Hypothyroidism can be caused by a variety of things. In this country, diet is the main culprit. Our food supply is so deficient in nutrients and loaded with anti-nutrients that it’s really no surprise we are experiencing health problems in epidemic proportions. Vegetable oils (polyunsaturated fats) are a huge contributor to hypothyroidism, obesity, cardio vascular disease and other health problems. These are man-made foods that have only been around since the early 1900s, with soy oil becoming the number one cooking oil by the 1950s.

Soy products, like soy oil and protein, contain extremely high amounts of goitrogens. Goitrogens are naturally occurring substances that interfere with the normal function of the thyroid gland by blocking the synthesis of thyroid hormones and slowing ones metabolism. Before inexpensive polyunsaturated fats became common place, beef tallow, lard, olive oil and tropical oils were in use; heart disease, hypothyroidism, obesity, diabetes and other diseases were but a fraction of the incidence they are today.

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low testosterone levels put men at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and early death?? One study shows that testosterone treatment reduces LDL cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol.? Another study that looked at the cause of death in almost 2000 men aged 20 to 79 years.? The men with low testosterone at the start of the study had a 2.5 times greater risk of dying during the next ten years compared with men with higher testosterone levels.? These studies, and more, will be presented at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, in San Francisco, suggest that testosterone therapy has several positive effects.
(Vitacost.com Daily Health Tip; June, 2008)

If you had to rank the most important factors for a healthy heart, hormones would likely show up last on your list. But the truth is that these chemical messengers have a strong influence on just about every single one of your body’s delicate systems… and your cardiovascular system is no exception.

You may not realize it, but your blood vessels are lined with estrogen receptors, which play a key role in regulating healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and normal clot formation in both men and women.1 This may be one reason why pre-menopausal women enjoy more optimal heart health statistics than their male and postmenopausal counterparts—and why heart health becomes an important focus for women as they grow older.

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There are many myths about salt. The following are all false:
Myth 1: There is no difference between unrefined sea salt and refined table salt.
Unrefined salt contains over 80 minerals and elements that are useful in our body. Refined table salt, contains 2 along with chemicals that were used to process it.
Myth 2: Salt causes hypertension.
Two authors looked at 57 trials of people with normal blood pressure. A low sodium diet resulted in an insignificant reduction of blood pressure. Many other studies have found similar findings. (Blood pressure has more to do with chronically elevated insulin levels associated with a higher carb diet.)
Myth 3: A low salt diet is healthy.
Researchers have found there is no difference in deaths and cardiovascular events between low salt groups and high salt groups.
(Vitamin Research News 2008;22(1))

A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (March 2010 9(3)535-546), combined the relative risk rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) from 21 studies. This Mega-analysis represents almost 350,000 subjects whose diets and health outcomes had been followed for 5 to 23 years. The conclusion: “There is no significant evidence concluding that saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CVD.
Fallon, S, & Enig, M. (2010). Caustic commentary. Wise Traditionsin Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, 11(2).