Podcast #23 The Low Down on the Slow Down: The Thyroid Hack Episode

Every single muscle, organ, and cell in the body depends on adequate thyroid hormone levels for achieving and maintaining optimal function. The thyroid essentially acts as the body’s metabolic regulator.

It is a butterfly shaped gland located in the lower part of the neck, weighing lass than 1 oz. This small but mighty gland is responsible for so many critical functions in the body, yet thyroid disorders are extremely common!

Hypothyroid state is when the thyroid gland is releasing inadequate amounts of thyroid hormone to meet demands, and so the metabolic rate is reduced.

Hyperthyroid state is when the thyroid gland releases excess amounts of thyroid hormone, therefor resulting in an elevated metabolic state.

In order to test your thyroid, you can choose to go the western medicine route or the holistic route. Western medicine uses TCH Blood Testing, which has been the gold standard for the last 30 years. The holistic approach tests not only the TSH, but also T3 and T4 through blood tests, incorporating medical history, basal body temperature, and physical exams.

Treating Hypothyroidism can be tricky, and the same applies where you can opt for western medicine treatment or holistic treatments. Conventional medicine will put you on synthetic derivatives of T4 such as Synthroid or Levothyroid. The problem with these derivatives is that we do not know how much T4 is converting to T3, so relying solely on TSH will miss this. The holistic treatment will look at the entire pathway to optimize thyroid function, diet, medications, and even nutrient deficiencies.

Hyperthyroidism presents itself through nervousness, sweating, palpitations, nerve tingling, fatigue, heat tolerance, hyperactivity, eye disorders, and increased appetite. It can be caused by a variety of illnesses such as Graves disease, Hashimoto’s, and other autoimmune disorders that cause the body to produce antibodies that attack the thyroid gland. The treatment of this can be rather complex because you need to find the underlying cause of it first. However, there are some changes that can help such as eliminating gluten, aspartame, and sucralose; and beginning medications and nutrient supplements. It is also very important to focus on all around hormonal health as well! The adrenal and pituitary hormones have a synergistic effect with the thyroid.

One of the best things to do to work on thyroid health is to do a detox. Never underestimate the power of eliminating sugar, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners and focusing on eating organic and increasing water.

If any of this sounds familiar to you or to learn more, follow up with your integrative doctor, or ask us more at your next appointment!

Thank you for listening!