Thyroid Health
The thyroid glad is responsible for producing hormones that have an effect on every cell in the body. Thyroid metabolism is a somewhat complex, multi-step process involving several other endocrine glands and feedback loops. It is estimated that around 13 million Americans have hypothyroidism.
It is important that your thyroid and all the associated glands and pathways are functioning properly because thyroid hormones control growth and development and regulate metabolism. Thyroid function also directly impacts liver detoxification, gastrointestinal function, adrenal hormones, and brain function. If your thyroid isn't functioning at 100%, neither are you. Reviewing thyroid function can help identify imbalances or other factors that may be impacting your health in a negative way.
Thyroid function can be disrupted by many factors including medications, allergies, anemia, gastrointestinal function, insulin resistance, other hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, and metabolic disruptions.
Symptoms of thyroid imbalance can be vague and are often brushed off by patients and their healthcare providers as not important or "just the way things are." Some symptoms associated with thyroid imbalance are:
- Fatigue and frequent exhaustion
- Constipation
- Unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing weight
- PMS
- Infertility
- Irregular or heavy menstrual cycles
- Dry, itchy skin
- Dry, coarse, or thinning hair
- Brittle nails
- Decreased libido
- Candida (yeast infections
- Frequent infections
- Headaches
- Intolerance to heat or cold
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Muscle weakness
As this list illustrates, thyroid health is critical to your overall health and well-being because your thyroid hormones are important for the functioning of every cell in your body. At Alaska Functional Medicine Clinic we can help you understand how your thyroid is functioning and evaluate lab markers determined to be relevant to your unique situation. Our aim is to help you identify the root cause of your health concerns and develop a plan for optimizing your thyroid function and overall health.