The Tiny Organ with the Huge Impact

Thyroid conditions frequently go undiagnosed. Here's how to find out if you have a thyroid problem and what to do about it.

Small but mighty, the thyroid powers a huge number of our bodily functions and plays a large role in the good (or bad) we feel day to day. That’s because, at its most basic level, the thyroid influences how well the rest of our organs function, says former Parsley Health clinician Kerri Masutto, MD.

Masutto calls the impact of the thyroid “profound,” and says the consequences are equally impactful if it doesn’t work quite right. Short-term effects include poorly regulated blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, energy levels, and mental clarity. Long term, these impacts compound, making it difficult to get your systems back on track. “The thyroid is the thermostat for the entire metabolic system," she says.

Why thyroid issues are underdiagnosed

The thyroid produces a hormone called T4. When T4 hits the bloodstream, it becomes T3, the active form of the hormone that does the regulating work of the thyroid.

According to Masutto, hypothyroidism—which means your thyroid isn’t producing enough T4—is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in “traditional medicine.” Hyperthyroidism—the overproduction of T4—is less common, affecting only around 1.4 percent of the population, according to the NIH.

So why do thyroid conditions go undetected in many? Traditionally, primary care doctors only measure TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone, and even that’s not part of a traditional blood panel, Masutto says. Symptoms of hypothyroidism mirror life-stressor systems, she says, citing chronic fatigue or lethargy, weight gain, constipation, dry skin, and brittle hair. “Doctors don’t think to check unless patients ask,” Masutto says. “It’s often missed.”

TSH is produced by the brain to tell the thyroid how much T4 to make. Masutto describes TSH as the “manager” of your thyroid. Normal levels indicate a quiet manager who doesn’t need to stimulate more production. High levels indicate the manager is yelling because the thyroid isn’t working.

Masutto says only looking at TSH gives an incomplete picture of what’s going on within the body and, therefore, limits the number of possible treatment interventions and their efficacy.

Getting the whole picture of your thyroid health

Masutto advocates for measuring TSH as well as T4 and T3. This can help identify issues earlier—for example, recognizing a delay in conversion from T4 to T3 before the TSH “manager” starts shouting for more—as well as specify the source of the problem in order to better match the solution.

“If you don’t know exactly what the problem is, then you’re making treatment recommendations based on incomplete data,” Masutto says.

Part of the issue has been that research has historically fed into the conventional opinion that measuring TSH levels is an adequate screen for thyroid health. A 2003 study concluded that T4 tests only needed to be used when initial blood work showed abnormal TSH levels.

Some causes of hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism can most often be attributed to one of two issues—an autoimmune condition or lifestyle factors. Your blood work reveals if your thyroid is just chronically stressed or if it has already devolved into a clinical condition.

Other causes of hypothyroidism include radiation therapy, some medications, or thryoiditis.

4 steps you can take to support thyroid health

There are many ways to support your thyroid function naturally. In many cases, with these changes someone may be able to work with their doctor to get off of a prescription drug or reduce their dose. Either way, you should talk to your doctor to make sure you're getting the most support for your thyroid health.

1. Cut out gluten.

The autoimmune variation of hypothyroidism requires a more aggressive treatment plan that requires fairly dramatic nutrition changes, Masutto says. This may include eliminating more inflammatory foods like gluten from your diet entirely.

“The antibodies your body makes against gluten look similar to those made against the thyroid. They cross-react, causing the stimulation of more antibodies against the thyroid,” she says.

2. Reduce stress levels.

For those who discover their thyroid is operating at lower levels due to lifestyle factors, stress may be to blame. When you’re under chronic stress, your body produces excess levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Elevated cortisol levels stunt the production of T4.

Committing to a stress-relieving activity in your life, whether it be exercise, meditation, journaling, or something else, can be a great natural treatment for hypothyroidism.

3. Improve your diet.

Masutto recommends nutritional changes to mitigate stressors on the body. “Make sure you’re eating a wide variety of plants, lots of colors, and generally adhering to a healthy diet,” she says. “But also try to incorporate more sea vegetables and iodized salt (as opposed to sea salt), because iodine molecules are the building blocks of T4 production and T3 conversion.”

4. Get supplement support.

She also recommends taking magnesium and selenium under the guidance of your doctor or taking a natural thyroid medication or thyroid supplement like Parsley Health’s Thyroid Balance. This supplement contains nutrients like selenium and zinc, which have been shown to improve thyroid function, and rhodiola, an adaptogen that helps support energy levels and combat stress-induced fatigue. Research has shown rhodiola can stimulate the nervous system, decrease depression, enhance work performance, and eliminate fatigue, all features of clinical hypothyroidism.

A recent study also points to ashwagandha as a possible supplement that could also help to lower stress and, therefore, support thyroid function. Over eight weeks, 50 people with hypothyroidism took 600 milligrams of the adaptogen daily. They saw a 41.5 percent increase in T3 and a 19.6 percent increase in T4 levels as well as a 17.5 percent decrease in TSH. The results suggest lower cortisol levels could aid effective hormone conversion and, in turn, allow TSH to stabilize.

How Parsley Health diagnoses thyroid issues

At Parsley, thyroid health is a topic we discuss every single day. Learn more about how we look at markers of thyroid health beyond TSH here.

Ready to begin your thyroid-healing journey? At Parsley, we not only diagnoses thyroid conditions, we create personalized plans to address them at the root.

Schedule a free call to learn more about our root-cause approach to healing, how to use insurance to pay for your Parsley medical fees, and how we can personalize your road map to feeling your best.