Jenny was a 38 year old police officer that came to see me seeking help with her thyroid, her weight and several other issues. In fact, Jenny had such a long list of symptoms and health problems that I was quite concerned to see a young lady with such poor health.

Fatigue was Jenny’s biggest problem because it made it difficult for her to get through the day. She worked part time and is a single mom with a seven year old son. She often worked nights, which really worsened her fatigue. She found it difficult to fall asleep and no matter how long she slept, she never felt refreshed when she woke.

Jenny had a fatty liver, which was diagnosed 3 years ago by her local doctor. She was 40 pounds overweight and found it impossible to lose this weight. She could lose 10 pounds if she really tried, but it required humungous effort and she couldn’t put up with continual hunger for more than a month at a time.

Interestingly, Jenny’s doctor had only discovered she has an under active thyroid gland 3 months ago. Jenny has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease and the most common cause of hypothyroidism. She had mildly raised antibodies when her doctor ordered the blood test and her TSH was also mildly raised, at 3.2 IU/L. Jenny’s doctor felt the TSH wasn’t raised enough to warrant giving Jenny thyroid hormone replacement at this stage. I agreed. Jenny had seen some of our YouTube videos and she was interested in healing her thyroid gland naturally.

Jenny had several symptoms of hypothyroidism, and symptoms of autoimmune disease and symptoms of a fatty liver. She had a constantly bloated abdomen and constipation alternating with diarrhea. She held a great deal of fluid on her body, primarily on her hands and around her ankles. Her feet were visibly swollen at the end of each day. Jenny also found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. She mentioned how she wanted to write a birthday card for her best friend’s son and it took her two whole days to remember his name. This concerned Jenny. She also felt continually irritable, moody and anxious.

Jenny brought her recent blood test results to me and there were several interesting findings:

  • Mildly raised liver enzymes. This is common in those with a fatty liver. You can read more about liver enzymes here.
  • Elevated fasting insulin. Jenny’s insulin level was 13. It needs to be below 10; ideally around 4 or 5 U/L. Elevated fasting insulin is a sign of syndrome X (also known as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes).
  • Raised c-reactive protein. This is an indicator of excessive inflammation in the body. The inflammation was coming from Jenny’s immune cells and her fat cells and her inflamed fatty liver.
    Like most of my patients, Jenny had been vitamin D deficient when tested a year ago. This has been corrected because she has been taking a supplement since then.

My recommendations for Jenny

  • It was vitally important for Jenny to stop consuming gluten, as gluten raises inflammation in the body, typically promotes digestive disorders, and can trigger autoimmune thyroid disease. In order to lose weight and reverse the fatty liver, Jenny also needed to drop her carbohydrate intake. Therefore I put her on the eating plan in my Fatty Liver book. I recommended berberine because it would help reduce her elevated insulin, thus reduce the amount of fat her liver manufactures. She made up a protein powder smoothie most days for breakfast which kept her feeling full right until lunch time and it kept the sugar cravings away.
  • I gave Jenny a selenium supplement. Selenium has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect in the body. It can also help to stop the progression of autoimmune conditions.
  • Jenny had very poor quality sleep and felt varying shades of dreadful when she woke most days. I gave her magnesium to help relax her nervous system while she slept and also to help make her less irritable and moody throughout the day.
  • Sugar and carb cravings were a huge problem for Jenny. This was partly because her body was accustomed to a high sugar intake, but also the detrimental effects of fatigue and working nights. I asked her to take one Glicemic Balance capsule with each meal to help reduce cravings.

I saw Jenny again a month later and couldn’t believe the transformation in her!

She had lost 10 pounds and she visibly looked much slimmer around her neck and torso. Jenny said “I can’t believe how good I feel, and I’m getting the best sleep in the world”. I asked Jenny to continue on with the diet and supplements but I also put her on the bowel detox in my thyroid book.

Two months after that I gave Jenny another blood test. Her c-reactive protein and insulin levels were now in the normal range and her liver enzymes were no longer elevated. Her TSH was now 2.1, which is ideal; however her thyroid antibodies were still slightly raised. This is common; it usually takes several months for these antibodies to return to normal. At that stage Jenny had lost a total of 32 pounds. I plan to see Jenny again in 3 months.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.