Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
HYPOTHYROIDISM Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Hypothyroidism is where the body does not produce enough thyroid hormone. This can happen if there is a problem in the thyroid itself or a problem in the organ that controls the thyroid. For this lecture we will focus on the …
How the Thyroid Impacts Weight Management Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND One topic that comes up often around summertime is weight management. Everyone wants to be ready for the beach! And one part of managing our weight is by working with our thyroid. Everyone knows the …
Thyroid Health
Written by Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com
A few weeks ago I finished my mini-series on thyroid health. I wanted to give everyone a chance to review it before I did a summary. So today I will do a quick summary of the thyroid. Throughout this series, we’ve learned what the thyroid is, what it does and why this is so important. We have gone over many of the lab tests that are important to thyroid health. Once labs have been done we have covered what to consider when it comes to complementary care. Conventional treatment is just as important. If you have a TSH of 6 which as we know indicates a low thyroid, this must be treated with both conventional and holistic methods. While it is important to work with your doctor to determine the best medication for your desired outcome, you have to know your options. These can include Armor, Synthroid, and Levothyroxine for under-active thyroid. (1) For overactive thyroid treatments can include thionamides or radioactive iodine therapy.†(2)
In addition to going over basic hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, we have covered autoimmune issues that can affect the thyroid and how it can affect other systems such as the adrenals, female health and even weight.†
SUMMER AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE FLARE-UPS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 378 >> Listen Now!
What can you do if you haven’t been feeling well and suspect it might be the thyroid? First, make a list of symptoms you are experiencing. Relying on memory is never exact. I know I personally get anxious waiting to see my primary care. Symptoms of thyroid disorder as I previously mentioned include weight gain/weight loss, feeling hot/cold, changes in sleep pattern, fatigue, menstrual irregularities, mood changes, hair loss, bone loss, constipation, and dry skin/hair. (3) I go through a complete list of symptoms in my blog about hyper and hypothyroidism.†
Once you have this list of symptoms, go to your doctor for blood tests. You can talk to your doctor about TSH, T3, T4 and antibodies to get as many details as possible. If weight gain or weight loss is an issue, do your food log. My previous blog goes into depth on these topics!†
Once you have a food log and blood work, talk to a nutritionist to see what is going on. You can also check out a blog on InViteⓇ Health that relates to you. Do you seem to have adrenal fatigue? Are you a woman postmenopausal? These are all things that are important to address.†
Working with the underlying issues is most important. However, that can take time. Working with the symptoms can also be important so that you feel better now. There are a number of InViteⓇ products that can be helpful. I’ve included products relating to symptoms not addressed in my prior blogs:†
This can accompany both hyper and hypothyroidism. What are some things that can be helpful? InViteⓇ Health has a wonderful multivitamin designed to help with energy called Performance Multivitamin. For those who do not like swallowing pills, a powdered multi called Multi energy powder can help. Studies show that long term, a good multivitamin helps with energy.† (5)
IS A POWDERED MULTIVITAMIN BENEFICIAL? – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST EPISODE 551 >> Listen Now!
For those with digestion problems, InViteⓇ has Digestive HxⓇ. Studies show that supplementation with enzymes helps with bowel movements and digestive function. (6) A probiotic, for example Probiotic HxⓇ, helps with constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. Studies show that a good probiotic is very important for a health digestive tract! †(7)
L Theanine has been found in studies to be helpful with reducing anxiety. †(8)
Fish oil has been found in studies to be good for dryness in skin, and hair.† (9)
https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/thyroid-drugs.html
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/overactive-thyroid-hyperthyroidism/treatment/#:~:text=Medicines%20called%20thionamides%20are%20commonly,before%20you%20notice%20any%20benefit.
https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/thyroid-drugs.html
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/overactive-thyroid-hyperthyroidism/treatment/#:~:text=Medicines%20called%20thionamides%20are%20commonly,before%20you%20notice%20any%20benefit.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4750202/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6910206/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/vitamins-and-supplements/health-benefits-of-taking-probiotics
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836118/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fish-oil-for-skin#how-to-use
Learn more about several autoimmune dysfunctions of the thyroid such as Hashimotos, graves’ disease and more from Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND.
When your thyroid is underperforming, this is known as hypothyroidism. This can create symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, hair loss and more.
thyroid
Written by Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com
If you want to know how your thyroid is functioning, these are the factors you need to check out!†
To start off, there are certain blood tests that are done to determine thyroid health. The first is TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone. This hormone is in an inverse relationship to thyroid function. This hormone stimulates the thyroid to produce more or less hormones. For example, if there is too much thyroid hormone, the TSH will go down in order to stop stimulating the thyroid and lower the amount of hormone. If there is too little thyroid hormone, the TSH will go up in order to stimulate the thyroid to produce more hormones.†
A great way to think about this is to imagine two people talking. In order to get someone to listen, you might increase your volume, or in this case, if you wanted the body to hear you asking for more hormone, you would produce more TSH.†
Low TSH is associated with hyperthyroidism, or high amount of thyroid hormone, and high TSH is associated with hypothyroidism, or low amount of thyroid hormone. While the range for TSH is quite large, the optimum range is actually close to 2.0. Anything much above or below 2.0 should be addressed by working with one of our qualified nutritionists.(1)†
Moving on to thyroxine, or T4, and triiodothyronine, or T3. These are the main thyroid hormones that we test. These hormones come in two forms called bound and free. Bound refers to T3/T4 that is attached to a protein, kind of like a passenger on a ship traveling through the ocean. Free or unbound T3/T4 is the form that is active. One way to think about this is to think of a storage closet. The TSH is produced to tell the body to make more T4 and T3. Some of it is promptly put into storage, aka bound. The rest is put to use right away. Now, in case you were wondering what the heck the difference between T4 and T3 is, it is pretty simple. The T4 becomes T3, which then goes out to do its jobs, which is all the things we talked about in the last article.†
THE BASICS OF THE THYROID. Read Now>>
Free T4 is the most common test, although free T3 is often done as well. If T4/T3 is low or high, it can indicate hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. If only one of these markers is abnormal, that can indicate a conversion issue that should be addressed. (2)†
Moving beyond hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, there are tests for autoimmune, as well as thyroid inflammation. One of the causes for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism is autoimmune. In the case of the thyroid, there are two antibodies that are highly sensitive for thyroid autoimmune. These are called anti-TPO and antithyroglobulin. In addition to these tests, thyroglobulin can be measured as a test for thyroid inflammation. While this can be measured in a healthy thyroid, they are elevated in the presence of inflammation. (3)†
In addition to blood tests, ultrasound of the thyroid can also be useful. This can be used to differentiate between “growths” such as nodules/goiters/cysts and can usually determine if a lesion is cancerous or not. Additionally, radio-labeled iodine can be used to determine the activity of nodules and even if cancer has spread beyond the thyroid.†
CHEMICALS THAT HARM YOUR HORMONES & HEALTH – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 140. Listen Now>>
A fine needle aspiration as well as computer tomography of the thyroid helps to evaluate the presence of cancer. (4)†
Last but not least is a new test available! Thermography is being used to help detect malignant thyroid tumors since they have a higher temperature than the rest of the thyroid.†
Ok if this seems like a lot to take in let me give you a fast summary: TSH, T3/T4 and thyroid antibodies are the most valuable tests for your thyroid. If TSH is high, the amount of thyroid hormone being produced is too little. If TSH is low, the amount of hormone being produced is too much. If T3/T4 is too high or too low, there is too much or too little thyroid hormone in the body. Antibodies are just bad and no one wants those.†
Now next week comes the exciting stuff. I’ve explained what the thyroid is and what it does. I’ve gone over tests. Now, let’s talk supplements!†
