Your thyroid – a little butterfly-shaped gland in your neck – is responsible for controlling your energy and metabolism. Thyroid disease affects an estimated 40 million Americans, and nearly 90% of these are women. Studies show that 1 in 8 women can expect to develop hypothyroidism in her lifetime.
It’s not just because hypothyroidism affects primarily women, and so many of us, that it’s a feminist issue. It’s a feminist issue because an exorbitant number of women suffer with this condition for years before getting a proper diagnosis or treatment, are dismissed and made to feel that it’s in their heads, told that it should be less of a problem than they’re making it out to be, or that their symptoms would be in their control if they just changed their lifestyle (or attitude).
In this episode, I discuss how to recognize the symptoms of hypothyroidism, why the medical community is ignoring this epidemic, why hypothyroidism is a feminist issue, and what we can do to change the story.
Show Notes
- What is hypothyroidism and who is at risk
- What is Hashimoto’s disease
- Why physicians don’t believe women’s symptoms
- The risks of untreated thyroid problems
- The gender bias that persists in medicine today
- Why the medical community is ignoring this epidemic
- What we can do to change the story
Links from the Show
- Check out the companion blogpost Why Hypothyroidism is a Feminist Issue
- Read my article on Hypothyroid Testing: What You Need to Know & Ask For
- Get your copy of The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution
Leave a comment