The Thyroid Lifestyle (Part 4)
What is the Thyroid Lifestyle?
This is a topic many ‘experts’ don’t talk about when it comes to optimizing thyroid hormone production, the conversion of T4 to T3 and keeping the body environment in peak balance so thyroid hormones can be consumed and utilized as is intended. Some of it is likely due to the inability to charge money for this info, as it is a bit time consuming to explain. Another part may be it is a bit complicated and many doctors haven’t taken extra time to understand the basics of thyroid production and physiology. This is evident when clients present on significant doses of Synthroid while having low T3, all while complaining of hypothyroid symptoms and being told they are fine because TSH and T4 are normal. It also could be the time needed to work with patients to correct these things. As many of you know, healthcare is a ‘for profit’ industry, and if there isn’t a way to bill out for services, many times it isn’t covered and also actively avoided. The ‘Thyroid Lifestyle; is the ‘other’ aspects of thyroid hormone production/conversion/utilization that aren’t directly related to the actual thyroid hormones and gland itself. It is the Body Environment along with lifestyle strategies to optimize the conversion of T4 to T3, tissue health and usage of thyroid hormones, the circadian rhythm and improving the function of every single cell in the body.
What is the Body Environment?
I started using this term a while back when talking about thyroid hormones to include the brain, kidneys, liver and muscle mass. The thyroid requires these 4 organs to be optimal functioning order for the full myriad of thyroid functions to work. Keeping these organ systems optimally healthy includes proper gut health including the microbiome, estrogen metabolism, nutrient absorption, immune health both in terms of autoimmune and infections, liver/kidney/detoxification health, iron status, etc. It becomes and requires the whole ‘Body Environment’ to be maximally healthy, and this makes sense because the thyroid hormone is used by every single cell in the body.
The majority of thyroid hormone conversion happens in the muscles, liver, kidney and brain. Of course, thyroid hormones are used in every cell in the body, but these 4 tissues are the most important. The liver converts around 80% of the T4 to T3 conversion for the body, followed by the kidneys with 10-20%, muscle mass at 5-10% and lastly the brain. The brain itself doesn’t have a huge percentage of conversion of T4 to T3, but may be the most sensitive organ to the actual effects of THs (Thyroid Hormones). When the THs are low, energy is drastically impacted and felt in the brain. Especially in the early morning.
Liver & Kidneys.
One of the main symptoms of low function thyroid, hypothyroidism, low T4 to T3 conversion and overall bad thyroid function is bloating. This is fluid bloating all over the body with the face being the main and most dramatic area. Many people experience puffy eyes or a puffy and stiff face in the morning. This is a classic sign of hypothyroid function. Check out our first thyroid podcast below for an in depth discusion of symptoms related to thyroid health.
How do you know the liver, kidneys or detoxification system is stressed and impacting THs? The first thing is you can see it with the puffiness and bloating, and you can also feel it. Another common habit that impacts THs and the detox system is alcohol consumption. If you are drinking, it is impacting your thyroid. The more you drink in quantity and frequency, the more your thyroid system can be impacted. Constipation and gut health can fit into the detoxification systems as areas impacting your thyroid.
Bio-Impedance Analysis is one of the first clinical ways of assessing if your THs are impacted by your liver, kidneys or detoxification systems. When the water balance is off this indicates your body isn’t ridding waste (edema/myxedema/bloat) very efficiently. This is one of the main functions of TH.
Labs:
GGT
Liver Enzymes: ALT and AST
Kidney Function: eGFR, BUN, Creatinine, Protein Total
GGT is one of the more important markers for toxic load. It is a marker related to glutathione. Glutathione and thyroid hormone function have a lot of cofactor nutrient crossover. For example, selenium is very improtant for both systems.
Muscle Mass.
Muscle mass may be the easiest tissue to test for when addressing thyroid function. A quick body comp screen, using Bio-Impedence Analysis, can reveal the percentage of total skeletal muscle mass in the body. Women need a minimum of 31% of their total weight to be muscle mass, while men need a minimum of 38%. Ideal amounts of muscle mass are a few percentage points higher.
When percentage muscle mass is lower than 31/38% there will be some sort of energy/thyroid problem. It also indicates a high stress state in the body.
‘Stress EATS muscle.’
This simple saying perfectly describes a high stress state, which will lead to a low thyroid state. Stress requires sugar and keeps the body locked into using sugar as its primary energy source. In this state the body will begin to break muscle down to fuel the sugar when there is a lack of sugar in the diet/blood stream. Simply stated, if muscle mass is low, we need to address it, usually with a stress reduction/diet/exercise plan.
Blood tests related to muscle mass that have a huge impact on thyroid function are Iron markers: Total iron (minimal), TIBC, % saturation and Ferritin (most important). Iron plays a pivotal roll in thyroid function and when ferritin is below 50, there is a huge chance you have an energy/thyroid problem.
Brain.
The brain is the most energy dependent organ in the body. It consumes at least 20% of the body’s energy for the day, if not more in today’s sedentary lifestyle. It requires a delicate balance of neurotransmitters, energy consumption, hydration and hormones. Thyroid hormones require iodine, and iodine is the rate limiting step for production. Iodine is necessary for optimal brain health, and has been found in the choroid plexus and other brain tissues. The back bone of THs is tyrosine, which is also the back bone of dopamine. They also have the same 24 hour circadian rhythm. THs wake the body up in the morning, and anyone who has low thyroid hormones can tell you, brain fog and mental sluggishness are crippling and worse in the morning.
Neurotransmitter balance is an absolute must when it comes to achieving ideal thyroid function. If the balance of dopamine, acetylcholine, GABA and serotonin is off, optimal energy from a properly functioning thyroid gland with balanced thyroid hormones is not going to happen. Remember, the brain is the largest consumer of energy and when the neurotransmitters (messengers) aren’t signaling, your brain doesn’t know what to do.
Sleep is huge part of brain health and quality sleep improves with optimization of TH function. See the Sleep Endeavor tab for a link many different articles on sleep.
Body Environment: Other areas and habits
Gut health and function is a big player for total health of the body. It is a necessary component to keep and improve thyroid function. Gut motility has a strong relationship with thyroid, as many low thyroid people have constipation issues. Gut function and health is also related and one of the best ways to improve autoimmunity. In the future, we can do a podcast/article on gut health.
Celtic Sea Salt in the morning. Check out this article for more info. Most people are salt deficient and Celtic Sea Salt is a great way to improve adrenal health, hydration, thyroid function and overall tissue health.
Food before coffee. This is one of the best ways to begin to create a habit of good thyroid function. Food and calories stimulate thyroid hormones. Coffee stimulates stress hormones and some dopamine. When improving thyroid function, utilizing food before coffee ends up being one of the best ways to rebuild the thyroid system. This very well may be the habit that changes your life.
Waking up at the same time every morning will help create a nice hormonal circadian rhythm. The body runs on a 24 hour clock. Keeping waking times, meal times, bed times all close to the same time every day can improve this rhythm and allow hormones to get into a better balance.
Get moving first thing in the morning. I am not talking a full blown, sweat inducing work out. This is more getting out of bed, walking 300 steps or so, doing a few jumping jacks, etc. Get the heart rate up a little to break the body out of the sleep mode you are waking from. This can be a game changer for many people in the process of waking up and getting the thyroid system back online.
Calories. 4 meals per day. 3-4 hours apart. Avoid allergens. Most people benefit from Dairy Free and Gluten Free living. Protein at every meal. This is a great baseline to start improving eating habits.
Sleep. Check out the the full sleep section. The Sleep Endeavor.
Ultimately, we can keep going with other factors to help improve thyroid function, because thyroid hormones impact every cell in the body. Improving thyroid function IS HEALTH. If it sounds like you need some help, please reach out to my office, Bluestone Health Group, and we would be happy to personalize your thyroid journey.