Could It Be Your Thyroid?

Could It Be Your Thyroid?

Many people come to our clinic seeking help for what they believe to be thyroid problems. In fact, thyroid disease affects 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men. Although we treat a lot of people with thyroid problems, the reality is 50% of people with thyroid problems go undiagnosed.

Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid. Hypothyroidism is the production of too little thyroid hormone. Conventional medicine fails to treat the underlying cause of thyroid problems. But a Functional Medicine practitioner, such as our provider, Keri Sutton, asks why? Why are you having problems?
There are 4 major root causes of thyroid problems:

1. Exposure to environmental toxins which act as hormone or endocrine disruptors and interferer with thyroid hormone metabolism and function. Toxins such as pesticides interfere with thyroid function and can cause issues such as hyperthyroidism. Heavy metals, such as mercury can also affect thyroid function. Kare Health and Wellness can test your heavy metal levels with a simple blood test.

2. Chronic Stress. Some might view stress as inevitable. The truth is that there is an intimate interaction between stress hormones and thyroid function. The more stress, the more your adrenal glands suffer, the less your thyroid functions correctly. Correcting poor thyroid functions means addressing the effect of chronic stress.

3. Inflammation. The biggest source of chronic inflammation is gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt and oats. The negative inflammation reaction occurs mostly because of our damaged guts, poor diet and unhealthy stress levels.

4. Nutrient deficiencies. Being deficient in key nutrients, such as iodine, vitamin D, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin B contributes to thyroid dysfunction.

Know the signs of thyroid troubles. The first step is to identify any of the chronic symptoms associated with thyroid problems:

• Sluggishness in the morning
• Poor concentration and memory
• Dry skin
• Low body temperature
• Low sex drive
• Fluid retention
• High cholesterol
• Hoarse voice
• Thinning hair

If you suspect thyroid troubles, take the steps to rebalance your thyroid. Make a thorough inventory of any of the symptoms to see if you might suffer from hypothyroidism. Get the right thyroid tests. Ask for a full-spectrum thyroid test that includes TSH, free T3, free T4, TPO, and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. Check with Kare for celiac disease with a celiac panel. Consider heavy metal toxicity testing with our blood test. Lastly, Check your vitamin D level.

Once we have identified a thyroid problem, utilize the advice and suggestions of our Functional Medicine provider to address the underlying causes of the problem. Finding the root of the problem is the key to finding a treatment that works for you!

Keri Sutton - RN, MSN, ANP-C, AGPCNP-BC

Keri is a Nurse Practitioner and founder at Kare Health & Wellness. Keri's pursuit of personal answers to her own health issues landed her in the top of Functional Medicine. As she utilized functional Medicine to get her own health and life back, she made it her life's work to bring this empowering form of healthcare to as many people as she can.

About Us

Our mission is to create a safe environment for our patients to share their story and be empowered to take control of their health.  We constantly challenge patients to think differently about their health. We never find contentment in simply being disease free. We want to help patients optimize their vitality of life so that they can strive for things that they thought were unattainable.

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