For most people with thyroid imbalances, the thyroid is not the primary problem, but a secondary problem that is giving off the noticeable symptoms.  Thyroid hormones are very sensitive to the health in other parts of the body and the hormones' effectiveness can be changed dramatically by an imbalance in health in these other areas.

There are two hormones produced by the thyroid that we are going to discuss.  T3, the active thyroid hormone, is produced in very small amounts from the thyroid.  T4, the inactive thyroid hormone, is produced in much larger amounts so that it can be converted to T3 in other areas of the body, such as the digestive tract.  This is one reason why the thyroid hormones are so sensitive to health in the other areas of the body.  If the digestive tract is unable to convert the inactive hormone into the active hormone, then the thyroid has done its job correctly, but the symptoms of a thyroid imbalance can still appear.  Up to 20% of the available active hormone will come from the digestive tract. This may explain why many patients have symptoms of low thyroid, yet their blood work is normal.

Another way thyroid hormone availability can be affected is by stress. When there is a large amount of stress, continuous stress, or both, the body releases cortisol to help.  However, cortisol has the ability to reduce the amount of the active thyroid hormone that is converted from the inactive hormone.  As most of us know ongoing stress can be emotional, but it can also be physical, such as a nagging injury, or it can be chemical such as a poor diet or a toxic chemical exposure. 

The first step we take with a patient who has thyroid symptoms is to identify whether the problem is an autoimmune disease or an imbalance in the hormone system.  We do this through a blood test that identifies the level of thyroid antibodies.  If the thyroid antibodies are high that means the body's immune system is attacking the thyroid.  The immune system is confused and needs to be looked at carefully to see why it has become confused.  People with this type of thyroid problem, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, can have either hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms, however, 50%-90% of people with hypothyroidism have an autoimmune thyroid disease.  Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common cause for hypothyroidism in the United States.

If it is not an immune system problem, then we take a closer look at the thyroid itself to see if it needs nutritional support to help produce the hormones.  We will also look at the digestive system, because as we talked about above, this is where many of the inactive hormones are converted to the active hormones. 

It is immensely important to know if the problem is immune system confusion or hormone system imbalance.  They are two entirely different paths toward proper health and must be identified before moving forward.  This is why laboratory testing is so useful to us, it allows us to identify the underlying problem and resolve it by supporting the body instead of addressing only the symptoms.