Hypothyroidism (Slow Thyroid)

Oftentimes, a person will have all the symptoms of low thyroid (hypothyroid), yet their lab tests come back completely normal (or so they’re told). Why is that?

It’s because some hypothyroid disease symptoms aren’t detected by a traditional thyroid test, and standard thyroid hormone prescriptions don’t always treat the problem.

If you’re like many people who have the typical symptoms of thyroid problems and hypothyroidism and yet traditional thyroid tests haven’t revealed a solid diagnosis, nor has treatment been effective, chances are you have what is termed "functional" hypothyroidism.

This is where natural remedies for thyroid come into play.

But First, How Does The Thyroid Work?

The pituitary gland (located in the brain) releases thyroid stimulating hormone, or TSH. In turn, TSH tells the thyroid gland (located right about where you’d wear a bowtie) to release two similar, but different hormones - T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine).

T4 and T3 are released into the bloodstream and eventually reach every single cell in the body! T4 is produced in greater amounts than is T3. T4 doesn’t really do much on its own; in fact it needs to be converted into the more active T3 - this is the hormone that carries out the actions of the thyroid throughout the body. 

T3’s job is to stimulate metabolism, or the rate of activity in all the cells and tissues of the body.

How Do You Know If You Have a Thyroid Problem?

In order to determine if a person has a thyroid issue; doctors will traditionally only test TSH and T4; if these are found to be within the standard, accepted ‘normal’ range, then you will most likely be told you don’t have a thyroid problem.

There are just a few problems with this…

The first issue is that traditionally accepted thyroid hormone (TSH) ranges are around 0.45 - 4.5. This is a wide range that allows for variable levels of what's considered normal. For example, if we’re grading a class and anyone who scores from 60 to 100 points passes; we all know that the person who got 60 has less mastery of the material compared to the person who got 100...

Ideally, we want to see TSH as close to 1.0 as possible. This would be like scoring 100% in class, while those who have a TSH closer to 3 or 4 would be comparable to those students scoring in the 60 - 70 range.  They're not failing, but could be doing a lot better, generally speaking. 

Conversion Issues

One important reason to have more than just a basic thyroid (TSH) test done is to try and detect whether there are thyroid hormone conversion issues going on.

As we previously mentioned, T4 needs to be converted into T3 (in places like the kidney and liver) in order for us to feel the effects of thyroid hormone. 

It’s theorized that some people don’t do well converting T4 into T3 - this may be why they don’t feel any different when treated with conventional thyroid medications - many of them are made primarily of T4. Sometimes these people will only feel better if they’re on a combination medicine that contains a combination of T4 and T3.

Another reason is that their thyroid hormones may be ‘bound up’ to other proteins in the blood, preventing them from exerting an effect. Or, the actual receptor sites may not be as receptive to thyroid hormone.

While there’s no specific way to test for these scenarios, this is where using natural thyroid remedies or natural thyroid supplements can help support the conversion process.

Complete Testing is Important!

For these reasons, we always encourage people to get a complete thyroid panel done - TSH, T4, T3 and thyroid antibodies (TPO and TAA). This simple panel of tests can reveal:

• Hypothyroidism (low thyroid symptoms)
  
• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
  
• Autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Graves disease)

If there’s a lump or swelling over the thyroid area, these needs to be seen by a doctor, urgently.

Functional Hypothyroidism

Functional hypothyroidism is the term used when a person has slow thyroid symptoms despite normal thyroid tests. In this scenario, natural thyroid remedies can support thyroid function, getting at the cause of the issue.  

Natural thyroid supplements can act as ‘organic fertilizer’ for the thyroid by supplying it with the raw materials it needs to function optimally.

Standard thyroid medications can certainly help a lot of thyroid issues, but for those people in which they don’t help, natural thyroid therapies can be life changing.

Natural Remedies for Thyroid:

• Thyroid Support Complex is a comprehensive natural thyroid supplement that provides all the vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts to support healthy thyroid cell metabolism and thyroid hormone function. 
  
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids are an important supplement for anyone dealing with thyroid issues due to their powerful anti-inflammatory effects.
  
• Vitamin D plays an important role throughout the body. There are direct links between low vitamin D and hypothyroidism, Graves and Hashimoto’s diseases.
  
• Cortisol Recovery helps support healthy levels of cortisol, an important ‘stress’ hormone. Too much cortisol can blunt the effect of thyroid hormone in the body.

Lastly, in women who suffer from thyroid issues it’s important to understand the balance between estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen dominance occurs in many women and can contribute to poor thyroid function. A saliva test kit looking at Estradiol, Progesterone and Cortisol can help you determine this at home.