The Gut-Thyroid Connection: Healing your gut might be the key to reversing your hypothyroid symptoms
What if we told you that healing your gut might be the key to reversing your hypothyroid symptoms and restoring optimal thyroid function. There is a tremendous connection between the gut and thyroid that is often overlooked - let’s dive in deeper!
You might think that the gut and the thyroid don’t have much overlap, but they are actually very interconnected! The optimal function of the gut can have a major impact on the optimal function of the thyroid - so much so that your hypothyroid symptoms might actually be a result of poor gut function.
Conventional medicine treats all of the body systems as completely separate, suggesting there is no influence or impact on the thyroid from other systems. Unfortunately, that belief is often the reason so many clients struggle with persistent thyroid symptoms even with conventional thyroid treatment and medication. This is because the optimal function of the thyroid is hugely influenced by what happens in the body as a whole, especially what is happening in the gut!
Let’s start with identifying the most common symptoms of hypothyroid or underactive thyroid function:
Constipation
Fatigue
Unintentional weight gain
Weight loss resistance
Dry skin
Hair loss
Brittle nails
Depression and anxiety
Low body temperature or feeling cold often
Heavy or irregular periods
Infertility
The thyroid is the pacemaker of the body and controls the speed that our cells, tissues and body processes occur. This is why hypothyroidism can have such widespread effects across so many body systems from digestion to energy and even weight. The healthy functioning of the thyroid is not isolated to the thyroid gland, but rather involves three big players including the brain and nervous system, the gut and the liver.
This is why effective thyroid support must involve a holistic approach that works on all the areas of influence that includes the gut, liver, metabolism and deeper insight into inflammation and key nutrient needs.
Now for today, we are just going to dig into how the gut and the thyroid are connected as you can see this is a bigger conversation.
The gut and the thyroid influence each other in three main ways:
Gut absorption of key thyroid nutrients
Gut Inflammation impacting thyroid function
Gut microbiome controls conversion of active thyroid hormones
Stay tuned as we dive into exactly how these organs impact one another!
Gut absorption of key thyroid nutrients
The gut is in charge of the breakdown and absorption of key minerals that are needed to support the thyroid such as selenium, iodine, zinc, copper, iron and key protein building blocks called amino acids. So first, we have to make sure we are eating the key foods that contain these needed thyroid nutrients so working on the foundations of diet is the first place we start.
Then second, if you experience GI symptoms regularly, like burping, bloating, gas, constipation, and/or loose stools,these symptoms suggest the digestive process is impaired which results in malabsorption of the critical nutrients needed for the thyroid to function. These low mineral and nutrient levels can lead to poor thyroid hormone production and/or conversion which can result in hypothyroid symptoms. Often malabsorption is due to low stomach acid, bacterial overgrowth or SIBO or congested drainage pathways that all can be uncovered and addressed through deeper testing. In practice we measure these nutrients in our clients and often see low levels of key minerals, including selenium, which can play a big role in the autoimmune thyroid process.
We often see this paired with low diversity in the gut microbiome and gut permeability leading to the impaired absorption of these key nutrients. We run a functional stool test to look at the health of the gut microbiome. This shows us exactly what we need to address in the gut in order to eliminate symptoms and strengthen optimal thyroid function.
Gut Inflammation impacting Thyroid Function
Chronic inflammation can be a driver of hypothyroid conditions as it can impact the production of thyroid hormone as well as can increase the risk of developing autoimmune hypothyroid called Hashimotos.
The gut plays a major role in regulating inflammation and the immune system - that also means that if there are any imbalances in the gut it can be a source of chronic inflammation that impacts the thyroid. A big area we often see are low levels of beneficial bacteria that produce by-products called short chain fatty acids that help with immune regulation of the thyroid. Short chain fatty acids are produced when the beneficial bacteria in our gut break down the fiber from our food. When these by-products are not present in abundance immune dysregulation and inflammation can occur that impacts thyroid health.
Inflammation can occur when the gut barrier is broken down also known as leaky gut. This can allow inflammatory compounds from the gut, such as LPS molecules from opportunistic bacteria, to enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation throughout the body impacting the thyroid. We often see this inflammation elevated on blood and stool tests and we see them alongside thyroid symptoms like chronic fatigue, unintentional weight gain and irregular bowel movements.
Some clients come to us with Hashimotos, after being told by their doctor the only treatment is medication. Hashimotos is an autoimmune condition that involves an activation of the immune system. This can be seen with the elevation of thyroid antibodies markers TG and TPO. These markers are often not included in routine thyroid screening and thus many clients don’t know until years into struggling with hypothyroid symptoms. A Hashimotos diagnosis is important to know as it emphasizes the need of supporting the immune system as a part of the thyroid care plan.
In practice, we run a full thyroid panel so we can get a full picture of how the brain is communicating to the thyroid and how the thyroid is communicating to the rest of the body. Unfortunately, many clients struggle to get a complete thyroid panel from their conventional PCPs or providers.
A Full Thyroid Panel Includes:
TSH
Free T3
Free T4
Reverse T3
TG and TPO antibodies
Nutrition plays a large role in the optimal function of the thyroid as well as nourishing our gut in order for our thyroid to thrive. We work to strengthen the foundational support with our clients because these are the tools that must be in place for your gut, immune system and thyroid to be thriving!
Gut Microbiome Controls Conversion of Active Thyroid Hormones
We often see clients with subclinical hypothyroidism which means they are experiencing thyroid symptoms but their lab ranges are still “normal”. Oftentimes the TSH is the only marker of the thyroid being looked at. TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone is only looking at how the brain is communicating to the thyroid, it is not looking at how the thyroid is communicating to the rest of the body. Doctors are typically not addressing anything until the TSH is out of the reference range, and at this point the thyroid has already been impacted. Again, this is why a FULL thyroid panel is so important as the Free T3 marker is the active thyroid hormone that is actually doing the major feel good actions of the thyroid!
One of the major ways the thyroid and gut are connected is through the gut's role in activating the thyroid hormone into Free T3 to actually have beneficial effects in our body. This activation process is when the thyroid takes the inactive thyroid hormone called T4 and converts it into the active thyroid hormones called T3. This key conversion step doesn’t just happen in the thyroid, it actually predominantly happens in the liver AND the gut.
This conversion is done by an enzyme that comes from your beneficial bacteria. So if your gut environment is being impacted by anything like an opportunistic pathogen or low beneficial bacteria, this could impact the conversion of T4 into T3 and contribute to symptoms of low thyroid or hypothyroid function.
Bottom line is - if you are experiencing symptoms of hypothyroid you must work with the body as a whole and address your gut to have an optimally functioning thyroid!
Our approach
If your doctor is only fixating on the TSH level and managing your symptoms with medication, they are missing the big picture as to why the thyroid is not thriving. A holistic approach focuses on WHY the thyroid is not functioning by identifying the root causes and working to address those to eliminate the symptoms and optimize not only the thyroid but the whole health environment:
The thyroid ensures our body is safe and this requires optimal macronutrients, optimal intake, minerals and nervous system support, to name a few! We use comprehensive lab testing to guide us in customizing nutrition, lifestyle tools and targeted supplements to fully heal the gut and optimize thyroid function.
If our holistic approach resonates with you, we would love to connect on a complimentary 30-min strategy call to discuss your case and share about how we can help to support you!
