Thyroid Disorders Are On The Rise In The United States

 

Thyroid disorders are very common in the U.S.  and they continue to increase every year.

 

Thyroid medications (hormones) especially Synthroid have been on the top 10 most prescribed meds for decades.

 

Most thyroid conditions are not diagnosed in the early stages.  

 

Every cell in the body has receptor sites for thyroid hormones.

 

If you lack ideal thyroid hormone levels this can lead to a decline in cellular function in all of your body systems.

 

This is also why symptoms can be so varied when you have a dysfunctional thyroid.

 

The longer that you have a thyroid condition can lead to more loss of function and quality of life.

 

The most common causes of thyroid dysfunction include hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, goiter (an enlarged thryoid) and thyroid cancer.

 

It's estimated by the American Thyroid Association that over 20 million Americans are affected by thyroid disorders.

 

The thyroid gland is very susceptible and sensitive to imbalances in physiological systems of the body.

 

It's also one of the most common sites for autoimmune disease.  

 

If you have an autoimmune hypothyroid it is known as Hashimoto's Disease.  

 

If you have an autoimmune hyperthyroid it is known as Graves Disease.

 

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is considered the most common autoimmune disease in the United States.

 

Hashimoto's has also been found to be the cause of hypothyroidism in 90% of the cases in the United States.

 

There has been extensive research done on thyroid conditions and autoimmune thyroids.  One study found that 7-8% of people in the United States have antibodies against their thyroid.

 

Thyroid antibodies have been found to be a marker for future thyroid disease.  

 

Unfortunately many people have their thyroid destroyed year after year until they have lost enough thyroid tissue to be classified as hypothyroid.

 

Their symptoms tend to get worse as the thyroid is progressively destroyed.  

 

Their metabolic rate decreases which often times leads to weight gain, fatigue, depression, brain fog, and gastrointestinal disorders. 

 

What's even more disheartening is that their treatment will often be relegated to only thyroid hormone replacement.

 

And unfortunately their condition tends to worsen because nothing is done for their autoimmune condition.  

 

Many thyroid sufferers have weakened immune systems even if they don't suffer from an autoimmune condition.  And vice versa chronic immune conditions can disrupt thyroid physiology.

 

Some of these include hepatitis C, Epstein Barr Virus, Lyme disease, inflammatory bowel conditions, and autoimmune diseases.

 

It is super important to support and restore the immune system back to normal activity in order to stop the progression of thyroid disease.

 

There are many other causes for thyroid dysfunction.  Some of the most common causes include nutritional deficiencies, hormone imbalances often caused by birth control pills and HRT (hormone replacement therapy).

 

Other causes include environmental disruptors which can act as goitrogens.  These are substances that interfere with thyroid physiology.

 

One nutrient that is important to the thyroid is iodine.  Iodine is needed by the thyroid to make thyroid hormones.  Environmental disruptors such as mercury, arsenic, nitrates, pesticides, etc. compete with iodine preventing the thyroid from making thyroid hormone leading to a hypothyroid.

 

One more cause of hypothyroids that I'll briefly mention are medications.  There are many medications that can disrupt thyroid physiology.

 

Some of the most common ones include anti-inflammatory meds, antibiotics, anti-depressants, diabetic drugs, high blood pressure meds, pain meds, antacids, and cholesterol lowering drugs.  

 

Many of these drugs may not necessarily have a direct effect on TSH but they may effect the thyroid pathway upstream or downstream.

 

In functional medicine and functional nutrition I am always looking for the root cause of the disease.  It's my job to find out where the dysfunction is taking place.

 

Once you find out where the problem is then you can put a plan in place to fix the problem, start feeling better and regain your health.

In Good Health,

Dr. John Heary

Certified Functional Medicine & Nutrition

Certified Clinician in Whole Food Medicine

https://www.newbeginningsthyroid.com

https://www.newbeginningsdiabetes.com