Your Thyroid asked for this…
I can’t believe this happened again.
Just last week, another client of mine who has been struggling with PMS symptoms and weight loss sent over her thyroid results, which revealed an underlying thyroid imbalance.
But this was the real kicker…
Her doctor said absolutely nothing to her about it!
They were completely dismissed because her thyroid values fell within the clinical diagnostic lab ranges despite the fact that her symptoms correlate with a thyroid problem.
And don’t even get me started with typical reference ranges – they don’t reflect optimal healthy ranges. For example, the standard reference range on this client’s lab results for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) was 0.5 to 5.33. The optimal range is 0.5 to 2, and her result was 5.16 (pretty close to the high end of the standard range!). Quite a difference right?
According to the American Thyroid Association, “more than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime. An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease and up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition.”
Those are some alarming numbers. You could be sitting here reading this right now and not even realize you could be a part of those statistics.
It’s Thyroid Awareness Month; so it’s time to check in and see if your Thyroid has been sending an SOS, asking you to pay attention to this important information.
Just about every client I’ve worked with has either been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, has a family history of it, or suspects that they have one.
Whether you ask Dr. Google or an Endocrinologist about why you might be feeling tired all the time, struggling with weight loss, losing your hair, feeling cold when others don’t, or have menstrual irregularities, chances are the information you get will point to a thyroid condition.
These are the three most commonly overlooked and diagnosed thyroid conditions:
Hyperthyroid – common symptoms can include; weight loss, anxiety, intolerance to heat, hair loss, excessive urination, and panic attacks.
Hypothyroid – common symptoms can include; weight gain, fatigue, intolerance to cold, constipation, depression, and thinning hair.
Hashimotos – this is a more severe case of hypothyroidism with similar symptoms; a genetic component making it an actual autoimmune disease, meaning the body is attacking its own thyroid gland.
However, in most cases, thyroid conditions are a symptom of something else.
The body does not work in singular systems where organs are all minding their own business. Each system of the body greatly impacts how all of the others are able to function.
To understand what’s happening with the thyroid, we have to start asking “WHY?”
Why is this thyroid epidemic happening? Why are people’s thyroids all of a sudden “just not working”? – as most of my clients are told.
We need to start looking at our body as the complex system that it is. Remember that song in preschool… ”the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone is connected to the leg bone, la la la la…” – everything is connected!
Like I said earlier, in most cases, thyroid conditions are a symptom of something else because it’s all connected.
If you have been diagnosed, know someone who has, or suspect that you have a thyroid condition, here are the Top 4 Things Throwing Your Thyroid Off.
#1 – Low-Calorie Diet
Calorie restrictions, for as little as a few days, can drop thyroid production by 38 percent! That’s just over a “few” days; imagine if you’ve been dieting for weeks, months, or years, even if it’s been on and off. Even if you lost some weight from calorie restriction, the long-term side effects are a slower metabolism from a famished thyroid.
#2- Clogged Liver
Your liver is responsible for converting a huge chunk of your thyroid hormone. If your liver is clogged from chronic exposure to toxins, medication use, processed foods, and other things, then of course you wouldn’t be converting thyroid hormones as you should and this could look like a thyroid condition.
#3- Adrenal or Cortisol Dysfunction
The HPA-axis (Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Adrenal Gland Axis) is one of the main control centers of the body – consider this the conductor of the train or orchestra. The Hypothalamus links the nervous and endocrine system via the Pituitary gland, and your thyroid is part of the endocrine system. If you have Adrenal or Cortisol Dysfunction going on, guess what? There’s a domino effect causing an imbalance in the thyroid. This type of dysfunction occurs with prolonged periods of stress and inflammation in the body, which most of us have experienced until we know what to do otherwise.
#4- Amino Acid Deficiency
For the body to produce thyroid hormones, particularly one called free T4, it needs an adequate supply of amino acids obtained from proteins. If you are not eating enough protein or absorbing it optimally, then your body is NOT getting enough amino acids to create thyroid hormones in the first place. With Hashimoto’s, it is critical to support digestion and to consume plenty of protein for free T4-it will help manage the disease better. Alternatively, those without Hashimoto’s but with impaired digestion or lacking amino acids in their diet could be showing low free T4 counts and be misdiagnosed with a thyroid condition.
There are high chances that one of these four things pertains to you in some way. It’s rare to see someone who has never dieted, has optimal digestion and protein intake, who doesn’t have a clogged liver, or who has minimal stress and inflammation in their lifetime, making adrenal or cortisol dysfunction irrelevant.
I want to help you avoid becoming part of this thyroid epidemic!
I’ve written a TON of blogs about thyroid health and thyroid-related health issues to give you all the resources, tools, and pieces of the puzzle you need to support and heal your thyroid naturally.
Check out some of my most popular and insightful blogs about your thyroid so you can prevent or potentially reverse any thyroid issues you might encounter….
Think You Have A Thyroid Problem? Read this
I dive into details about how having a sluggish liver can greatly impact your thyroid function and what you can do to promote optimal thyroid hormone conversion!
What If It’s Not A Thyroid Problem
This blog explores other factors impacting thyroid function that make it look like you have a thyroid problem when it’s really not your main issue.
3 Steps To Support & Heal Your Thyroid
In this 3-part blog series, I share with you the major steps I took (also the steps I guide my clients through) to support and heal the thyroid naturally.
My mission is to support busy, health-minded people like you in getting your hands on the right lab tests and resources so you can have a super healthy thyroid, or so you can simply get back to feeling like yourself again.
If you want to explore the missing pieces of your health puzzle on a deeper level so you can actually fix what is wrong and feel your best, then click here to get on my waiting list for an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me (and get an awesome list of practitioner referrals if you want to take action now)!
