Is your thyroid working optimally? Understanding nutriton for thyroid function.

Have you ever felt like your body is whispering to you that something is just not right?

It might be that on and off over the years, you have moments of being fatigued, but then bounced back. Or maybe you have had moments of feeling achey all over, and then just like that it has resolved. Or perhaps something has been bit off with your periods or cycles, but you’ve been told its “normal”. Maybe you feel cold a lot of the time, even in summer, or maybe you feel the heat more, even in winter?

You may have been to your GP who has run some tests, only to be told, everything looks fine.

I get these types of clients A LOT. They often arrive when things have unraveled to the point where they feel like their body is working against them. Are they going crazy?

Or is something really going on? The first thing I want to rule out, is whether their Thyroid gland is working optimally.

What does the thyroid gland do?:

The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland that sits within your neck, just at the base. It is one of the key metabolic glands, and is a core component of the hormone network including sex hormones, stress hormones and metabolic hormones.

In fact every single cell within the body has a receptor site for thyroid hormone, this is how important the thyroid gland and hormone is. Image of thyroid gland and hormone network.

When your thyroid function is not working optimally you may have any of these symptoms:

Fatigue/low energy

• Heart palpitations, anxiety

• Unexplained muscle pain and inflammation

• Sensitivity to cold or heat

• Slow and steady weight gain

• Sudden weight loss

• Constipation or loose bowel motions

• Digestive issues

• Inflammatory conditions such as migraines, headaches, joint pain, arthritis

• Dry skin, dry hair

• Hair loss

• Insomnia

• Sex hormone dysfunction (loss of libido, altered cycles, heavy bleeding)

• Poor stress resilience (short fuse, feeling upset for no reason, easily upset)

Testing becomes important, but it really needs to be quite comprehensive. You see, the thyroid gland and how it works is quite complex, involving such a variety of different vitamins, minerals, amino acids and compounds, and for this function to work, optimal nourishment is required.

Selenium, Iodine, Zinc, Iron, Magnesium

• Vitamin B’s, C, E, A, D

• Tyrosine, inositol, Omega 3

If thyroid dysfunction is suspected, then often what will get checked is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). And so long as you are within the range, your regarded as having no issues with your Thyroid.

However I like to see if your Thyroid is functioning optimally. Particularly if you are presenting with any of the listed symptoms above. It is not just good enough to survive, I want you to thrive! And so looking at the comprehensive range of thyroid hormones offers super valuable info for me and my clients. It is really common for me to see suboptimal TSH levels and when coupled with any one of the symptoms above, may be a clue that the thyroid needs support. But likewise, I have also seen normal TSH levels but with suboptimal Ft3 and Ft4 so checking the full range is super important.

What other thyroid blood markers should be checked?:

Going in deeper by checking Ft4 and Ft3 (inactive and active thyroid hormone) but also making sure that there is no chance of autoimmune involvement (particularly if there is a family picture of thyroid or autoimmune issues) and this includes Anti TPO.

If your GP is on board with making sure that your thyroid gland is working optimally then they will check most of these. But don’t worry if they don’t, you can pay for these tests at the lab.

There is also the option of doing a functional thyroid panel test which is where a blood sample is sent overseas for comprehensive analysis of TSH, T3, T4, FT3, Ft4, reverse T3, as well as two different antibodies which may be involved in poor thyroid function. These types of tests are really popular with Clinical Nutritionists, Naturopaths and Medical Herbalists as it offers way more information on how the thyroid is functioning.

Depending on the results, there may also be a need to check iron status, Vitamin D, Zinc:Copper, Selenium to see if you are lacking in any of the key nutrients needed for optimal thyroid function.

Addressing stress is key! Thyroid is involved in the stress mechanism, but is also impacted upon by cortisol and adrenaline. Remembering that stress is not just about stress (work, relationships, demands) but also physical (leaky gut, injury, trauma). Regardless of the trigger, stress slows down the production of thyroid hormone, reduces the conversion of inactive to active hormone as well as impacting upon other areas of hormone function (sex and metabolic) which in turn feeds back into thyroid dysfunction.

Food as medicine approach - how to support optimal thyroid function with nutrients:

As you can see working out possible nutritional deficiencies is vital, the thyroid needs so many of them! But also working out if there is a chance of leaky gut. If you have leaky gut symptoms it is quite likely that you are not absorbing and utilizing the necessary nutrients, but also you most likely have some toxicity issues which would be a stress to the body.

Start by ensuring you are having optimal above ground and below ground vegetable intake, as well as some bright fruits, non-processed grains such as buckwheat or wild rice and also a good amount of protein including animal based protein such as fish and eggs. If you need to look at possible food sensitivities, I strongly suggest you do so, it has been a game changer for many of clients to jump ahead in their journey to reaching their health goals.

This is just a wee bit of info when it comes to the thyroid and the important role it plays optimal health and also optimal long term healthy ageing.

If you want to know more please do reach out, email me at info@nutriviva.co.nz .