What Impacts Thyroid Health
At the front of your neck and under your voice box lies a butterfly shaped organ that arguably carries a vast majority of the weight of your body’s health and balance on its’ shoulders.
I’m talking about the thyroid!
The reason we are talking about this today is that 1 in 8 women will statistically develop a thyroid disease in their lifetime, and seemingly no one is asking why. The importance of knowing what factors in our food, environment, underlying health conditions and more can debilitate our thyroid are paramount. Even more so, being able to recognize the symptoms of an over or under active thyroid in yourself can save you years of suffering.
What does the thyroid do?
The thyroid gland is a part of your endocrine system. It controls the basal metabolic rate, aka metabolism. The hypothalamus portion of the brain first sends a signal to the pituitary gland to release TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). This in turn stimulates the thyroid to create the thyroid hormones T4 & T3. T4 is the inactive form of our thyroid hormone which is converted to the active form, T3, in our liver, brain, gut, skeletal muscle, and thyroid itself. Free T3 can act on receptors on our cells to increase metabolic function in the body.
TSH & thyroid hormones work on a negative feedback loop, which means that if thyroid hormones are low then TSH increases in an effort to send the signal to the thyroid to produce more hormones. Once thyroid hormones elevate, then this sends a signal right back to the pituitary gland to slow down secretion of TSH in order to keeps in harmony.
Without the combined magic of these hormones, our bodies would not be able to self-regulate, leading to weight loss/gain, dry skin and rashes, being excessively cold or hot, mood disorders, heavy or scarce periods, and more.
What are symptoms of an under-active thyroid?
An under-active thyroid, commonly known as hypothyroidism, causes a slowing down of our metabolic function. This includes weight gain, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, hair loss, loss of the outer 1/3 of the eyebrow, mood changes such as depression, constipation, cold intolerance, cold hands and feet, chronic fatigue, high cholesterol, low libido, and brain fog.
Often, hypothyroidism can be due to the autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s.
Commonly, labs will show high TSH with low T3 & T4. Antibodies such as anti-TPO and anti-TG can be elevated in autoimmune hypothyroidism.
What are symptoms of an over-active thyroid?
An over active thyroid, commonly known as hyperthyroidism, causes an increase in our metabolic function. This includes weight loss, heart palpitations, excessive sweating, insomnia, mood changes like anxiety and irritability, hair loss, heat intolerance, chronic fatigue, low libido, muscle weakness, and diarrhea.
Hyperthyroidism can be due to the autoimmune condition Grave’s, thyroid nodules, thyroiditis (inflammation), too much iodine, and a pituitary gland tumor.
Commonly, thyroid labs will show low TSH and high T3 & T4. Antibodies such as anti-TSI can be elevated in Grave’s.
Today I don’t want to talk about the conventional treatment of thyroid conditions, but instead I want to talk about the factors that can impact thyroid health and send someone into thyroid dysfunction.
How does nutrition impact the thyroid?
Despite our efforts to eat a healthy and balanced diet, we can still have deficiencies in these important minerals due to soil quality and other conditions such as poor gut health affecting proper absorption. I touched on this more in depth here.
Let’s look at how these minerals affect hormone health:
Iodine is the main building block of T3 and T4. Deficient intake=formation of nodular goiters that lead to thyroid autoimmunity and is the number one cause of hypothyroidism in regions where nutritional lack exists
Iron deficiency can significantly reduce thyroid hormone production by decreasing the activity of TPO (Thyroid Peroxidase-enzyme that plays a role in hormone production)
Iron deficiency can actually predict an inability to self-regulate body temperature and poor maternal thyroid health, supplementation with thyroid hormones can improve your iron levels by assisting absorption
Thyroid contains the largest amount of Selenium of any other organ in the body. Deficiency has been linked to enlarged thyroid, thyroid cancer, hypothyroidism, and more.
Hyperthyroidism can actually increase our body’s demand for magnesium, and low serum magnesium has been shown to indicate abnormal thyroid function
How does gut health impact the thyroid?
Compromised gut health, with the trillions of bacteria and microorganisms it inhabits, has an impact on every single bodily function, but many people are surprised to learn that our thyroid takes an especially hard hit. In fact, thyroid and intestinal diseases commonly coexist! Think: Celiacs disease and Hashimoto’s. Let’s take a deeper look at this.
The gut modulates both the innate and adaptive immune system. A damaged intestinal barrier, such as someone with leaky gut, allows for increased permeability for antigens to pass through when they shouldn’t, inappropriately activating our immune system and leading to autoimmunity.
As mentioned previously, critical thyroid nutrients cannot be properly absorbed, leading to a myriad of dysfunction within the thyroid and hormone production
There is a direct correlation between SCFA’s and the number of regulatory T-cells we have. SCFA’s (short chain fatty acids) are found through soluble fiber such as beans and whole grains, and play an important role in immune regulation, anti -inflammatory effects, and strengthening tight junctions with thyroid hormones
Taking probiotics can help! In hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, Lactobacillaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae are often reduced. An additional study showed that Lactobacillus reuteri supplementation increased free T4, thyroid mass, and physiological parameters in mice such as activity level
How does estrogen dominance impact the thyroid?
Estrogen dominance, more accurately known as high estrogen, can make a big impact on thyroid health! A sluggish liver, environmental toxins, irregular bowel movements, and a lack of microbiota diversity can all contribute to estrogen dominance and, you guessed it, thyroid disorders.
Thyroid disorders are significantly most common in menstruating women from puberty to menopause, which correlates directly with rising levels of estrogen
High estrogen stimulates growth of the thyroid gland (known as a goiter when oversized). This is why estrogen increase at puberty, it is a catalyst for growth all around!
Excess estrogen can also block uptake of thyroid hormones, leading to eventual hypothyroidism (low levels of thyroid hormones).
Leads to a halt in the conversion of T4 →T3 , resulting in low levels of T3 which can show up as being cold, fatigue, constipation, dry skin, weakness, and weight gain
How does blood sugar impact thyroid health?
Maintaining a balanced blood sugar deserves every second in the spotlight it is getting lately as a buzzword in health. Blood sugar imbalance is essentially adding fuel to the fire for someone with preexisting thyroid dysfunction, with patients with a diabetes diagnosis being more likely to develop issues with their thyroid. Constant blood sugar swings cause stress to the body, and stress has a domino effect that can result in catastrophe for the thyroid.
T3 and T4 both maintain glucose hemostasis in your body and have a negative correlation with insulin levels
Those with hypothyroidism are found to have increased insulin levels as thyroid dysfunction alters glucose and lipid metabolism
How do environmental toxins impact thyroid health?
Environmental toxins are unfortunately rampant in our atmosphere. The goal isn’t to live a no tox life (because that’s not possible!), but to live a low-tox one and to know how to support your body when it comes in contact with these toxins. Exposure to heavy metals and endocrine disrupting chemicals (think: drinking water, food packaging, pesticides, cleaning agents, and more) can all make an impact on thyroid health!
Heavy Metals:
Those who live in the volcanic region of Sicily were found to have rates of thyroid cancer nearly double that of the rest of the population, suggesting a high correlation with heavy metal exposure
In recent decades, incidence of thyroid cancer has doubled globally, paralleling an increase in heavy metal exposure in our environment, food, and water. An example of this is Nitrates and Nitrites in our drinking water. A consequence of an increasingly industrialized way of life.
Cells suffer hits both directly and indirectly from heavy metal exposure as enzymes bind to the metals and form free radicals
PCB’s are chemical compounds largely used in pesticides before they were banned in the 70’s. Unfortunately, they continue to live on in our food chain causing cancer and lowering thyroid hormones
A high concentration of PCB’s has been found in maternal milk associated with low T3 and T4 and higher TSH
PBDE’s are used commonly as flame retardants in plastics, mattresses, etc. and are very easily absorbed into tissue once there is an exposure. These are very commonly linked to thyroid cancer
BPA’s and Phthalates affect thyroid hormone homeostasis and thyroid growth
BPA from food and drink containers can be transferred to humans and cause possible reproductive issues, most of us are likely to have BPA in urine, plasma, tissues, and serum
Urinary BPA levels are significantly higher in patients with PTC (Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma)
PFAS are synthetic chemicals introduced in the 1940’s in food, household products, and water that have a biological half life of up to 8 years
Oxidative damage and immunosuppression from PFAS is found as well as disrupting cellular pathways leads to cancer
Agricultural Pesticides contain known thyroid disrupting chemicals that imitate thyroid hormones and lead to cancer
How does radiation impact thyroid health?
Thyroid disorders have a high rate of comorbidity with other autoimmune diseases, and part of this may tie into excessive radiation being done in hospitals and dentist offices through X-rays. When thyroid cells absorb excess radioactive iodine, cancer develops.
High dose radiation is shown to destroy the thyroid gland
In one study, incidence of Hypothyroidism was 44% in those who received more than 30 Gy radiation
An analysis of patients at St.Judes children hospital in children with 298 patients with malignant, non thyroid related disease, 26 developed subclinical or overt Hypothyroidism
How can I support my thyroid health?
Maximize nutrition! Follow a thyroid friendly diet that focuses on getting in the essentials while also balancing your blood sugar by eating protein and veggies with every meal, never carbohydrates/sweets alone
Reduce exposure to BPA’s by reducing the water and food you consume from plastic
Reduce exposure to fluoride by switching to Hydroxyapatite toothpaste, avoiding nonstick cookware and flame resistant fabrics, and avoiding fragrance
Support the gut with fermented foods, prebiotic rich foods, and exercise to maintain microbiome diversity
Optimize period health by supporting the liver, gut, adrenals, and lowering inflammation in the body
If you suspect you have a thyroid imbalance, get tested as soon as possible through your primary care physician.
And as always, if you want to dive deeper into your health you can click here to schedule a free discovery call to get started!
