A Functional Perspective on the Common Condition
Prevention is a foundation of functional medicine. When I think of a disease that could easily be prevented if screened for early, the thyroid immediately comes to mind. Almost 10 percent of the population is estimated to have some degree of thyroid imbalance, but only one percent is officially diagnosed. This means that nine out of ten people with early thyroid disease will likely not get the preventive help they need.
I think of the thyroid gland as a mirror of our personal lifestyle. As our environment changes, so does the thyroid. Its function is designed to be activated or suppressed in response to the daily stressors and metabolic demands we face.
Patients with imbalanced thyroid glands present with a variety of complaints. Some of them are:
Mental or physical fatigue
Unintentional weight gain or loss
Insulin resistance or Metabolic Syndrome
High cholesterol despite best dietary efforts
Depression
Infertility
When functional doctors consider thyroid etiology for the patient’s presenting symptoms, they usually consider what kind of past or current stressors surround their patient. Stress affects production of thyroid-releasing hormone at the hypothalamic level, influences the production of the thyroid-stimulating hormone at the pituitary level, and interferes with the production of the T4 hormone by the thyroid gland itself and even at the peripheral level by affecting conversion of T4 to T3 hormone. It should come as no surprise that we consider the Ayurvedic (ancient Indian) view of the body chakras, thyroid function is intimately connected with blockages in the throat chakra, related to suppressing sadness, grief, helplessness, and such.
In addition to stress, we should always consider what environmental triggers could the patient potentially have been exposed to. Could an infection or some sort of inflammation create a compromised milieu for the functioning of the thyroid gland? Many different viral, bacterial, fungal, and even parasitic infections can trigger autoimmune inflammation of the thyroid gland. Therefore, identification and treatment of any such underlying infection is of utmost importance.
Another consideration: is there some sort of nutritional deficiency or a presence of food sensitivity, which could potentially compromise functioning of the thyroid gland? Getting checked for food sensitivities or Celiac disease might get us some answers. If a particular deficiency is identified, prompt supplementation may lead to the correction of the imbalance.
I must mention a common dietary question I hear from patients: how does iodine fit into the picture of a healthy thyroid? In truth, there is no straightforward answer to this question. It seems like iodine deficiency as well as the excess of iodine in the diet or supplementation, can cause disturbances with thyroid. I typically recommend that the salt the patient consumes for cooking should be iodized. Interestingly, iodine deficiency seems to be most prevalent in pregnant, vegetarian, and vegan patients.
The takeaway message of this article is this: if you feel that your symptoms could be resulting from thyroid imbalance, get it checked out and consider how managing your stress, diet, and lifestyle can help you heal this common condition. Lifestyle interventions, however small, always improve thyroid function, and this is most likely thanks to the mitigation of an inflammatory state, which either directly or indirectly instigated thyroid dysfunction in the first place.
The author of Diet Slave No More!, Svetlana Kogan, MD, IFMCP is a Board-Certified Internal Medicine, Holistic & Functional Medical Doctor with 25 years of experience. CustomLongevity.com | 239.676.6883
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