This past weekend I had the honor of speaking to an amazing group of women about wellness. We spoke about everything from hormones, diastasis recti, meditation, mental health, holistic nutrition, and so much more. One of the women from the audience asked about thyroid health. It’s a loaded question that could easily take up an entire days worth of discussion, but the basics we spoke about and suggested to these ladies was to get blood testing done. Every one of us is so different, and finding out what we are individually dealing with is so important to truly get to the root of the problem and healing deeply.
So, what blood tests should we get? Usually when we see our GP they request for TSH, free T3 and free T4. These are the main thyroid hormone tests. Sometimes people can get normal results with these labs but continue to still feel pretty crappy. So there are a couple more tests to request for that will give a bigger picture to how the thyroid is functioning. The next lab to request is TPO and TgAb. These tests will let us know if your body is attacking your thyroid. If levels are high then this might indicate Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This is a type of autoimmune disorder where your immune system is attaching your thyroid directly. If you do wind up being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis then there are many protocols to start, including a full revamp on diet and lifestyle changes that will help the immune system stop form attaching the thyroid glad.
The next two tests to request are a cholesterol panel and vitamin D levels. Without proper thyroid levels the body has a hard time metabolizing cholesterol. Cholesterol controls cells movement, mobilizes fat-soluble vitamins, synthesizes hormones, insulates nerve cells, assists in brain function, and so much more. When asking for cholesterol panels ask for an NMR panel. The NMR panel gives a more complete picture of what’s going on with cholesterol in the body. As for Vitamin D, getting this lab is important due to its important role in immune function. A lot of individuals who have low thyroid levels also have low vitamin D, and those with autoimmune disorders also have been show to have low vitamin D levels. Vitamin D plays a role in absorbing calcium to help promote bone growth, helps regulate the immune and neuromuscular system, and also plays a major role in the life cycle of human cells. Symptoms like depression, fatigue, constant hunger, high blood pressure, muscle weakness, mood changes, and bone pain are all associated with deficiencies of vitamin D.
So, with all that being said, first things first, get your blood work done! If for some reason you doctor does NOT want to do blood work and kind of pushes your concerns off, then get RID of that doctor! We spoke about advocating for yourself and finding a health care professional that really listens to you and your concerns. Besides your general practitioner you can seek out a Functional Medicine doctor who can call for all these blood panels and interpret them.
From a Holistic Nutrition point of view there are some simple things to start while waiting for some blood testing that will not only help if you suspect a possible thyroid problem, but also just make the body feel good from a general standpoint. Start by ditching all junk food and processed foods. Ditch gluten for a little bit. Stop eating soy and sugar. And lastly, this might be a bit of a shocker because it’s a food group that is generally good for you, but decreasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables. Foods like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts are goitrogenic and can cause the goiter on your thyroid to grow. On a side note, cooking these vegetables does help decrease the enzymes in these vegetables to make them less risky. So starting with some basic steps like ditching processed foods, gluten, sugar, soy, and over eating cruciferous vegetables can improve symptoms of a possible thyroid problem. But, in the end getting blood work done and consulting with a doctor is definitely suggested.
I hope this little article helped and if you have any questions please comment below. Next article will be a full write up on a healthy diet for supporting the thyroid.