Hopefully you realize that in order to look, feel, and function your best as you age, it’s imperative that you take good care of your thyroid gland because it plays a role in many plaguing symptoms from head to toe including hair loss, chronic fatigue, skin problems, insomnia and weight gain. The trouble is that lab tests lie, and don’t usually confirm what you’re feeling. I had to find that out myself the hard way, and that’s why I wrote, Thyroid Healthy.
Ever since I dealt with a bout of hypothyroidism years ago, and healed myself completely, I’ve been a big advocate of supplements for thyroid support.
One quick thing, your T4 has to lose one iodine atom to form T3, that’s what the numbers stand for. It’s the T3 that works, and helps energize you, burn off fat, grow pretty hair beautiful and improve memory. Converting that T4 to T3 is a big deal. All the T4 in the world won’t cure hypothyroidism if you don’t activate it to T3 and to do that, you need certain cofactors and nutrients like the following:
Probiotics: You need probiotics to convert the T4 hormone you make (or take in the form of medication). As much as 20% of your inactive T4 is converted to T3 in your gut, if your digestion is working well. Unfortunately, many of us have woefully inadequate gut health because we are lacking friendly bacteria.
Zinc: Zinc is critical for activating T4 to T3 in the liver and kidneys and it improves the function of specific enzymes (deiodinase) which activate thyroid hormone. Remember, you want to activate it by converting the T4 your gland spits out, into T3.
Selenium: Like zinc, this mineral is also needed for certain deiodinase enzymes which convert T4 to T3. Selenium is also needed to balance excess thyroid activity that may be caused by internal or external stressors.
Catalase: Hydrogen peroxide is sometimes high in people with thyroid disorders, so neutralizing it is important, especially if you have Hashimoto’s. Catalase is as an antioxidant to reduce hydrogen peroxide that you make in your liver. It’s extremely beneficial to your blood stream, to your thyroid and to all your organs. By the way catalase helps break down alcohol, that’s why some people take it for hangovers, lol! Hydrogen peroxide is a free radical that can take your body over. Hydrogen peroxide has been studied and it’s implicated in oxidative stress disorders and many chronic illnesses.
Ashwagandha: This incredible herb stimulates production of both T4 and T3 in your body. It also nourishes your adrenal glands, so if you feel like you can’t cope with stress, his is a wonderful botanical to consider. There’s a longer version of this article waiting for you, after you sign up for my free newsletter at suzycohen.com
You can heal yourself. Truth is, I used to be a human doing, and I had to train myself to become a human being.
