A functional approach to a healthy gut

I initially started this journey to lose some weight or at least maintain my weight, but it has evolved into a closer look at healthy eating and my lifestyle as a whole.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism over 20 years ago.  I remember the doctor questioning me about radiation exposure or other factors that could contribute to this autoimmune disease, but I hadn't a clue.  I have been on the same dose of Synthroid for all these years and even though the annual tests show it's an adequate dose, I'm learning more about the long term effects of the disease, as well as possible causes.  Some of those causes might be ddt (from living in a lake area that sprayed for mosquitoes while we ran after the fogger), mercury filled dental fillings, pcb's and a lengthy use of birth control pills.

So, this journey of eliminating foods that might be stressors, cleaning out stomach bacteria (h pylori) while fortifying my gut with some recommended products are all related to the detoxification of my system and fortification of my liver, which hopefully will improve the thyroid disease.  It's all complicated but it's all related and terms like "leaky gut syndrome", "dysbiosis" and "functional medicine" are becoming more familiar.  And why am I going this route rather than the conventional approach (which is a couple antibiotics plus beta-blockers)?  I just don't want to destroy my good flora to get rid of the bacteria so I'm choosing a gentler approach.  I feel it's worth the time and expense to give it a try.

One thing we are doing is making and cooking with bone broth.  Here's a really great site that explains much more about it: http://www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php.
We will either cook a whole chicken in the crockpot without liquid, strip it of meat then fill the crockpot with the carcass and water and let it cook for 24-48 hours, or buy grass-fed beef joint bones and let them simmer in water for 48 hours.  I had some soup made with lamb bones but it was really too strong a lamb flavor for me.

Francie Killian is the metabolic therapist who has been advising me: http://www.franciekillian.net.  I first learned about her through a Register Guard article about metabolism a few years ago.