Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness Author: Broda Barnes | Language: English | ISBN:
069001029X | Format: PDF
Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness Description
- Hardcover: 308 pages
- Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (January 1, 1976)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 069001029X
- ISBN-13: 978-0690010299
- Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Despite the fact that Broda Barnes was an M.D., his book Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness is the bible for alternative medicine's view of hypothyroidism. Frankly, I think Dr. Barnes was a pioneer in identifying the many ways thyroid
problems affect us that conventional medicine today doesn't recognize. If you've ever wondered if hypothyroidism is causing certain symptoms, or how it may be affecting you, this book is excellent.
It also describes the controversial -- but still used by some -- Barnes Basal Temperature method of diagnosing hypothyroidism. Amazingly, Dr. Barnes also describes an optimal diet in his 1976 book that is remarkably similar to the popular "Zone" diet which is finding favor with many people with hypothyroidism today, 20 years later.
Dr. Barnes really often seems to be one of the only doctors who truly understand the impact of thyroid disease on overall health and the difficulty medicine seems to have with it. Here's a quote from his book.
"It may seem almost incredible that scientists can sit quietly on earth and follow the activity of the heart of a man walking on the moon and yet they have had so much difficulty in measuring the amount of thyroid hormone necessary for health and in developing effective and reliable tests to determine when thyroid function is inadequate."
Dr. Barnes is also one of the doctors who regularly prescribed Armour Thryoid, the naturally- derived T4/T3 drug, for his
patients instead of the sythetic T4 only preparations (i.e., Synthroid, Levoxyl, generic levo-thyroxine) that are currently
popular. He says in the book: "[Synthetic] thyroxine...
Hypothyroidism the Unsuspected Illness, by Broda Barnes MD, is a medical classic and should be required reading for every medical student and doctor. I have read the book many times. The book contains the condensed wisdom of a lifetime of research and clinical experience with the thyroid, and it rings true today as it did in 1976. Thyroid blood tests come and go, yet human physiology remains the same.
Broda Barnes estimated that up to 40% of the population suffers from a low thyroid condition and would benefit from thyroid medication. Of course, Barnes' opinion differed with that of mainstream medicine of his time which relied dogmatically on thyroid blood tests to make the diagnosis of low thyroid. Barnes felt the blood tests were unreliable and instead used the basal temperature, history and physical examination. This medical debate regarding unreliability of thyroid blood testing continues today.
Being an astute clinician, Dr. Barnes makes a number of observations about the low thyroid condition. Firstly, low thyroid is associated with a reduced immunity to infectious diseases such as TB. Before the advent of modern antibiotics in the 1940's, most low thyroid children succumbed to infectious diseases before reaching adulthood. Secondly, low thyroid is associated with a peculiar form of skin thickening called myxedema which causes a characteristic appearance of the face, puffiness around the eyes, fullness under the chin, loss of outer eyebrows, and hair thinning or hair loss.
A third observation by Dr. Barnes is that low thyroid is associated with menstrual irregularties, miscarriages and infertility. Barnes treated thousands of young women with thyroid which restored cycle regularity and fertility.
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