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Part 1: The Role of the Thyroid in the Hormonal System Exploring the Hormone Heresy: An Interview with
Women's Health Advocate Sherrill Sellman by Mary J. Shomon Sherrill Sellman is psychotherapist and health
researcher and writer. She is author of "The Hormone Heresy: What
Women MUST Know About Their Hormones." Mary
Shomon: First, I want to thank you Sherrill, for taking the time to
share your knowledge about women's hormonal medicine. Can you tell us a
little about your background, and how you've become a women's health
advocate and educator in the area of hormonal health? Sherrill Sellman: Thank you Mary for the chance to
share my many years of research with your subscribers. It's through
people, like yourself who are totally committed to investigating and
sharing the most truthful health information as well as the many safe
and effective options, that enables all of us to be truly empowered and
informed decision makers. I have been trained as a psychotherapist
specializing in mind-body approaches for the past twenty years. I also
had a very successful Human Resource and Development company that
facilitated personal development and stress management programs for both
the corporate and public sectors. Until a year and a half ago, I was
living and working in Melbourne, Australia where I have resided for the
last 18 years. I'm now enjoying life as an Oklahoman!! Around the age of 45, I began to be plagued by a
number of rather debilitating symptoms. I would have gripping anxiety
attacks every night at about 3 am . As a psychotherapist, I assumed they
had some psychological cause, but no amount of therapy resolved them. I
also experienced mood swings (what seemed like a lifetime affliction),
fatigue, weight gain, low libido and the appearance of those dark little
hairs that began peeking out from my chin!!! But it wasn't until the
night sweats appeared on the scene that I suddenly had to start thinking
"hormones". I would wake up most nights perspiring profusely. In my need to find solutions to these
perimenopausal symptoms, I came across information about natural
progesterone, a transdermal cream that has the bio-identical molecular
structure as the progesterone made in our bodies. I decided to give it a
try. And, lo and behold, after just one month, the night sweats
vanished....along with the anxiety attacks, mood swings, excess weight,
fatigue, low libido and after about 4 months even those unsightly dark
hairs disappeared!!! Well, needless to say, this really got my attention
and I began to delve into the world of female physiology, menopause and
hormone replacement therapy...subjects that I had been rather ignorant
about. After my initial confusion from all the seemingly conflicting
information about hormones and menopause, the picture that emerged from
my research revealed the dark side of steroid hormone use. What I
learned about the many myths, misinformation, and dangers concerning the
use of steroid hormone treatments as found in HRT, the Pill and even
fertility drugs, so alarmed and outraged me, that I was compelled to
share my research with other women. My book "Hormone Heresy: What
Women MUST Know About Their Hormones" was borne out of that journey
and my passion for empowering women with truthful information was
kindled. Hormone Heresy has now become a best selling book
in Australia, Canada and is also presently doing really well in the US.
I have returned to the States to live and now travel extensively
throughout the US and Canada, presenting lectures and seminars to women
of all ages, informing them what they really MUST know about their
hormones...which is a very different message from what we're told my our
doctors, pharmacists and media!!! Mary Shomon: It seems that only in the past year or
so has there been more attention paid to the thyroid as a critical
hormone for women's health. Previously, most of the focus was on
estrogen and progesterone. Why do you think the thyroid has been so
overlooked, but now seems to be gaining some attention? Sherrill Sellman: Medicine, like all other facets
of our culture, goes through fads at which time one theory has its
heyday...only to be replaced by another in vogue hypothesis! It appears
that the focus on the thyroid was eclipsed as the spotlight was moved to
the new rising steroid hormone stars, estrogen and progestins which
appeared on the medical scene in 1960's. From my years of delving into me realm of hormone
imbalances, what has become most evident is that women's hormone
imbalances and their health issues, in general, have become big
business. With the trend in the past 40 or so years for medicine to
specialize and rely almost exclusively on pharmaceutical drugs, the
various symptoms that were once easily recognized as classical thyroid
imbalances have been assigned as separate conditions. So we now have
drugs that treat depression, infertility, high cholesterol, weight gain,
migraines, fatigue and menstrual irregularities. We also know that the traditional blood tests for
thyroid are inadequate and inaccurate. With the very recent development
of saliva testing for thyroid function, a more comprehensive picture of
the rather complicated endocrine system is emerging. The history of medicine has ignored women's unique
physiology. The misogynist bias in medicine had assumed the female
functioning was a duplicate of male physiology. Since the female's
monthly hormonal cycling made them unfit for controlled experiments,
most all of the studies until recently were done on men and then
extrapolated for women. Even the early studies exploring estrogen and
heart disease (another incorrect hypothesis) were initially done on men!
Fortunately this is changing and it is now acknowledged that women's
bodies function in some significantly different ways from men. It seems
that throughout history, women's hormonal nature has always been
somewhat of a mystery to medical science. And I must say, that with most
traditional medical doctors, it still is! The emerging holistic paradigm has a clinical model
based on finding the root cause of imbalance which is a much more
feminine approach to healing, not just symptom suppression as focused on
in allopathic medicine. The holistic model recognizes the existence of
the intimate connection of all of the body's processes. This paradigm
along with new diagnostic techniques, has developed a more sophisticated
understanding of endocrine functioning, in general, and the thyroid, in
particular. Mary Shomon: What importance do you think the
thyroid has, in terms of a woman's overall hormonal health? Sherrill Sellman: The thyroid is a major player
when it comes to hormonal health since it stimulates and synchronizes
all metabolic cellular functions. All tissues in the body are stimulated
by the thyroid. The thyroid hormone is required to convert
cholesterol into the vital anti-aging steroid hormones, pregnenolone,
progesterone, and DHEA. Pregnenolone converts to progesterone and DHEA
in the body. Progesterone and DHEA are precursors for more specialized
hormones, including estrogen, testosterone, and cortisol. As we know, thyroid disorders are more common in
women than men. In women, adequate binding of T3 is dependent upon
sufficient progesterone. A low level of progesterone is a common
experience in both young and older women. According to research by Dr.
Jerilynn Prior, an endocrinologist from Vancouver, BC, more than 25% of
women in their 20's are not ovulating each month. This anovulatory
pattern means they are not producing adequate progesterone each month,
leading to progesterone deficiency. This is also a similar condition
that occurs for perimenopausal women. The major cause of these
anovulatory cycles include an poor diet, nutritional deficiencies,
skipping meals, emotional and physical stress, and over-exercising. Thus, low progesterone levels in young women
interferes with thyroid efficiency and is also one of the most frequent
causes of infertility. One study showed that 94% of women with PMS were
hypothyroid. Progesterone deficiency in perimenopause or menopausal
years can predispose a woman to hypothyroidism during this time of her
life. Estrogen dominance -- an excess of estrogen in
relation to progesterone-- inhibits thyroid function and can result from
taking birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, or exposure to
environmental estrogens. Also, a poorly functioning liver, exhausted
adrenal glands, insulin resistance, compromised digestion and candida
can also contribute to estrogen dominance. What is often misunderstood when we talk about the
hormones estrogen and progesterone is the fact that they aren't just
about overseeing reproduction. There are, in fact, receptor sites for
both these hormones in every cell throughout the body. Thus the immune
system, the nervous system, the circulatory system, the digestive system
the vascular system, the respiratory system all are effected my the flow
and proper balance between these two hormones. A healthy thyroid is intimately linked to a
balanced endocrine system. The health of the endocrine system will
reflect our overall health. Part 2: The Role of the Thyroid in the Hormonal System
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Reprinted with Permission of Sherrill Sellman