The Holistic Journal
Health questions, research, and practical ideas for everyday life.
Metabolic Health
High morning blood sugar after an overnight fast is often the dawn phenomenon: a normal pre-wake surge of cortisol and growth hormone that tells your liver to release glucose, not proof that you ate wrong the night before.
Thyroid Disorders
Iodine is the raw material thyroid hormone is built from, but in Hashimoto's more is not better: both too little and too much can worsen thyroid function, which is why the research keeps finding a U-shaped curve.
Thyroid Disorders
Persistent cold intolerance is a direct readout of low metabolic heat production, which thyroid hormone (especially active T3) sets and fuels.
Gut Health and Microbiome
Many symptoms blamed on 'too much acid' — bloating, reflux, fullness — can actually come from too little stomach acid (hypochlorhydria).
Gut Health and Microbiome
Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria; postbiotics are the inanimate compounds and components those bacteria produce—they're different things, not marketing synonyms.
Thyroid Disorders
The thyroid and gut operate as one feedback loop—immune signaling, T4-to-T3 conversion, and nutrient absorption all run through the gut.
Thyroid Disorders
Subclinical hypothyroidism means an elevated TSH with a still-normal free T4 — your pituitary is working overtime before thyroid hormone falls out of range, so 'subclinical' does not mean symptom-free.
Gut Health and Microbiome
Bloating is rarely just 'too much gas' — it's the interplay of gas production, gut motility, and visceral (nerve) sensitivity, and the right fix depends on which mechanism is driving yours.
Gut Health and Microbiome
SIBO is a location problem: bacteria that belong in the large intestine overgrow in the small intestine and ferment your food before you can absorb it, driving bloating, gas, and pain.
Sleep and Circadian Rhythm
Trouble staying asleep (sleep-maintenance insomnia) is a different problem than trouble falling asleep, and rarely responds to the same fixes like melatonin.
Thyroid Disorders
High reverse T3 is a signal, not a disease — it reflects your body deliberately braking metabolism by routing T4 into an inactive mirror-image hormone instead of active T3.
Sleep and Circadian Rhythm
Glycine works by helping your core body temperature drop at night — the natural trigger for sleep onset — rather than sedating you.
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