Jump to the FULL Episode Show Notes here:https://innatopiler.com/podcasts/163-effective-strategies-to-manage-inflammation-and-reduce-hashimotos-symptomsThe Case: Nancy has Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism and suffers from frequent flare-ups.She’s experiencing fatigue, anxiety, jitters and is in constant pain. She also finds that she can’t lose weight and often has brain fog. Controlling Common Symptoms of Hashimoto’s While these are common symptoms of Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism, Nancy was eager to better manage her condition. When I met Nancy in my Hashimoto’s program, I knew that inflammation was the driver and to get to the bottom of her thyroid mystery, I knew just who to share Nancy’s case with as he’s often called the “Sherlock Holmes for chronic disease”. Dr. Tom O’Bryan is an expert in food sensitivities, environmental toxins, and the development of autoimmune diseases. He’s on the faculty at the Institute for Functional Medicine and the National University of Health Sciences. He’s also the author of You Can Fix Your Brain and The Autoimmune Fix. I’m looking forward to his new docuseries, The Inflammation Equation, being released widely on March 20th. He joins me on the show to explore Nancy’s case and right away, we discuss what is at the root of many autoimmune diseases (including Hashimoto’s): inflammation.Inflammation: Our Body's DoubleEdged SwordInflammation isn't inherently bad. Dr. O’Bryan explains that it’s actually our immune system's way of protecting us from invaders like germs. Imagine your immune system as a highly trained army ready to fight off any threat. Inflammation is how it sends in the troops to battle an infection. And while this is a necessary acute response, if it keeps happening and inflammation becomes a chronic state, the inflammation can stop being helpful. Dr. O’Bryan reminds us that chronic, low-grade inflammation is linked to most chronic diseases, including Hashimoto's as well as diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.  With Hashimoto’s, the inflammation causes the immune system to attack the thyroid. What Triggers Chronic Inflammation?Many things can trigger inflammation but Dr. O'Bryan mentions some incredibly pervasive and somewhat surprising culprits:Microplastics and nanoplastics: These tiny plastic particles are increasingly found in our environment, even in bottled water! Our bodies see them as invaders so the immune system launches an attack. Unfortunately, these attacks can damage healthy tissues like the thyroid.This is where things get interesting for Hashimoto's patients.Our confused immune system, constantly battling these microscopic plastics, starts mistaking healthy thyroid cells for invaders. It creates antibodies that attack the thyroid, leading to the symptoms we experience with Hashimoto's.Why We Need to Address Inflammation, Not Just the ThyroidSo, we've established that inflammation is the real culprit behind Hashimoto's, not a malfunctioning thyroid itself. Dr. O'Bryan uses a powerful analogy to explain this.  Imagine your body as a chain, constantly regenerating with new links (cells) replacing the old and damaged ones. Your immune system normally creates antibodies to remove these old cells, making way for the new.Here's where things go wrong with Hashimoto's:Microplastics and other environmental toxins act like invaders, triggering the immune system to attack.These attacks also damage healthy thyroid cells, causing the immune system to create antibodies against the thyroid itself.As you continue to consume these toxins (like bottled water with nanoplastics), the cycle perpetuates. More damaged thyroid cells, more antibodies, and a progressively weaker thyroid.This is why focusing solely on fixing the thyroid misses the mark. Dr. O'Bryan emphasizes that we need to address the root cause: the inflammation causing the immune system to attack the thyroid. It's like trying to fix a broken chain by replacing a single link when the real problem is the