Understanding the Thyroid

You probably haven’t thought much about your thyroid. You may have a friend with nodules, or a relative with Hashimoto’s, but your own nagging chronic issues may have never struck you as thyroid-related.

Your doctor probably checked your TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) in a routine blood check and labeled you “good.”

But did you know that before TSH was discovered, doctors diagnosed their patients with hypothyroidism by using symptoms only? 

What are these symptoms?

Being prone to fatigue, weight gain, low energy, low mood, inability to lose or gain weight, low cognitive function, low immune function, the inability to get into a deep sleep, restlessness during sleep, waking up frequently in the night, low body temperature, low pulse rate, dry skin, thin skin, dry hair, cracked feet, hair loss, gut issues, SIBO, slow gut motility, migraines, and water retention. 

Having some or many of these symptoms is a sign of a low metabolic rate.

Having a low metabolic rate means you have low thyroid function. And low thyroid function means you have a lack of energy.

It is one big circle that is very hard to get out of.

All the functions that our bodies deem unnecessary for survival get pushed aside when there is a lack of energy. The body will not “waste” energy on things like weight loss, beautiful hair, and incredible sleep when it is just trying to stay alive.

Unfortunately, doctors can now just check your TSH, mark you off their list without listening to a single symptom you have, and move on to their next paycheck— I mean, patient.

We have recently talked about how our bodies are able to sense the energetic capacity of our environment based on the food we take in, and then adjust our metabolism up or down accordingly.

The thyroid gland IS THAT DIAL.

Our thyroid hormone levels in our bodies are the primary indicator of energy availability to our bodies.

The availability of glucose (fuel) drives the thyroid hormones to send out the message to the rest of the body that metabolism can be high and to create the energy levels needed to fuel an optimal regenerative state.

The thyroid can also turn that dial DOWN when energy needs to be reduced (like during critical illness, significant stress, starvation, carnivore or keto diets, etc…) in order to survive.

So hypothyroidism is not a disease that you have or don’t have. It’s not permanent or genetic. It is a transient state that not only fluctuates during the day, but also week to week and month to month based on the signals we give our bodies.

Unfortunately, when our bodies are consistently in a state of low metabolism, our thyroid function can get stuck in a deep hole that is hard to get out of without some support.

In an earlier post, we discussed some individual hormones that the thyroid makes and uses. These combine into a multi-layered system that allows the body to fine tune our metabolism. It is extremely complicated and makes it very hard to interpret blood levels. This is why you need a full thyroid panel (like this one) to really get some idea of what is going on and even then it is difficult to figure out. That’s why symptoms (like body temp and pulse) are so important. 

Let me try to explain it as simply as I can. TSH from the pituitary gland tells the thyroid to make hormones. T4 and T3 are the main ones made, and the vast majority (90%) is T4. These are sent out to the body and, based on the signals in each individual organ and cell, T4 will be converted to the active T3. T3 will bind in the cell nucleus and tells the cell to raise its metabolism (mitochondrial respiration and energy production), among other things.

Which means T3 drives our health.

When we are in a good energetic state,T4 is taken up and converted to active T3. Energy driven ⬆️.

However, in a low energetic state, T4 will have difficulty being taken up and will convert to reverse T3 (rT3), the inactive form of T3. Energy driven ⬇️.

These hormones are all part of a feedback loop that continuously turns your thyroid function up or down. Again, it’s A DIAL.

So as you can see, it’s actually a lack of glucose that drives thyroid function down. What else is present during a lack of energy? We’ve talked about this before: high estrogen, high cortisol, high PUFAs, high endotoxin, high stress. 

All these will inhibit the conversion of T4 to T3.

And guess what? It’s all based on signals that you yourself are giving your body by what you choose to eat. By now you may realize you have dug yourself into a pretty serious hole and need some help. But first, you need to put down that shovel.

Drink some orange juice, eat some raw carrot salad, and for heaven’s sake —
 

STOP EATING SEED OILS.

Next time, we will have a list for you of all the best supplements for your thyroid to hopefully help you climb out of that hole! Be well!