Thyroid effect on health
Your thyroid influences many aspects of your health. In my practice the most common symptoms of thyroid dysfunction I see is:
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Sensitivity to cold
- Dry skin
- Constipation
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Brain fog
Other symptoms like anxiety, muscle cramps and weakness and poor balance can be related to thyroid function.
Basics of Thyroid Function
Your thyroid is called to action by TSH – thyroid stimulating hormone. Once the thyroid receives the TSH it puts out T4 and T3, your thyroid hormones. Most of the hormone that comes from your thyroid is T4 and it gets converted to T3 in your body. T3 is the active thyroid hormone your body needs. Reverse T3 is the non active form of thyroid.
In order to create thyroid hormones you need a variety of vitamins and minerals including B vitamins and selenium. Having a healthy diet with wide variety and good digestive health is important. The creation and conversion of T3 can be blocked by multiple factors like STRESS, infection, autoimmune disease, inflammation, and poor diet. Supporting your adrenals (which are responsible for stress management) and overall health is essential to heal your thyroid.
Adrenals and Holistic health
Proper thyroid health means managing the basics of good health including sleep, diet, blood sugar control, liver health, stress management, digestion and absorption.
Stress management is extremely important because too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can push T3 into reverse T3 and thus increase your symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. Your adrenal glands puts out cortisol and can easily become overworked.
Excess stress (from work, home, trauma, disease) can lead to adrenal fatigue. Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include fatigue, waking at night, feeling overwhelmed, getting “hangry”, weight gain and low libido. Proper testing and treatment of your adrenals goes hand in hand with thyroid treatment. The thyroid and the adrenals work with all the other aspects of the endocrine system to balance hormones.
Diagram of the Endocrine System
Autoimmune Thyroid
If you have high amounts of antibodies to your thyroid that means your immune system is wrongly attacking it’s self and you have a condition called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Managing your overall health, decreasing inflammation and stopping immune stress is essential. Naturopathic medicine has many ways to get your immune system back on track.
Symptoms of Excess Thyroid
An overactive thyroid, or taking too much thyroid medication, can cause: increased heart rate, anxiety, changeable heart beats, diarrhea, increased appetite.
If you feel like you have symptoms of thyroid or adrenal dysfunction I encourage you to book an appointment with me to help you make the steps necessary to overcome fatigue, stress control and hormone dysfunction.