About 80% of diabetics suffer from a hypothyroid (low thyroid) condition. In fact, according to clinical trials done by Dr. Broda Barnes, even when many of his diabetic patients were able to stabilize their blood sugar, most of the other symptoms of diabetes wouldn’t go away until they were given effective thyroid therapy.

He also notes: “Thyroid therapy prevented complications in Dr. Eaton’s diabetic patients twenty years ago and has been preventing the same complications in my patients, diabetic and non-diabetic, for twenty-four years” (Hypothyroidism – The Unsuspected Illness, 1976, p. 227). That was in my opinion, quite an amazing discovery, with tremendous potential for diabetics.

When the thyroid is suppressed, the metabolism is reduced, requiring less sugar to be used for energy. Less glucose would obviously be required to maintain a lower-than-normal body temperature, than if the body temperature was maintained at the appropriate 98.6 degrees.

If a person were still consuming the same foods, as well as the same amount, the result would be an excess of unused sugar in the bloodstream. This would then result in increased insulin production, leading to insulin resistance, increased fat storage, and eventually Type II diabetes.

Possibly the worst combination that could contribute to obesity would be an excess of insulin (which is very efficient in storing fat), plus a deficiency of the thyroid hormone (which is responsible for fat removal), combined with an excess of unused sugar. The elevated blood sugar can be potentially dangerous, so it must be converted and stored as abdominal fat (another contributor to insulin resistance).

Modern Medicine’s Flawed Thyroid Evaluation and Treatment

Many of the symptoms associated with hypothyroidism are very similar to those associated with hypoglycemia, and both are often experienced by diabetics, with depression, mood swings, and behavioral disorders being the most common. The question is: Could these symptoms possibly be even more pronounced, when experiencing both conditions concurrently?

If that holds true (which seems logical), depression would probably be even more serious, and a prescription for an antidepressant, (or possibly an additional antidepressant), would all too often be many doctors’ solution.

There are also other symptoms associated with hypothyroidism, such as: brittle nails, dry skin and hair, low metabolism or inability to lose weight, fatigue or low motivation, headaches, fluid retention, heat or cold intolerance, as well as depression and mood swings to help identify the condition. Unfortunately, most medical doctors fail to take the time necessary to properly diagnose the underlying problem, thus a prescription for an antidepressant is all too often the typical response.

If you went to your doctor, who like most medical doctors studied traditional (allopathic) medicine, a hypothyroid condition could easily be misdiagnosed to begin with.

Standard procedure practiced by most medical doctors (even endocrinologists, who specialize in hormonal disorders such as thyroid), would rely on the standard blood test evaluating your Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and possibly T4 thyroid levels. In many cases, the TSH and T4 thyroid levels would be considered as normal, and you would thus be notified that your thyroid is not a concern (although it very well could be).

Then, even if your doctor decided that thyroid supplementation might possibly be in order, he like most allopathic doctors, would likely prescribe Synthroid™, Levothroid™ or Levoxyl™, one of the artificial forms of T4 thyroid. The problem is you are likely not experiencing a T4 thyroid deficiency, and thus your medication will seldom work, and could at times make matters even worse, by shutting down even more of the active T3 thyroid that would normally be produced by the thyroid.

Following The Money Trail…
Why Thyroid Conditions Likely Remain Unresolved

The basic problem is: A low thyroid condition can potentially lead to many different of symptoms (thirty or more), which are likely due to a reduction in the enzyme action of all 3,000 enzymes in the body.

This then opens the door for a lot of prescriptions to deal with each of the potential symptoms. One of the most common symptoms associated with a hypothyroid condition is depression, and thus unnecessary prescriptions for antidepressants.

Unfortunately, the most common class, known as SSRI antidepressants such as Prozac™, Paxil™, Zoloft™, and Celexa™, etc., stimulate the adrenals to produce the stress hormone cortisol, which actually leads to elevated blood sugar.

The SSRI antidepressants can thus not only worsen existing diabetes, but are also known to contribute to the development of diabetes in non-diabetics, from their long-term usage. That’s not the only problem, as they also contribute to another serious condition known as adrenal fatigue, which is seldom properly diagnosed by most medical doctors.

- Dr. David W. Tanton