Hypothyroidism is Not a Root Cause
But here’s what is …
So many people are told they have hypothyroidism as if it were a life sentence and all they can do is take medication for the rest of their lives. While medication can sometimes be helpful during the healing process, your hypothyroid diagnosis is NOT a life sentence nor is it a root cause. In fact, when you have hypothyroidism this is actually your body waving a huge red flag that there is something brewing underneath the surface that desperately needs your attention.
Understanding what that is is one of the most important steps you can take in healing your thyroid. Here are a few key areas to consider if you are dealing with low thyroid function and don’t know where to start.
Gut Imbalances
If you are dealing with thyroid concerns, chances are your digestion could be better. Some people may deal with more or less symptoms, but most people diagnosed with hypothyroidism also have some levels of gut concern as well. Why is this?
Thyroid hormone conversion takes place in the gut which can impact levels of free T3, your active thyroid hormone. Free T4 is converted to Free T3 which is the form of hormone needed to actually go into the cells and produce energy. Essentially, this hormone is what actually makes your metabolism GO. Without adequate levels of free T3, you will start to experience symptoms of low thyroid function but could still have normal levels of TSH for years. This is why running more than just TSH can give you so many answers and could shave years off of your healing journey. If you need help understanding what a full thyroid panel is or need help ordering a full thyroid panel, schedule a discovery call today!
Things like leaky gut, imbalances in the microbiome, pathogen, and food sensitivities can increase inflammation in the tract. So not only does this impair thyroid hormone conversion, but it also increases the levels of inflammation and stress in the body which has been shown to increase levels of TSH which communicates to the thyroid to slow down all thyroid hormone production. Pathogens and food sensitivities in the presence of leaky gut (which often all go hand in hand) trigger an immune system response. When this immune stress goes on for years, it can often begin to stimulate the presence of thyroid antibodies leading to Thyroid autoimmune conditions of hashimoto’s or graves disease. Addressing the underlying imbalances in the gut while also resolving the reasons why those imbalances were there in the first place (a key step missed in most gut healing protocols), can help remove a HUGE source of stress on the body and immune system.
Lastly, gut issues often correlate with nutrient deficiencies which is another root cause of thyroid imbalances and something I will talk more in depth on later.
Don’t underestimate the power that truly healing your gut has on improving your thyroid health! If you are dealing with confusing gut issues, I highly recommend looking into functional testing like the GI Map to learn more about what is going on and how to actually heal.
Liver Stress
Can you guess where the second place that thyroid hormone conversion takes place? If you guessed the liver, you are correct! Just like a healthy gut is needed to convert T4 into T3, a healthy liver is also needed to support this conversion process getting you all the benefits of a healthy thyroid.
The liver is a major detox organ. If your liver is stressed, it will not be able to detox efficiently and there will likely be a backup of toxins including things like heavy metals and excess hormones that can negatively affect not just your thyroid but your overall well being. Remember how your thyroid is often trying to help you out by slowing down? This is definitely one of those situations. Heavy metals like Mercury can begin to impair the uptake of minerals like zinc and selenium from your diet which are imperative for thyroid hormone production. This creates a vicious cycle of more toxicity, more liver stress, more nutrient deficiencies which only lead to more toxicity and more liver stress… I’m sure you get the picture!
The bottom line is we need to support a healthy liver to promote optimal detoxification which will allow for better hormone conversion.
Not only is the liver involved in detoxification, but it is also involved in the digestion and absorption of fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and E which are needed for a healthy functioning thyroid. If you want to learn more about supporting your liver, you can check out this post.
And this leads us to our next root cause!
Nutritional Deficiencies
The thyroid does not run off of thin air. The thyroid requires adequate calories to maintain a healthy metabolic rate and needs adequate amino acids to create thyroid hormone. The thyroid also requires a number of micronutrients to function optimally including things like iodine, selenium, zinc, iron, the B vitamins, Vitamin A, E, and D. If we are not consuming these in our diet, the thyroid will slow down due to a lack of resources.
One of the most common mistakes I see people making is focusing on eating a “clean” diet rather than a “nutrient dense” diet. While eating clean means you are not eating processed foods it doesn’t automatically mean you are eating in a way that is nourishing your body. Eating nutrient dense requires you to be intentional with your food choices, often eating foods that we might not have grown up with or feel familiar with (looking at you beef liver).
Digestion and absorption absolutely play a role in the category as well. It is one thing to not include adequate amounts of these nutrients in your diet, but if you are dealing with gut issues or liver issues, you will not be absorbing what you are eating which can create deficiencies despite consuming a healthy diet.
When you are under eating, not eating a nutrient dense diet, or struggling to absorb your nutrients, your thyroid will slow down as a result.
Your Stress Bucket is Overflowing
If I had to sum up all root causes of thyroid imbalances into one simple category, I could simply say that STRESS is the driver of all thyroid imbalances. The 3 categories above contribute to some form of stress in one way or another.
However, it is often not just one driver of stress that slows your thyroid function. It is the overflowing of your stress bucket. Other areas of your health that can drive up levels of stress can include:
blood sugar imbalances (Check out this resource for support here)
lack of movement or excessive movement
chronic lack of sleep
toxic burden from cleaning products, personal care products, ect.
Exposure to environmental toxins like mold or tap water
lack of sunlight and fresh air
relational, psychological, or situational life stressors
IF YOU DON”T ADDRESS YOUR STRESS, your thyroid function will struggle to improve. While you can improve your gut health and work on increasing nutrients in your diet, if you just ignore how you got there in the first place and change nothing about your lifestyle, you will often not see any lasting change in your thyroid health. You have to change your lifestyle and realize that the changes you will make to optimize your thyroid health need to be lasting changes.
This doesn’t mean that you need to stay on an elimination diet forever - that is not the kind of change that I am talking about. What I am talking about is supporting the foundations like eating a nutrient dense diet, getting adequate sleep, removing toxins from your lifestyle, eating in a way to support blood sugar balance, getting outside in the sun and experiencing nature… so many of these things are what actually support a healthy functioning thyroid.
Just Remember
If you feel betrayed by your body due to your thyroid issues just know that your body is actually rooting FOR you, not against you! I tell all my clients that your body WANTS to heal, it just needs the right support to do so. If you are struggling to see improvements in your health and you haven’t been able to identify your root cause or see lasting change in your health, it might be time to work with a professional! You can check out my coaching packages here and book a discovery call to see if this could be a good fit for you and your healing journey.