I cannot tell you how many women have consulted with me about their thyroid.

They usually have been told…

Their thyroid is “normal” even though they have many of the classic symptoms of a low thyroid.

Or…

They’ve been diagnosed with a low thyroid…and started on medication (most commonly Synthroid or levothyroxine)…but still feel lousy.

So I have put together my list of sure fire thyroid tactics that I use with all of my thyroid patients.

As I like to say: Find the Cause. Fix the Cause. Feel Normal Again.

Step One: Get tested for thyroid antibodies.

80% of the cases of thyroid problems are actually due to antibodies attacking the thyroid gland.

This is called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis – an autoimmune condition.

Basically what happens is your own body is making chemical bullets to destroy your thyroid gland.

(This is important to know because the treatment for this condition is radically different than with regular thyroid cases.)

Here is the really sad part…

The vast majority of medical doctors do not even run this test because it doesn’t change THEIR treatment recommendations. I assure you that it does change MY treatment recommendations radically – changing the situation from a simple hormone problem to a complex immune system problem.

Oh, one more thing…

You can have a perfectly normal TSH level and still be making thyroid antibodies. Like a smouldering fire in the attic of a house…it will sooner than later erupt into BIG problem in a matter of years.

Step Two: Test your Free T4 and Free T3.

Your thyroid makes T4. This can easily be measured with a blood test – the Free T4 test.

(“Free” means only the most active, unbound hormones are being tested. As opposed to the test Total T4 which measures both free plus inactive/bound hormones.)

You want to make sure your Free T4 levels are in the upper half of the normal range.

Now, the T4 travels throughout your body and gets converted into T3.

FYI – T3 is much more active than T4 – it helps you body much, much more than T4 does.

So, the next test you want to do is Free T3 – to measure how well you body is converting your T4 into T3.

This is another blood test – the Free T3 test.

Again, like free T4, you want your Free T3 levels to be in the upper half of the normal range.

Step Three: Test for cortisol.

Cortisol is made in the adrenal glands and it is our main stress hormone.

Cortisol has many functions in the body, and it has a direct impact on the thyroid gland.

When cortisol levels are out of balance this will basically put the brakes on the thyroid gland.

Cortisol is easily tested with a saliva test.

Again, most doctors do not take this extra step to test for cortisol, but I do because it radically impacts my treatment plan.

In fact, I find cortisol imbalance as the number one cause of low thyroid in the majority of my patients.

This means I usually treat the cortisol imbalance, not the thyroid, and the thyroid gets better.

Step Four: Test the Digestive tract.

20% of healthy thyroid activity depends on a healthy digestive tract.

Part of this has to do with simple digestion and absorption.

If food does not get broken down and absorbed properly, the nutrients needed to build the thyroid hormones (selenium, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, copper, etc.) will become deficient/insufficient.

This lack of building materials means that thyroid hormone production slows down…

And is a common cause of hypothyroidism.

Next, if there are hidden infections in the GI tract (parasite, yeast, harmful bacteria) this will create inflammation…and irritation…which then creates more thyroid hormones in an inactivated form.

Inactive is inactive…

These hormones do absolutely nothing to help your health…

And actually further slow down your thyroid.

Step Five: Address unstable blood sugar.

Glucose and insulin can be like a real rollercoaster ride depending on how often and what you eat.

One sure fire way to slow the thyroid down is to skip meals – especially breakfast.

Another is to eat lots of carbs and sweets.

The resulting glucose highs and lows are just another way that your body chemistry puts the breaks on the thyroid gland.

Blood sugar instability also causes cortisol imbalance (see Step Three).

Step Six: Watch out for gluten intolerance.

84% of the general population has the gene for gluten sensitivity.

If your ancestors came from Europe, it’s highly likely that you have the gene for gluten sensitivity, too.

This can impact thyroid health in a few ways.

Firstly, people with gluten sensitivity have an entirely different population of bacteria living in their intestines than a non-gluten sensitive person.

This change in bacteria population actually allows for more of the inactive form of thyroid hormones to be made. As I said above, inactive hormones do nothing for your health.

100% of the general population has gluten intolerance.

In fact, no human on the face of the planet can digest gluten – we just do not make any enzymes to digest gluten.

This means gluten always causes a certain amount of irritation and inflammation of the digestive tract.

This will then also impact the absorption of nutrients that are vital to production of thyroid hormones.

When fewer nutrients are absorbed, less thyroid hormone can be made.

Lastly, there is a high correlation between having gluten sensitivity and also having the autoimmune form of hypothyroidism – Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This means that the immune system will be waging war against your thyroid gland.

Every time you eat gluten you are then producing chemical bullets, called cytokines, which are slowing killing off your thyroid gland.

And once it is gone, it is gone.

Step Seven: Reduce excess estrogen.

Women can have too much estrogen from birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy (such as Premarin or estrogen creams), perimenopause, menopause, and even pregnancy.

This excess estrogen triggers the body to make too much thyroid binding globulin (TBG).

TBG is a protein that acts like shuttle for thyroid hormones – helping them to travel through the bloodstream to get to all the different parts of the body.

Hormones travelling on TBG are inactivated.

So, when TBG is overproduced…more and more thyroid hormones get inactivated…because they are trapped on the shuttle…and the patient feels all the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

In this case the problem really isn’t the thyroid itself…it’s the excess estrogen that’s the root cause of the thyroid problem.

Do you still have questions about your thyroid health?

Thyroid problems can be very confusing. Finding the root causes of your thyroid problems requires thorough investigation from a doctor trained in Functional Medicine.

My advice is to start educating yourself – on Hypothyroidism, Subclinical Hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

I talk about this in my book Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again! Fixing the Root Cause of Your Fatigue with Natural Treatments – Chapter 3.

I also highly recommend the book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal by Dr. Datis Kharrazian – he is one of the most brilliant doctors when it comes to thyroid problems.

Lastly, for those who want the latest information from today’s leading thyroid experts I highly recommend investing in the Thyroid Online Summit and/or the Thyroid Sessions Online.

Dr. Carri Drzyzga, DC, ND – The Functional Medicine Doc

Find the Cause. Fix the Cause. Feel Normal Again!