Written by Naturopathic Doctor, Tanya Manikkam
The thyroid is definitely one of the most important glands in your body. When it starts getting sluggish and not doing its job, people will start feeling tired, gain weight, lose hair and get brain fog which is absolutely detrimental to quality of life.
Modern medicine will automatically give a prescription, but this often leaves patients feeling confused and helpless. It’s important to investigate why the thyroid isn’t performing as well as it should and address the root cause… something we like to call Smart Medicine.
If you or someone you know was recently diagnosed with an under-active thyroid (a.k.a. Hypothyroidism), consider doing the following:
- Find out if you have Hashimoto’s. Sometimes, the reason a person’s thyroid isn’t functioning properly is because the immune system is attacking it. We call this an auto-immune disorder and Hashimoto’s is the most common autoimmune disorder of the thyroid. Testing is a simple blood draw looking at two antibody markers. If positive, a person will want to adopt an autoimmune protocol and the lower the antibodies, the better they will feel.
- Do you have an iodine deficiency? Iodine is needed to make thyroid hormone. Not enough iodine means not enough thyroid hormone! Testing can easily be done in urine alongside Selenium which is a mineral important for people to active their thyroid hormone.
- Could it actually be an adrenal issue instead? The adrenal glands (the glands in the body that helps us deal with stress) are very much connected to the thyroid gland. If someone is under too much stress, an increase of their stress hormone called cortisol is going to disrupt the thyroid and usually cause hypothyroidism. In this case, managing stress might be the solution to the thyroid issue.
Treating the thyroid might seem like madness but taking one step at a time and investigating the root cause of the issue is key for finding a solution.
1 comment
I have been taking Eltroxin 50mcg for years four times a week ,for under active thyroid. I just take the medication and don’t think anymore about it.Our health system is poor and I don’t really go to the Drs. unless really necessary.