Dr. Anshul Gupta 0:00  
Most people with Hashimoto's disease have between two or three root causes playing a role together to cause the disease. So if you want to get better, if you want to reverse it, then we have to work on all of those root causes so that we can get. 

Claudia von Boeselager 0:15  
Welcome to another episode of The Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host Claudia von Boeselager, here to uncover the groundbreaking strategies, tools, and practices from the world's pioneering experts to help you live at your best and reach your highest potential. If you want to get top tips, insights, and strategies for optimizing your life, health, and longevity, grab my weekly newsletter by going to LLInsider.com.

My guest today is Dr. Anshul Gupta. Dr. Gupta is a best-selling author, speaker, researcher, and world expert on Hashimoto's disease and how to reverse it. Dr. Anshul Gupta is a board-certified family medicine physician with advanced certification in functional medicine, peptide therapy, and also fellowship trained in integrative medicine. He has worked at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Department of functional medicine along with Dr. Mark Hyman; he has helped 1000s of patients to reverse their health issues by using the concepts of Functional Medicine. Dr. Gupta has appeared as a guest on several media outlets, including the Dr. Nandi show, Newsmax TV, the mind-body radio; his expertise has also been featured in various publications such as Reader's Digest Woman's World and Yahoo Lifestyle. Welcome to the longevity lifestyle, podcast, and show. It's such a pleasure to have you on today.

Dr. Anshul Gupta 1:37  
Absolutely. Claudia, thank you so much for having me on the show. I think you're doing an amazing job of educating and sharing cutting-edge technology on how people can keep healthy. So I'm kind of really a pleasure being here.

Claudia von Boeselager 1:53  
Thank you so much. So I'd love to kick off with if you can explain, for those unfamiliar, what is Hashimoto's disease and how does it affect the thyroid gland?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 2:04  
Absolutely. So Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune condition of the thyroid gland. In this situation, what is happening is that the body starts producing these antibodies, and these antibodies start destroying the thyroid gland in a very slow fashion. And this process is kind of going in the background, sometimes for weeks, months, two years. And a lot of people do not have symptoms in the initial phases until the thyroid gland is destroyed to the point where it is not able to produce enough thyroid hormone. And most people get diagnosed with low thyroid or hypothyroidism. And they get started with the medication to replenish the thyroid. But in reality, the underlying problem is these antibodies, which are destroying the thyroid gland. And that's what Hashimoto's disease is,

Claudia von Boeselager 2:54  
How common is Hashimoto's disease, and who is most at risk for developing it?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 2:59  
So, in fact, Hashimoto's disease is the most common autoimmune disease world over. So millions and millions of people are being affected by it. And it is actually underdiagnosed because most people actually when they go to their regular doctor and get diagnosed with a low thyroid condition, don't even get blood work to check for Hashimoto's disease. So that's the unfortunate part of the second piece of it is that you know, like, these tests are available each and every lab all around the world. So these are not very specialized labs that people have to do, and the same blood work that is collected to check the thyroid levels through a TSH, the same blood work can be used to check for Hashimoto's disease. Also, the second part of the question is who's at more risk. So the people who are most at risk are middle-aged females between 30 years of age to 65 years of age, which is the most common of females being affected. But what you're seeing actually is that increase in the incidence of younger females and males, like in their teenage years, being diagnosed with Hashimoto's as well as older males also are being diagnosed with this condition. Now, why is that happening? The problem is Hashimoto's is that, you know, we have a very limited amount of research on why Hashimoto's happens. The only thing at this point in time we know is that Hashimoto's is an interplay between your genes and the environment around you. Now the environment around us can be defined by the food that we eat, the environment can be the stress that we go through the environment can be the toxins that we get exposed to, or the infections our body gets exposed to. So this is all environment that we are dealing with. And in the recent past, like let's say in the last two decades, our current environment has completely changed. We have more and more chemicals being poured into our environment, and more toxins are being released. Our food habits have changed drastically. Our food has changed drastically. So I think those are all major reasons that, you know, more and more people are being affected by it, along with females also. Definitely, their incidence is increased. But I think, you know, children and males, because of these environmental conditions, we are seeing an increase in the incidence.

Claudia von Boeselager 5:15  
Is there a reason why females are more affected than males in general?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 5:19  
Again, you know, we don't have great research studies supporting it. But the theory behind is that, you know, females have a little bit more complex hormonal system, you know, yeah, this endocrine system, you know, which has several hormones associated. And the title, they just want hormones. But females have much more complex systems with estrogen-progesterone. And they go through these cycles. You know, every month, you know, every female is going through these cycles, but they go through these major cycles in their life when they get pregnant, or when they hit menopause, or when they start their periods. So these are major places that we see that a lot of females do get diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease. Because whenever there is a big shift happening in our body, our body takes some time to get adjusted to it. And if our body's already weak, then you know there is a high chance of having an autoimmune condition, and that's where Hashimoto C's hub.

Claudia von Boeselager 6:13  
So can you talk about some of the common symptoms of Hashimoto's disease and how they can impact a person's quality of life?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 6:21  
Absolutely. So, unfortunately, Hashimoto's disease literally affects each and every organ of our body. So the most common symptoms are people feeling tired or fatigued, you know, that is a very common symptom, then the second most common symptom is that people have trouble losing weight, they gain this weight, and they're not able to lose it, or they continue to gain weight. The third one is mood changes, sometimes they will feel anxious, sometimes they will feel depressed, or they will alternate between low mood or stress or anxiety. Then brain fog is another major symptom that we are seeing very recently. Now brain fog is actually a term that everybody defines differently. So brain fog is a collection of symptoms where you know, people might feel their brain is not functioning to the optimal capacity, they are forgetting things, they are not able to pay attention to things, and they are not able to concentrate on things. They just feel that mentally they are not present all the time. Then gut-related symptoms like constipation, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, are again very common Associations. Infertility in females is also on the rise, and again, Hashimoto's disease plays a very important role in menstrual irregularity that they are, you know, like menstrual periods are very irregular or painful. PCOS is another issue that a lot of females feel cold all the time. So literally, as I said, from head to toe, each and every organ system gets affected by Hashimoto's disease, and anybody can have all of these symptoms.

Claudia von Boeselager 7:52  
So let's look at diagnosis. Maybe there are some people listening in are saying, okay, tick, tick the box tick the box like, oh, this sounds a little bit familiar. How is Hashimoto's disease typically diagnosed? You talked a little bit about testing before, and then it's more easily done than maybe many think, and what tests should patients request from their healthcare provider to actually specifically test for it? Before we move

Dr. Anshul Gupta 8:16  
on to the complete diagnosis you Matos, I want to kind of understand a little bit how thyroid hormone is being produced in the body. So people have an idea of what tests to get and what is happening. So basically, it all starts in our brain, you know, in our brain, we have this master endocrine core gland called the pituitary. The pituitary secretes this hormone called TSH, which is the thyroid-stimulating hormone. This hormone travels from the pituitary and goes to the thyroid gland, which is located in our neck and asked the thyroid gland to produce the thyroid hormone, the thyroid, the thyroid gland produces the thyroid hormone called T foo. This is a major thyroid hormone being produced, but this is an inactive form of thyroid hormone. This T four go into circulation all over the body, but before the cells can utilize thyroid hormone, it needs to be converted to the active form of thyroid hormone called teeth. So this is the whole cascade of things. Now, when people go to their regular job, the only blood test they are getting is a TSH. TSH is not even a thyroid hormone. It is actually a pituitary hormone, a signaling hormone that is being secreted. So when people are getting TSH, we often miss the diagnosis of thyroid disorders. So first of all, people should ask for a complete thyroid profile that includes the TSH plus T four T three, especially the free T four and three T three because those are the levels that determine how much the body is getting. So that's the first thyroid panel. The second thing is checking for Hashimoto's disease. So as I explained, Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune condition. So we can check antibody levels in that. So there are two antibodies, first of all, is p p O, which is the thyroid peroxidase antibody At least, that's the first test people should ask for. And the second one is thyroglobulin antibodies. If any of these antibodies are higher than the reference range of that particular lab, that is diagnostic of Hashimoto's disease, a lot of people will say that, well, you need to get an ultrasound, we need to get a biopsy, all of those things can be done, but is not required. If antibodies are present, that means you do have a Hashimoto condition going on. What are the

Claudia von Boeselager 10:29  
optimal ranges, and now also looking from a functional medicine perspective, what are optimal ranges of T three, T four, and three T three levels that we want to be seeing.

Dr. Anshul Gupta 10:41  
So the problem is that, you know, because we're talking to the audience world over, you know, like. Unfortunately, the labs check these things at different levels. Yeah, even the measurement units change from country to country. And then plus, you know, like, because the labs, you know, calibrate their machines in a different fashion, so that the range also can change. So that's the reason I'm a little bit hesitant in giving the, like, the lab values because then people might know how to interpret it. But the easiest way to look at that, you know, there is always a range, most commonly the range of TSH has been given as let's say, from one to four or five. So I will say at least try to be in the middle of that range. Okay, that's what you want for the TSH for your free T three and three T, for you at least want to be on the upper 75th percentile of the range or whatever is given. That's a very loose way of telling people, but I think that's the best way people can actually look at the ranges and see if that idea is functioning at the optimal level.

Claudia von Boeselager 11:44  
And if they are sub-optimal, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm talking about the T three, and if free T three and free T four. If it's sub-optimal, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's Hashimoto's. But it just means that that needs correcting, and then they should test for the antibody on top. Is that correct? That is

Dr. Anshul Gupta 12:00  
correct. Yes. So just the thyroid levels don't tell people that they have Hashimoto's disease, to check for Hashimoto Z, they certainly need to order the antibody levels. But in reality, the number one cause of hypothyroidism currently is Hashimoto's disease. More than 70% of people who have low thyroid condition currently world over have Hashimoto's is six. So if you do have a thyroid condition, most likely you do have a Hashimoto's condition to

Claudia von Boeselager 12:30  
wow, so a lot of people, I mean, I know a lot of people, my mother included, who have low thyroid, and I need to check with my father, my mother has actually ever been tested for Ashley motors. So it's really, I think, so helpful to be sharing your information today. Let's talk about treatments. How does an integrative medicine approach differ from perhaps a conventional medicine when it comes to treating Hashimoto's disease?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 12:58  
First of all, the reason conventional doctors, you know, again, I'm also a conventional doctor right before I'm an integrative medicine doctor. So I'm not saying anything bad about anybody, but the training of the conventional doctors is that if you do have Hashimoto's disease, they cannot do anything. The only treatment available with conventional doctors is that once your thyroid is destroyed to the point it cannot produce enough thyroid hormone, they are going to give you the medicine called levothyroxine. And, you know, which is basically thyroid hormone to put a bandaid on your thyroid so that your body can get enough thyroid upon conventional medicine doesn't have medicine, they cannot do anything to lower the antibodies to lower the inflammation or to safeguard the thyroid gland from being destroyed. So that's the unfortunate story. And that's where I started researching is that, you know, is there a possibility of reducing these antibodies, safeguarding the thyroid gland, so that we don't have to go on medications, or if we are on medications, can we regenerate the thyroid gland? So through my extensive research, that's what I found that there are ways that we can apply or we can do things so that we can actually safeguard the thyroid gland, you know, like reduce the antibody levels, as well as improve the quality of life for people. Because again, research suggests that more than 60% of people with Hashimoto's disease, even though they are taking the treatment, and their lab values, which is the TSH is normal, still continue to suffer from symptoms. That's a lot of people, you know, like more than 60 people. So those are the people that can benefit from an integrative medicine approach. First of all, they will get their quality of life back. And second of all, they can, you know, Safeguard data.

Claudia von Boeselager 14:44  
So how does that look like what is a typical protocol, obviously, everybody's different, but maybe you can share a little bit about the details of what you look at for an integrative approach.

Dr. Anshul Gupta 14:54  
The integrative approach is actually looking at the root cause kind of approach. So you know, as I explained to you, Hashimoto's is an interplay between your genes and your environment, you know, we cannot change the genes, right? But that's not the end of the story. If you change your environment, you can control your disease. So that's what our focus is on the environment. So identified five major root causes that play a role in Hashimoto's seeds. So first, we need to identify what root causes are playing a role in those people. And then make a stepwise plan to address all of those root causes. Obviously, like, you know, because we are integrative medicine or any integrative medicine practice, they focus on lifestyle changes. First, you know, like how you eat, what kind of best diet is for Arcimoto. It's how you process stress, what kind of exercising is good, sleeping, better techniques, and then taking certain natural supplements that can, again, support your body in those processes. So those are definitely the cornerstone of things. But beyond that, we also need to identify the root causes of Hashimoto's disease for that individual and then address those odds.

Claudia von Boeselager 15:59  
What are some of the typical environmental factors? Could it be like exposure to mold? Does that affect it? Does there toxins in the body, maybe heavy metals? Are those some of the drivers that could potentially be causing the autoimmune disease?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 16:13  
Absolutely. So five major, you know, like, let me kind of share these five major categories of root causes which are causing Hashimoto. So first of all, what you mentioned, toxins, yes, toxins are the biggest driver. Each and every person who has Hashimoto's disease have some kind of toxins, either it is heavy metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, or aluminum, or it is environmental toxins, which can be either the glycosides that are being sprayed or whirled around in our food. Either it can be other insecticides, or it can be chemicals in our household things that we're using are the chemicals that have been put into our environment. Or it can be the mold toxins, which actually, you know, like are present all around us in our buildings, in our workplaces, in the hotels, and all those places. So toxins, definitely, I feel that each and every of my client definitely have some kind of toxins playing around. So that's a very big factor. The second factor is food sensitivity. Now, we all know food is medicine, but the wrong foods can actually lead to autoimmune conditions. And we have a fair amount of research now that a lot of people are developing food sensitivities that are leading to autoimmune conditions. The third factor is stress. You know, our world today has been going through a lot of stress, you know, whether it was a pandemic or anything else going on. And this stress is not only mental stress, this stress includes mental stress, physical stress, emotional stress, spiritual stress, and any kind of stress our body gets exposed to. This again leads to kind of Hashimoto's disease. The next one is nutritional deficiencies. Our thyroid glands need lots of different vitamins and minerals to produce thyroid calm. And most people are low in these vitamins and minerals because our food itself is low. So there was a recent study done, which compared the current food from 2020 to the 1980s. And what they saw was the same food and the same vitamins and minerals were lower in proportion in the current food as compared to 20 years ago. So even though we are eating healthy foods, you know, because our food itself is low in these vitamins and minerals, we do get low, especially the thyroid vitamins like selenium, zinc, and magnesium. Our food is very low on them. And the last one is infections. First of all, there is a viral infection like Epstein Barr Virus, several research studies have already shown that people know reactivation of Epstein Barr Virus can lead to Hashimoto's disease, which is also known as infectious mononucleosis in different places. We have several other parasites which have been associated, you know, with Hashimoto's disease, then we saw there are some other infections mainly based in the US time code of Lyme disease and Bartonella and BCL which have been associated with Hashimoto's disease. So again, these chronic infections can also lead to that. So these are the five major categories of root causes, which are playing a role in Hashimoto's Oct. Now, the other thing is that most people are looking at that one root cause. And that's the old thinking, right? That you know, okay, we have just one thing that we need to address, and everything will be fine. Most people with Hashimoto's C have between two or three root causes playing a role together to cause the disease. So if you want to get better, if you want to reverse it, then we have to work on all of those root causes so that we can get better

Claudia von Boeselager 19:40  
and how long does it take to work on the root causes for example, so say someone came in and they had two or three root causes, is it a step-by-step approach? Do you try to tackle it all at once? How does that work?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 19:53  
Yeah, so we cannot tackle all at once because this is too much for the body, you know, like you know, so we have to make a stepwise approach So what we typically do is that you know, we get when we meet our clients for the very first time, we do a very comprehensive, detailed look at what is going on with their body. And mind if these root causes are just not right now, these might be ongoing since childhood, right? So our body, like how we have heard about it, keeps account, right? So these root causes might be there with the body for a very long time. So that's the reason sometimes people miss it because they forgot these things. But we go all the way to childhood too, you know, like their adulthood, and identify what major root causes are playing a role. And what are the minor root causes? So the major root causes are addressed first, and then the minor ones are addressed after. So it takes between four to six months, you know, like I feel, for people to actually start working on these root causes. And then I think between this time, depending on what the severity of the disease is, they can address all of these root causes in this timeframe,

Claudia von Boeselager 20:55  
which is a phenomenon instead of medication for years and years and years, that is still, you know, not making major changes, you said 70% of people were still suffering from symptoms as well. So that's pretty amazing. Are there any potential side effects or risks associated with this approach?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 21:14  
So the only side effect or any potential risk is when people actually listen to podcasts, listen to me talking anywhere, or listen, to anybody talking on in the internet and doing things on their own, right? They buy, they go to the grocery store, buy a bunch of supplements start taking, that tells people these are not candies, right? If we can cure or if we can reverse a particular disease with them. They certainly, if not taken properly, can be harmful. So I'm gonna give you an example of this lady who I'm actually working with currently, a 62-year-old lady who came to see me four months ago, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, four years ago, you know, she was going to the regular doctor, but obviously, they were she was put on medications. Every year the medicine dosage was increased. But she was not feeling good. You know, she was having this terrible tiredness or fatigue that she had to take a nap during the day just to function. She was having brain fog. And she was actually running a business before her to forget things not able to remember her clients, not able to remember a transaction that was scary. Somebody told her well, you know, I heard this person, you know, online who said that mold is a basic problem with all these Hashimoto's diseases, and you should do a detox. So she listened to the podcast. And then, obviously, she bought a bunch of supplements and started taking them within one month, or the sick situation actually got worse. She was not able to kind of remember anything at all. She actually went to a neurologist, she was diagnosed with dementia. You know, within that one-month timeframe, she was totally scared, she stopped all the supplements. She said, Well, supplements make things worse for me. So that's where she said, Okay, well, let me actually look for somebody else who can help me out. So she came to see us. So then that's when we do a thorough, thorough evaluation. So certainly, mold was playing a role, but the protocols she was doing were totally harming her body. Because detoxification is a three-step process, you know, first of all, we can have these toxins hiding in your system. So we need to get these toxins out of our system, then we also have to use certain things to remove these toxins safely from our bodies. And also, these toxins do damage to your body. So we have to simultaneously use antioxidants and other things so that the damage can be repaired. So all these three processes have to be done together, she was only doing the first step, not doing the earth. And that's the reason those toxins, which were stored in our body, all came out suddenly and actually started damaging the liver and her brain. And that's the reason she did. So the good part was that there was no permanent damage. So we were able to actually work with her and reverse the damage, you know, which she did on our own by taking those supplements. And then plus we improve her Hashimoto's disease, improved her brain fog and tiredness. And after four or four months of working with us, she's actually back to her normal work, she's able to remember all transactions, he said, You know, I have enough energy actually do all my work. So the approach works, but that's where I caution people is that you know, just, you know, like, be careful of what you're doing. Just do not use things blindly. Because each and everything can have interactions and things. So it's always best to work with a practitioner who understands what is happening with you because everybody has a personalized approach, right? You know, because there are genetic changes, and some supplements might be best for you, and some might not.

Claudia von Boeselager 24:34  
In terms of finding a practitioner, my audience is listening in from around the world. How does one select a practitioner who is more open to, if you will, alternative ways of looking at it, looking at the root cause what would be some advice you would have on selecting a practitioner more familiar with this way of thinking?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 24:54  
So we have a couple of different ways, you know, like so first of all, you know, like if you are located in the United States, then you know, you can Then go to the website called Institute of functional medicine. And they have actually certified practitioners with them. So obviously, they do a great job in educating their practitioners on the integrative medicine and functional medicine base. So that's the first way of looking at it. If you're located anywhere else in the world, again, the Institute of functional medicine educates practitioners all around the world. So you might be able to find one in your country for that. But let's say that is not the case You may be calling the practitioner and asking them what their approach is. Do they include lifestyle changes? Do they understand the root cause approach, or do they have the health, you know, Hashimoto's people reverse that situation? Those are the questions that people can ask. And they will get an idea whether, you know, those practitioners are good or not. Several people actually are providing online consultations for people around the world. So again, you know, they can find those practitioners, you know, have an integrative or a functional medicine approach. And they're providing, you know, consultations all around the world. So maybe you can get help through that also.

Claudia von Boeselager 26:01  
And that's really helpful. A question on the results. So we talked before about, you know, how quickly we're seeing patients have results, which is phenomenal, but does it last? Or do they need to reassess? Or how does that continuity of recovery, if you will, that process, how long does that last?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 26:19  
The last thing also things depends, right? You know, because we spoke about all these environmental causes, right? majority of our clients, the best thing is that you know, like we educate them, of what is best for everybody. Obviously, when they work with us, for these four to six months, we are a little bit more like, you know, doing an in-depth protocol for them. But when we, when they're exiting from our protocol, we understand their body by the time, so we tell them, Okay, well, these are the four or five things which are really bad for your body, so you need to kind of stay away from them. And these are the few supplements that might be useful for you, so you can continue taking them. So if people follow those things, maybe 60 or 70% of the time, then the relapse doesn't happen, their antibodies actually continue to get better, and their thyroid levels continue to better. And obviously, they feel possible. Now, sometimes, obviously, life is like, right, you know, like, let's say you go through very stressful situations, right? And people might fall that, you know, their relapses happen. But the best part is that your body is stronger. So and now you know, what you can do to kind of, you know, go over that, like, flare-up that you're having. So people, you know, will work with us, you know, like, quickly can implement the same protocol again, and again, get out of the situation very quickly. So that's the thing. So that's what I say, people is that, you cannot expect that suddenly, you do a protocol for four to six months, and you can just start doing the like the same thing that you were doing before eating processed food, eating fast food, fried foods, you know, like you're abusing your body again, then your body's going to break down again, nobody can do anything about. But in moderation. If you keep your body in good health, then the relapse Jenny doesn't.

Claudia von Boeselager 28:02  
In terms of supplements, which you touched on before. And obviously, people need to tread with a lot of caution. One is on the detox ones. But you said that typically, it's low levels of selenium, and zinc, and I had forgotten the third one you mentioned, are there certain supplements for people who maybe are doing the more conventional routes at the moment of taking medication but low on supplementation? What would you say? Would you say it's good to supplement and just support the thyroid gland? Or is it better to first find a functional medicine practitioner and then get to the root cause and go from there?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 28:37  
I think a few things people can always do. Like obviously, like because functional medicine doctors like me are very difficult to find. And it might be challenging for people all over the world to work with them. Sometimes, you know, it can be really expensive to write. So I think starting with lifestyle is always the best, you know, working on your diet, right? That everybody can do that today, working on stress management techniques, like, you know, deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, right? Making an exercise routine for yourself, whether it's walking, jogging, running, or optimizing your sleeves, more than 80% of people rolled over do not get good quality sleep at least once a month. Again, that research proves that, right? So we need to optimize sleep right because that is needed for body repairs. So that's the base everybody can do today and should be doing. Beyond that, there are certain supplements that certain people can use. One of them is vitamin D. Right? I think everybody is using it, but definitely, Vitamin D has good research that it supports thyroid health. You know, again, very simple tests world over people can get to check their vitamin D levels, and if your levels are in the lower normal range or low, then people definitely should supplement with vitamin D. That is one supplement easily can you people can use the second one as you suggested, you know, like was selenium. Again selenium is a great supplement that supports your thyroid health. You know, like improves the conversion of T four to p3 as well as reduces inflammation in the thyroid gland. So again, if you do have Hashimoto's disease, there are at least 10 research studies that have shown that it can reduce the antibodies. So people can supplement around 100 micrograms of selenium, which is kind of a safer site to do, we do see selenium toxicity. But again, it is rare to see that if people are taking too much of selenium only, that happens around 100 micrograms, so the dosage is pretty safe the world over generally we have seen. The second one is saying, again, zinc is needed for conversion of your inactive thyroid hormone for T four, two T three, zinc again, big since the COVID. You know, we already know that it is very helpful for our body's immunity. So it can reduce inflammation, and it can help us to fight infection. So zinc is another supplement that can be useful. The third one is omega three supplements, okay? Because again, a lot of people are deficient in omega threes because we're not eating food which is high in omega. And omega threes can definitely reduce inflammation can, improve your brain functioning, and improve your thyroid functioning. So that is another supplement that, you know, people can use the game not much of a side effect with omega threes most of the time. And then comes the magnesium. Again, magnesium is one of those wonder supplements that I think everybody needs it. Magnesium is needed for more than 300 enzymatic processes in our body. So such a crucial mineral. Yes. And again, most of us are low in because, as I explained, our food itself is low in magnesium. And that's the reason. So again, that is another supplement that can be beneficial. Different forms of magnesium are there. So you know, people have got issues, there is a different version of magnesium, like magnesium citrate. Yeah, especially with constipation. If you have issues with sleeping or brain fog and magnesium glycinate can be great. There is magnesium Korean aid, which is very specifically more for brain issues like brain fog, dementia, all that stuff. So I think these are very basic supplements, which I think can definitely help a lot of people always recommend before adding any supplement, you know, as you're following the doctor, make sure you talk to them. So that you know they can recommend that you know, based on what other medical issues you have, is there any interaction?

Claudia von Boeselager 32:19  
Yeah, obviously, word of advice that is very, very important. In terms of prevention, let's say there's someone who has a family history of Hashimoto's are there strategies, you were talking about lifestyle interventions, so I guess it would be to do a lifestyle assessment. But what would be some strategies you would recommend for someone looking to prevent the onset of Hashimoto's?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 32:42  
So I think definitely, I recommend the lifestyle changes and diet definitely will playing very playing a big role and the stress management. So in diet, again, you know, like staying away from processed foods, staying away from fast food and fried food. For most of these people, actually gluten and dairy, again, shows can be detrimental further, we do have some genetic testing that people can do that will show whether they are a little bit more prone to celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. I'm not sure how easily they are available the world over, but at least in the United States, those genetic testing are easily available. But if it is possible for people to do a gluten-free or dairy-free diet, that might be useful for at least reducing the consumption of those foods. And I think your body will function better. And then eat a good diet, which is, you know, like high-end vegetables. All these nonstarchy colorful vegetables. I call this like a rainbow diet, that every day if you're eating between eight to 10 colors in your food, then you're eating the right diet because each and every color has a different antioxidant has a different vitamin, and mineral, which is safeguarding your body, which is also providing you with an overall right amount of vitamins and minerals to support your body to try to kind of achieve that rainbow diet don't shy away from vegetables, certainly, they were very important piece, good quality protein as well as good quality fats. Again, you know, like since the last like 20 years, you know, we have been told all fat is bad. But you know, like there is good fat in this bad fat, certainly bad fat, we need to stay away from that good fat our body needs our brains 70% of our brain is made with fat. So if we don't give our brain that good fat, it doesn't work, right? So again, Know Your Food, what is good for you, and what is not good for you. And then make sure you're, you know, like working on that and stress management, very important key. Everybody doesn't feel, you know, a lot of people who are working in corporate jobs or busy jobs say, well, stress doesn't bother me. I'm not stressed out. Well, I say, well, you might not feel the effects of stress in the typical fashion, but your body's breaking down from the inside. So for that itself, everybody should cultivate a de-stressing routine. And we know, Talk about once a week, or maybe once a month, you know, as you go to a spa or massage or something like that, I feel that should be kind of part of your life, just five minutes, just 10 minutes, that's more than enough to do that. Deep breathing exercises, meditations, you know, like journaling, reading, all of those things are a great way to kind of cut that cortisol response in your body, and again, can safeguard, you know, your thyroid gland. So I think a majority of people, if they do eat these two things, Excel, they will do a very good service, you know, to their thyroid, and can definitely safeguard themselves from getting ocean

Claudia von Boeselager 35:37  
and phenomenal for their overall health as well. Right? In terms of the vegetables, and then obviously the meat and even the fish are you would you highly recommend sort of organic, only selecting organic to avoid the pesticides and the toxins there and wild grass-fed meats and wild caught fish? Are you when is that really, really important? Or what's your view on that?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 36:04  
So my view actually is more of a practical situation. Okay. So again, this was like, you know, an experience that happened with us, you know, when I was working in the clinic. So there was a mom that came to see us, you know, her daughter had Hashimoto's disease. And obviously, I was very early into my functional medicine practice at the time. And I came mom came in and said, Well, everything should be organic. And like all your vegetables, or your fruits, everything you know your daughter should be eating is organic. And as I said, wild-caught fish only and things. She came to see us three months ago, but lab values actually worsened. And the daughter was feeling awful. I was like, What is going on? This has never happened before. And I could not say Are you like, you know, are you taking all the supplements? You know, like, are you doing everything she's doing? Everything else is not making sense? I said, Okay, well, what are you eating? And she started telling me about the target and the activity, they were eating a worse diet than before. Now, like, what happened to all the fruits or vegetables and things? She said, Well, in a local grocery store, we don't get organic, you know, like vegetables, organic foods, all of them. Or, you know, like the wild-caught fish was too expensive for me to afford. So we are just kind of not eating them. And just whenever we get organic, we need them. I was like, Oh my God, I didn't realize it. Okay, well, some people cannot afford it, or these things might not be available everywhere. So that's where, you know, I tell people, yes, eating organic is very important when you can afford it when it is an algorithm. But let's say, you know, eating between a burger, and let's say eating like you know, an order conventional like you know, an apple or like spinach, you know, any other vegetable, I will definitely go with conventional food in that find fresh. So that is very important that first of all, if you do have access to organics, no fruits, vegetables, everything, absolutely go for it. But if you cannot afford it, or if it is not available, then that's okay. You know, you need tools, you know, fruits and vegetables. Same thing with fish, or fish is actually a couple of different problems. You know, a lot of these fatty fish are high in mercury, right? So we have to be very, very careful, like where the fish is coming from. So in that, you know, like, obviously, wild-caught fish is the best. Now in this, the caution is also about the supplements to a lot of people that come to see me when we check the mercury levels, they're very high, they don't eat fish, but I'm gonna inquire about them. They've been taking omega three supplements for years. And their Omega three supplements itself is coming from fish, which is high in mercury. So you see, these things can be hidden all of these places. And you know, like, through our experience, we have identified so many problems over there. So again, whenever you buy these supplements, especially fish oil, make sure you look at the company which you know, like makes or checks them for Mercury at least. And then you know, like the red meat again, yes, you know, like, like grass-fed or red meat is definite. So red meat is definitely one of those things, which I'm very particular about that if you get grass-fed, do and then only eat red meat. Otherwise, don't eat it. Okay? Because we have other protein sources like chicken fish in Turkey, which are really good, okay, so we don't necessarily need them randomly, because the way the red meat is processed, the regular red meat is actually very, very inflammatory to the thyroid conditions unless it is grasped. So that is the only food I tell people you know, like if you don't get grass-fed, just don't eat it. Because that is going to do more harm than good to your body.

Claudia von Boeselager 39:23  
That's really helpful. And you share some of your favorite success stories of some of your patients and clients who've implemented the strategies you've recommended.

Dr. Anshul Gupta 39:34  
So again, a recent client of mine, you know, that came to see me, she's a 37-year-old female, I think, came to see me six months ago, and again, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto, see seven years ago. She was feeling tired a lot before that, you know, and was having mood changes again. She was getting to a local doctor, they were checking TSH, it was absolutely normal. Something is wrong. Something is wrong. We told her no She had just delivered a baby. She said, You're just the mom, you know like you're so stressed out. That's the reason you're feeling this when she said no one unless something is wrong, but obviously, they were not checking if her Hashimoto's just checking the TSH, and as a reason, it was not called. Finally, after like two or three years, her TSH actually became abnormal at the same pingo. Now we found your problem, how can we fix you? So they started on levothyroxine, the medicine, and nothing got better. You know, they keep on increasing the dose of the medicine, and she suddenly started having a side effect. She was feeling jittery, or mood was even making worse, she's developed medicine is making me sick. They said not just in your head. They started her on a site medication for depression, and anxiety, which made even things worse. So she stopped the site medicines. And obviously, she will not find an answer. That's where she found me. Again, like, you know, listening, kind of reading my book and listening to me. So she said, Okay, well, is there a way I can get better? And by this time, life was completely gone, her quality of life was very nil. She said, You know, like, again, my fatigue is very bad that morning, I will wake up, I'll be able to function for an hour. That's it. I'll be done. I'm just lying on my couch the whole day. Because anything I do after that, basically, My whole body hurts. Her brain fog is getting worse, she was having a lot of bloating. As soon as she ate food, literally, she was eating five foods when she came to see me. Because as soon as you eat foods, you feel bloated. So she cut down to only five foods. She was feeling cold all the time, mood changes, obviously, she was very depressed, all those things. So again, we did a complete evaluation for her, we found major issues that you know, obviously, when she delivered her baby, you know, she went through this big stressful time. So stress was playing a major role. She was exposed to more toxins because five years ago, she moved to this new house, which had, like, you know, water leakage. And then they repaired it. But you know, the mold was growing. She had no idea that her gut microbiome was very poor, she something called leaky gut issues. So identified all of those problems, and we started working on them. Within one month, you know, she was started feeling better, that you know, her energy level was getting better like her brain force was improving. And then slowly and slowly, you know, like as we continue to address a gut, or nutritional deficiencies, and lastly, once we address the mole pingo, she turned totally upside down. And she said, Well, I'm feeling so great. My energy is great, you know, I can function for the whole day. She was still not doing exercise. But you know, at least he was able to take care of her house, that was big for her ability to take care of her kids. Again, that was big for she previously was not even able to go to any of the games, you know, like for kids, because she was done. She said I'm going to the kids-in-law games, I'm enjoying my life, and my brain is functioning great. And her antibody levels, which were in the range of seven to 800, came back normal. Just the last visit when we did, you know, like seven to 800? Then her doctor totally flipped out. He said no, no, no, like, you know, this is not normal. This is a lab. And she said no, I'm working on this. He said I've never seen this happening. I want to repeat it. She said I don't want to get by for another bloodwork done. And they said no. But because I want to do it, she should Okay, let's do it. And he did it again. And again, it was negative. So he said, Look, I'm so happy that finally, my antibody levels are back to normal, you know, my MS. Like, you know, all the symptoms are gone, I can enjoy my quality of life. So she was totally satisfied and happy with that. So both quality of life and results got better. It's so

Claudia von Boeselager 43:33  
beautiful. And I think people listening know, from different podcasts, the importance of managing our home hormones. Well, and this is such, I mean, you essentially gave her life back if she was spending her day on the sofa. And she could take part in life again. So if anyone who listening thinks that they might be a candidate, or might have Hashimoto's, then do seek out medical advice and have it tested as well. Until I'd love to ask you a longevity question. So if you could live to 150 years old, with excellent health, how would you spend it?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 44:10  
I'm actually gaining towards more spiritual life these days, you know, we understand that you know, there is a purpose to our lives. So I think if I live even beyond 100, then I'll move towards a more spiritual life very close to nature. So my typical day would look like that, you know, brand new living as you know, in the middle of nature, you still have any forest left in 150 years, middle of the forest, very simple approach, eating out of my own garden, meditating as many times in the day as possible. And again, trying to help people, you know, like that will definitely be a very big part of my life. Because I've gained this knowledge, and I think it is very empowering that, you know, I can make a difference in people's lives. So that will be a big part of my life in whatever Your fashion I can help you

Claudia von Boeselager 45:01  
beautiful what trends and developments in the longevity space in general? What do you find most exciting?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 45:09  
I think there are a lot of trends, like just happening in the last 10 years, I will say, that are the trends I'm very excited about, which I'm also trading to his peptides in stem cells. You know, I think those are like revolutionary peptides. Specifically, we have so many different peptides which have come up, which are making a huge, huge difference, you know, in our health, not only in the prevention of the disease was also the treatment of the disease, but especially actually improving our survival because all these peptides are actually working on different processes on your mitochondria on anti-aging processes and things. So very excited to kind of see more research into this field and how we can utilize it. Stem cells is another thing that you know, I think, you know is very promising, we still do not know where they stand and how we can utilize them in the best fashion. But I think definitely that that will also grow. And that will play a big role in improving our health.

Claudia von Boeselager 46:06  
My listeners are interested in understanding Hashimoto's disease more, what would be some online resources or books you would recommend they start with?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 46:17  
So I do have a book out, it's called Reversing Hashimoto's, which is available the world over on Amazon. The book is written in a very simple, easy language so that people can understand what's going on with them. And it is researched back. So again, what I'm talking about in the book is just not my words, it's actually at least more than 150 articles, research articles, you know, references over there. So I think that will be a good book for people to read, you know, it's like maybe three or four days people can do that. We do have an active blog on our website, as well as a YouTube channel, or handle is uncial Gupta, MD. Again, we share great resources or great videos over there. So again, people can gather a lot of great information on what they can do or what's going on with their bodies so they can kind of improve it.

Claudia von Boeselager 47:06  
And we'll link all of that to the in-the-show notes. Just the website URL. What is it?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 47:12  
It's anshulguptamd.com. Perfect.

Claudia von Boeselager 47:16  
Yeah. And so, do you have any final ask or recommendations or any parting thoughts or messages from my audience?

Dr. Anshul Gupta 47:24  
So I think I just want to share this message that not Hashimoto's are tired people have been told that there is no hope for them to get better. They have to live their life, which is defined by Hashimoto. Whether it is, you know, like taking the medicine, whether it is struggling with weight, whether you're struggling with tiredness or brain fog. And I want to give hope to each and every person. Don't let anybody tell you that you could not get better. If you do the right things. You can get your quality of life back. You can win over this disease. So do not give up. Keep looking for answers, and you can get better.

Claudia von Boeselager 48:03  
Wonderful, thank you so much for coming on today it was such a pleasure to have you.

Dr. Anshul Gupta 48:07  
The Emir, thank you so much for having me on the show.