Major challenges with thyroid function and testing

Monday, October 22, 2012 by: Dr. David Jockers
Tags: thyroid function, testing, Hashimoto''s Disease

(NaturalNews) One of the fastest growing disorders in the U.S. is thyroid malfunction. According to the American Academy of Clinical Endocrinologists, there are 27 million people in the U.S. with thyroid problems. This group claims that only 13 million of those are diagnosed and treated. This statistic makes thyroid conditions the most under-diagnosed health problem in the United States.

The challenge with thyroid issues is that many individuals will go decades without ever having abnormal blood work. The whole time they feel awful. The typical treatment model includes thyroid replacement medications such as Synthroid and Thyroxin.

Fewer than 20 percent of individuals see positive results using thyroid medications. Often times the thyroid levels appear normal with lab work, yet the individual continues to struggle with the symptoms of thyroid disorder.

Three under-diagnosed conditions that affect thyroid function

Autoimmune Hashimoto's Disease: The thyroid gland is very sensitive to toxicity and inflammation and 80 percent of thyroid problems are estimated to be caused by autoimmune reactions.
The most common underlying factors with autoimmune conditions include deficiencies in key immune modulating nutrients such as vitamin D3, B12, folic acid, B6 and glutathione. Additionally, a dysbiotic gut is typically the major player in this condition.

The digestive tract is loaded with trillions of microorganisms that form a natural ecosystem commonly called the gut flora. This ecosystem is designed to be symbiotic in that it benefits both the individual and the microbes. Certain lifestyle stressors throw off the natural symbiosis and cause a rise in pathogenic microbes, chronic gut inflammation and damage to the gut lining.

When the gut flora is damaged from environmental toxins such as antibiotic usage, chlorinated water, industrial meat, processed food and drinks, etc., it allows for the pathogenic species to take control. These pathogenic species eat through the intestinal wall and cause gaps in the gut lining. These gaps allow for large food particles, yeast, bacteria and environmental toxins to cross into the bloodstream.

These things travel through the blood stream and lodge into joints, neural tissue such as the brain, the liver and other major organs such as the thyroid. The immune system reacts by creating an inflammatory response in these areas. Due to the gut opening, the toxins continue to pour into the bloodstream and lodge in the body and the inflammatory conditions become chronic. The gut must be addressed and cleaned up for these individuals to get well.

Conversion of T4 to T3: Most physicians fail to look at the ratio of active T4 to T3 levels. T4 is released by the thyroid and must be converted within the liver to active T3 for use in the cells. If the liver is stressed, the conversion will not happen.

Typical thyroid meds such as Synthroid or Thyroxin increase T4 levels. However, if your body is unable to convert T4 to T3, you will still have thyroid symptoms even though T4 levels and TSH will look good. So your blood work looks good but you are still having problems with energy and weight gain. Has your doctor considered your liver? Perhaps it is backed up by environmental toxins.

Active T3 is being blocked by damaged receptors: Cellular inflammation blunts and damages cell membrane function. When this happens, it throws off normal hormone receptor function. When the receptors on the cell are unable to properly receive active T3, they fail to produce the desired action.

The blood work will show normal TSH, T4 and T3 levels. However, the cells are unable to effectively utilize the thyroid hormone, so the blood work looks good but the individual still has chronic symptoms.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.drpompa.com
http://www.naturalnews.com

About the author:
Dr David Jockers is a Maximized Living doctor and owns and operates Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Georgia where he specializes in functional nutrition, functional medicine and corrective chiropractic care to get to the underlying cause of major health problems.

His website features great articles on natural health and incredible recipes. He is the author of the best-selling book SuperCharge Your Brain - the complete guide to radically improve your mood, memory and mindset. He has over 50,000 active followers on his social media and email newsletter and is a big influencer in the Primal Health movement.

Dr. Jockers is also available for long distance consultations and health coaching to help you beat disease and reach your health goals. For more information got to www.drjockers.com