Hypothyroid? What Your Doctor Probably Didn’t Tell You

Five out of 100 Americans (above age 12) are living with hypothyroidism. If you’re one of them, read on to learn a few things that your endocrinologist may not have mentioned about your underactive thyroid gland and, potentially, the underlying disorder that caused it to malfunction. Understanding underlying causes can make a big difference in how you approach your thyroid disease treatment.  

#1 More often than not, hypothyroidism is caused by Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis which is also the most common autoimmune (AI) disease. Autoimmune disease occurs when your body’s immune system begins to attack healthy tissue. Your doctor can run lab tests to determine if you have Hashimoto’s.

#2 Medicine can manage hypothyroidism symptoms, but it will NOT address the underlying AI disease. In other words, while you might feel better on a prescription thyroid hormone replacement (e.g., Synthroid or levothyroxine), the medicine won’t stop your immune system from attacking your body and causing additional tissue damage.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) takes the position that Hashimoto’s “usually does not cause symptoms that require treatment unless hypothyroidism develops. In such cases, thyroid hormone replacement is required.”

The CDC takes an extremely limited approach to Hashimoto’s. Taking medication to address the thyroid damage that has already occurred is often appropriate, but treatment can’t stop there. Whether the Hashimoto’s causes other symptoms or not, ignoring the underlying AI disease is like putting duct tape over a warning light in your car so you can’t see it anymore. The car is still malfunctioning, it’s just not glaringly obvious anymore. Eventually, you’ll experience consequences for ignoring the warning light. Which is why . . .

#3 When you have one AI disease, you are likely develop another . . . and then another.

Approximately 25% of Americans who have an autoimmune disease have more than one. The more than 100 identified autoimmune diseases exist on a continuum. Although the symptoms and affected organs vary widely depending on how the immune attack manifests in a particular person – it goes for the “weakest link” in an individual’s body – all AI diseases share a common underlying attack by the immune system. To prevent the potential development of a second or third AI disease, it’s essential to find and address the root cause of the chronic immune reaction.  

#4  If you have an autoimmune disease, you have a “leaky” gut. There are natural ways to repair a leaky gut.

At the most basic level, leaky gut – AKA increased intestinal permeability – occurs when chronic inflammation in the digestive system, specifically the small intestines, overwhelms the body’s ability to heal the inflamed tissue that lines the digestive tract. As unrepaired damage builds up along the walls of the small intestine, bacteria, undigested food particles and other “toxins” that are never meant to leave the digestive tract will pass from the gut into the bloodstream. Once these “toxins” are circulating in the blood, the immune system reacts aggressively against them to protect the body from a perceived threat. Until a leaky gut is healed, toxins will continue to stream into the bloodstream and the immune system reaction will continue. Eventually, the immune response will cascade into an attack on the tissue of whatever part of the body is a “weak link” for that particular individual. For many people, that weak link is the thyroid.         

#5  Eating “healthy” when you have autoimmune disease does not mean following the U.S. Government’s Dietary Guidelines.

While there are commonalities in what constitutes a “healthy” diet – lots of vegetables, adequate protein, and healthy fats, for example – the ideal diet for any individual is uniquely based on their health history, activity level, age, sex, and other factors. With AI, food sensitivities (as opposed to food allergies) play an outsized role in determining a healthy diet. Whenever someone eats food that they’re sensitive to, the immune system reacts.

Individuals with AI disease often have sensitivities to gluten, dairy, and sugar, but it’s possible to have a sensitivity to any food. Through functional lab testing, I discovered – late in the game and after my immune system had already wreaked some havoc on my body – that because of a leaky gut I had developed a sensitivity to at least 22 different foods, many of which I was eating often. The good news is that identifying foods that you’re sensitive to and removing them from the diet temporarily – while simultaneously “sealing and healing” the gut – goes a long way toward quieting the immune system.

#6 There are many steps you can take to put AI disease into remission, but beyond writing a prescription, the typical doctor’s ability to help is very limited. A functional health practitioner, on the other hand, can help identify and resolve the root causes of your AI.

Although traditional doctors may have the very best of intentions, the U.S. healthcare system does not incentivize doctors to address the root causes of chronic illness or to tap into the body’s innate abilities to heal. The Western medical system is not set up to figure out why a patient developed a disease, but rather to prescribe medications and give generic recommendations to “follow a healthy diet, exercise more, and reduce stress.”

Functional health practitioners, including Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (NTP) such as myself, are interested in determining and addressing the underlying dysfunction in the body, often stemming from problems with nutrition and lifestyle, that are leading a client to experience symptoms, whether or not they are ever diagnosed as a disease.

Functional health is built upon the premise that the body was designed with an innate ability to heal and create balance within. As an NTP, my goal is to help you reignite that healing capability and achieve balance in your body so you can get back to feeling great and living your best life.

If you’re curious about how a functional health approach would apply to your health issues, schedule a free 20-minute discovery call and I’ll let you know.