Are you aware of your thyroid?
January is Thyroid Awareness Month! I wonder, how aware of your thyroid are you?
Do you know how hard your thyroid works for you on a daily basis and what it needs to function at its best? My guess is that you might be somewhat aware of what the thyroid does, but knowing more about this hard working gland could completely change your life and your health.
Your thyroid gland is kind of a big deal. Just look at all the important things it does for you:
- Plays a role in all functions in the body including all organs and systems
- Regulates energy availability, body temperature and hair growth
- Assists with wound healing and recovery from exercise
- Controls the metabolic rate of the of the systems in control of your health
According to the American Thyroid Association an estimated 20 million Americans have some sort of thyroid disorder, up to 60% of those people are unaware of it, and women are 5 to 8 times more likely to develop a thyroid disorder than men.
Some of the most common signs of less than optimal thyroid function include:
- Bouts of constipation
- Dry skin and/or eyes
- Depression and/or anxiety
- Prone to infections
- Fatigue not relieved by sleep
- Hair loss or an increase in facial hair
- Cold all the time when others are not
- Thinning eyebrows, especially the outer 3rd portion
- Unexplained weight gain or inability to lose weight
Chances are, if your doctor has tested your thyroid it was likely tested all wrong.
Unfortunately most conventional or western medicine doctors only test Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (aka TSH) when they are evaluating thyroid function.
What’s wrong about testing TSH? It sounds like the right thing to test, right?
TSH is actually a marker for pituitary gland function, not the thyroid.
Think of the pituitary gland as being the VP of operations, your hypothalamus gland as the CEO, and the thyroid is the director of operations.
The hypothalamus receives information and directs the pituitary on what needs to happen. The pituitary hands down the information to the thyroid via TSH hormone and the thyroid gets to work initiating the operations.
To truly evaluate thyroid function you need to test the actual hormones that the thyroid produces and uses to initiate its operations such as; total T4, total T3, free T4, free T3, and even reverse T3 in some cases.
In this week’s video and blog I dive into more detail about how important your thyroid is and how to make sure it’s running optimally to support your best health.
Knowing that your thyroid is involved in all functions of the body means it is pretty important, right?
Of course! We need this mighty little gland to be working at its best in order for the rest of the body to function at its best!
For your thyroid to carry out the order of operations, as directed by the hypothalamus and pituitary, it needs the right tools (aka nutrients) to do so.
The most critical nutrients for thyroid function include:
- Iodine
- Selenium
- Zinc
- Iron
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- Vitamin D, A and a variety of B’s
- Protein – to specifically get the amino acid tyrosine
In order to get adequate amounts of these nutrients for your thyroid 3 things need to happen:
- You have to eat foods high in good quality nutrients (go organic!)
- Take supplements to support what you can’t get in your food
- Have a healthy gut that allows optimal nutrient absorption
Having a healthy gut is where I see the most missed healing opportunities for a healthy thyroid.
You could be eating the healthiest foods in the world and taking a variety of supplements BUT still be suffering from suboptimal thyroid function. You aren’t getting the most bang for your buck with what you’re putting in your mouth if you have a leaky or unhealthy gut.
Your gut is where all nutrients are absorbed and made available for use in the body.
Checking your gut health is SO IMPORTANT if you have any kind of thyroid imbalance or disorder to make sure your thyroid has all the nutrients and support it needs to do its job well.
To help you assess your gut health and support your thyroid function better, or to help resolve any other health issue you might be dealing with, I’ve designed a special and affordable In-Depth Gut Health Test Package!
With this Gut Test offer you’ll be able to take a deep dive look at your gut health. This test will have all of the critical markers to truly evaluate your gut function and leaky gut including:
- Intestinal Parasites
- Bacteria Overgrowth
- Candida and Other Yeast Infections
- Immune and Inflammatory Markers SigA and Calprotectin
- Degree of Gluten Sensitivity
Along with the test, you’ll also get to meet with me via phone or video call for an in-depth 90-minute results review session to go over your results and my personalized recommendations for you in regards to diet, sleep, exercise, stress reduction and supplements to improve or maintain your thyroid health!
You and your health are worth investing in. Take an empowered step towards realizing your full health potential by checking your gut, thyroid and adrenal health!
Test, don’t guess! Check out these new Special Packages designed just for you!
P.S. Know someone else who is suffering from suboptimal thyroid function and struggling to get it back in balance? Feel free forward them this email so they can unlock answers to their thyroid health like so many others who have worked with me.
