A number of celebrities have admitted to having hypothyroidism, dispelling the myth among many doctors that you have to be an overweight woman to have the disease.
Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall has Hashimoto’s, and fitness queen Jillian Michaels has admitted to battling thyroid and weight problems. Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker has said she has had hypothyroidism for years, and Nia Vardalos, star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Kelly Osbourne have both pinned weight issues on their thyroid conditions.
Oprah has Hashimoto’s
Of course the most well-known celebrity with hypothyroidism is Oprah Winfrey, who drew fire from the hypothyroidism community for her misguided representation of the disease and how to manage it. Guests brought strategies that included Hawaiian vacations, speaking your mind, bio-identical hormones, and lots of soy. Adding insult to injury, Dr. Phil told viewers hypothyroidism was a lousy excuse for her weight issues.
If Oprah can’t properly manage her Hashimoto’s what chance does the rest of America have?
Bolstered by Dr. Oz she told audiences she “cured” her autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease, while Hashimoto’s sufferers know an autoimmune disease cannot be cured but instead driven into remission.
Sadly this misguided advice further demoralizes millions of women suffering from weight gain, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more due to hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s.
Oprah failed to mention the many links to hypothyroidism that have been established in the scientific literature, such adrenal function, diet, and autoimmune disease.
If Oprah, one of the richest people in the world, can’t be properly informed or managed, where does that leave millions of Americans?
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