Transcript*
Statistics on Thyroid Disease: Why We Need to Pay Attention
Hello dear friends,
According to the American Thyroid Association, about 12% of the American population will likely develop a thyroid condition in their lifetime. This translates to more than 20 million Americans experiencing some type of thyroid dysfunction.
Unfortunately, about 60% of those with thyroid disorders do not know there is a problem. Due to the fact that undiagnosed thyroid disease can put one at risk for certain serious conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, pregnancy complications, and infertility, it’s important to be aware of how our thyroid is functioning.
Thankfully, we can nourish our thyroid with our lifestyle practices and by using natural methods, such as essential oils, to address the triggers that lead to thyroid deregulation.
In today’s clinical tip, I want to provide you with some integrative medicine resources to support your thyroid. First, I will discuss some basic information about the thyroid. Then, I will review how thyroid hormones play a crucial role in regulating our physiology. Finally, I will share some highlights on an integrative medicine approach for better thyroid health from two popular podcasts.
In an upcoming video, I will provide some key takeaways for you to consider regarding caring for your thyroid gland.
As always, all the references and links I mention will be available in the resource section.
So, let’s get started.
The Thyroid Gland
The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located in the middle of your neck. It is an endocrine organ that produces and releases thyroid hormones. The thyroid impacts almost every other organ system in the body and interacts with most cellular receptors.
Thyroid hormones help to regulate:
- metabolism
- emotions
- brain function
- heart rate
- muscle contraction
- liver processes
Thyroid hormones also affect our physiology by influencing our:
- breathing
- digestion
- body temperature
- brain development
- mental activity
- skin and bone maintenance
- cholesterol levels
- fertility
There are two types of thyroid dysfunction, low functioning thyroid, hypothyroidism, and an overactive thyroid, hyperthyroidism. Autoimmune diseases of the thyroid include Hashimoto’s disease and Grave’s disease, which can be the cause of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism respectfully.
Symptoms of Thyroid Imbalances
Since our thyroid influences everything from our cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, and reproductive systems and so much more, there are many different symptoms that may seem disconnected if one is experiencing thyroid issues.
Common symptoms include:
- changes in body weight
- fatigue
- mood disturbances
- brain fog
- anxiety
- depression
- shifts in metabolism
- digestive complaints
- hair loss
- skin issues
- sleep problems
- … and more.
Besides an array of symptoms, labs can also be helpful to determine the functioning of your thyroid.
Thyroid Labs and Their Caveats
Lab tests for thyroid levels have their caveats. Many doctors use Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) to determine thyroid activity. This is not a direct measurement of thyroid hormones. Rather, it determines the signaling strength of the pituitary’s communication to the thyroid to release thyroid hormones. For example, based on the feedback loop between the pituitary and thyroid, if TSH is high and thyroid hormones are low, it indicates that the thyroid is not responding with proper hormone output to its chemical stimulus (TSH).
Therefore, the TSH test is not optimal for determining the overall functioning of thyroid hormones in your body; however, it can rule in or out a pathology or disease process if its levels are abnormal. To determine how your thyroid is working, you will want to get a full thyroid panel. This includes both free and bound thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroid antibodies (e.g., TPO, TgAb). There are also even more specific, not as commonly used tests for determining thyroid health, such as reverse T3 (rT3) and T3 Uptake. (This post goes into more detail about labs.)
An integrative doctor will consider all the interwoven factors and triggers of thyroid imbalances to determine why these labs may not be optimal. This includes assessing the health of the gut and liver, where conversion of inactive thyroid hormone to its active form takes place.
It is never wise to just treat thyroid levels by adjusting thyroid medication, as this can send other hormones into a tizzy. Furthermore, it may be that other factors are causing the thyroid hormone to be imbalanced, not the thyroid itself.
Two Resources for Thyroid Health
Now that you know more about the thyroid, and signs to look for if it is imbalanced, I want to share with you two podcasts that provide information on an integrative approach for thyroid health.
1. Essential Oils for Thyroid Health
In this episode of the Essential Oil Revolution, I shared how essential oils can support thyroid function. Topics included:
- The various ways essential oils can support thyroid function by modulating specific thyroid triggers (5 min)
- Some popular calming and hormone balancing essential oils for addressing thyroid symptoms (7 min)
- How essential oils affect on the microbiome influences thyroid health (11 min)
- A list of popular essential oils for common hypothyroid and hyperthyroid issues including pain, inflammation, skin issues, digestive disturbances, poor detoxification, and anxiety (15 min)
- Essential oils shown in clinical studies to directly impact hypothyroid and hyperthyroid symptoms and thyroid disease symptoms (18 min)
- How naturopathic and functional medicine doctors can help patients with thyroid imbalances (25 min)
Click here for the link to listen to the show and access additional resources and detailed show notes.
2. Optimizing Thyroid Health and Healing Thyroid Disease Using Evidence-Based Integrative and Functional Medicine with Dr. Nikolas Hedberg, DC, DABCI, DACBN
In this episode of the Essential Oil Revolution, I was honored to be joined by the go-to thyroid expert and specialist, Dr. Hedberg. He is an internationally esteemed, evidence-based, research-oriented, and holistic, functional medicine and chiropractic physician with over 20 years of clinical experience. He is also a lecturer, presenter, formulator, author, educator, and podcast host.
Dr. Hedberg excels at helping his patients and the practitioners he mentors to find the underlying causes of thyroid disorders and other complex diseases. He then masterfully corrects these imbalances through his exquisite and detailed understanding of nutrition, lifestyle, natural hormones, herbal medicine, and proper supplementation.
During the show, Dr. Hedberg reviews his functional and integrative approach to thyroid health. He highlights all the interwoven and intricate connections between the thyroid and our overall wellness. He also touches upon underlying causes of thyroid disease that are often overlooked and unknown. These include infections, dietary factors, nutrient deficiencies, genetics, detoxification, and more. Finally, we discuss Dr. Hedberg’s approach to healing the thyroid and how essential oils play a role.
Below is an overview of the subjects covered during this empowering and informative podcast.
Topics include:
- The consequences of undiagnosed thyroid disorders (30 seconds)
- The number one symptom of thyroid disease and other accompanying signs (6 min 30 sec)
- The link between thyroid hormone and energy production in the mitochondria (9 min)
- The many factors that negatively affect the thyroid (9 min 30 sec)
- The gut-thyroid axis (11 min)
- How to evaluate the cause of fatigue and thyroid symptoms in a patient (15 min)
- The three factors that contribute to an autoimmune disease, such as Hashimoto’s disease of the thyroid (16 min)
- The two most important minerals for thyroid function (20 min)
- How hormones impact the thyroid gland (22 min)
- Other common triggers of thyroid disruption including chemicals, gluten, infections, isolation, poor adrenal function, stress, and lifestyle (26 min -46 min)
You will definitely want to tune-in to arm yourself with this critical information and enhance your thyroid function and overall vitality.
I hope you find this information helpful in assisting you with keeping your thyroid functioning at its best!
In the next video, I’ll review the clinical takeaways on thyroid health and put it all together.
If you like this content, please spread the word by subscribing to my YouTube channelandnewsletter. This will allow us to reach more people and empower them with natural health information and safe and evidence-based essential oil education.
As a subscriber yourself, you’ll stay up to date on my latest clinical tips, blogs, news, and podcasts. You will also be the first to hear about the release of my upcoming brain health program!
Additional Resources:
- Thyroid (Cleveland Clinic)
- Essential Oils for Thyroid Health (My article with references)
- Hashimoto’s’ Thyroiditis (My article in NDNR)
- Optimizing Thyroid Health and Healing Thyroid Disease Using Evidence-Based Integrative and Functional Medicine with Dr. Nikolas Hedberg, DC, DABCI, DACBN (422 of the Essential Oils Revolution Podcast with references)
- The Thyroid-Gut Axis: How to Nourish Your Microbiome with Food and Nutrients for Better Thyroid Health (My article with references)
- So You Have Hypothyroidism, Now What? (My article with references)
- Essential Oils for Thyroid Health (Ep. 420 of the Essential Oils Revolution podcast with references)
- A Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Approach to Supporting the Brain Using Essential Oils: Essential Oils for the Brain Part 2 (My clinical tip with references)
*Transcript has been edited for grammar and ease of reading.
