How to Heal Your Thyroid Naturally
If the first pharmaceutical drug did not exist until 1804, how did humans survive without them for thousands of years?
Functional medicine is rooted in the belief that the earth gives us what we need to heal. While pharmaceuticals often provide fast symptom relief, they rarely heal the root cause of the dysfunction in our bodies.
For example, when you have a headache and take an Advil, the pain doesn't go away because you have an ibuprofen deficiency. Unless and until you:
- Identify the root cause of your headache…
- Generate a healing plan based on the root cause diagnosis…
- Consistently prioritizing your body until the dysfunction has healed…
You’ll never find the long-term relief you’re looking for.
While this may sound like the more tedious route in the short-term, your body (and bank account) will quickly deplete. The price of relying on medications long-term is costly, taxes your organs, and causes dysfunction to worsen over time.
Your thyroid is no different.
When you get a diagnosis like hypo (or hyper) thyroidism, you are simply told that your body is not producing enough Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Chances are, you’ll receive a prescription for levothyroxine (one of many drugs designed to affect the thyroid) to artificially produce more.
This chronic cycle repeats itself until before you know it, your body is victim to dozens of different medications to keep your problems at bay.
Your thyroid very likely is not experiencing levothyroxine deficiency. It is much more likely that:
- A sedentary lifestyle has altered your metabolism and affected hormone production.
- Your body is experiencing a chronic iodine deficiency.
- You have dysfunction in your pituitary gland.
- Chronic inflammation has resulted in the development of an autoimmune disorder affecting your thyroid.
Unfortunately, levothyroxine will not cure any of these problems. All is not lost however, as there are many natural strategies that can heal thyroid problems without powerful pharmaceuticals. Functional medical practitioners are dedicated to not only healing the root cause of your dysfunction, but keeping it away for good.
Goodbye drugs, hello healing!
When first visiting our clinic with a suspected thyroid problem, we first run a large panel of tests to get the full picture of what is going wrong.
These tests include:
- TSH
- T4
- Free T4
- Total T3
- Free T3
- Free thyroxine index
- Reverse T3
- T3 Uptake
- TPO
- Thyroglobulin antibody
If some of these are unfamiliar, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, the majority of doctors don’t have the capacity to run much testing beyond measuring TSH and Free T4 and T3 levels.
Next, we analyze every aspect of your current diet and lifestyle. We’ll review information such as:
- Your current exercise levels, to evaluate if your movement is supporting your lymphatic and circulatory systems.
- Any current stressors in your life, to evaluate the presence of stress hormones in the body.
- Your diet, to identify potential ingestion of toxins affecting the thyroid, or mineral deficiencies. Too much sugar, or cooking with damaging oils cause inflammation that can harm your thyroid.
- Any medications you are currently taking that may be negatively impacting your thyroid.
When creating a thyroid healing protocol specific to you and your needs, the most important factor to consider is inflammation.
What is Chronic Inflammation?
What does thyroid disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and arthritis all have in common?
All of these conditions have the same known root cause: chronic inflammation.
Inflammation is the general term that defines acute or chronic pain, swelling, and heat in a specific part of the body. While inflammation is a natural defense mechanism the body uses to protect against foreign bodies and illnesses, it can cause some serious damage if it remains in the body long-term.
When stress hormones are running through your body, it forces you into a constant fight-or-flight state. Chronic inflammation can appear in the body as:
- Sleeping issues (insomnia or fatigue).
- Difficulty controlling weight.
- Frequently getting ill (constant flus, colds, infections, etc).
- Digestion issues (constipation, infrequent bowel movements, etc).
- Aches and pains.
If any of these sound familiar, chances are you are suffering from chronic inflammation. Luckily, there are many natural protocols available to heal inflammation. However, time is of the essence before your symptoms or condition worsen.
Find what works for YOU.
A thyroid healing protocol can include anything from dietary changes, mineral supplementation, acupuncture, and inflammation control. What is best for you depends on what began disrupting your thyroid in the first place.
But no two people are the same - you need to discover YOUR root cause.
When you heal thyroid dysfunction, your body will thank you. Suddenly:
- Your energy levels will finally return to normal, and you’ll no longer rely on that mid-day nap.
- Your hair, skin and nails will feel more nourished than they have in decades.
- Your weight will stabilize and you’ll feel confident in your body again.
- Those unexplained aches and pains will finally give you a reprieve.
If you need to see improvements in even ONE of these areas, we can help.
Contact our clinic today, and get back on track with a personalized thyroid healing journey.