Has Thyroid Disease Become More Common?

Hey, it's J.J. here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating, and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order. Hey, JJ here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair. Every style, every home that's W a y F A I R.com the holidays.

Are Almost here, but there's still time to score great gifts at Dick's Sporting Goods. Find everyone's must have gifts from Nike, FP Movement, Adidas, and more. Need your gifts fast? Stop by your local Dick's or shop Dick's.com for fast shipping, curbside pickup or same day delivery. Every holiday starts at Dick's.

Has Thyroid Disease Become More Common? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times bestselling author, celebrity nutrition expert, and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. You welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Josephine from Facebook asks, has thyroid disease become more common? Hey, it's JJ and today I've got my longtime friend Dr. Alan Christensen, also known as Dr. C, with me to answer this question. He's a board certified naturopathic endocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author from Minnesota.

Who fell in love with his awesome.

Wife Kieran at first sight and they decided to get married on their first date. And that was over 24 years ago. In his spare time, he's a big athlete, including, wait for it, Mountain Unicycling. Yes, really. Now be sure to check out his latest book, the Thyroid Reset Diet. We'll be right back with the answer. Stay with us.

Hey, J.J. virgin here. Okay, real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me, travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things, and suddenly it's like, wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. If you it's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface. On your laptop or on your phone, Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now, I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware. This season, Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of your reset could be a real goal this time. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year. @monarch.com with the code Virgin, the holidays.

Are all about family. But at the Chrysler Wrap up the Year sales event, it's all about you. Enjoy every mile in the most awarded minivan in America, the Chrysler Pacifica. With the most standard safety features in its class, available stow n go seating and the available stow and back built in vacuum. Make the most of the holidays with a great deal at the Chrysler Pacifica Wrap up the Year sales event based on Ward's small van segment. Based upon the latest available competitor information, Chrysler is a registered trademark of FCA US llc.

It seems like we hear more about thyroid disease. Is it more common than it used to be? I'm Dr. Alan Christensen and yes, thyroid disease is on the rise. Here's some things we know so far. So thyroid cancer, this is one that people don't think about as much, but I think they should. You know, it turns out that amongst women in North America, thyroid cancer is the fastest increasing type of cancer that there is. It's not the most common, but it's the one that we're seeing more of, more new cases than of any other type by far. In fact, the data has shown that in the last three decades, the rates of thyroid cancer have gone up more than threefold. There was some debate at first as to whether or not this meant really new cases or better early detection. And the consensus now is that, no, this really means we are seeing more new cases. Now, the other thing on the rise is autoimmune disease in general. We'll talk about more types of thyroid disease, but they are autoimmune in nature. They're diseases that come about when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks parts of your own system. And autoimmune disease, we've seen that both genders, they've been on the increase, but especially for women. And this has been picking up since the 1970s. So this is true for autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto's and Graves. It's also true for other autoimmune diseases like lupus or scleroderma or rheumatoid arthritis. And there's been some thoughts about why that is not really a clear consensus. But it seems that the more infections that we're exposed to early in life, the less likely that we are to develop autoimmune disease. So since the 70s, people get fewer infections as children than they did before. And by and large, that's a Good thing. But there may be ways by which the immune system misses out on training or misses out on ways to understand what is harmful and what is not. And then we think too about specific Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and we do have good data that that has been on the uptick as well. And that's been quite significant. What we see there manifests in terms of thyroid treatment. So treatment for thyroid disease, one of the more trackable types is the prescription of thyroid medication. A paper that came out in late 2020 showed that the use of prescription thyroid medicine has climbed greatly. They looked at the timeframe between 1997 to 2016, and over that timeframe, the expenses nationally in the United States for thyroid medications went up over threefold. And in terms of individual people on treatment, that more than doubled. So more than twice as many people are on thyroid treatment and as were even just a few decades ago. And the last way we think about this becomes matter of public awareness. So people's perception about thyroid disease, their thought about the relevance of it, you know, if we look back to prior decades, words like Hashimoto's were pretty obscure. I remember when I first started practicing, even in medical school, I hadn't heard the term before. You know, it was a brand new thing. I remember patients were just floored when I would entertain that word or put it out there. And now it seems it's really part of the medical vocabulary for those who are trying to manage their symptoms, trying to take care of their health. There's also been more books about thyroid disease that have had more attention and more popularity than ever in the past, and also a lot more visibility amongst social media pages, social media groups. People think a lot more about this and they understand that unexplained symptoms can be caused by it. And then those that have it understand that it can persist and cause issues even well past them being on treatment. And one other point about just public awareness. A survey of functional medicine practices estimated that over 60% of patients who seek out functional medicine care have already been diagnosed with thyroid disease. So the question becomes, are there more people like that who seek functional medicine, or there's more diagnosis or some combination thereof. But in any case, it's inescapable that there's much more awareness of it. So, yes, thyroid disease, autoimmune thyroid disease, purely functional, non autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto's and subclinical, and then also structural thyroid disease are on the uptick. And the final version of this is one called subacute thyroiditis. This is a type of thyroid disease that comes on after one has an acute viral illness and it's always been known to occur and to be a seasonal phenomenon, especially like in the cold and flu season. But there's been a lot of data saying that it's one of the more common complications after COVID infection. So post Covid, many have a acute version of thyroiditis. So thyroid disease is on the rise. And stay tuned. I've got several more discussions about why this is happening and some things that you can do about it.

This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com foreign.

Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next reading. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change, or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.