The Thyroid Blog

Radio Program Highlights Thyroid Disease

Patient advocate and writer Mary Shomon was the guest of radio host Deborah Doc Watson, talking about thyroid disease, natural and conventional approaches to diagnosis and treatment, and more.

You can listen for free online now in this podcast of the radio show.

Fifteen Million Americans are Eligible for Free or Low-cost Health Coverage But Have Not Signed Up Yet

You could be eligible for government health insurance and not even know it.

"Many don't know there are programs like Healthy Families, for example, where a family of four can earn up to $60,000 and still qualify their children for comprehensive  health care," said Philip Lebherz of The Foundation for Health Coverage Education (FHCE), a nonprofit organization that works to reduce the numbers of uninsured.

Studies indicate that as many as a third of an estimated 45 million uninsured Americans are eligible for government-sponsored health insurance programs and don't know about them. FHCE has a number of programs to help.

Study Finds High Arsenic Levels in Herbal Kelp Supplements

A study of herbal kelp supplements led by University of California/Davis public health expert Marc Schenker concludes that its medicinal use may cause inadvertent arsenic poisoning and health dangers for consumers, especially when overused. Schenker and two researchers evaluated nine over-the-counter herbal kelp products and found higher than acceptable arsenic levels in eight of them.

Kelp supplements are frequently used by thyroid patients as a source of iodine, and as a nutritional supplement that is supposed to help thyroid function.