OUTLOOK, HOSTED BY DAN HOLZMAN<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dan Holzman:n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n My name is Dan Holzman. I am very pleased to be joined on the phone with thyroid expert Dr. Kellman. Dr. Kellman is the founder of the Kellman Wellness Center. We are in the midst of January and January is Thyroid Awareness Month. And I have to tell you I am looking forward to this interview as I am starting from pretty much of a blank slate. And so, Dr. Kellman gives us a little bit of an autobiography about yourself before we dive in.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dr. Raphael Kellman:nSure. Yes, I am a medical doctor and trained in Internal Medicine and went to Albert Einstein medical school. I practice Holistic Medicine, also called Integrative Medicine or Functional Medicine. I have been doing this for a long time, but it is becoming a popular field. Not so common back then. It\u2019s really a different orientation in understanding the causes of health and diseases and how to treat. Is it only medications to suppress symptoms? But there\u2019s another component of medicine that I focus on that is delving into the root causes and understanding the physiology and biochemical processes and what goes awry when one is in a state of disease or lack of health, and then making appropriate decisions and improving the basic function of the cells, organs, and systems. That\u2019s it in a nutshell. I have been very deeply involved in thyroid function and immune issues. There\u2019s a lot of chemicals in the environment and they are causing a lot of problems on our endocrine systems. They\u2019re called endocrine disruptors. Holistic Medicine looks for these causes. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not widely known. The Senate has discussed environmental toxins but it\u2019s not even in the medical literature. Endocrine disruptors are really harming the natural world. That being so, we are now in the midst of low thyroid epidemic mostly because of endocrine disruptors. Unfortunately, many doctors are not aware of what they are doing to the fish, the reptiles, the birds \u2014 the animal world and the humans. In addition, we are relying on the tests to detect an epidemic and the tests are grossly inadequate to detect the root cause \u2014endocrine disrupters. They are good for general screening, for general thyroid issues, more of the type that we had in the past. But the bigger issue \u2013 the endocrine disrupters as the cause \u2013 and routine tests are just not cutting it. People are not being diagnosed and this problem is just not out in the forefront.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Why are the tests not good enough. Is it that we can\u2019t do better?nA. It\u2019s both. I think number one is knowing the limitations of testing. What could blood testing show us or not show us? Perhaps we made assumptions about blood testing that are fallacious. Perhaps they are partially true but not 100% true. There are many exceptions. And that\u2019s a big problem. We are missing a lot of people. Millions of people. One example is that if you do a blood test and look in the serum, basically when you do a blood test you are looking in the serum of the blood, the assumption is that it\u2019s steady or that thyroid hormone\u2014 let\u2019s say the T4 or the TSH that comes from the pituitary and regulates the thyroid, the assumption is that these numbers are always going to show the same value in someone with a low thyroid. Well, that\u2019s not true. It can change and make fluctuations in any given day. If someone has a problem for a longer period of time, is the body going to keep the blood level over time or will there be some compensation? Assumptions are made without proof. And assumptions can lead us astray.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. And assuming assumptions are not good\u2026.nA. Yes, because the consequences are devastating.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Where is the Kellman Center?nA. We\u2019re in Manhattan 7 West 45th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. We\u2019re in the Times Square and Grand Central Station area.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. How big a problem is it Dr. Kellman. The American thyroid association believes that about 20 million people have some form of thyroid disease.nA. That is a very conservative number. The numbers are even higher \u2013 in fact, it\u2019s reached epidemic proportions. And the older you get, the more likely you will be you will a have a thyroid problem.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. So, the numbers are much higher than that?nA. Yes, there\u2019s an accumulation of toxins that are causing it, that\u2019s why the numbers increase as we age. The older we get, the more likely it is that the toxic buildup will be affecting you. How long can you stand being exposed to these effects! And eventually, too many people will succumb. So, there is an epidemic. There\u2019s better testing at the Kellman Center. I have been using the TRH stimulation test. Speaking about it, lecturing about this, advocating this, telling the medical community and of course, people in general, the importance of using this test. The medical community used to use but stopped it for a number of reasons. Then research showed that it is a superior test, although complex. But when someone is complaining of fatigue, difficulty losing weight, brain fog, depression, constipation \u2013 and there\u2019s no answer and the regular thyroid tests are normal? These are the people that deserve better testing. And the test that I use that is best is the TRH stimulation test. People come from all over the world for it. The next option is to get all the tests that are available and look at it in a different way. And understand that you can\u2019t just rely on the routine test with the old way of looking at it. We have look at things with new eyes.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Bigger problem for women than men, correct? Do we have any reason why?nA. Absolutely. But men get it too.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Do we have any reason why it picks on women more than men?nA. Women are more likely to go to doctors and more likely to tell you how they are feeling. So that\u2019s one reason. It\u2019s not that women are more susceptible. Additionally, there\u2019s a hormonal relationship that creates a biological and genetic basis for it. But by and large, a significant reason is that women tell you about their problems. Men keep it to themselves and don\u2019t want to go to doctors. And that has to be included in the analysis. Until we have such an analysis, I am not going to say that women are just more susceptible than men. It\u2019s more complex. And yes, women do have more Yes, they are more systems that interplay with the thyroid.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Do you have a web address for the center.nA. www.kellmancenter.com<\/a>. I have also written a number of books on the subject. You can find them at here and here (add links)n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Let\u2019s talk about maybe the most important part of this conversation. What are some signs and symptoms that people might be able to diagnose on their own that indicates \u201cHey, I have a problem \u2013 I may need some help.\u201dnA. Fatigue, brain fog, depression, difficulty focusing, mood changes, just feeling like you are aging, hair loss, constipation, cold hands and feet. You don\u2019t have to all of these symptoms. You can one of these symptoms and yet your thyroid could be low. Many people have many symptoms. People have muscle pain, joint points. These are the general symptoms. If you have low thyroid it plays a role in overall health. If you have high cholesterol, the cause may be low thyroid. The thyroid plays a complex role in our overall health. If one has symptoms, unexplained symptoms, absolutely you want to think about the possibility that the thyroid is low. One of the most important points of this conversation is this: just because a doctor tells you your routine thyroid test is normal it does not necessarily mean the thyroid is normal. We can\u2019t be led astray because a doctor did a routine thyroid blood test. Routine tests are frequently inadequate. Bottom line, you can\u2019t rely on one blood test.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. What is the bigger healthy worry\u2014 overactive or underactive?nA. Clearly, underactive \u2013 when your thyroid is not producing enough hormones. And then everything is in slow motion. Your brain is not functioning like it should be. You are more likely to gain weight. Your metabolism slows down. You feel puffy, have pain, aches, depression, insomnia. When your thyroid is fast, you tend to lose weight. You can diarrhea, have palpitations. have anxiety or you could have anxiety with hypothyroidism as well. They\u2019re very different and hypothyroidism is much more common.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. What is easier to fix?nA. Hypothyroidism. But you can fix hyperthyroidism as well. Hashimotos thyroid, an autoimmune thyroid disease, is also common. With my approach, you can reverse autoimmunity. And that sounds shocking because they are told no, you can\u2019t reverse the antibodies! But, Hashimotos can be reversed; it can be cured, with a functional approach.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Does a thyroid problem often lead to thyroid cancer?nA. Not necessarily but there is a greater risk, but not significantly greater.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. How much do we know about thyroid cancer? Does cancer start in the thyroid?nA. Thyroid cancer is an easily treated cancer. No one should ever get it, though. If you have low thyroid, we treat it vigilantly.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Tell me the connection between thyroid function and digestive health. You talked about that here and there during the show. Give it to me in a little more detail, if you would?nA. If your thyroid is not functioning properly your gut won\u2019t function properly. In fact, other than the brain, gut dysfunction could be the most sensitive marker of thyroid function. The gut is so susceptible to fluctuations, slight changes in thyroid hormone levels. The gut needs an adequate amount of thyroid hormones because a lot of the muscular force that causes peristalsis in the gut \u2013 contractions of the gut \u2013 requires a lot of thyroid hormone. To maintain a healthy gut wall (it\u2019s like a fortress), you need thyroid to produce enzymes, you need thyroid hormone to produce HCL in the stomach, you need thyroid hormones. Thyroid issues will cause gut issues. Sometimes you don\u2019t even know it. Abdominal pain, bloating, irritable bowel.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Tell us about your holistic approach to treating the disease?nA. Sure. Here\u2019s the question that shocks people. You can reverse thyroid disease. Even Hashimotos. First, let\u2019s talk about Hashimotos. It\u2019s an autoimmune disorder rooted in alterations of the Microbiome. The bacteria in the gut are the good guys. Conducting, orchestrating our health. But when that ecology is unhealthy due to antibiotics, stress, chemicals poor diet, etc., then its ability to maintain gut function falters. When that happens we are more likely to get inflammation. The immune system is not regulated. When it\u2019s not regulated, it\u2019s going to start to attack its own tissues. That\u2019s autoimmune disorder. If it attacks your own thyroid, it becomes Hashimotos. I coined the term \u201cMicrobiome Medicine\u201d because it deserves to be a field in itself. When you improve the microbiome, you are improving the root problem. You are healing the microbiome, and alterations and dysfunctions in the microbiome are the most significant causes of autoimmunity. We help people use the right strains of probiotics. There are so many, and most people don\u2019t know which to use \u2013 they think they\u2019re all the same. They\u2019re not all the same. It\u2019s like saying all dogs are the same or all cats are the same. Or all fish are the same. It\u2019s ridiculous and they all have different functions. In addition, the use of prebiotics is important because they nourish the gut bacteria. But we can also isolate them and use them as supplements. There are many different types. Which one do you use? It makes a big difference. If you want a certain bacterial species to proliferate, you want to give them the right type of prebiotics. It\u2019s a very complex field. By improving the microbiome, you really are beginning to reverse autoimmunity. Low and behold, the antibodies come down. The Hashimotos is eventually reversed. This doesn\u2019t mean that you get off the thyroid hormones. Sometimes you can get off the thyroid hormone if the autoimmunity is caught early enough and treated in this comprehensive holistic way.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. You mention an important question that I want to bring up. How important is it to catch this early? Almost every medical issue, early detection is important.nA. Absolutely. The longer it goes on, the more damage will be done to the body, and the more of the thyroid will be damaged. You may never be able to produce enough thyroid hormone to get off thyroid medication. When you have an autoimmune issue, there\u2019s not just one form of it, it causes inflammation everywhere. And sometimes, you don\u2019t see the antibodies that are diagnostic for autoimmune disorders. And yet you can have Inflammation that is causing as much damage to the body as some \u201cdefined autoimmune disorder.\u201d We get caught up in disease categories and missing the real demon. Disease is tricky. It\u2019s fooling us and we are fooling ourselves. Pigeon-holing ourselves into diagnosis and understanding health and disease only through the lens of disease and diagnoses which are arbitrary at best. But designed by the medical establishment, and not to be facetious, but with the full help of the pharmaceutical companies because the disease categories are so important because they are perfectly aligned with drugs that are needed to address the diseases. What we have to understand is that health and illness and not being well is much beyond disease categories. You can have no disease category but be very ill.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. How much of a role does heredity play?nA. The answer is yes, genetics plays a role in everything. But we can overcome genetics. It\u2019s nature and nurture. We are not fixed or locked into our genetics. There are so many genes involved in any health issue. And remember the genes in the microbiome far outnumber our own genes that are playing in our health. And their DNA of bacteria outnumbers our DNA by 150:1. The number of genes playing a role in every single health issue we are dealing with is incomprehensible. When we say something is genetic, it could mean that what we inherit is not the susceptibility to disease. Some people have a more potent immune response, and some are more vulnerable. But does one gene do this? There are multiple genes. There\u2019s so much we can do to overcome that, that we should be focusing not so much on nature but nurture and environment and all the natural treatments that we can do to lead the body in the direction of health and healing.n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Q. Dr. Raphael Kellman, founder of the Kellman Wellness Center. Dr. we are just out of time. Thanks again for doing this. You can find out more about Dr. Kellman\u2019s medical practice at www.kellmancenter.com<\/a>. Thank you. Having a great weekend.nA. Thank you, really thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n