedroom, major dietary changes and removing common chemicals from your home and environment. I've done that plenty in my life (okay, not the electronics one) but even for me the scope of the changes here are intimidating, especially dietary. It really feels like an all-or-nothing regimen and since I'm not able to adopt all of it in terms of diet or lifestyle then it seems of limited use to me. Add that to the small text and huge amount of reading and it's just not a book I'm likely to pull up again and refer to often for useful information. It is still a great primer and could be a fantastic tool for those who are good fits, and has great information for anyone interested in learning more about thyroid health and alternative treatment.
If you are experiencing Hashimoto's disease, than this book will be very helpful since the author struggled with the health problem herself. However, before you pick up the book you should know the book is divided into three lengthy parts. The first part looks at the factors that play a role in thyroid disease, the second part discusses the foods and diet that can help, and the third part helps you sort through a plan and some recipes. The book also contains some helpful useful information in its appendix. The book is extensive. It goes into a great deal of depth in each of the chapters. I would like to say its thorough, but it felt like the research was largely done to help the author understand her struggle with the disease. I would have preferred that it provide more insights or mentions about the varied thyroid conditions that exist. I really like the list she provides throughout the book, such as the foods to stay away from and foods to consume. She even provides these lists when talking about items that can contribute to the thyroid problem. I ended up sharing some of the tips in text messages to friend with a major thyroid problem. The book took a while to read. I think some stories from people facing thyroid conditions would have helped move it along more and would have made it more relatable for the reader. In general, while the book provides a great amount of detail related to the information it shares, it’s limited in its scope, and its approach to various types of thyroid conditions. However, you do get some very insightful information for the topic areas the author focuses on and a nice recipe list.
As a thyroid patient of over a quarter-century myself, I was excited to pick up this book. Emily Lipinski is a naturopathic doctor based in Canada, and is herself a thyroid patient.
The book starts with a primer of thyroid disease and walks the reader through related topics, such as stress, genes, and toxins. Dr. Lipinski then talks about healing, or at least, supporting, the thyroid, via traditional medicine and alternative techniques. Many of them I had encountered before, but dry brushing was a new therapy to me.
There is a wealth of information in this book, and the topics are covered quite thoroughly. Something to note, though, there are no attributions within the text itself, and the endnotes are incomplete, by the author's own admission. She states that the original endnotes took up 1/5 of the book, so she pared them down for the book and posted the whole list to her website. The other issue with that is that you can't necessarily tell which note goes with which fact in the text. The endnotes are arranged by author, so there's no correlation as far as order.
I also have a small quibble about the injection of the author's beliefs without any anecdotal or other evidence. This occurred a few times, mostly at the end of a section or a chapter, and while I tend to agree with these opinions, it would be nice to have case studies or something to back those opinions up.
Recommended, with a caveat about the attributions.
I received a free copy from Hachette Books in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a game changer for me. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in early 2015 and although my symptoms are manageable, they're not great. This book provided so much information, some of which I had discovered on my own, and much more that I was grateful to find in this book. Dr. Lipinski really breaks it down for you and helps you understand a wealth of information about the thyroid. I know medication is only part of the solution when it comes to dealing with the thyroid so I was really excited to dive into this book and I'm looking forward to putting this information to good use. From the recipes, the gut health, learning about the proper blood tests, and the everyday things to look out for, I'm really pleased with this book. This was the first book I've ever read to help me along in my thyroid healing journey and I'd highly recommend this to others who suffer from thyroid disfunction.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
This is all really good information to have. I found the book to be a bit redundant. It was also kind of stressful and overwhelming. There is so much information about so many aspects. I feel like everyone alive should currently have hashimotos with everything that was included. With everything mentioned, I'm glad I've found this book now, not when I was a broke college student or living pay check to pay check. It seems like a lot of the suggestions require some investment. I've decided that I'll keep it as a reference tool, try out a few things and discard the rest. It's definitely an overload, but a nice book with lots of options and tools if you're looking.
This book is easy to read and I am especially happy it is written by a Dr. who has thyroid disease. Not that I would wish that on anyone, but I feel Dr. Lipinski is a good source having dealt with the same issues; I trust her research. This book is readable and informative. I have a better understanding of my thyroid and its function. I love the inclusion of Thyroid Healing Diet and am excited to try some recipes that are good for my thyroid function. Thank you to netgalley for an early copy of this book. All my opinions are my own.
Healing Your Thyroid Naturally by Dr. Emily Lipinski is a must read for those that are trying to get control of their thyroid health. It is well written and easy to follow. Many good suggestions are included such as what to eat, vitamins to take as well as medications. This is definitely a go to book to learn more about your thyroid health and I recommend it to others that want to learn more about the thyroid. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest opinion.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. The problem with low thyroid is that drugs alone often are not enough. The author tells you how to heal yourself naturally through lifestyle and natural pathways. You will learn a lot about what causes thyroid problems in the first place and be better able to protect yourself from the terrible issues low thyroid causes. If you or someone you love are struggling with suspected thyroid problems you absolutely must read this book - it will change your life!
This is a great book that provides a wealth of information for someone that is wanting to learn more about their thyroid problems. I love that Dr. Lipinski goes over alternative methods, including dosing for the different herbs and supplements. I would highly recommend this book to someone that is wanting to learn more about the thyroid and how to help heal it naturally!
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, there was a lot of good information in it, tips about diet, environment, and reducing stress. However, one it felt like it was a lot of information I already knew and was doing.
If you haven't already been doing a lot of research about thyroid health, then this is a good resource.
Most helpful book I have read on helping your thyroid. Practical advice with detailed information. If you have a concern about your thyroid, read this book.
I found this book useful as a clinician. I would not recommend to my clients as it could be too overwhelming, unnecessarily restrictive, or inappropriate for some.
Healing Your Thyroid Naturally by Dr. Emily Lipinski is basically a self help book for anyone who has been diagnosed with thyroid disease or who is exhibiting symptoms of thyroid disease. The author is a naturopath who suffered from undiagnosed thyroid disease for years, and has currently been diagnosed with Hashimotos Disease. Much of the information in the book is based on her own experiences, as well as the experiences of her patients.
The book is divided into three sections - The thyroid disease epidemic: what you need to know, Natural ways to heal the thyroid, and Putting it all together. The author notes readers can start at the beginning and work through the entire book, or start with any of the chapters for information more immediate to their needs.
Thyroid disease is a growing problem in America and the world, and the first part of this book does a great job of highlighting the many known and believed causes including toxins, stress, EMFs, genetics and infections. This section of the book is heavy on science and may be difficult for those unfamiliar with thyroid disease to get through on a first read - I know it was for me.
Part 2 of Healing Your Thyroid Naturally gets into the nuts and bolts of what individuals can do to heal their thyroids, and I felt this was the most accessible and informative section. The author outlines what she calls a "thyroid-healing diet", and shares information on the role of gut health, medications, natural herbs and supplements, and ancient and emerging therapies on the management of thyroid disease. I was especially interested to learn about spices like ginger, turmeric and black cumin seeds, and the way they seem to benefit thyroid health.
The final section of the book outlines the need for a comprehensive thyroid-healing plan. This plan begins with a full blood panel to know where you and your thyroid stand, then moves to following the thyroid-healing diet, addressing stress and environmental triggers, using supplements, healing your gut and addressing potential chronic infections. The author provides a week-by-week example that includes all the above, and also shares recipes which will support thyroid health.
This is a comprehensive how-to book with a lot of technical and medical information to digest, especially for those who are dealing with thyroid diseases. I can see it benefitting from an initial reading, and then used as a resource for the foreseeable future as new habits and understandings are gained.
Amazing book with comprehensive contents. Really helped me understand further about my thyroid condition and the diet is really easy to follow. I just love how it's got a variety of information including daily routines that we can follow etc. Very resourceful. Don't regret not grabbing this book!