Understand your thyroid….
Many women are suffering from hypothyroidism or subclinical hypothyroidism and are often not aware of it. It has frustrated me over the years how many women I have seen with undiagnosed hypothyroidism, however it has also driven me to help them.
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is a pituitary hormone, its job is to tell the thyroid to make thyroid hormones (T4&T3) it works on a feedback loop, if thyroid hormone output is low, TSH is released from pituitary to stimulate the release of thyroid hormones. If the thyroid isn’t responding more TSH is released from the brain. TSH levels will keep increasing with this feedback loop if the output of thyroid hormones are low. Just testing TSH does not give an accurate indication of how your thyroid is functioning. Many women can have TSH “’within range” and still have elevated thyroid antibodies – thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and thyroglobulin (TgAb) Elevated thyroid antibodies = autoimmune disease. They can also have sub optimal levels of thyroid hormones (T4& T3)
Looking at your thyroid hormone levels makes sense. More T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) is produced by the body than T3 (active thyroid hormone) T4 must be converted to T3 before the body can use it. The conversion of T4 to T3 takes place mainly in the liver, it can also occur in the cells of the gut, heart, nerves and muscle. This process requires both selenium and zinc, if there is a deficiency if either mineral this can impede conversion. Poor liver and gut health can also impact conversion. Hypothyroid symptoms can come from poor conversion from T4-T3.
Reverse T3 is produced by the body during times of stress; it’s the body’s way of putting the brakes on to conserve energy. Trauma, low calorie diet, inflammation, toxins, infections, liver & kidney dysfunction also increase the conversion of T4 to RT3. High levels of RT3 low levels of T3 = hypothyroid symptoms.
Deficiencies in iron, iodine, tyrosine, selenium, zinc, B2, B3, B6 Vit D, E & C impact thyroid hormone production.
In my clinic I routinely request pathology testing for TSH, T4, T3, thyroid antibodies and reverse T3 to get the complete picture of how the thyroid is functioning, determine the root cause of the imbalance and treat accordingly.
By Renée Simpson - Women’s Health Naturopath at Vitality Junction