The thyroid system serves as the master control center of your body’s metabolism, yet it is often misunderstood and overlooked in addressing health concerns.
Thyroid hormone, especially active thyroid hormone T3, acts as the body’s master metabolic regulator. It is like the spark plug for your cellular power plants – the mitochondria. Every cell in the body relies on thyroid hormone to regulate its metabolism, impacting the systemic function of the body. When energy production decreases, the body prioritizes essential survival functions, with nonessential tasks like maintaining hair and nails considered optional features.
A sluggish thyroid is not a malfunction but a protective mechanism to conserve energy when resources are scarce. By improving thyroid function and metabolism, the body experiences increased activity across all systems, leading to better energy levels, clearer thinking, optimized digestion, improved sleep, and balanced hormones.
A sluggish metabolism affects enzymatic activity throughout the body, leading to digestive challenges, food sensitivities, compromised immune function, weight management difficulties, insulin resistance, cognitive changes, reduced detoxification capacity, elevated cholesterol levels, and altered endothelial function.
Dr. Broda Barnes noted that symptoms of low metabolism vary from person to person, highlighting the complexity of thyroid issues. However, this state can often be reversed through targeted lifestyle and dietary changes, known as a pro-metabolic approach.
The body has an innate capacity for healing, and through appropriate support and care, metabolic function can be restored and optimized. This guide explores the importance of thyroid health for overall well-being, how to assess and improve thyroid health, and how to optimize thyroid function naturally.
The thyroid system is a complex network that affects every cell in the body, serving as a master metabolic regulator. It consists of four essential departments: the production department (thyroid gland), conversion centers (primarily liver), transportation network (bloodstream), and end users (cells). These departments work together to produce, convert, transport, and utilize thyroid hormones effectively for optimal metabolic function. For example, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can impact the utilization of cellular T3, a topic that will be thoroughly examined later.
Keep in mind that optimal thyroid function is not just about production, but also about cellular response. Even if your blood has perfect levels of thyroid hormones, if your cells cannot effectively utilize T3, you will not fully experience the benefits of proper thyroid function.
Evaluating Your Thyroid Health: Going Beyond Standard Blood Tests
While blood tests offer valuable information, they do not provide the whole picture of cellular thyroid function. You may have “normal” thyroid levels in your bloodwork but still experience impaired metabolic function at the cellular level.
Most doctors heavily rely on TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) testing. The common belief is that a high TSH indicates your thyroid is struggling to keep up with demand, while a normal TSH signifies adequate thyroid function. However, this oversimplified approach overlooks important factors:
T4 must be converted to active T3 for use
Poor T4-to-T3 conversion can occur even with a “normal” TSH
Low TSH does not automatically rule out hypothyroidism
It is recommended to conduct a full thyroid panel including TSH, T3, T4, and rT3 levels. Ideally, your comprehensive thyroid assessment should reveal:
Low TSH
T3 levels at the upper range
rT3 levels at the lower range
Moderate T4 levels
However, even if all these markers show “normal” results, it does not guarantee optimal thyroid function. Research indicates that blood T3 levels can significantly differ from tissue T3 levels. Additionally, various factors such as illness, infection, poor sleep, and stress can impact your bloodwork on any given day.
Two metrics that can help assess if the thyroid system is imbalanced and requires support are rT3 and cholesterol. Elevated rT3 can impede thyroid function by competing with T3 for cellular receptors, blocking T3’s metabolic effects, and reducing metabolic rate. Elevated cholesterol often signals suboptimal thyroid function, as cholesterol accumulation indicates a failure to convert it into steroids, a reliable indicator of hypothyroidism according to Dr. Ray Peat.
The intricate relationship between cholesterol and thyroid function serves as an additional tool for evaluating metabolic health beyond standard thyroid panels.
The Temperature and Pulse Method
The most straightforward way to assess metabolic rate and ensure active thyroid hormone reaches your cells is by monitoring your body temperature with a basal body thermometer and measuring your pulse. These basic metrics offer insights into your overall metabolic health.
A higher metabolic rate typically results in a higher body temperature, as heat is a byproduct of energy production. Conversely, chronically low body temperature and pulse can indicate a slowing metabolism and decreased cellular function.
Optimal metrics for a healthy metabolism:
Body temperature: 97.8 degrees F to 98.6 degrees F (36.5 degrees C to 37 degrees C)
Pulse rate: 75 to 90 bpm
The optimal body temperature for most body systems is 98.6 degrees F (37 degrees C) as temperature directly influences enzyme function, crucial for body chemical reactions. Lower temperatures can slow enzyme reactions, affecting overall body function.
Pulse rate reflects how efficiently blood transports hormones and nutrients, including thyroid hormone, to cells. A slower pulse may indicate reduced nutrient and hormone delivery, impairing metabolic function.
Before modern medicine focused on pharmaceutical symptom management, health assessments in the 1930s included pulse rate, body temperature, cholesterol levels, carotenemia, bowel function, hair and skin quality, all of which directly relate to thyroid and metabolic health. To accurately assess metabolic health, measure body temperature and pulse at different times of the day as stress hormones may elevate morning temperature, masking underlying issues.
While fluctuations in body temperature are normal, consistent low readings can indicate metabolic dysfunction. Alongside tracking body temperature and pulse, symptoms such as regular bowel movements, good sleep quality, healthy hair and nail growth, clear skin, stable mood, high energy levels, strong libido, and healthy appetite can indicate a strong metabolic rate.
By monitoring these signs and metrics regularly, you can gain insight into your metabolic and thyroid health, taking proactive steps towards optimization.
Improving Metabolic Health and Restoring Thyroid Function
From working with numerous individuals, it is evident that enhancing metabolic health and restoring thyroid function typically involve two key steps: removing metabolic blocks and providing the body with necessary tools. Implementing these steps consistently can lead to significant improvement for most individuals.
• Step 1: Address the root causes — The initial and most crucial step involves making targeted dietary and lifestyle changes to address the underlying reasons for T3 suppression in the body. This includes avoiding poor quality, nutrient-poor foods and not chronically restricting calories, as these habits can hinder optimal thyroid function even with hormone supplementation.
To support thyroid and metabolic health, it is essential to remove factors that inhibit energy production and provide the body with necessary resources to thrive.
• Step 2: Equip your body with the right tools — The next step is to supply the body with proper resources such as nutrient-dense foods, adequate calorie intake, stress management, quality sleep, and regular exercise to optimize metabolic function.
By consistently following these principles, obstacles to energy production can be removed, creating an environment where the thyroid system can function optimally. Let’s delve into the specifics of how to effectively implement these strategies.
Proper Tools
1. Sufficient calorie and micronutrient intake — It is crucial to provide enough fuel for the body’s energy needs and thyroid function. Adequate calories are necessary to meet the body’s energy requirements and support thyroid function, as well as to meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance for essential micronutrients.
2. Dietary carbohydrates — Carbohydrates play a vital role in converting inactive T4 into active T3. Insufficient carb intake can slow this conversion, leading to higher production of reverse T3, which competes with T3 and inhibits its effects.
3. Balanced amino acid intake — Consuming a variety of protein sources can help balance amino acids and support metabolic and thyroid health.
By meeting these foundational needs of adequate calories and micronutrients, sufficient carbohydrates, and balanced protein intake, the body can optimize metabolic function and support healthy thyroid activity. Most chickens and pigs are fed diets high in PUFA, especially Linoleic Acid.
Foods to prioritize include dairy fat, butter, tallow, coconut oil, beef fat, and pasture-raised eggs, chicken, and pork from animals fed a quality diet. If high-quality, lower PUFA options are unavailable, limit egg consumption to two per day and choose lean cuts of chicken and pork.
Addressing estrogen dominance is important as it is linked to thyroid dysfunction. Excess estrogen increases thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG), which can reduce free T3 levels. To reduce estrogen exposure, limit exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors, avoid high-PUFA and phytoestrogen-rich diets.
High-PUFA diets worsen estrogen dominance as they inhibit the body’s natural estrogen detoxification pathway. Keeping PUFA intake low is crucial for metabolic and hormonal health.
Reducing phytoestrogen intake is also important as these plant compounds can mimic estrogen in the body and impair thyroid function. High phytoestrogen exposure can have hormonal and metabolic effects, so it’s important to limit intake.
Improving gut health is essential for thyroid function, as up to 20% of T4-to-T3 conversion occurs in the gut. Avoiding hard-to-digest foods, preservatives, and additives can support gut health.
Reviewing medications is also important, as some prescription medications can negatively impact thyroid function. Work with your doctor to assess medications that may be impacting T3 production.
Optimizing thyroid function requires attention to multiple factors, and sustainable improvements come from consistent application of principles over time. Restrictive approaches like low-carb diets or extreme fasting may have long-term consequences, so it’s important to monitor your body’s responses and make changes gradually. Para apoyar la salud de tu tiroides y metabolismo, concéntrate en lo siguiente:
Come suficientes calorías y carbohidratos para satisfacer tus necesidades energéticas.
Consume proteína animal a diario para obtener las vitaminas B esenciales y otros nutrientes.
Incluye una fuente de colágeno a diario, como caldo de huesos, colágeno o gelatina en polvo.
Minimiza las PUFAs dietéticas, especialmente el ácido linoleico (una PUFA omega-6).
Limita los fitoestrógenos y reduce la exposición a toxinas ambientales conocidas por la alteración endocrina.
Trabaja con tu médico para reducir gradualmente los suplementos de estrógeno, terapias hormonales o medicamentos recetados si es apropiado.
Come comidas equilibradas cada 3 a 6 horas para evitar ayunos prolongados y apoyar niveles de energía estables.
Mantente activo alcanzando de 8,000 a 10,000 pasos al día y haciendo ejercicio de 2 a 4 días a la semana en una forma que sea sostenible para ti!
Al implementar consistentemente estas estrategias (brindando a tu cuerpo las herramientas que necesita y eliminando los frenos metabólicos), puedes promover la salud metabólica y tiroidea a largo plazo, ¡permitiendo que tu cuerpo realmente prospere!
Sobre la Autora
Ashley Armstrong está apasionada por ayudar a educar e inspirar a otros a mejorar su salud metabólica. Ella y su hermana dirigen la cuenta de redes sociales ‘Strong Sistas’, y tienen información gratuita y cursos en su sitio web centrados en mejorar el metabolismo.
Ashley también está comprometida en mejorar el sistema alimentario y proporcionar productos alimenticios que apoyen la salud tiroidea y metabólica. Ella es una granjera regenerativa y cofundadora de Angel Acres Egg Club, que se especializa en huevos bajos en PUFAs (grasas poliinsaturadas) y fitoestrógenos bajos que se envían a los 50 estados, y Nourish Cooperative, que envía pollo y cerdo bajos en PUFAs, carne de res, queso, lácteos A2 y pan de masa fermentada tradicional a los 50 estados.