Thyroid Health
Many women are unaware of the importance of thyroid health and may be confused by how to maintain healthy thyroid function.
If you're here, you likely have or suspect you have low thyroid function or hypothyroidism, an issue with the thyroid not releasing OR poor conversion to active thyroid hormone. You may have had your thyroid test before, but often test results show you’re in a normal range, yet you still don't feel normal.
You’re not alone. Women are five to eight times more likely to suffer from low thyroid function compared to men. This is due to our fluctuating hormonal cycles and an infinite array of other factors differentiating men and women.
This blog post breaks down thyroid health into understandable chunks that can be easily applied: what the thyroid is, how the thyroid works, what the common symptoms of low thyroid function are, how to best test your thyroid, why proper thyroid conversion is essential, what leads to poor thyroid conversion, what are best foods to eat for optimal thyroid function, and what are anti-thyroid foods to limit.
Reminder that nothing in this blog is medical advice. The purpose remains strictly for education and inspiration.
Let’s dig in!
What is the Thyroid Gland and Where Is It Located?
The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland around your neck.
What Is the Thyroid’s Function?
The thyroid is the master gland that controls every metabolic process in your body.
Your thyroid hormones affects every organ, tissue, and cell in your body.
The list below includes essential functions of thyroid hormones:
Metabolism
controlling the break down and utilization of nutrients, body temperature, and hunger
Liver
regulating blood sugar balance and daily detoxification
Gut
digesting, absorbing, and utilizing nutrients, and along with daily bowel movements
Ovaries
consistently ovulating and ability to reproduce
Nerves
regulating sleep, mood, and brain function
Heart
maintaining healthy blood pressure and heart rate
Bones
maintaining density and growth
Hair, Skin, and Nails
strength, growth, and thickness
Unfortunately, many women suffer from improper function of these systems likely stemming from low thyroid function, and eventually developing numerous unwanted symptoms.
What Are the Most Common Symptoms of Low Thyroid Hormone?
- Cold Hands and Feet
- Always Tired
- Heavy and/or Irregular Periods
- PMS Symptoms
- Constipation and/or Bloating
- Dry Skin and/or Acne
- Hair Loss
- Infertility and/or Low Libido
- Anxiety and/or Depression
- Brain Fog
- Insomnia
If you struggle with these symptoms, it's likely due to low active thyroid hormone. This problem likely stems from poor conversion rather than improper thyroid gland function.
But, before we get into conversion, let’s talk about testing because testing is the best way to better understand your thyroid hormone function. Plus many women have been diagnosed or even misdiagnosed by a doctor.
Thyroid Function Blood Testing
If you struggle with any or many of these symptoms, it could be helpful to get your thyroid levels tested. Many doctors only test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) because low TSH is a key indicator of low thyroid function. However, simply relying on only testing TSH is problematic because stress hormones can make TSH look normal when in reality your body is struggling, and you don’t feel well.
Instead, ask your doctor to get a full thyroid panel that includes TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, and Thyroglobulin Antibodies. Testing all of these gives you a much better picture of your overall thyroid health.
Blood tests can be helpful, but as all blood lab tests, they show just one snapshot of your health in time. A better way to monitor thyroid function is by taking your temperature and pulse daily.
Alternative Testing of Thyroid Function
Monitoring your body temperature and pulse rate is an easy and effective way to better understand your thyroid function daily.
Taking your morning pulse and temperature remains the simplest way to measure thyroid health daily and here’s why. Our thyroid hormone powers every metabolic system in our body, including body heat and heart rate. So, if our body temp and pulse rate are low, the body senses stress and will conserve energy. We want to be utilizing energy not conserving it.
An optimal waking temperature is 97.6 F or above.
An optimal pulse rate is between 75 and 90 bpm.
If either your body temperature and/or pulse rate remain low, your stressed body likely lacks active thyroid hormones.
What Does It Mean If Thyroid Levels Are Low?
If our thyroid hormone levels are low, there's likely nothing wrong with your thyroid gland. The real issue is the inability to convert inactive thyroid hormone (T4) to the active form (T3).
How and Where Do We Convert Thyroid Hormone to Its Active Form?
Our brains produce thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which causes the thyroid gland to make thyroid hormone. The thyroid gland produces mostly inactive thyroid hormone (T4) and some active thyroid (T3). If our bodies are well-nourished, we then convert T4 to T3 mostly in the liver, but also the gut, kidneys, and spleen. All our glorious glands and organs can work perfectly if we are properly nourished and low stress.
Problems converting T4 to T3 remain the reasons why so many people struggle with symptoms of low thyroid function. Many women are struggling with a sluggish liver and poor gut function which inhibits the ability to naturally convert inactive thyroid (T4) to its active form. (T3).
Proper liver and gut function is ESSENTIAL for proper thyroid function.
What Leads to Poor Conversion?
Stress!
All forms: mental, emotional, physical, and chemical
Sluggish liver and poor gut function
lead to poor thyroid conversion
Undereating and fad dieting
especially lack of animal protein and simple carbs
Vitamin and/or mineral deficiency
especially vitamins A and B as well as selenium and zinc
Endocrine disruptors and environmental toxins
both which block the thyroid receptors and mimic estrogen
Estrogen dominance and low progesterone
estrogens block thyroid receptors and lack of progesterone inhibits thyroid production
Anti-thyroid foods
all which lower thyroid production, conversion, and reception
How Can We Support Optimal Conversion? How Can We Improve Thyroid Health?
1.Lower mental, physical, and chemical stress.
Mental stress from school, jobs, or family, as well as physical stress, like undereating and over exercising, plus chemical stress from environmental toxins, food additives, mineral deficiencies, and antinutrients, all lower thyroid function. Stress and thyroid hormone are antagonists. If stress levels rise, thyroid function falls, but if stress remains low, then thyroid function will be optimal.
2. Eat every three to four hours to consistently fuel the liver.
Eating consistently is proven to be one of the best ways to ensure proper thyroid conversion. Our liver needs constant fuel to be able to conduct its numerous functions. If the liver does not have enough consistent fuel, thyroid conversion delays.
3. Eat bioavailable animal protein and easy-to-digest carbohydrates at every meal and snack.
Stable blood sugar is essential to keep thyroid conversion optimal and strong. Protein lowers blood sugar while carbs raise blood sugar so eating them together keeps blood sugar balanced.
4. Sleep well and rest often.
Our hustle and bustle, high efficiency and profitability culture slowly wrecks our thyroid health. We almost never take breaks. We can’t sleep well, don't sleep enough, or even when we do, it's typically not deep restful sleep. We need to rest and sleep, or our bodies break down and force us to slow down. Sleep’s not for the woeful and weak. Sleep’s for the strong who live long.
Best Foods for Optimal Thyroid Function
1.Include bioavailable protein like organ meats, shellfish, eggs, and dairy.
Animal protein is much more bioavailable than plant protein. Bioavailability means the food is easier to digest and absorb, so the body has more nutrients to utilize. Protein is an essential component to converting thyroid hormone to its active form.
2. Include simple easy-to-digest carbohydrates, like fruits, root vegetables, honey, and dairy.
Simple carbohydrates, like fruit and honey, provide quick energy and are more easily digested. Unlike complex carbohydrates, simple carbohydrates are more readily used for energy rather than stored as fat. Simple carbs provide the energy needed to convert thyroid hormone to its active form.
3. Include saturated fats, like animal fats, coconut oil, and dairy.
Not only are saturated fats more stable in the body but they also contain essential fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, D, E, and K. These nutrient rich fats promote better thyroid hormone production and conversion.
Which Anti-Thyroid Foods to Avoid
Vegetable Seed Oils
Vegetable seed oils like sunflower, safflower, canola and soybean oils unfortunately dominate the market. Its virtually impossible to find any packaged food without these rancid oils. They’re cheap and prevalent, but they directly block the thyroid from producing thyroid hormones, plus inhibit our cells’ ability to utilize thyroid hormones. Choose stable saturated fats and oils, like animal fat or coconut oil.
Synthetic Vitamins and Minerals
Almost all processed, packaged foods contain synthetic vitamins and minerals, especially flour based products. Manufacturers add these synthetics as a labeling and marketing ploy to act healthy, but the reality is our body does not recognize these synthetics as real vitamins and minerals coming from whole foods. These synthetic vitamins and minerals, especially iron, accumulate in our tissues and block the ability to convert thyroid hormone to its active form.
Food Additives
Food additives, such as food dyes, fillers, gums, and binders all disturb our gut function. When our gut function is poor, our ability to absorb and digest food leads to nutrient deficiencies. Choose simple to digest whole foods that provide nourishment, rebuild your gut, and better support thyroid conversion.
Raw Cruciferous
All cruciferous vegetables are goitrogenic. Goitrogens directly suppress thyroid function by inhibiting the ability to make any type of thyroid hormones. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. If you enjoy eating these foods, cooking them for 30 minutes helps to reduce the goitrogenic effects.
Non-Soaked and/or Sprouted Grains and Beans
Grains, beans, nuts, and seeds contain many antinutrients. These antinutrients are naturally built into the seed to protect it and preserve it from predators so they can reproduce. These antinutrients inhibit absorption of minerals and bioavailable nutrients and often lead to gut dysfunction. If you enjoy eating nuts, seeds, grains, and beans, just make sure they are soaked or sprouted, which removes some of the harmful antinutrients.
Thyroid health is central and essential to maintain our overall well being. Our thyroid hormone powers every organ, tissue, and cell in the body. If we're struggling with any low thyroid symptoms, focus on nourishing your body and reducing all forms of stress. Your body wants to heal! If we mindfully nourish ourselves and remove daily stressors, we can absolutely regain proper thyroid function and conversion.
For more information on reducing stress and restoring your nourishment, download this FREE guide below.
Please comment below if you have questions regarding this blog post, thyroid health, or recommendations for future post.
Stay well-nourished my friends.
Bella
Additional Resources
Book: Hypothyroidism by Dr. Broda Barnes
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/hypothyroidism.shtml