Your Thyroid hormones are powerful and important to how our body works. Not just for metabolism but for the health of our hair skin and nails, digestive function, temperature, heart rate, cholesterol management, energy and fertility.
T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine) are the main hormones produced by the Thyroid
There are several symptoms associated with an imbalance of the Thyroid gland. You can have under-active Thyroid and overactive Thyroid :
- Hypothyroid (under-active): can result in weight gain, fatigue, feeling cold, dry skin, decreased memory and concentration, hair loss, swelling around neck, bands around neck (2 lines running across your neck like a like wrinkles above and below the thyroid) sluggish bowels, bloating, high LDL cholesterol and various period issues.
- Hyperthyroid (over-active): can result in symptoms such as weight loss, rapid heart rate, being too hot – sweating, feeling nervous or edgy, panic attacks, insomnia, low appetite, brittle nails, loose bowels and irregular periods.
It’s estimated that up to 10% of people in the US have subclinical hypothyroidism. In Australia the statistics are questionable. In fact I believe based on my clinical experience and talking to other Thyroid specialist in Australia, the number could be as high as 60% of women.
Why? Well because largely women are not being tested or tested thoroughly. Also many general doctors and health practitioners do not have a deep understanding of how the Thyroid works nor how to interpret pathology. That’s if the right level of pathology has been ordered in first place.
Statistically speaking that means you have a pretty high chance of having this issue even if you have tested “normal” for thyroid lab tests.
Because subclinical hypothyroidism represents a treatable condition on the hypothyroid spectrum it’s critical to accurately diagnose and treat this condition early.
And, before you make any assumptions about whether this is true for you or not, I want to let you know that sometimes these can be missed by your doctor or health practitioner. You may have asked for this to be investigated and pathology return normal. You have then determined that this is just life.
Don’t settle for being happy with this. Your results show that you suffer from a number of symptoms all pointing towards Thyroid and other hormones and life is too short to put up with something that disrupts your life. Pathology requires a specialist to pick apart and put together the puzzle. Everyone is individual and lab reference ranges are not set for ideal hormone levels.
Another reason why you should not settle with feeling this way is that, in some countries under-active Thyroid is actually autoimmune in nature, in fact up to 70-90% (depending on which studies you look at) implicate autoimmune thyroiditis like Hashimoto’s as the primary cause of hypothyroidism.
HOW ARE THYROID HORMONES MADE?
The function of the thyroid gland is to take iodine, found in many sea plant and sea animal foods, and convert it into thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body which can absorb iodine. These cells combine iodine and the amino acid tyrosine to make T3 and T4. T3 and T4 are then released into the blood stream and are transported throughout the body where they control metabolism (conversion of oxygen and calories to energy).
Every cell in the body depends upon thyroid hormones for regulation of their metabolism. The normal thyroid gland produces about 80% T4 and about 20% T3, however, T3 possesses about four times the hormone “strength” as T4.
The thyroid gland is under the control of the pituitary gland, a small gland the size of a peanut at the base of the brain. When the level of thyroid hormones (T3 & T4) drops too low, the pituitary gland produces Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) which stimulates the thyroid gland to produce more hormones. Under the influence of TSH, the thyroid will manufacture and secrete T3 and T4 thereby raising their blood levels.
The pituitary senses this and responds by decreasing its TSH production. Like a supply and demand model.
Thyroid hormones are like shoes. When the amount of shoes being manufactured is correct, the Pituitary gland (manufacturing company production manager) turns the manufacturing belt off. As the orders come through for more shoes, the Pituitary gland senses this and needs to turns back on the manufacturing plant (TSH increases) and the shoes get made (thyroid hormones).
The pituitary gland itself is regulated by another gland, known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is part of the brain and produces TSH Releasing Hormone (TRH) which tells the pituitary gland to stimulate the thyroid gland (release TSH). One might imagine the hypothalamus as the person who owns the show company since it tells the pituitary gland the company targets.
HOW TO TEST?
Getting a complete thyroid hormone blood test is critical to understanding and evaluating your thyroid function.
Complete thyroid testing includes so much more than the traditional TSH (which can be inaccurate in certain medical conditions). This is largely what the doctors will order to assess the health of your Thyroid and those who may be on Thyroid medication. But this is wrong – TSH is not the best way to assess Thyroid health and this has been published in The British Medical Journal 326:311-2.
Without the right thyroid tests you won’t understand if your body is converting thyroid hormone appropriately or if your cells are taking up enough thyroid hormone. You also will not know whether stress has resulted in your active Thyroid hormone T3, being blocked for uptake into the cells by Reverse T3 (see below for more information on this). Another common mis-diagnosis as mentioned in earlier email is Thyroid auto-immune : Hashimoto’s and Grave’s disease. the prevalence of this is increasing
dramatically and in my experience doctors and health practitioner are not testing regularly enough for this.
Without these detailed functions tests, it’s like driving a car with a blindfold, hands and feet tired in water. Sure, the car is moving, but how well is it moving and is the car reaching its destination.
If you want to find out what is wrong, you need to get these tests performed and assessed by a someone specialising in Thyroid.
I have specialised in this area since I was diagnosed Hypothyroid back in 2012. Since then I have dedicated myself to testing correctly and natural treatments.
Ideal Thyroid investigation looks like this:
- TSH
- FT4
- FT3
- RT3
- Thyroid antibodies – TPO, TgAbs, TRABs
- Iron studies
- Vit D – 25 OHD
- Lipid Studies
- Fasting Insulin
- AM Cortisol
- 24 hr Iodine – I usually only do this one if Thyroid issues have been identified.
This entire list isn’t necessary each and every time you get your blood drawn, but this should always be drawn to completely and entirely evaluate your thyroid function. Results are to be assessed for their proximity to the ideal ranges and NOT the lab reference ranges in some circumstances. This is the difference between someone specialising in looking for healthy functioning hormones and just glancing at lab references.
Taking this list to your doctor and demanding them to order these tests may not be helpful for the following reasons:
- If you have to ask for these tests there is a high probability that your current provider may not know how to treat you appropriately
- Thyroid hormone replacement is nuanced and may require a combination of T4 + T3 for optimal results, this is contrary to the standard of care which is to provide patients with T4 only thyroid medication
- Many physicians are set in their ways and unwilling to change their practice style regardless of data
Instead a better option may be to find someone local to you who is experienced in dealing with thyroid issues and can help you further.
Inner Alchemy has it’s own private pathology and also accounts with all the major labs in Australia – so if you need this done correctly, contact me here.
TSH – Tells us whether the body is accurately assessing the bodies levels of Thyroid hormone and stimulating when low and stopping to stimulate when high. This is not an accurate measurement solely for the health of your Thyroid. Levels should be between .5 and 2.0 mIU/L.
FT4 -Tells us how much hormone is being made from essential nutrients, largely Iodine. T4 is not used by the body, it’s converted to an active form called T3 to be taken up into the cell. Ideal levels should be 16 pmol.
FT3 – Is our main active Thyroid hormone. This is what we need ample amount of. This tells us how much T4 is being converted via the liver into T3 and is available to uptake into cells. Ideal levels should be 6 pmol.
RT3 -This is our ‘hot water off direction’ under stress. When our body is in fight flight mode, the default for the body is survival mode. So instead of making T3, it makes RT3 instead. RT3 then plugs the cell and prevents T3 from being absorbed, effectively shutting off your Thyroid cellular function. This test is not medicare rebated and is not used by many doctors. In my clinical experience this is why so many people are mis-diagnosed. RT3 is commonly very high as we are all under stressors in our life, whether it be emotional, physical, environmental, dietary, medications and inflammation per say. Ideal levels should be below 200 pmol.
Thyroid Antibodies- These indicate wether there is an immune response occurring that has damaged the Thyroid Gland, preventing proper function of the Thyroid. Antibodies should be below the lab reference ranges.
Other tests:
I always combine the Thyroid panels with other nutrients and hormone pathology because poor Thyroid function interrupts a host of functions in the body.
Iron: Ferritin is commonly low in Thyroid disease because the Thyroid assists the liver in producing digestive enzymes. Iron is difficult to breakdown from our foods and without good digestive enzymes we lose ability to absorb this key mineral.
Vit D: Commonly low in most people, Vitamin D deficiency is also specifically associated with autoimmune thyroid disease , and has been shown to benefit autoimmune mediated thyroid dysfunction. Vitamin D has another little-known role. It regulates insulin secretion and sensitivity and balances blood sugar.
Insulin: When you’re hypothyroid, your cells aren’t very sensitive to glucose. So although you may have normal levels of glucose in your blood, you’ll have the symptoms of hypoglycemia (fatigue, headache, hunger, irritability, etc.). And since your cells aren’t getting the glucose they need, your adrenals will release cortisol to increase the amount of glucose available to them. This causes a chronic stress response, as I described above, that suppresses thyroid function via release of RT3.
Cortisol: One of the hormones released by the adrenals during the stress response. Prolonged cortisol elevations, caused by chronic stress, decrease the liver’s ability to clear excess estrogen’s from the blood. This results in poor conversion of T4 to T3, resulting in low thyroid function.
Iodine: The main ingredient in your Thyroid hormone. Found in sea plants and sea animals. Largely deficient in most Thyroid patients and western diets. Extremely important in the restoration of the thyroid function and programs I use. A 24 hr loading test is the most accurate to tell us how much iodine is being used and excreted.
HOW CAN YOU FIX THYROID?
Firstly, Thyroid is complex so it really needs a wholistic and at times integrative approach. Thats means do as much naturally as you can but don’t discount supporting medically with the right medication. I will get into that later.
Nutrient deficiency
Key nutrients in the manufacture of Thyroid hormone are: Iron, Iodine, Tyrosine, Zinc, Selenium, B Vitamins, Vit C, Vitamin D. Other important minerals such as Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium assist in the health of your adrenals which can be a driver for poor Thyroid health.
Eating a diet rich in these nutrients is essential. Eating organic can ensure the quality of the nutrients is not impeded by heavy chemicals. Supporting the health of your digestive system is just as important, as this can impact your bodies ability to absorb these.
Improve LIVER detoxification
All hormones must be detoxified by the Liver and bowel. An important part of this process is your B vitamins, selenium and glycine. Alcohol consumption, exposure to heavy metals, chemicals in our food and environment and personal skin care all compromise the livers ability to detoxify. Your intestinal bacteria assists estrogen’s to be eliminated however many people have poor microbiomes after excessive use of antibiotics, poor diets and excessive stress.
Your body converts a large portion of your T4 into T3 in the liver. Poor liver function will result in the poor conversion and underactive Thyroid.
Manage Stress
Stressors can come from in many areas; Poor Diet, Not eating enough food, Over exercising, emotional stress, Immune stress – Infections and Inflammation, Toxicity.
We forget how much stress we put on our bodies each and every day through what we eat and how we love our lives, to what environment we subject our bodies to. The physiological impact of stressors on our Thyroid function is exhaustive and damaging. Stressors impacts other hormones in the body which also have an impact on Thyroid function. It’s vital all areas of your life are assessed for stress and their impact on your health.
Herbs are a great way to assist in adapting the bodies response to stress. Called adaptogens, they increase our ability to cope and help nourish and calm the adrenals system, such as:
- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
- Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea L.)
- Siberian Ginseng (recommended to take any Ginsengs in the daytime rather than evening to prevent bedtime insomnia)
- Korean Ginseng
- North American Ginseng
- Astragalus
- Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)
- Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
- Holy Basil (patients use this to lower high cortisol alone)
- Licorice root is also considered an adaptogen, but it can have an aldosterone-like effect and cause high blood pressure in some due to sodium retention.
Our Chakra Balancing range has Herbal tea’s and Essential Oils designed to help the Thyroid chakra.
- Immune_T: Echinacea, Lemon Myrtle, Astragalus, Siberian Ginseng
- Arjava Body Oil and Body Lotion: Jasmine, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Neroli
REMOVE INFLAMMATORY FOODS
Most common food allergies and sensitivities are to gluten and dairy. A1 casein is a protein found in cow’s milk. Both of these can cause Leaky Gut Syndrome and increase inflammation in the thyroid gland and ultimately effect its function
Dairy also reduces estrogen receptor sensitivity. Hypersensitivity can lead to heavy periods, excess estrogen, endometriosis, PMS, period pain, migraines, anxiety, insomnia, acne and weight gain. Not to mention under-active Thyroid.
Gluten and A1 casein (dairy protein) both disrupt immune function and stimulate the release of inflammatory cytokines. It’s an effective treatment for all inflammatory diseases in general to remove these form persons diets.
Too much soy, because it can impede the uptake of Thyroid hormones into the cells and it is anti-estrogen and can block ovulation in some women.
Eggs are controversial. Some say to eat and some say not to. From a clinical perspective I say remove them. One of the highest Arachidonic Acid foods – those that cause inflammation in people with autoimmune diseases – are egg yolks. 70 mg per yolk. Egg yolks are also Omega 6’s, which we tend to have too much of in our systems. Maybe you don’t eat egg yolks every day, but they are ingredients in many pre-packaged foods so count up over time. Egg Yolks are very commonly shown up in peoples food
intolerance testing oblivious to many. Eggs can also fed viruses, a common theory behind the Thyroid auto-immune area.
Coffee puts your adrenal foot to the metal, increasing adrenalin and sky rocketing cortisol. We know how damaging this can be to the Thyroid hormones. Plus not to mention it’s impact on your digestive system AND Liver.
Increase vital nutrients for hormones.
Iodine is critical for healthy Thyroid function, however it also affects ovulation and estrogen. Iodine is largely deficient in the Australian diet and deficiencies can lead to fibrocystic breasts, breast cysts, pain, ovarian cysts, irregular periods, uterine fibroids, Thyroid nodules and goiter. Fluoride in our water and toothpaste prevent iodine absorption into the thyroid cells, so finding a Fluoride free water filter and switching your toothpaste to fluoride free is vital to your thyroid health.
Zinc assists the liver to convert T4 into T3. It also reduces prostaglandins and improves blood circulation to the uterus. Zinc is a key anti-inflammatory nutrient and has been demonstrated to be deficient in many women. Zinc repairs intestinal permeability (thereby improving autoimmunity) and reduces prostaglandins and pain. Zinc helps clear skin and prevent hormonal acne.
Magnesium is effective for both prevention and acute care of period pain. Magnesium works together with B6 to manufacture progesterone. Magnesium also calms the nervous system.
Selenium is critical for conversion of T4 to T3 in the liver. Studies show that selenium protects against goiter and iodine is proving to protect against a heavy thyroid. Selenium deficiency leads to the exacerbation of Graves, Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s and other thyroid disorders.
Vit D. The researchers found that people who were deficient in vitamin D were much more likely to have positive Thyroid antibodies. Vitamin D needs to be present at sufficient levels in the cell in order for the thyroid hormone to actually affect that cell. Contrary to belief, sitting around in the sun will not restore drastically reduced vitamin D levels.
My advice is to not muck around throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks.
Thyroid is complex but it can be helped naturally with the right support team.
If this interests you, head over to our Metabolic Alchemy coaching where we address all the underlaying issues with the Thyroid and prevent this from impacting your metabolism for good.
