Shasta Tierra-Tayam is a popular natural medicine practitioner who is a licensed primary health care provider. Shasta uses Acupuncture, Clinical Herbology, Nutrition and Acupressure for the treatment of a broad range of common ailments. Having grown up surrounded by the healing arts, Shasta had the rare opportunity to study under the tutelage of her father, Dr. Michael Tierra O.M.D. L.Ac. author of many books including the best selling book, The Way of Herbs. With over ten years as a health care provider, Shasta specializes and teaches on hypothyroidism, women's health care, pain management and whole body and facial rejuvenation.
Shasta has lectured and practiced Chinese Medicine at the Center for Integrative Medicine at O'Connor Hospital, as well as taught at the American School of Herbalism. Her unique approach incorporates a total health program aimed at achieving whole life enrichment. Here, Shasta shares her insights and perspective on thyroid disease and herbal medicine.
TCM doesn't have just one cause for the breakdown of the body's functions, but many different factors ranging from lifestyle, nutrition, exercise, emotions, genetics and the environment. As you can see from above symptoms that the lack of thyroid hormone causes pathogenesis in every organ system in the TCM medicine model, and this is why I say it is similar to what TCM calls the "essence".
TCM doesn't have just one cause for the breakdown of the body's functions, but many different factors ranging from lifestyle, nutrition, exercise, emotions, genetics and the environment. As you can see from above symptoms that the lack of thyroid hormone causes pathogenesis in every organ system in the TCM medicine model, and this is why I say it is similar to what TCM calls the "essence".
Essence is what TCM calls pre ancestral qi (what our parents genetically gave us). When we're born we have the opportunity to preserve our essence by eating good "food qi" (healthy, unprocessed, organic, seasonal, body temperature and for appropriate for our particular constitution and blood type) and breath in good "air qi" (proper exercise, unbound breathable clothing, chemical free perfumes and cosmetics, clean air, etc.). Our "essence" mixed with "food qi" and "air qi" combine together to give us our "defensive qi" or immunity. If there is a breakdown in any of these factors either deficient "essence" (genetic problem), poor nutrition and/or inadequate oxygen, then we will see a breakdown in the immune system - autoimmune problems. In this fast paced, very "yang" society you can see where many breakdowns in the above theory happen and can see it is as individual a reason for the autoimmune problem as the person. Why are we seeing more autoimmune thyroid disease here in the United States?
