Episodes

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview Niki Gratrix in a discussion about adverse childhood experiences, overcoming trauma, PTSD, EMDR, somatic experiencing, relational trauma, anxiety, depression, emotional freedom technique, ADHD, chronic fatigue, and psychedelics. Niki speaks with great passion about her work which is why I wanted to interview her. Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome everyone to the Dr. Hedberg show, this is Dr. Hedberg. I'm very excited today to have Niki Gratrix on the...

In this post, I'll cover everything you need to know about ferritin and hypothyroidism. The ferritin test is a simple blood test, and it is one of the most important tests you should have if you have Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, and hypothyroidism. Ferritin is a storage form of iron, and the ferritin level test can tell you if your iron stores are low and need to be increased. The ferritin test is rarely ordered by conventional doctors, so many patients are left with the signs and sympt...

One of the main priorities in my practice is to stay on top of the latest cutting-edge research in Hashimoto’s disease and thyroid disorders. My latest round of research reviews involved six clinical studies that examined inositol and selenium and how they conferred major benefits in those with Hashimoto’s disease and subclinical hypothyroidism. The highlights of each study are summarized in a table at the end of this article for ease of reference. What are Inositol and Selenium? Before we get s...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show I interview Dr. Carrie Jones of Precision Analytical on hormone balancing and testing. We cover a lot of detail about reproductive and adrenal hormones including testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, DHEA and more. Dr. Jones explains the causes of elevated and decreased hormone levels and some strategies on balancing these issues. We also discuss the best way to test hormones including the DUTCH test which is my favorite hormone test offered by P...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview Sara Lewis in a discussion about the health benefits of yoga. If you struggle with pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, insomnia, gut issues, or have adverse childhood experiences, this is one episode you should really listen to. Sara spent 25 years providing program management expertise to international public health projects in South America, Eastern Europe, Africa and South Asia. The work included directing, managing and planning projects in...

Can Genistein Help Heal Hashimoto’s Disease and Hypothyroidism? In the fall of 2016, a study was conducted in China and published in the medical journal Immunobiology. The researchers looked at the compound genistein and Hashimoto's disease to see if it affected thyroid function in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The research paper was entitled, “Genistein improves thyroid function in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients through regulating Th1 cytokines.” To clarify, “Th1 cytokines” refer to ...

Is There a Connection Between Vitamin D and Hashimoto's Disease? Does Vitamin D Supplementation Help Heal Hashimoto's Disease? Vitamin D has long been established in literature as a highly essential nutrient with benefit to the musculoskeletal system and bone density. It also functions in the body as an immunomodulator, facilitating normal immune system function and improving resistance against certain diseases. Given this background, one has to wonder if a deficiency in vitamin D would be preva...

We have never had any good studies looking at how food allergies, or more specifically food intolerances, affect Hashimoto’s disease. A recent paper, however, did show that people following a gluten-free diet can help heal Hashimoto’s disease. In this article, Dr. Hedberg answers the question if food intolerances affect Hashimoto's disease? I was excited to find a new paper just published last month that looked specifically at food intolerances and Hashimoto’s disease. The paper was published in...

If you’re reading this then you’ve probably taken the ACE Survey. If you even just scored a 1 on the ACE Survey then this article is definitely for you. The higher your ACE score the more likely you are to have health problems as an adult due to what you went through as a child. Additionally, if you feel like you’ve been doing everything right with your diet, exercise, sleep, managing stress levels etc. but you just can’t get well, then you probably haven’t addressed your ACE’s. This article wil...

Recently I have been researching the fascinating field of childhood trauma and uncovered an interesting link between adverse childhood experiences and Hashimoto’s disease. One of the studies I discovered came out of a large, important public health study, The ACE Study, but it focused specifically on cumulative childhood stress and autoimmune disease in adults. What are adverse childhood experiences? Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are experiences that expose individuals under the age of...

A fair number of the patients I see are already eating a healthy diet but they’re still not feeling well. Once we delve deep into their history and their lives, it becomes very clear that stress is at the bedrock of their illness. It’s extremely frustrating to be eating well all the time but still experiencing symptoms. We know that stress shuts down digestion including suppression of stomach acid, bile flow, and pancreatic function. All of these are necessary for healthy digestion but if we’re ...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview Dr. Michael Ruscio and we discuss non-celiac gluten sensitivity, prebiotics, probiotics, the microbiome, SIBO, FODMAPs and much more. You can read the transcript below. Michael Ruscio is a doctor, clinical researcher and best-selling author whose practical ideas on healing chronic illness have made him an influential voice in functional and alternative medicine. His work has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals and he speaks at int...

I was pleasantly surprised to learn about some recent research on the positive effects of black cumin seed oil and Hashimoto’s disease. I’m always searching for compounds that can help my patients with Hashimoto’s disease and black cumin seed oil looks like a real winner. In this article I break down two promising studies on black cumin seed oil and how it can help autoimmune thyroiditis. What is Black Cumin Seed? Black cumin seed is also known as Nigella sativa which is a medicinal plant and th...

Hashimoto’s disease can have many triggers including iodine, low birth weight, pregnancy, smoking, mercury, drugs, stress, leaky gut, environmental toxins, and of course infections. This article will focus on the connection between infections and Hashimoto’s disease. The infection connection and Hashimoto’s disease is something I have been investigating since 2005 when I first learned about the connection between Yersinia enterocolitica and Hashimoto’s disease. Since then, I’ve been researching ...

Aloe vera is one of the oldest medicinal plants we know of that was used by the ancient Egyptians who called it “the plant of immortality.” And 200 years ago Greek scientists considered Aloe vera a “universal panacea.” Aloe vera is technically named Aloe barbadensis and you most likely have heard of using Aloe topically for burns or internally for soothing an inflamed gut. I’ve used Aloe vera over the years as one of the compounds in a gut-healing supplement I use for leaky gut, inflammatory bow...

The ketogenic diet is currently sweeping the internet and the diet book world as the best thing since sliced bread for everything under the sun. Unfortunately, you can’t eat bread on the ketogenic diet and it really can be difficult to follow for some people. Since I work with many patients who have Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, I wanted to investigate whether the ketogenic diet can cause hypothyroidism or decrease thyroid function. Let’s jump into the research and see what it has to s...

Did you know that the thyroid gland has the highest concentration of selenium compared to any organ in your body? Selenium is a powerful and essential trace mineral actually first discovered by the Swedish chemist Berzelius in 1817. Selenium mainly acts as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and it is involved in the production and activation of thyroid hormone. Selenium protects the thyroid from oxidative damage but a deficiency can lead to an increase in the weight of your thyroid which can be ...

One of the most common questions I get is, “What are optimal Hashimoto’s thyroiditis antibody levels?” For years, many patients and clinicians have been chasing thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (TG) antibody levels in an attempt to get them as low as possible or even undectable as a measure of success. This can leave many people frustrated and stressed about their condition. Some individuals feel that these levels should become undetectable in order to consider the condition in co...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview Gary Stapleton of Aerodiagnostics Laboratory answering the question, "What is the best SIBO test?" We covered a lot of ground about the ins and outs of SIBO breath testing including the best methodology, glucose vs. lactulose, how to properly perform the test, proper test interpretation, hydrogen sulfide, when to retest and much more. Gary is the founder of Aerodiagnostics Laboratory which I personally use in my practice and highly recommend t...

Sometimes very simple tests provide a significant amount of valuable information when it comes to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. One simple blood test is the red blood cell distribution width or RDW test which is included in the complete blood count (CBC). A recent study found that patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis have higher levels of RDW. What is RDW? RDW is basically a measure of the variability in size of your red blood cells. The greater the variability in size, the higher the RDW test resul...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interviewed Dr. David Brady about the new GI-MAP stool test by Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory. We discussed many topics including autoimmune disease, stool testing, stealth infections, gut infections, the gut microbiome and much more. This is the stool test I use in my practice to identify bacterial dysbiosis, viruses, parasites, yeast, and overall digestive health. Nikolas: Well, welcome everyone. This is Dr. Hedberg. And welcome to The Dr. Hedberg Sh...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview DUTCH test founder Mark Newman. We covered a lot of detailed information about hormone testing and why the DUTCH test is superior in many ways to other forms of hormone testing. Here is a transcript of my interview with Mark Newman on the DUTCH Test Dr. Hedberg: Okay, well, welcome, everyone. This is Dr. Hedberg and welcome to "The Dr. Hedberg Show." I'm excited today to have Mark Newman on the show, and Mark is the founder of Precision Analyt...

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interviewed writer and thyroid advocate Rachel Hill of The Invisible Hypothyroidism. We discussed Hashimoto's disease, hypothyroidism, and many connections to these illnesses. Rachel suffers from thyroid issues herself so we can learn a lot from her about her personal experiences. I urge everyone to listen or read and connect with her through her website and social media which I have linked to at the end of the transcript. Here is a transcript of the re...

Approximately 90 million Americans now suffer from some type of sleep disturbance. Rejuvenating sleep is an extremely important and fundamental part of feeling great and healthy. Unfortunately, too many of us are plagued with insomnia and miss out on sleep's wonderful healing properties. You'll become more inflamed and more insulin resistant simply by getting 6 hours of sleep or less. Your immune system will also suffer significantly if you don't get enough sleep making you more prone to colds a...