An underactive or an overactive thyroid gland may be one piece of the puzzle impacting your overall health and wellbeing by presenting itself in various symptoms such as chronic fatigue, mood changes, and impaired metabolism. Working with a functional practitioner will help to address the root causes of your symptoms.

What is role of the thyroid?

The thyroid is a small endocrine gland that releases hormones important for the body’s function. The thyroid gland is responsible for regulating metabolism, growth, and development through the production of thyroid hormones. The thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), are produced by the thyroid gland which is located at the front of your neck and is shaped like a butterfly. Thyroid hormone affects virtually every organ system in the body, including the heart, CNS (central nervous system), autonomic nervous system, bone, GI (gastrointestinal tract), and metabolism.¹ Thyroid hormone increases the basal metabolic rate and stimulates the metabolism of carbohydrates and anabolism of proteins. In children, thyroid hormones act synergistically with growth hormone to stimulate bone growth. The impact of thyroid hormone on the central nervous system is important. During the prenatal period, it is needed for the maturation of the brain. In adults, it can affect mood.

What are conditions associated with thyroid dysfunction?

• Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland): Hashimoto’s disease also known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hypothyroidism can cause impaired memory, slowed speech, and sleepiness.

• Hyperthyroidism (increased thyroid gland function): Grave’s disease. Hyperthyroidism can lead to hyper excitability and irritability.

What are common symptoms of poor thyroid function and health?

Hypothyroidism: (high TSH + low T4)

• Bradycardia (slow heart rate)
• Cold intolerance
• Constipation
• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Dry skin

Hyperthyroidisim: (low TSH + high T4 and/or T3)

• Tachycardia (rapid heart rate)
• Anxiety
• Weight loss
• Heat intolerance
• Diarrhea
• Fine tremors
• Muscle weakness

What are root causes of poor thyroid function and health?

• Autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Nutritional deficiencies such as iodine or selenium
• Chronic stress

How can i test thyroid health using lab testing?

There are various labs or biomarkers that you can ask your primary physician to evaluate in order to show you the entire picture of your thyroid health and how it is functioning. Simply looking at TSH levels is not enough to view the full picture of how your thyroid is functioning and fully assess thyroid health. Thyroglobulin antibodies and TPO or thyroid peroxidase antibodies need to also be assessed especially in the case of Hashimoto’s disease.

Labs to look at for thyroid function and health:

• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
• Free T4
• Total T4
• Free T3
• Total T3
• Reverse T3
• T3 Uptake
• Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TG)
• Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO Ab)

My storefront is linked here to order functional labs, which is signed off by a nationally-licensed physician, to assess for gut imbalances, hormonal imbalances, or vitamin/mineral deficiencies. If you need help creating a personalized functional nutrition care plan based on the interpretation of any of the above functional labs, you can work with us here.

Functional lab testing would be a good idea if you really wanted to hone in on the specifics of gut microbiome imbalances, hormonal imbalances, vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

conventional lab ranges vs optimal lab ranges for Thyroid function and health

Standard lab ranges represent the average population and does not necessarily refer to the optimal level to remain at the highest level of health. Optimal ranges are obtained from clinical studies and limited research so it may vary here and there.

TSH:

• conventional lab range: 0.5-5.5 mU/L
• optimal lab range: 1.8-3.0 mU/L

Free T4:

• conventional lab range: 0.76-1.46 ng/dL
• optimal lab range: 1.00-1.50 ng/dL

Total T4:

• conventional lab range: 4.50-12.00 ug/dL
• optimal lab range: 6.0-11.9 ug/dL

Free T3:

• conventional lab range: 2.30-4.2 pg/mL
• optimal lab range: 3.00-3.5 pg/mL

Total T4:

• conventional lab range:
• optimal lab range:

Reverse T3:

• conventional lab range: 9.2-24.1 ng/dL
• optimal lab range: 10.0-25.0 ng/dL

T3 Uptake:

• conventional lab range: 22.0-37.0%
• optimal lab range: 27.0-35.0%

Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TG):

• conventional lab range: 0-0.9 IU/mL
• optimal lab range: 0.0 IU/mL

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO Ab)

• conventional lab range: 0-34.0 IU/mL
• optimal lab range: 0.0 IU/mL

What can i add or subtract to my diet to support thyroid Function and health?

Add:

• Include omega-3 rich foods
• Include polyphenol rich foods
• Include antioxidant rich foods

Subtract:

• Remove or reduce refined sugars such as white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, corn syrup, etc
• Remove or reduce refined grains such as white processed bread, white rice, white pasta made with refined flour, pastries made with refined white flour and refined sugar, etc

What are some Probiotic strains to support thyroid Function and health?

• Bifidobacterium longum: Growing evidence indicates that the intestinal microbiota is closely related to various autoimmune diseases, including primary hypothyroidism, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Further mechanistic exploration implied that the consumed probiotic (Bifidobacterium longum) regulated the intestinal microbiota and metabolites. These metabolites impacted neurotransmitter and blood trace elements through the gut-brain axis and gut-thyroid axis, which finally improved the host’s thyroid function.²

Adding various or specific probiotic strains to ferment in yogurt allows them to multiply and digest easier as well survive intestinal transit ensuring optimal nutrition. I have the recipe linked here!

what are some Herbs/Adaptogens to support thyroid Function and health?

Adaptogens are herbs that help the body adapt to stress, regulate cortisol levels, maintain a healthy nervous system, promote relaxation leading to overall health and wellbeing. Consuming adaptogenic herbs may help support optimal thyroid functioning and health by helping to regulate the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ) axis.

• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): ashwagandha improves thyroid function by ameliorating thyroid hormones and by preventing oxidative stress.³
• Ginger: Ginger supplementation led to a significant decrease in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, serum TSH, FBS, TG, and TChol levels compared to the placebo. In summary according to preliminary results of this study, ginger supplementation can help relieve persistent hypothyroid symptoms.⁴
• Aloe vera: may help decrease serum thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies (TPO Ab) and thyrotropin or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and lead to an increase in serum free thyroxine (FT4).⁵

What are some Basic & Advanced supplements to support thyroid Function and health?

Targeted Supplements to help with supporting overall thyroid health:

• Selenium (100-200 mcg daily): supports iodine metabolism to maintain healthy thyroid hormone production.
• Zinc: shown to improve thyroid function.
• Vitamin D₃ + K₂
• Thyroid Support Complex

Make sure to order from a high quality and third party tested brand instead of purchasing from Amazon where practically anyone can sell anything without any rigorous testing. To make it easier for you, you may order from my supplement dispensary below through Fullscript’s catalog where each brand and product meets strict top quality standards. You can learn more about third party testing here.

My supplement dispensary is linked here (with a 30% off discount!) and you do not need to be a client to place an order.

What are some Stress Management tools to support thyroid Function and health?

Stress management tools are listed here that will help support thyroid health. Focus on breath work, meditation, and low intensity training to help regulate stress levels and support healthy cortisol function.

How can I improve my sleep to support thyroid Function and health?

Sleep is essential for healthy thyroid functioning and health: aim for 7-9 hours of quality, deep sleep.

What type of Exercise should i focus on to support thyroid Function and health?

• Strength or resistance training using resistance bands or lifting weights
• Aerobic exercise
• Low impact workouts such as yoga or zone 1-zone 2 walking

what is your overall toxin exposure or exposome?

Essential for overall endocrine (hormone) health. Exposure to environmental toxins, like BPA, BPS, PFAS, and phthalates, can disrupt thyroid health and impair proper thyroid functioning.

When dealing with a hormone imbalance, focus on lowering your overall toxin exposure or exposome that you encounter on a daily basis. This looks like researching the ingredients that are in the products that you put on your skin, face, body, hair, and scalp. Products to look at that typically contain some form of endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemical: washing detergent, fabric softener, cleaning supplies, cookware, clothing, shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, colognes, cosmetics/makeup products, skin care products, and hair care products.

• Environmental: EDCs, BPA, BPS, Phthalates, PFAS (PFAS chemicals test)
• Food/Diet: Pesticides
• Mycotoxins: (Mycotoxins test)
• Heavy Metals: study linked here. (Heavy metals test)
• Air pollution exposure: the benzene from car exhaust fumes (consume broccoli sprouts that contain a high amount of sulforaphane to naturally detox benzene from the body – study linked here) and cigarette smoke.

References:

1. Shahid MA, Ashraf MA, Sharma S. Physiology, Thyroid Hormone. 2023 Jun 5. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 29763182. ↩︎
2. Huo, D., Cen, C., Chang, H. et al. Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum supplied with methimazole improved the thyroid function of Graves’ disease patients through the gut-thyroid axis. Commun Biol 4, 1046 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02587-z ↩︎
3. Abdel-Wahhab, K.G., Mourad, H.H., Mannaa, F.A. et al. Role of ashwagandha methanolic extract in the regulation of thyroid profile in hypothyroidism modeled rats. Mol Biol Rep 46, 3637–3649 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-019-04721-x ↩︎
4. Ashraf H, Heydari M, Shams M, Zarshenas MM, Tavakoli A, Sayadi M. Efficacy of Ginger Supplementation in Relieving Persistent Hypothyroid Symptoms in Patients with Controlled Primary Hypothyroidism: A Pilot Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Jan 20;2022:5456855. doi: 10.1155/2022/5456855. PMID: 35096113; PMCID: PMC8794674. ↩︎
5. Metro D, Cernaro V, Papa M, Benvenga S. Marked improvement of thyroid function and autoimmunity by Aloe barbadensis miller juice in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. J Clin Transl Endocrinol. 2018 Feb 14;11:18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jcte.2018.01.003. PMID: 29527506; PMCID: PMC5842288. ↩︎