In this week's webinar, Dr. Miller and Dr. Marbas answer all your questions about thyroid health.
Questions Answered
- (00:47) – What is the thyroid and what does it do?
- (06:01) – Dr. Marbas's experience with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
- (10:34) – The importance of consuming enough iodine.
- (12:43) – Other important minerals and nutrients for thyroid function.
- (14:10) – Auto-immune thyroid issues and gluten.
- (16:12) – Inflammation and thyroid function.
- (19:57) – Testing thyroid function and understanding measurement levels.
- (26:57) – Can whole-food, plant-based diet lifestyle help Parkinson’s disease?
- (30:11) – Can you heal your thyroid?
- (32:03) – Will adding kombu (kelp) to your diet help the thyroid?
- (36:25) – Are there specific plant-based foods that should be avoided aside from oil, salt and sugar for polycystic ovarian syndrome, or food nutrients that should be increased in order to help alleviate the symptoms?
- (41:44) – When are probiotics helpful?
- (43:15) – What causes TSH test results to increase?
- (44:48) – What should someone who had their thyroid removed look out for when switching to a WFPB diet?
- (47:09) – Dr. Miller and Dr. Marbas on the importance of thyroid health
- (50:46) – Can you reverse multiple sclerosis with a plant-based diet?
Complete Transcript
Narrator
(00:00)
We are making plant-based lifestyle medicine available to everyone who desires it. With telemedicine, we are removing barriers that prevent many people from accessing this type of care. Lifestyle medicine promotes healthy behaviors and when adopted, individuals can expect improvement and in many cases, reversal of chronic disease.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(00:24)
I've been hypothyroid for about 24 years. We get a lot of questions on thyroid disease. Do you want to just kind of start with what type of things that we should be looking for, just the basics of what is thyroid, what's a thyroid, what it does?
Dr. Chris Miller
(00:47)
Yes. The thyroid is a nodule that sits on the anterior part of our neck, so kind of right here in a little butterfly-like pattern. And it's an endocrine organ, meaning that it secretes little hormones that are released throughout the body and go to have the effect on different organs in our bodies. And the thyroid is really interesting because it's often called the canary in the shed like the canary in the cave [crosstalk 00:01:21]. Like in the cave or in the mine, where it's the first thing that's actually affected.
Dr. Chris Miller
(01:25)
So, if there's toxins in the environment, it's extremely sensitive to that. If there's a poor diet, if we're not getting adequate nutrition, it's extremely sensitive. So, we'll often see effects from the thyroid before other parts of the body which is why one of the reasons … There's many … but one of the reasons why that thyroid issues are so primary right now. Hypothyroid and hyperthyroid, and what the difference in those two is hypothyroid means it's under-producing. For whatever reason, it's not putting out the thyroid hormone it's supposed to. And hyperthyroid is it's over-producing. It's putting out too much.
Dr. Chris Miller
(02:01)
And the way it works is the thyroid actually releases what's called … It starts in our pituitary which tells us that it needs to release thyroid hormone which goes to our thyroid and tells us that it needs to release thyroid hormone that which then goes to the body and it releases a prohormone which is then activated needing iodine and other nutrients, zinc, to turn it into the active hormone inside of our cells which is T3. So, it goes from T4 to T3.
Dr. Chris Miller
(02:27)
So, there's multiple steps in the process and it has a lot to do from the brain access to the thyroid and then down throughout the bodies and then to activate the prohormone to the actual hormone inside of our cells. If any of those steps is altered in any way, we're going to show signs of hypo or hyperthyroidism. And so, for example, reasons to get hypothyroid would be if you're deficient in any of the necessary nutrients and it can't make that conversion, so iodine, zinc, some of the B vitamins, selenium.
Dr. Chris Miller
(03:04)
Those are all absolutely necessary to convert T4 into T3 and to release TSH into our cells to make T4 or from our brain into our thyroid to make the T4 and release it. And so, we have to make sure that we have adequate nutrition. Another big factor that affects the output of thyroid is stress. So, if we are stressed in any way, our thyroid hormone won't make the thyroid and it also doesn't convert it peripherally in the cells. So, stress alone can lead to hypothyroid.
Dr. Chris Miller
(03:39)
One of the most common reasons in the world is iodine deficiency, but probably one of the most common reasons in the United States is autoimmune where we actually make antibodies against our thyroid. And so, it then falls into the bracket of autoimmune diseases that we treat, like we treat other autoimmune diseases with a few caveats that if the thyroid is already damaged, people still probably need to replace it. And we have to make sure that they're getting adequate nutrition specific for the thyroid which we'll talk about later today.
Dr. Chris Miller
(04:10)
And then hyperthyroid is for different reasons as well. Interestingly, the improper amount of iodine too little or too much can also cause not only hypothyroid but also hyperthyroidism, having inappropriate nutrition, stress and also autoimmune diseases or another common triggers.
Dr. Chris Miller
(04:28)
So, what we'll see symptoms of hypothyroid can be anything from very non-specific mild symptoms to pretty severe fatigue, dry skin, feeling cold, cold intolerance, lots of brittle hair and nails, weight gain. These can be signs of hypothyroid and it can be so severe that people are in a coma with swelling and very sick or can be very mild.
Dr. Chris Miller
(04:56)
So, anywhere on the spectrum people could fall, and typical symptoms of hyperthyroidism is people have weight loss. Their heart may beat faster and can actually go into a funny rhythm such as atrial fibrillation or another type of rhythm because it's beating fast, because the heart is very sensitive to extra thyroid hormone.
Dr. Chris Miller
(05:17)
And so, people can get kind of the opposite-type symptoms. We may see kind of bugging of their eyes as we look for exophthalmus, we call it. So the eyes protruding forward a little bit which can be a sign of hyperthyroidism. We may see a goiter, so that's a nodule or swelling of the thyroid and that can be either hypo or hyperthyroidism.
Dr. Chris Miller
(05:42)
And then people may lose weight. They may be like sweaty. They may be extra warm, these are all symptoms of hyperthyroid. But there is overlap. We'll see different things applying to different people and it's kind of just very, very general overview to the thyroid health.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(06:01)
Yeah, that's great. So, I can just share a little. It's sometimes nice to know that doctors get sick too and have issues. So, 24 years ago, so my second child when I was pregnant with him, I developed unbeknownst to me Hashimoto's thyroiditis. So that's an autoimmune component of thyroid disorders. It's caused me to be very fatigued. I didn't really notice how fatigued until after I had him.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(06:29)
And he was actually born with hypothyroidism himself and when babies are born, they do a metabolic panel where they check certain labs and he was hypothyroid. We were in the process of moving cross country. My husband was active duty Air Force at that time. So I got these results and I had to get him tested in a whole another state.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(06:49)
And two weeks later, his thyroid was okay but he went on to develop and it's well-known. I've interviewed him actually in the podcast talking about, he had really severe dyslexia. He's gone on and graduated college. He's done very, very well. But it makes me think that those antibodies actually affected Jonathan's actual learning disability because my other two children are fine, no issues.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(07:14)
But I was diagnosed hypothyroid just a few months later when he was born. So, what does that mean? So, I went through all these years taking medication, slowly escalating doses. No one ever told me it was maybe potentially diet-related. I certainly didn't understand. I went on to medical school when the kids were five, three and 10 months. Still nothing because I wasn't always interested in thyroid health obviously.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(07:37)
But when I actually started learning about plant-based diet and I switched over eight years ago, my thyroid actually got better. So, it's 15 years in. It's so, like imagine, it's 15 years in having this hypothyroidism and continued escalating doses and then suddenly, my thyroid gets so much better I didn't even realize it was going to happen. I was not aware of this, that I developed some of the symptoms that you develop with hyperthyroidism.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(08:04)
I actually ended up having some shoulder issues and there's called the adhesive capsulitis and it really was pretty severe for two years. It was in both shoulders. And I was like, “What in the world?” Because when they measured my test, it was showing that I was taking too much medication, which I had never done before. It's like, what is going on?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(08:22)
So that is one of my stories. So, you can even see some improvement. I still take levothyroxine, it's the only medicine I take but on much lower dose. So feel hopeful that things that can have improved some, but it's still something that a lot of Americans have. And we do have some questions. Let's see, where do we start? Here's one. One says, “I'm on basically natural thyroid NP, can I ever stop?” And I would say yes depending on how long you've had that hypothyroidism and what type of dose that you have.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(09:00)
And so that certainly can improve. I've had patients if they are either subclinical hypothyroidism, meaning it's a very mild case like Chris was talking about, or they were just recently diagnosed. We've had some good results with that, Chris.
Dr. Chris Miller
(09:15)
Yeah, the same thing, basically how long you've been diagnosed. So, if it's a relatively recent diagnosis, it can definitely improve. Certain thyroid is responsive to toxins in the environment or certain drugs or stress or certain exposure, or nutrient deficiency. So, with a really good plant-based, whole-food diet, getting all the proper nutrient and really paying attention to lifestyle, we do see people able to decrease it or stop it all together. So there's definitely hope with that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(09:45)
Absolutely, definitely.
Dr. Chris Miller
(09:46)
But not everyone can. So, also don't feel discouraged if you take a little lesser dose but you continue it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(09:52)
Yeah, I mean, I'm still on a dose and that's okay. But I've optimized my health for where I'm at now and I'm totally fine with that. So let's see here. We have another one from Teresa. She says, “I hear you talk about thyroid. I've never had issues with my thyroid but since being pregnant, my thyroid is underactive. Is that typical?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(10:13)
So, it's not necessarily typical but stressors in the body such as pregnancy and illness can cause some problems and it can become hypothyroid or hyperthyroid. So these auto-immune diseases are not uncommonly activated when you're under stress which is pregnancy. So, it's just definitely something to be aware of.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(10:34)
The other thing that you want to be aware is that make sure you're consuming enough iodine. For pregnant women, it's about 220 micrograms per day, so that might be an issue as well. So please make sure that all of those things are being adjusted. You're taking the medications. So that's super important.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(10:52)
And then you need to be followed after you deliver too just to make sure. But make sure you're optimizing the iodine intake, and selenium. Like you said, a couple of Brazil nuts a week will be more than enough.
Dr. Chris Miller
(11:05)
The nutrients you really want to pay attention to since we're kind of going there right now, you've already brought up a couple of them. So, the iodine is one. And on a plant-based diet, we don't want people eating a lot of salt. And the major way that people in the United States are getting their iodine is from eating iodized salt.
Dr. Chris Miller
(11:22)
And so, it's also in sea vegetables, kelp, things like that. But if people aren't eating a lot of that, then we do recommend a supplement and it's usually about 150 micrograms unless you're pregnant as Laurie pointed out. And then you take that little bit extra of, what did you say, 220 micrograms.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(11:41)
220 microgram. If you're breastfeeding about 290 because then your little one is going to need the extra and you take in a little extra. But not … Some people go, “Well, I use natural salt.” So, whatever sea salt or whatever they're using is not iodized. And if people tell you it is, they're lying to you because it's not. So do not be fooled and it's still sodium at core which you want to be careful because of high blood pressure and things.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:08)
And iodine is necessary to help with uptake and making of the thyroid hormone in the thyroid. Then there's selenium which is necessary. It's a cofactor. It's important in the enzymes to convert the prohormone into the active hormone. It actually activates the thyroid hormone and among many other jobs. It's also major antioxidant or involved in helping with antioxidation. But selenium recommended that, like she was saying, eat two or three Brazil nuts a week is usually enough.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:43)
And then zinc is another one that we recommend. And the RDI for zinc is not very much. It's just 8 milligrams for women a day, 11 milligrams for men a day. And so, you can get that from beans, whole grains, and-
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:57)
Nuts and seeds.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:59)
Nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds being one of the highest ones. You can get it from that. Some people do take a little extra zinc. You want to be careful. There is an upper limit where it's too much because it prevents copper uptake. So upper limit that's recommended is usually 40 milligrams a day and I recommend even less usually. If you're going to take extra zinc, take somewhere between 15 to 25 a day. And maybe if you're deficient, you need to bump it for a short time but be real careful with that because that zinc is important but so is copper.
Dr. Chris Miller
(13:32)
And if you become deficient in copper because you're overtaking the zinc supplement, that can lead to anemia and other problems which we've seen. So, a little extra zinc or you can try to get most of it from your food by paying attention to what you're eating. But those are the three that I pay extra attention to in addition to just a whole-food, plant-based diet and making sure that you're getting your B vitamins. That's really important.
Dr. Chris Miller
(13:54)
Your carotenoids are necessary for your pre-vitamin A too because that's also an important factor for making thyroid hormone. But that is something I'm assuming we're all getting because we're eating a whole-food, plant-based diet. So that's a real important one too.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(14:10)
Exactly. And I think just kind of going along with that, you just want to talk about when you look at auto-immune thyroid issues and gluten, some people can be celiac. Is there a correlation-
Dr. Chris Miller
(14:26)
There actually … So there is a link where the celiac, it's a link between actually the hypothyroid celiac, diabetes type 1 and lupus interestingly. So, these four auto-immune diseases can share common antibodies in the sense that if your body may think that celiac is foreign and so it attacks it. And then that similar antibody, it's very similar to the antigen, I should say, on your thyroid and so it attacks that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(14:58)
So, it's not the highest. I think it's like 40% or something but don't quote me on that. I have to look that number up, but there is a crossover where people who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity are going to make antibodies to the gluten to their thyroid to lupus. We'll see a lot of people that have the three of them that have lupus and then are hypothyroid. And it's almost a given that if someone has lupus, they're going to become hypothyroid.
Dr. Chris Miller
(15:21)
So, it's something I've been watching in myself and doing everything I can to try to prevent which hasn't happened so far, so knock on wood. And then, the other one is diabetes type 1 is also linked with them. So, there's a link with that same antibody that we'd be careful. So, if you are hypothyroid, actually with any of those four, I take people off gluten. At least for the most part, we can check celiac antibodies. That's always worth checking, I think.
Dr. Chris Miller
(15:46)
And then, from there, you can see whether you eventually add it back in or not. But taking that out is going to be important.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(15:53)
Right, absolutely. So, I'm mostly gluten-free. I don't eat a lot of gluten-contained foods, but on occasion, I will have like an Ezekiel bread or something and I've been fine so far. But yeah, absolutely. And if you're type 1, you should always have your thyroid checked anyway every year. That's really important, type 1 diabetic.
Dr. Chris Miller
(16:12)
… lupus or any of those auto-immune, you should also keep an eye on that. And one thing that's really important to note and we often forget, when we have inflammation in auto-immune people, so you feel that your joints are achy, you're fatigued, that fatigue, that inflammation is going to also affect your thyroid. So, inflammation is a reason that you don't put out thyroid hormone.
Dr. Chris Miller
(16:33)
Your thyroid sees that inflammation as fight or flight and it goes kind of into quiet mode and it's not going to put out the hormone. And it's not going to convert T4 to T3 peripherally. It actually converts it in to reverse T3, which slows down your thyroid a little bit. And so, inflammation itself, so people will often come in with signs of hypothyroid and actually their TSH, their numbers will show mild hypothyroid but if they're inflamed with an auto-immune process at that point, I actually treat the auto-immune process and watch what happens to that, because that often will respond to getting that inflammation under control.
Dr. Chris Miller
(17:09)
So, inflammation-
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:10)
Absolutely.
Dr. Chris Miller
(17:11)
… causing so many problems everywhere, the thyroid is just one more organ.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:15)
Absolutely. And that's why you shouldn't be diagnosing someone with thyroid disorder in the hospital while they're hospitalized if they're very ill. So there's medications that interfere with the thyroid function and it's just not a good idea, unless you are-
Dr. Chris Miller
(17:30)
Unless you're [inaudible 00:17:32].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:31)
Exactly, unless that or you're literally having a hyperthyroid storm type thing. So, I had a patient years ago that, young. He had been admitted to the hospital, had actually chest discomfort and pain. They actually cathed him. He was under the age of 40 and he basically said, “Oh, your heart is fine,” and they dismissed him but when he followed up with me, his heart rate was over 120. He had absolute tremor. He had significant weight loss and I was like, “Did they check your thyroid?” And they're like, “No.”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:08)
And sure enough, he had Graves' disease. So, he's hyperthyroidism. These are the things that you just got to be careful of and sometimes they can be taken for other things. He'd get anxious. He was super anxious, his heart palpitations. They told him he's fine. It was probably anxiety. It was like nobody checked. That would be a case that you need to check your thyroid in the hospital.
Dr. Chris Miller
(18:29)
You should check it in the hospital, and young people that come in with palpitations or dysrhythmia, abnormal heartbeats or chest pains or even anxiety, a thyroid is often checked. So make sure, yeah, to all you guys out there that your doctors are keeping an eye on that because that is a cause of it. And a lot of that is treatable, so we treat the lifestyle stuff but it can be worsen by what's going on.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:53)
Absolutely. So we have some other questions. It says here, “If you saw some symptoms of hypothyroid but have had your thyroid tested and with normal results, is there something else that could be causing those same symptoms?” So, hypothyroidism is basically constipation, fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, dry skin. You can get some … Your eyebrows are getting a little bit thin here. You'll have really heavy menses or periods and just overall feeling really crummy.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(19:26)
So there are many things that can cause those kind of vague symptoms, constipation. So, if you're not eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, I would start there. That could definitely be inflammatory issues. Chris, do you have any other suggestions or thoughts on that?
Dr. Chris Miller
(19:41)
So, exactly. Those are all really vague symptoms so the thyroid is one cause of it, but there are so many from inflammation, other auto-immune causes. Are you how stressed? How much stress do you have in your life? What's your diet look like, your nutrition, your elimination? I would look at through all of those.
Dr. Chris Miller
(19:57)
The other thing is I don't know what your doctor checked in you. If they checked a T4, I often check a T3 too especially in people that have persistent symptoms because to see if they're converting the T4, the inactive form into the active form of the T3 and look for thyroid antibodies because sometimes people can have subclinical hypothyroid so their numbers are looking okay but they're having symptoms. So I would pursue it a little bit further.
Dr. Chris Miller
(20:22)
And when they say normal, I don't know what that means. So you want to do optimal where you want your TSH on the lower side. They say normal. Sometimes it's normal [inaudible 00:20:31] a TSH of 5 and there's some evidence that maybe it's closer to 2.5 [crosstalk 00:20:38]. I would see where your numbers fall and I would make sure that they've done a thorough panel of testing and look for other causes as well. So, both of those answers would apply to your question.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(20:50)
Yeah, absolutely. So when you're looking at testing since we're kind of talking about that a little bit. So typically, what I'm looking for someone who has general symptoms is the TSH and free T4. So that's where to start. So what does that mean? When you have the master gland in the brain, it's called the pituitary, the hypothalamus is above that. Then it's sending out what we called TRH or thyroid-
Dr. Chris Miller
(21:12)
Releasing.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(21:12)
… releasing hormone. And then it tells the pituitary to release thyroid stimulating hormone. So, I think of the pituitary as the parent gland. So, it's watching the thyroid and it's like imagine the thyroid is your child. So if you have the pituitary gland and it sees that the thyroid is being really lazy, it's like, “Go clean up your room.” So what do you do with your kid? You're like, let's say you're a reactive parent and you're just yelling, “Go clean up your room.” You're stimulating the child to move on and get things done.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(21:41)
Well, that's kind of what happens with the pituitary gland. It screams at the thyroid, “I need you to produce more hormones.” So it increases TSH or the thyroid stimulating hormone. So, now, what happens is the thyroid stimulating hormone causes the thyroid to produce more T4. I mean, 20% of T3 is actually reduced from the thyroid and then 80% of causes is saying that T4 is converted to T3 in the tissues and cells.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:06)
So, now that's what happens if your thyroid is underactive and it's a constant, what we call, a negative feedback loop. A little bit of the hypothalamus but mostly in the pituitary, it's monitoring your T4 levels and T3 levels. So, what's happening is it's saying, “Okay, do I need to yell at this kid or I'm okay right now?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:23)
Now, under hyperthyroidism, it's just the opposite. So now you have a really hyperactive kid, he's running around doing crazy things. So now you have the parents like, “Calm down. It's okay. Relax, right? It's okay.” So, now you have this really … You don't want to scream at the child. So your TSH will be really low, because it's not trying to stimulate the thyroid.
Dr. Chris Miller
(22:46)
I never heard that analogy. That's hilarious.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:49)
Well, as a parent, everything goes back to parenting for me. So, this is the hyperactive child or the child that rather just sit and lay in bed and play video games all day. And you really want this balance. You want a well-rested child that's doing what he needs to do, be an active member of the society.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(23:07)
That's kind of what the pituitary gland, and that's that negative feedback. So when I was taking my thyroid medication, and I switched to a plant-based diet and my thyroid improved, it was starting to function on its own. But I was also feeding myself T4 which is what levothyroxine is, my TSH plummeted because my pituitary understood that my thyroid is now making more T4 on its own and I was taking extra. It was like, “Dude, you got too much T4. You need to stop it.”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(23:34)
So that's why my TSH was literally zero. So that might help. So you want to check TSH, the pituitary is releasing to stimulate the thyroid. And two, the free T4. So there's total T4 and free T4. The free T4 is about 0.3% of the total T4 that you'll find in your body. That's actually what's available for tissues to use, and the labs are available but they're not as accurate. So, I'd always measure free T4. Free T3 is also helpful, but I often start with at least those two.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:08)
And then if you have someone who's worried about, it's like you're getting fluctuating, hypothyroid, hyperthyroid symptoms, you definitely want to check those antibodies because then you may have some other things. And there are some special tests. I think they're thyroid receptor antibodies that you can kind of determine because you can have thyroid receptor antibodies that stimulate the thyroid to become hyperthyroid. You can also have some blocking ones that are due to hypothyroid.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:37)
So there's a lot of different test but I would definitely start with TSH and free T4. And then if you are already on thyroid medication, I have another patient who really, in lab, she was normal, completely normal in her labs. But she would have all these classic fatigue, the weight gain, the constipation, the dry skin. So, what we did was we upped it just a little bit and … Hey, Anthony … and we upped it just a little bit.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(25:05)
And then what happened is it allowed her TSH to drop down to under 2.5 and she felt amazing.
Dr. Chris Miller
(25:13)
Yes, people, once their TSH drops to under 2.5 often do feel amazing even if it's normal. Again, that goes back to the answer to that question we answered before, so exactly what you're saying.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(25:26)
I feel better when mine is under 1.5. I feel like that's my normal, I feel normal. And so, here's another question, “Best source of iodine for us that are whole-food, plant-based, I have low blood pressure. Is it okay to have a little iodized salt?” What would you say to that? I know what I'd say but go ahead.
Dr. Chris Miller
(25:44)
I don't recommend a lot of salt actually, not really as a source of it. I would probably recommend doing a supplement to make sure that your iodine is in the correct amount. If you want to do that sprinkle of salt on something before you eat it, that may not have too much of an effect but I won't use salt typically as a source of your iodine. I'd prefer to get it from the supplement. That's what I do. I don't know what your path is, Laurie.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(26:08)
Yeah, it depends on the individual. I prefer to do a supplement because then it's actually good. But if they don't have any high blood pressure issues or any problems there, less than three quarters of a teaspoon or less than 1,500 milligrams a day max and that's very, very minimal.
Dr. Chris Miller
(26:27)
And that's for everyone though. You need to keep your sodium low.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(26:31)
Yeah. So salt is not good for any of us for any reason even if we don't-
Dr. Chris Miller
(26:38)
I just think but you don't want to necessarily be dependent on it for a source of your nutrients for your iodine. I'd rather you get that from something else. But if you want, a smidgen of salt in a certain dish, and you're just doing a small amount right at the end, that's probably not a big deal. But, I don't know.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(26:57)
But just very careful exactly. Another patient or person … Patient, we're talking about patients. “A friend in New Hampshire has type 2 diabetes, takes insulin.” Dr. Miller by the way is licensed in New Hampshire, so maybe you should refer your patient to Dr. Miller at plantbasedtelehealth.com. “He now has diagnosed with Parkinson's. Can whole-food, plant-based diet lifestyle help Parkinson's disease?”
Dr. Chris Miller
(27:24)
It definitely can. I've worked with a lot of patients, not a lot, but definitely I have some patients with right now with Parkinson's and who have made significant improvement. So, one is getting a very diverse whole-food, plant-based diet, and it's really, really important. Parkinson's is often thought of as a disease of oxidative stress, and toxins are one major trigger to it. And so being on whole-food, plant-based diet is really, really important, making sure it's diverse. It's getting colorful, vegetables and fruits to get all those antioxidants in and phytonutrients to help your body heal at a cellular level. That's really, really, really, really important.
Dr. Chris Miller
(28:02)
Another thing that's important with the whole-food, plant-based diet is there's a link with Parkinson's disease and dairy intake. So, taking dairy out is another important thing that I do for Parkinson's disease and that means none, not even a little bit of creamer, nothing at all. So, really going for that one.
Dr. Chris Miller
(28:19)
And I had a patient who was really struggling. He was on his meds for Parkinson's and he just was very immobile. He was very rigid and we put him on a whole-food, plant-based diet. And he was a little resistant, so it took some time. But as he finally cleared and got the dairy out and we had to diversify my fruits and vegetables and colors because I was really going for those antioxidants, and he made a significant improvement. He was able to get up. He was more mobile. He was talking. And the depression and constipation are two things that go with it, and both of those also respond to whole-food, plant-based diet. And so really, really important is that…
Dr. Chris Miller
(28:53)
And then paying attention to the nutrients even more than we normally do for other people, and I definitely use supplements for people with Parkinson's. So Laurie and I were talking about this ahead of time but Parkinson's has a lot to do with detoxification in chemicals, exposures and people that are susceptible to it. And so I ramp up their detoxification systems using things like NAC, which is N-acetyl cysteine. And it's a major … What am I saying? Antioxidant, I guess, that helps at a cellular level.
Dr. Chris Miller
(29:30)
And so there's a couple that I use for Parkinson's specifically. So, yeah, that is someone that we'd be happy to work with or definitely at the very least make sure that person is working towards a whole-food, plant-based diet.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(29:43)
Absolutely. And I would echo everything that you said, Chris. My Parkinson's patients have sometimes in some really interesting improvements, which is-
Dr. Chris Miller
(29:55)
Yeah, really remarkable. And people that had been given up by their neurologist, it's been dramatic. It can be dramatic.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:01)
Absolutely. But I must say hi to Luz Marbas, who's my mother-in-law and she's watching on Facebook. So, hi, Luz.
Dr. Chris Miller
(30:08)
Hi.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:11)
All right. So, another question, “Can you heal your thyroid?” Well, I think we've kind of spoken about that but maybe we could just reiterate for someone who may be asking again. What would you say?
Dr. Chris Miller
(30:23)
Yes and no. So, we can always heal. That's kind of my overlying message always. We don't even know our body's capacity to heal. And if we're giving these diseases like I once was that you can't heal, this is chronic. We can heal. We now know that our bodies heal.
Dr. Chris Miller
(30:39)
That being said, if an organ is damaged where it's completely damaged and it's not able to put out what it's supposed to put out anymore. By the time you have end-organ damage, that is not healable and fully reversible but we can minimize the amount that you actually need to supplement with. And so you're getting just kind of a physiologic amount instead of giving extra high amount. So, yes, you're absolutely healing in every way of the word healing but you may still need a little bit of the hormone to get you to a normal level. What do you think?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(31:10)
I think that's exactly right. There's going to be … I'm always telling my patients like we may or may not be able to reverse this but we can certainly improve your health from where you are now. So, we just need to optimize you from where you are right now, that's it.
Dr. Chris Miller
(31:24)
One thing we should notice is like what I said, it was the canary in the coal mine or cave scenario. And so, what that means is that when you have one autoimmune disease, you're three times more likely to get another one. And so, if you have exposures in your environment and if you're living a stressful life, if you're not getting a nutrient-rich, clean anti-inflammatory diet, your thyroid is a … The way I see it is almost you have to make these changes to prevent further complications.
Dr. Chris Miller
(31:51)
Whether you get the full reversal or not which some people can, some people not quite, but it's preventing all these other down-the-road problems. So, it's really important for all of us to pursue it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:03)
Absolutely. And if you're watching on the Plant Based Telehealth page, feel free to leave a comment. If you have a question, just put it in the comment section. I'm watching that as well. And then, of course, if you joined a webinar, you can always post it in the chat or the Q&A box and we really appreciate your questions. So, another question was, “How about adding kombu to your diet?”
Dr. Chris Miller
(32:27)
Kombu, what is kombu? Is that the fermented tea like kombucha?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:30)
I think it's like either … I know kombu is like … Is it like a kelp or something, maybe kind of a seafood?
Dr. Chris Miller
(32:39)
I'm not really sure what kombu is.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:41)
Let's do a real quick look, kombu.
Dr. Chris Miller
(32:45)
Maybe whoever posted that could tell us something.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:47)
Yeah, so it's an edible kelp, so basically-
Dr. Chris Miller
(32:49)
Okay. Kelp is good. So, I do like sea vegetables and kelp. And they're extremely nutritious, good sources of nutrients including iodine. The thing with the iodine is it's a little tricky because we don't always know how much iodine is in each part that we're eating. So, it depends on where it was grown and what time of year it was and how nutrient dense the water is sort of that the kelp is from. So, it's a little tricky to make sure. But yeah, you can definitely make that work and it's a very nutritious source. And I have patients who are doing that as well.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(33:24)
If you like these flavors, absolutely you can add those to your diet. And then let's see here … No other questions currently. So, let's go on to maybe, because we get a lot of questions regarding what do you eat in a day. So, Chris, maybe you could just talk a little bit about what is in a day of Chris Miller's on her plate?
Dr. Chris Miller
(33:47)
Yeah. I try to eat diversity. I'm always thinking of colors and I'm always thinking of making sure I'm trying different things. So, today for example, breakfast was a green smoothie that contains greens, spinach and what else was in it? Chard, I think, kind of mixed baby greens … Some flax seeds, and fruit. So, fruit today was mango and pineapple and water.
Dr. Chris Miller
(34:14)
So, that's my smoothie and then lunch today was a salad. And I had some black rice and some stir-fried vegetables. Dinner will be depending on what I eat for dinner. It's often something kind of similar, a cooked dish like that, a leftover, maybe a vegetable bean soup, maybe more salad, maybe some veggies, maybe more smoothie. That's kind of what I eat. And then I have fruit always for dessert.
Dr. Chris Miller
(34:37)
So, ever since I went plant-based nine years ago now, 2011, I have done piece of fruit after my meal. And that's sort of like how I close out my meal. And so, I have to have a piece of fruit after my meal. So, today, it was papaya which I cut this morning and then I had a little bit of it for breakfast and a little bit for lunch. Dinner will probably be some berries that I will have my eyes on, so I can eat those.
Dr. Chris Miller
(35:00)
So that's what I eat. If I snack, it's often fruit. Occasionally, it's dried fruit to be truthful but I do have that sometimes and then that's …
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(35:11)
Sounds good. I think I've eaten the same thing every morning for 10 years. So, it's oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, got to get the zinc. I put ground flax, blueberries and a banana and soy milk. That was like breakfast and I eat fruit as well, not necessarily after every meal. But it's like a huge snack, some plum and nectarines. I had some of those in here.
Dr. Chris Miller
(35:34)
I have plums and nectarines already.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(35:36)
I'm so thrilled. And then lunch is often like a veggie because I'm always thinking in my mind, I got to get at least one of each. I got to pound down the vegetables. I usually just have one green a day. It's just that I'm just not … I don't know, I eat a lot of beans but I've never really been a big green person just myself. And I'm not a big fan of salads. So I threw veggies in the ref like smoothies or veggie soup. Yesterday, I made a huge vegetable soup. There was like 10 different vegetables in there because these are just vegetables like, “We've got to use these up,” boom, boom, boom and put in some seasoning and you're set to go.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(36:08)
So, that's the way to do it, just kind of keep of tally, “Am I getting my fruits, my vegetables, 8 to 10 servings a day?” Optimal would be amazing. And then you round it out with your beans and your whole grains. But the beans is actually the one food associated with longevity around the world. So, make sure you get your legumes, guys.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(36:25)
Another question. “So, are there specific plant-based foods that should be avoided aside from oil, salt and sugar for PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, or food nutrients that should be increased in order to help alleviate the symptoms?” It's a very good question. Any thoughts?
Dr. Chris Miller
(36:43)
Yeah, that's a really good question. You pretty much nailed it though to start with as a whole-food, plant-based diet and taking out the salt, oil, sugar, the SOS-free. PCOS does respond to a lower fat diet, so that's why the oil is really, really key to get that out. And then I'm always making sure like Laurie talked about that people are getting enough of their vegetables and fruit sources, fresh vegetables and fruits. So, 8 to 10 cups a day, close to a pound a day is what you're aiming for.
Dr. Chris Miller
(37:11)
So, if you get that and then you eat your whole grains and your beans and a little bit of your nuts and seeds. So then I would pay attention to it, so that's where I would start with. And then from there, I would look and see if you need to cut back in your fat a little bit more. So, some people will respond to even lower fat diet. So then when you pay attention to their avocado and nuts and seeds intake and just make sure they're taking just that quarter cup a day or limited for that person. That's kind of a little more individualized.
Dr. Chris Miller
(37:37)
And then certain foods that are helpful though for female issues, for hormones, for estrogen levels are things like your green cruciferous vegetables are going to help. They're going to help you excrete more of the bad estrogens, estradiol, the E2. And which one … The other one is soy. It's going to also be helpful. Tempeh, tofu, soy milk that minimally processed, and edamame soybeans so you don't want to eat the processed soy products. So, those are helpful for PCOS.
Dr. Chris Miller
(38:10)
And then just your whole-food, plant-based diet is kind of what I recommend. And the other one is flax seeds, I do recommend, the same reasons. Like the soy, they have the phytoestrogen and they bump the bad estrogen out and that helps you excrete it faster. So, for a person with PCOS, I build their plan to make sure that they're on, just like you describe, is the whole-food, plant-based diet, salt, oil, sugar free.
Dr. Chris Miller
(38:32)
And then from there, we're making sure that they're getting little bit of an unprocessed soy or minimally processed soy or plenty of the green cruciferous vegetables and a little bit of flax, ground flax seeds a day, freshly ground. And watch first, see what your body will do with that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(38:47)
Absolutely. And I again echo everything you just said, so that's perfect. And sometimes, adding in some spices like turmeric or ginger will help too with some of the discomfort that you might be having. Let's see here, “So for elderly, mostly plant-based person, would you recommend a probiotic or only prebiotics?” Thanks.
Dr. Chris Miller
(39:09)
For an elderly mostly plant-based person, it depends. That's definitely going to be variable depending on you. So, if you are healthy at this point and you are just trying to maintain health and age well, I would recommend that whole-food, plant-based diet and prebiotic food which is fiber-rich food. So, eating your legumes, your green leafy vegetables, all your vegetables, your fruits and your whole grains. Those are all prebiotic. And the more diversity, the more diverse the microbiome you're going to build. So you need all that diversity. So, that's the most important thing, no question there.
Dr. Chris Miller
(39:44)
Then if you want to step it up a little bit, you can add fermented foods. I love fermented veggies, and I ferment my own just by adding vinegar to it. Like cabbage, or we did zucchini or cucumber slices, like whatever vegetable you have and you just add your vinegar to it and whatever spices, pepper corns. We like garlic in it. We had fresh dill in it. So, whatever you add. And you let it sit for two days and you have fermented veggies.
Dr. Chris Miller
(40:11)
So, it's pretty easy to make but you can do it much better than we do probably but that's how we make ours. And so fermented veggies can help. They increase a few types of bacteria such as the lactobacillus and then for probiotics to answer your question, I use that for certain reasons. So if someone has gut issues or if they're an autoimmune person, we're trying to get their immune system back in track. And so probiotics are helpful.
Dr. Chris Miller
(40:38)
If they have travelers' diarrhea, it's shown to be helpful or certain other diarrhea such as C. diff or pediatric diarrhea, this has been shown to be helpful. And it's also been shown if you get sick, right at the beginning if you take a probiotic, it decreases the course of the cold by about a day.
Dr. Chris Miller
(40:54)
So, there are some benefits to it with your immune system because it helps sensitize the immune system. But if you're a healthy person not struggling with anything right now, I definitely recommend just not taking it because there's not that much data yet on them, or not enough. There's becoming more and more data, but not enough to really know. And I really recommend just going for the prebiotic, fiber-rich food.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(41:15)
And you have to think about your microbiome. It's going to be very selective of who it allows in to the club. So, even though, like you said, if you're healthy and you take a probiotic, there's not much evidence that a lot of it actually infiltrates your current microbiome and a lot of it you just poop out, so just some thoughts there. But if you're taking antibiotics or those situations that Chris is talking about, it actually might be very helpful. So, those are where your GI systems-
Dr. Chris Miller
(41:44)
I think people are buying probiotics left and right, and it's not always helpful. I have patients who have taken probiotics and felt worse, more anxiety, more symptoms, more gut issues, more gas and bloating. So, it's definitely dependent on that person and it's always so much better to get it from food if you can. And then to use it selectively to make sure you have a good one.
Dr. Chris Miller
(42:05)
Studies on ConsumerLab.com showed that 70% of probiotics didn't actually have what they said they had or it wasn't active by the time it got down to your colon. Because remember you're taking a live bacteria or freeze-dried bacteria, and it has to make it all the way through the gastric juices of your stomach, all the way through your intestine without breaking down. And then finally land in your colon and actually stick to the walls.
Dr. Chris Miller
(42:28)
And so they weren't even that effective. It could be the wrong strains. So, I use them much more cautiously and judiciously, I guess, now.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(42:38)
Absolutely. And some of them are dairy based, so that could be another issue. So, here's another question. She said, “My HDL cholesterol went down. Is this a problem?” I'm assuming because she went on a whole-food, plant-based diet. So, I see it's pretty common but do you have any thoughts there?
Dr. Chris Miller
(42:56)
No. Your HDL, remember, is like your garbage truck, your dump trucks. And it's taking cholesterol out of your blood. So, as your blood is getting cleaner, as you're going whole-food, plant-based and hopefully that means your regular cholesterol is coming down, then you don't need as much HDL anymore and we often see it go down. So, it's a good sign potentially.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(43:15)
Here is another question. She said, “I became whole-food, plant-based in July 2017, so about three years ago. Two months later, her thyroid was tested. It was 2.76 which is in a normal range. In January 2019 which is about a year and a half later, her TSH had gone up to 4.34. And a year later from there, so January of this year, it was 4.16. Doc said we'll have to watch this. Could this increase due to deficiency in iodine?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(43:44)
Certainly, it could be. There's a lot of variation of the thyroid from week to week, day to day. So, again that's something … As long as you're not symptomatic, you're fine. But if you are having symptoms of hypothyroidism, you could be sub-clinical but it could be an iodine. So I would pick up an iodine supplement. Do not take more than 150 micrograms daily and see what happens so that certainly could be since you went whole-food, plant-based. But any thoughts there?
Dr. Chris Miller
(44:14)
… supplements we are talking about, so iodine, selenium and zinc especially. Stick with your whole-food, plant-based diet. I would take out … Make sure you're doing absolutely no dairy. And I would eliminate gluten in a while and watch what happens, watch your symptoms. I also would recommend a mind-body program to work on stress because stress affects the thyroid. So often we can look at thyroid numbers in relation to what's going on in your life at that time. So, exercise affects it and stress definitely affects it. Yeah, I would say really try to pay attention to all those things and see how it's doing.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(44:48)
Yeah, I agree 100%. And there's another comment someone mentioned to Karen. She says, “Hello, thyroid removed 10 years ago, so on replacement therapy. Fortunately, dosages have been pretty consistent but reduced since it's whole-food, plant-based diet, weight loss we see here.”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(45:04)
So that tells you right there. So even though she was taking … She had no thyroid. She's taking a consistent dose and then she changed her diet, meaning that now her body is utilizing the thyroid that she's taking even better. That says a lot.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(45:20)
And I think there are some other things that people won't realize. Certain drugs can also affect the absorption and the utilization of your natural thyroid or thyroid that you're taking. For example if you're taking thyroid medication, you're also … Let's say you have heartburn, that type of thing. If you're taking any anti-acids, calcium carbonate, those type of things can actually decrease absorption plus part of your thyroid actually.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(45:41)
So, it goes to the liver. There are some things going on there. It's routed through the intestines. Some of that is reabsorbed, so that could decrease even your natural absorption, so just some things to think about. Lithium, others if you also-
Dr. Chris Miller
(45:56)
Amiodarone, some of that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(45:57)
Yeah, amiodarone, yes. [crosstalk 00:45:58] And some of the expectorants like guaifenesin can affect it as well.
Dr. Chris Miller
(46:04)
It can affect it [inaudible 00:46:05]. It can affect it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(46:06)
Yes, so just some things there to think about, guys. So, any medication you're taking, just make sure that you speak to your physician about it. And if your physician is not seemed to be paying attention or just kind of brushes you off, feel free again to make an appointment with Chris or myself and then we have some docs coming onboard just to … Let's just go over things and get you straight narrow path and get you on the right amount of everything because you had to be careful. There are individuals saying trying to push a bunch of different supplements which you don't necessarily need.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(46:40)
So, we just really want you to try and get the majority of your nutrients from the whole-food, plant-based diet and then we top it off with the appropriate supplements if required. But always B12, always B12.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(46:53)
I don't see here any of other questions. So, go ahead you guys. We have about 10 minutes left and then once there are any additional questions … And then Chris, do you have anything else to say about thyroid health or just anything in general?
Dr. Chris Miller
(47:09)
When people ask me questions about thyroid health and even if it's under control, I'm always happy they do because I think it's kind of a good wake up for us to start saying, “Okay, what's going on with my body and what can I do to make it healthier?” So, if you pay attention to your thyroid and you notice anything isn't exactly where you want it to be to do everything you can diet and lifestyle wise.
Dr. Chris Miller
(47:29)
And we've talked about a lot of it today. And I can't emphasize enough about the lifestyle too, how important that is and how much of a difference it really makes. And you'll find that. And I know that in myself and my patients with autoimmune diseases when they're having inflammation going on right then, they're going to be so fatigued no matter what and then they may gain weight and they're going to have problems.
Dr. Chris Miller
(47:49)
And so, is it the thyroid or is it the inflammation? It's both and is it the stress in her life? Laurie was saying she had a hard time with weight when she was traveling and stress. And so, if she checked her thyroid then, it might have been a little bit higher TSH, meaning her thyroid wasn't working as well. Do we treat that aggressively? Well, I would prefer to treat her stress and to work on a lifestyle program with her.
Dr. Chris Miller
(48:10)
So, these fixes are, I feel like they don't get enough attention and they should because they're really important.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(48:17)
Yeah, absolutely, and just some other additional things. So if you're taking a thyroid supplement, sometimes doctors don't tell you how to take the medication. You want to take it on an empty stomach in the morning. That's the first thing you want to do and wait an hour or two before you eat if you can. The reason is because it's better absorbed iron supplementation, calcium supplements can also affect the absorption. So, if you're older woman and your doctor has you on calcium supplement still especially if you're on any type of medications that are meant to be helping with, let's say osteoporosis, and you oftentimes will supplement with calcium and vitamin D, that can affect it as well.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(48:55)
So, just be careful when you're taking. So take it by itself on an empty stomach with water. That's the best way to take it. But we do have a question here. “Do you recommend Synthroid or is Armour Thyroid also okay?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(49:09)
I prefer to take the synthetic thyroid medications. They're easier to regulate. So, Armour Thyroid also is T4 and T3. There's only a few cases that I've had to add a synthetic T3 to T4 but it's so much easier to regulate. And so that is my personal opinion. I just feel that it's easier. It's regulated. You know how much you're taking because sometimes you're not always getting what's advertised and some of the … Certainly had some issues with patients taking it. But any suggestions or thoughts there?
Dr. Chris Miller
(49:45)
I used T4 from the synthetic as well from Synthroid, levothyroxine typically. Although I had patients on Armour who do okay with it, absolutely. The thing I have noticed, I've had older people who are in Armour and sometimes the T3, it's very stimulating to the heart. And so they'll come in complaining of palpitations and discomfort and feeling their heart racing, little spells of it maybe before bed or when they're anxious. And if they're on the Armour or a form of T3, I'll stop that, go just to T4 and there, it fully resolves.
Dr. Chris Miller
(50:18)
So, I don't know how old you are or what else is going on in your health. But it's something to pay attention to, different phases of your life. So, I typically don't start people in the Armour though.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(50:29)
Yeah, absolutely, so that I've never started Armour on anyone. I've maybe refilled it if they're doing okay. And say I'm not a big fan of don't fix what's not broken. So, if you're doing okay on it, that's fine but preferably if I'm starting someone on it, that's where I'll start.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(50:46)
And we have a question. “Can you reverse multiple sclerosis with a plant-based diet?” Well, I think our friend, Dr. Saray Stancic is a perfect example of that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(50:56)
Yeah. If you don't know the Dr. Saray Stancic story, definitely google her. Look her up. Read about her. She's amazing. But she reversed her MS symptoms. She's a med student diagnosed with MS, pretty severe. And she reversed it with a whole-food, plant-based diet. So, yeah, it's a great one that responds and I have patients. I know you have patients, Laurie. We both have patients that have gotten significantly better. Antibodies even can go away. Plaques start of melt away in the brain. And the spinal cord symptoms can basically resolve. So that's a good one. Really go for it. Really hit the anti-inflammatory part of your diet.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(51:30)
Absolutely. And I would say … A shout-out for Dr. Saray Stancic. Definitely check out her movie she made about her experience. It's called Code Blue. And Saray is S-A-R-A-Y Stancic, S-T-A-N-C-I-C. I feel like I'm on a spelling bee.
Dr. Chris Miller
(51:50)
That's right.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(51:50)
But she's an incredible testament to this, but she's just an incredibly human being as well. So, I've also interviewed her on the Healthy Human Revolution Podcast. If you're not familiar with the podcast, please go to HealthyHumanRevolution.com and click the podcast link in. I've interviewed Chris. I've interviewed Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McDougall, Dr. Greger, all these amazing people.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:14)
Anthony is also our partner, his incredible story, his wife. So, you guys check it out.
Dr. Chris Miller
(52:19)
It's a great podcast.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:23)
Yeah. Actually, Chris is my very first one. When lived on the west side, it was like three and a half years ago. I was like, “Chris, could you be my first interview ever?” And now we're approaching close to 200 interviews.
Dr. Chris Miller
(52:34)
Wow. You've come a long way. You've interviewed everyone. I mean it's great. It's a great podcast. So, it's a really good resource. If you guys haven't checked that out, check it out.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:43)
I appreciate that. One last question-
Dr. Chris Miller
(52:47)
Someone said Code Blue is coming out in five days.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:49)
That's awesome.
Dr. Chris Miller
(52:51)
Dr. Stancic story, it does, yes.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:53)
Fantastic. So, please you guys. Check it out. Like I said, she's an incredible story. She just … I adore her. So, the next one is, “I take levothyroxine any time after 1:00 A.M. that I wake up to go to the bathroom. Is that acceptable?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:09)
Sure. Because then you just go back to sleep and it's on an empty stomach. So, absolutely. I'm sorry you have to wake up and go to the bathroom. It's a good time to take your medicine.
Dr. Chris Miller
(53:20)
I think you should do that exact same thing.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:21)
I'm impressed you remember because I would be like, “No, I got to go back to bed.”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:27)
So, Claire is asking, “If the episode is recorded, where can we find it?” It's a great question. Thank you for asking, Claire. You'll want to go, number one, it will be actually recorded and stays on the Facebook page. That's Plant-Based Health page. And then it's also going to be uploaded after we do a little bit of editing to the Plant Based Telehealth YouTube page.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:48)
So, please go subscribe. If you ever miss any of these and would like to listen to them, we would love for you to do that. And we're also on Instagram, Plant-Based TeleHealth Instagram and of course, Plant-Based TeleHealth, like I said, on Facebook. So, we appreciate that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(54:00)
And please share. We also put out question-of-the-day videos. So, we take little highlights from the webinar. And if you would, definitely on Instagram or on Facebook or YouTube and you can share those with people. We're really trying to spread the word, one, that whole-food, plant-based diet is the best way to eat but also there's resources with the Plant-Based Telehealth. Dr. Chris Miller and myself and some additional doctors coming which we'll be announcing soon.
Dr. Chris Miller
(54:26)
Yeah, very exciting.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(54:29)
And so, the link for Code Blue is DrStancic.com/code-blue. So, I appreciate you. Thank you. All right, guys. I think we'll call that a wrap. It's been an hour. Thank you so much for spending time with us. We appreciate all of you.
Dr. Chris Miller
(55:02)
Thank you, guys, for spending your afternoon with us and all your wonderful questions.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:09)
Absolutely. They were fantastic questions. A great conversation as always with Chris. And so thank you guys and we'll see you next time, next Thursday, same place, same time.
Dr. Chris Miller
(55:19)
Bye, have a great week.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:20)
Bye, guys.
*Recorded on 5.21.20