Give a Gland Gift This Holiday Season!

Join the Discussion "Anyone have other great gift ideas for thyroid patients?" Mary     Related Resources • The Twelve Ways of Winter: How to Winterize You and Your Thyroid • Thyroid Bookstore • Do Thyroid Patients Need a Flu Shot?  From Other Guides • Online Shopping • Hot Toys for 2000    Elsewhere on the Web • SmartShop

By Mary J. Shomon

If you are looking for some holiday gift ideas for friends and loved ones with thyroid conditions, I've put together some suggestions that are sure to please. (And for you thyroid patients: You may want to print out a copy of this list and leave it where your family and friends are sure to find it! Or, take time out this holiday season to buy yourself a well-deserved present!)

Note: Information on how to purchase these items is featured at the end of the article.

Solved: The Riddle of Illness, by Stephen Langer, M.D., and James Scheer

This new edition of the popular and groundbreaking book talks about the impact of thyroid disease on many other conditions, such as high cholesterol, heart disease, and more, offering nutritional and natural options to help deal with these problems in conjunction with your thyroid treatment. The book has expanded its patient focus greatly from the previous edition, and those of you who have a copy of the older version are missing out on some fantastic new information if you don't also get a copy of this newly published edition.

Health Journeys Guided Imagery Tape for General Wellness, by Belleruth Naparstek

This guided imagery audiotape is absolutely the best I have found out there. With a soothing, wisdom-filled voice, Belleruth guides you through the imagery of self-healing, touching upon several different visual metaphors -- one of which is sure to resonate with you. I personally used this tape while I was having my wisdom teeth pulled using just local anesthesia (instead of general), and listened to it almost the entire night before my c-section to keep me calm and relaxed. I still keep it in the cassette player by my bedside.

"Women's Wisdom Pack" from Sherrill Sellman

Sherrill has recently been interviewed here at the site, talking about her provocative and insightful book, "Hormone Heresy: What Women MUST Know About Their Hormones," and the implications of the hormone/thyroid relationship. Her publisher is offering a holiday special, the "Women's Wisdom Pack," which includes her book, audio tape and Hormone Heresy Compendium which has 6 indepth articles revealing hidden truths about The Pill, tamoxifen, osteoporosis, the myths of menopause, hysterectomies and much more. Sherrill will open your eyes about the hormone situation many women face. For an introduction to Sherrill's ideas, read the interview, which starts at http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa111600a.htm

Medicinal Herbs that Can Impact Health

I've personally fallen in love with some South American medicinal herbs I've been taking, after learning about them from Dr. Viana Muller, an anthropologist and herbalist who harvests South American organic herbs to create medicinal products and teas. The interview with Dr. Muller is featured here at the site and talks about the herb maca, which I've been using to regulate my menstrual cycle and blood sugar -- but may actually help the thyroid -- plus I'm also a big fan of the cat's claw and desmodium teas. To read more about these herbs and how they can help, see my interview with Dr. Muller from September of 2000.

A Diet Guide for The New Year

A great gift is a diet book to help fulfill those New Year's resolutions, and you can't go wrong with one of the books by Larrian Gillespie, M.D. For women, The Goddess Diet offers a sensible approach to weight loss that takes advantage of hormones, and can help even women with thyroid imbalances lose weight. And Dr. Gillespie's new book, The Gladiator Diet is a great gift for the man in your life who wants to enhance his virility, vigor and physique -- not to mention his health! More information is available at http://www.goddessdiet.com and http://www.gladiatordiet.com.

Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by a Patient, by Norman Cousins

If there's only one book you ever read about health for the rest of your days, it should be this one. Yes, this is the guy who "laughed away his life-threatening health condition" but Norman Cousins is so much more than that. He's an eloquent spokesperson for a return to more compassionate medicine, for doctors with faith in their patients, and a true pioneer in the understanding of the relationship between mind and body. You'll never look at your health condition the same after reading this much-beloved book.

Gift Certificates for Spa, Fitness and Mind-Body Services and Classes

Whether it's a certificate for a massage, a Reiki session, a yoga or tai chi class, there's nothing many of us with thyroid disease need more than an hour or two to just pamper ourselves, relax, take a deep breath, and lower our stress levels. Spas, salons, physical therapy practices, yoga centers, health clubs, and other facilities in your area are sure to have gift certificates, trial memberships, and other gift options that would be a welcome break for your favorite thyroid patient after the holidays.

Computer Relaxation

Since so many thyroid patients that visit this site are also spending more than their fair share of time on the computer, an ideal gift is a copy of Laureen Lucero's wonderful CD, "Pause and Stretch." The CD features a variety of short relaxation exercises and yoga stretches you can do while seated at your desk, designed to help cope with the stress of sitting at a computer all day. Keep a copy of this CD in your computer's drive, and any time you feel a bit tense, the carpal tunnel starts acting up, or your shoulder knot starts aching, run one of her wonderful stretch and relaxation exercises, right from your desk chair. I find even after a four or five-minute break, I feel remarkably refreshed. You can test out a little bit of Laureen's CD at her Room to Move site, http://www.roomtomove.com/pause.htm.

Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You. . . That You Need to Know, by Mary Shomon

And then, there's always my book, published by HarperCollins earlier this year, and now in its fifth printing. For anyone who is hypothyroid -- whether due to Hashimoto's, surgery, thyroid cancer, or treatment for Graves'/hyperthyroidism -- the book tackles issues such as finding the right thyroid medicine and the right doctor, alternative treatments for hypothyroidism, and conventional and alternative ways to deal with persistent problems of hypothyroidism such as weight gain and depression. The book also features special chapters on thyroid cancer, fertility/pregnancy and children with hypothyroidism, as well as a Resources appendix featuring practitioners, books, organizations, and other help. The table of contents and a free sample chapter are online at http://www.thyroid-info.com/booktoc.htm.

HOW TO PURCHASE THESE ITEMS

Barnes & Noble sells many of these books and CDs online, and you can click for easy ordering:

• Solved: The Riddle of Illness, by Stephen Langer, M.D., and James Scheer
• Health Journeys Guided Imagery Tape for General Wellness, by Belleruth Naparstek
• The Goddess Diet, by Larrian Gillespie, M.D.
• The Gladiator Diet, by Larrian Gillespie, M.D.
• Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by a Patient, by Norman Cousins
• Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You. . . That You Need to Know, by Mary J.Shomon