In the October issue of The Breeze, we talked about how the thyroid helps our body maintain a balanced metabolism. Now, let’s look at two thyroid conditions that are becoming more common, especially in the female population: Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism. You may have even been diagnosed with one of these. But if you have, don’t lose heart! It’s not too late to feel better beyond just taking medication.

If you recall from the previous article, our thyroid produces T4 and T3 hormones.  Hyperthyroidism happens when we  have too much T3 getting into our cells. Symptoms would include feeling warm or hot, weight loss, heart arrhythmia, anxiety or nervousness, restlessness which can advance to include a tremor, irritability, fatigue, low or no menstrual flow, infertility or miscarriage, excessive sweating, trouble concentrating, frequent loose bowels, and possibly Thyroid eye disease.

Hypothyroidism (more common) happens when we have too little T3 getting into our cells. Symptoms would include feeling cold all over, weight gain, increased LDL cholesterol, fatigue, malaise, low energy, hypertension, thinning eyebrows (outer third of the eyebrow), lower bone quality (brittle, fracture risk), constipation (sometimes IBS or SIBO), dry skin, weak fingernails, hair loss, anemia, rough PMS or menopause symptoms, infertility, low libido, depression, brain fog, frequent infection and poor wound healing.

Whew! That is a lot of symptoms! 

Environment Matters

We are often told that our health is largely affected by our genes. This is only partly true. The truth is that our genes can be “turned on” or “turned off” by our environment. 

What we eat, how we manage stress, and what toxins we are exposed to – these are all factors that make up our environment and we can have some control over. That is great news! Our environment will have a huge, and I mean HUGE, effect on how our genes express themselves. For example, just because your mom or dad has diabetes, does not mean you will get diabetes. You can reduce your risk by having controlled blood sugar and managing stress.

How Environment Contributes to Thyroid Health – Specifically

There are so many ways our environment contributes to our thyroid health! But let’s start with some reasons T4 might be insufficient. Remember in the last article I told you that our thyroid produces T4 and T3. T4 is necessary for your body to produce T3, it’s the precursor to T3. T3 is a vital active hormone that needs to get into our cells to do the work of balancing our bodies metabolism. Insufficient T4 leads to insufficient T3.

One of the key nutrients needed for our thyroid to produce T4 is iodine.  Chlorine, fluorine and bromine compete with iodine in our body. By “compete” I mean these chemicals, because they look molecularly like iodine, can be taken into our cell’s receptor in the place of iodine. But of course, they don’t help produce T4 because they are not iodine. If we have excessive amounts of these chemicals, we can have insufficient iodine getting into our cells and thereby insufficient T4. Not enough T4 leads to not enough T3. 

We all know what chlorine is. We find it in our tap water and swimming pools. When we bind fluorine with sodium or calcium, we get fluoride. There is much controversy about whether or not fluoride is toxic. I won’t address that here. But I will say that eliminating fluoride from your toothpaste and water is not going to hurt you in any way. Bromine is something that is used in flour to make your bread “fluffy”. Something else we don’t need! I recommend using flours that have not been bromated. Or simply cutting down on baked goods.

Other nutrients our body needs in order to convert T4 to T3 are selenium, iron, zinc and vitamin A. If you are deficient in any of these nutrients, you will have a greater chance of struggling with your thyroid health.

ReverseT3 and Stress

Stress is the culprit for our ailments more than we would think. Having a lot of stress can encourage the conversion of the active form of T3 to rT3 (reverse T3), which is inactive. This happens because when our body is stressed, it chooses to conserve the energy necessary for the conversion of T4 into T3. Our body always chooses survival. This can happen with all types of stress from physical stress such as infection or inflammation to emotional stress such as a job or difficult family dynamic.  Learning how to manage stress is really not an option if you want to have good health.

Additionally, elevated cortisol levels, which can also happen when you are carrying a lot of stress, suppresses pituitary function. Remember from last month’s article that the pituitary gland is where TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is produced that then travels to the thyroid gland for making T4 and T3. Low TSH means low thyroid hormones, leading to Hypothyroidism. High cortisol can also increase rT3 all by itself.

Some basic ways to manage stress are breathing exercises, controlling our thoughts, light exercise or taking a walk, journaling, getting rest, being “present” (enjoying and focusing on the activity you are in at the moment without thinking about outside stressful situations), having a pet or taking up a hobby. Whatever you choose that works for you – it is important to be intentional. You have to make lowering stress a priority. 

Just as last month, this month I have another assignment for you to improve your thyroid health. 

1. Reduce your exposure to chlorine, fluoride and bromine by reducing baked goods in your diet, buying fluoride-free toothpaste, and drinking filtered water.
2. Work on managing your stress using some of the suggestions in this article.

Next month I will have some easy, practical tips for you to incorporate into your life for good thyroid health.

If you have questions or would like to talk to Dawn, please email her at [email protected]. 

Here’s to Feeling Good!

Dawn Mills

Dawn is an AFMC (Applied Functional Medicine Certified) Practitioner (https://afmccertification.com/)

She resides in Virginia and enjoys spending time with her 4 grown children and 13 grandchildren. Personal health challenges started her on a journey that led her to this field of study and ultimately coaching other people in addressing their own health challenges.  She applies the principles of Functional Medicine, finding the root cause of a disease dynamic, to her coaching, educating her clients and helping them make the lifestyle changes necessary for  addressing issues such as autoimmune disease, insulin resistance, hormone imbalance, gut health, and infertility. 

Dawn provides one-on-one coaching, coaching groups and classes.

Feel free to reach out with questions –  [email protected]