What we talked about at the Thyroid Wellness Workshop
The Vibe team is dedicated to helping you be your best. One way is through sharing what we know about health with you at our fortnightly Wellness Workshops. We believe the more you know about your body and what makes it tick, the better you can be. In August I ran a workshop that focused on the ins-and-outs of thyroid health. We all had a great time and l loved all the questions that came my way. Here’s a snapshot of what we talked about.
Thyroid hormone 101
Think about hormones as (chemical) messengers that turn your body functions on or off / up or down based on what your brain decides your body needs at that moment in time. The ability of the hormone to increase or decrease, as the situation requires, is important but to come back to a state of balance if even more vital. It’s when that balance doesn’t happen that things start to go awry. The balance of the thyroid hormone is especially important, as it’s the only hormone that impacts every single cell in your body and its function is a key to you feeling and looking amazing.
How’s your thyroid fire?
Think of the thyroid hormone as the man on the steam train whose job it is is to stoke the fire that powers the train. At times more wood is added to turn-up the fire to get the train to go faster, other times no wood to let the train slow. Your body has such a fire that needs to burn at the right level to make energy, positive mood, burn fat to name but a few. Interestingly one of the ways your body lets you know the thyroid hormone is turned up too high or down too low is a change in your tolerance to hot or cold weather – see it really is like an inner fire.
Is your thyroid letting you down?
As the thyroid hormone impacts every cell of your body it can be difficult to know if your thyroid is letting you down. It’s not like some of the other hormones where you get a clear-cut list of symptoms that makes you think ‘ah ha, it’s hormone X’. Because of this thyroid conditions are often overlooked and dismissed as ‘busy life syndrome’
The majority of thyroid issues are due to the thyroid hormone being turned-down for too long and is referred to as hypothyroid. Here are some of the common things people talk about when they have low thyroid function. Not all appear in everyone but if you have 4 or more then I’d recommend talking to an expert about your thyroid function.
| Constant fatigue regardless of the quality of sleep | Brain fog impacting concentration and memory | Low motivation for life and all it has to offer | Unexplained weight gain | Dryness – skin, hair (or hair loss), constipation +/- nails |
| Intolerance to cold | Thinning of eyebrows esp. outer 1/3 | Increased hoarseness of your voice | Low mood | Puffy bags around your eyes |
Thyroid testing is not so simple
There is a wide range of tests that let us know about your thyroid status. The degree of testing can often lead to thyroid issues being overlooked. As naturopaths we prefer to test all aspects of your thyroid status to ensure that the complex creation of the powerful thyroid hormone is at it’s best. At a base this includes 5 tests, more if we think something sinister is going on. If you’ve had your thyroid tested and been told you’ve got the all clear, have a look at how much was tested and investigate further if you’re not convinced.
If you think your thyroid may be letting you down then work with us to investigate it fully. We’ll decide on the best way to look after your thyroid and help it help you be your best – not just for now, but forever.
