Is Your Immune System At The Root Of Your Thyroid Problems?

Are you one of the estimated 200 million people world-wide that are affected by thyroid disease?  Perhaps you are being treated by your doctor for hypothyroidism, a condition characterized by an underactive thyroid gland.  Maybe your issue is hyperthyroidism, where the thyroid is overactive.

Or maybe you haven’t had any diagnosis of thyroid problems even though you experience thyroid-related symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, dry skin, and low body temperature.

The truth is, even if you have been given a diagnosis and are being treated, the real cause of the problem – your immune system – is probably not being addressed.

What is Autoimmune Thyroid Disease?

Hypothyroidism is one of the most common issues with the thyroid system.  It’s usually treated by medical doctors with a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone, L-thyroxine (T4).

This keeps your blood thyroid numbers within normal limits, but often doesn’t resolve the symptoms of hypothyroidism in the first place.  Part of the problem is that the blood numbers don’t reflect how well the T4 is being utilized by the body.  I’ve covered this at length in previous articles and in this video.

The main failure of the conventional approach to treating hypothyroidism is that the root cause of it is often ignored completely.  One of the most common causes of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition of the thyroid. If you suffer from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, your immune system is actually mounting an attack against your own thyroid gland!

Hashimoto’s, like Graves’ Disease, is an increasingly common example of immune-thyroid imbalance known as Autoimmune Thyroid Disease (AITD).

It seems strange, but your immune system usually has a reason for attacking your body. One of the most common reasons is the weakening of one of the most important defensive systems in your body – your gut barrier.

The root of the issue is not the thyroid gland itself; it’s the immune system and the factors that cause its imbalance in the first place.  Unfortunately, most medical doctors, including thyroid specialists, only treat the hypo- or hyperthyroidism.  They don’t address the immune imbalance that is at the core of the problem.

How Can We Diagnose AITD?

Many cases of ATID disorders like Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis go undiagnosed. This is usually because either Hashimoto’s isn’t considered relevant, or because the doctors are using the wrong tests.

One way to confirm this condition is by having an ultrasound of the thyroid to detect unevenness in the tissue or nodules in the thyroid.  Your doctor can also test for anti-thyroid antibodies in your blood, which is a common symptom of AITD. Different anti-thyroid antibodies show up in your blood depending on which AITD condition you’re suffering from.

These tests can sometimes report a false negative though, so it’s important to retest for the antibodies later, especially if symptoms and ultrasound results suggest an autoimmune thyroid issue.

What Can I Do About AITD?

As I mentioned earlier, in AITD, the immune system is at the root of the thyroid imbalance.  So balancing the immune system will get rid of the cause of AITD. Healing the gut, where 80% of the immune system resides, is critical.  For some tips on how to start this process, have a look at my previous article, Your Seasonal Allergies Have a Year-Round Cause!.

Additional nutrients that can help settle the immune system include: Vitamins A, C, D, and E, selenium, zinc, and omega-3 oils, particularly those from cold water fish.  See your health professional for the dose that it is appropriate for you.

For those with AITD, your thyroid health depends on your immune system.  Take care of both of them, and your whole body will benefit.

Until next time, this is Dr. Pat Nardini, ND, putting “Your Wellness First!”