Who specialises in the thyroid problems?

Here at the London Clinic of Nutrition, our functional medicine approach aims to help patients to address the root cause of thyroid disease.

A comprehensive panel including free T3, free T4, TSH, total T4, total T3, thyroid antibodies and T3 uptake will be required , alongside adrenal hormone testing and iodine loading. We also use the Barnes Temperature Test to measure the auxiliary temperature of the underarms first thing in the morning five days in a row.
When we look at thyroid function, with functional medicine in mind, we would consider the following key factors:

• Factors that inhibit proper production of thyroid hormones: stress, infection, trauma, radiation, medication, fluoride (antagonist to iodine), toxins such as pesticides, mercury, cadmium, lead; autoimmune disease (celiac).

• Factors that increase conversion of T4 to RT3: stress, trauma, low calorie diet, inflammation, toxins, infections, liver and kidney dysfunction and medications.

• Factors that contribute to proper production of thyroid hormones: Vitamin E, B2, B3, B6 and C, iron, iodine, zinc and selenium, tyrosine.

• Factors that can increase the conversion of T4 (non-active) to T3 (active thyroid hormone): Selenium and zinc.

• Factors that improve cellular sensitivity to thyroid hormones: Vitamin A, zinc and exercise.

Considering how multifactorial and complex thyroid disease is, we may use additional tests that involve immune markers, toxicity panels and different hormones to get a clear representation of your health.  Once the tests have been processed, you will receive a personalised treatment plan tailored to you, your lifestyle and your body’s needs.

Our top priority is to address the root cause of your health challenges. By focusing on the foundation of your imbalance, we’ll be able to ease your symptoms and support the healing process, which will steadily bring your body into balance.

How much is a private thyroid consultation?

We offer a range of consultations and packages for clients depending on the level of support required. Get in touch with a member of the team today or schedule a complimentary discovery call to discuss your health concerns and be best matched with a thyroid specialist practitioner.

What are the thyroid hormones needed for?

It regulates the metabolism, hence if sluggish you will be tired, tend to gain weight, be anaemic and loose hair. This is seen in my practice often. The soy food craze has not helped this situation as it messes with the thyroid. The Thyroid hormone is in fact required by the entire-body for the production of energy too. Yes the mitochondria health is key n a cellular level but with poor thyroid function it is no good. As previously mentioned thyroid hormones contribute to other hormone health. If out of balance it can lead to blood sugar dysregulation, cardiovascular disease, weight gain, sex hormone dysfunction, fatigue, mental health issues and ultimately unhappiness.

What does it mean to have a thyroid condition?

Thyroid conditions are characterised by when the thyroid gland is working at a sub-optimal level which results in a cascade of hormonal imbalances affecting glands and hormones of the endocrine system, which impacts the physiological processes that are tightly regulated by this axis. This can be underactive (hypothyroidism) or over-active (hyper-thyroidism).

This is a complex condition or dis-ease. Lets discuss the differences between the two most common forms of thyroid disorders as well as what we will take into account when treating the thyroid at our Harley street clinic of nutrition and nutritional therapy.

What Is Hypothyroidism?

According to the NHS in the UK an under-active thyroid when the thyroid gland doe snot make enough thyroid hormones to meet the bodies requirements. Yet unfortunately the sub-clinical disease often goes undiagnosed for many years until its more severe.

Symptoms of underactive thyroid

• Weight gain
• Constipation
• Mental fogginess and poor memory
• Fatigue
• Poor circulation and numbness in the hands and feet
• Thinning hair or hair loss 
• Puffy and sensitive face 
• Depression 
• High cholesterol 
• Oedema 
• Poor vision 
• Feeling cold
• Chronic digestive problems 
• Dry/brittle hair and skin 
• Morning headaches
• Muscle stiffness, aches and tenderness 
• Infertility and changes in menstrual cycle
• Hoarseness 
• Decreased sweating

Causes

The two major causes of hypothyroidism are:

1. Nutrient deficiency

• Iodine. Thyroid hormone is rich in iodine, and deficiency of iodine can lead to hypothyroidism.
• Zinc is required for the synthesis of thyroid hormone, and deficiency of zinc has been shown to result in hypothyroidism. 
• Selenium, is required to convert T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) into T3 (active form of thyroid hormone). 

2. Hashimoto’s disease 

In Hashimoto’s disease, the body attacks the thyroid gland, progressively destroying its capacity to produce thyroid hormone and resulting in hypothyroidism.

Pregnancy

The reason isn’t clear, but sometimes, inflammation of the thyroid occurs after pregnancy. This is called postpartum thyroiditis. Women with this condition usually have a severe increase in thyroid hormone levels followed by a sharp drop in thyroid hormone production. Most women with postpartum thyroiditis will regain their normal thyroid function but some may end up developing hypothyroidism. 

How to detect thyroid abnormalities?

The conventional test on the NHS only looks at one to two markers of thyroid health which is outdated. They only look at TSH and T4. This is far too myopic leading to a plethora of under or mismdiagnosis. Patients then leave the surgery with puffy faces, fatigue and thinning hair, or racing heart rate and excessive urination.

A full thyroid screening is the most cutting-edge way to go about things thyroid. This prevents any setbacks and allows us to make the most of early signs as —- Early identification of thyroid malfunction or antibodies towards the thyroid gland may give us an opportunity to prevent the need for eventual Thyroid hormone replacement. For patients with inadequate thyroid function, functional medicine helps to optimise hormone levels with a holistic treatment plan including diet, nutritional support, stress reduction and appropriate hormonal replacement therapy where needed.

Given its importance, we offer full thyroid screening to all of our patients, to ensure we are not missing an opportunity to restore health and function to this vital organ. Although you may have had previous NHS thyroid levels and been told they are ‘normal’, our aim is for optimal health and our new patient screen includes:

• Total and Free Thyroxine (T4)
• Triiodothyronine (Free T3)
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
• Reverse T3
• Anti-Thyroglobulin and Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies

This panel allows us to identify patients with early thyroid autoimmune disease (who may not yet be symptomatic), and to identify and treat the cause of many cases of fatigue and other health problems. We are seeing increasing numbers of patients who have problems with thyroid hormone metabolism. These may not be identified by the standard NHS screening panels. Our tests enable us to identify patients who are not able to process Thyroxine (the standard replacement hormone), normally.

Look at your hands

Weak and brittle nails with ragged cuticles are common physical signs of hypothyroidism. If you have these symptoms and also suffer with fatigue, hair loss (especially a thinning of the lateral eyebrows), low libido, dry skin, and unexplainable weight gain, it is possible that you have hypothyroidism.  

Risk factors

The thyroid is the ‘sentinel’ for the environment. The function of the thyroid gland is designed to be induced or suppressed in response to changes in the environment. As the environment changes, the function of the thyroid gland will change.

From the functional medicine perspective, we consider 8 environmental domains as key risk factors in the development of hypothyroidism:

• Infections: Viral infections such as Epstein-barr can be a potential trigger for poor thyroid health, so an important consideration whilst investigating thyroid health.
• We often investigate if toxins, particularly heavy metals, play a part as they seem to be key triggers in the development in hypothyroidism [3].
• Adrenal stress is probably the most common problem we encounter in functional medicine and the thyroid is no exception. Adrenal stress can manifest in many ways, leading to autoimmunity, thyroid resistance, reduced conversion of T4 (non-active) to T3 (active) and disruption to the endocrine system [4]. 
• Antigens/Gut function: Poor gut health can suppress thyroid function and trigger Hashimoto’s disease, and low thyroid function can lead to an inflamed and leaky gut. It’s important to mention gluten sensitivity and celiac here, as research shows a strong link between hypothyroidism and gluten intolerance [5] [6]. 
• Nutrition: For a healthy thyroid, the most crucial nutrients include Iodine, Selenium, Zinc, and vitamin A, B, C, and tyrosine [7] [8]. Deficiencies of these nutrients can lead to the development of hypothyroidism. 
• Medication: Thyroid physiology is very vulnerable to negative influences from many commonly prescribed and widely used medications. 
• Movement, sleep and relationships are also huge part of the functioning of the body and we cannot ignore the power of these lifestyle factors when investigating and treating hypothyroidism. 

Complications

In the current conventional system, when a patient is diagnosed with hypothyroidism they are often prescribed levothyroxine to counteract the symptoms of low thyroid hormone, regardless of the cause. But is it likely that that patient will go on to develop other health conditions because the underlying cause has not been addressed? Patients with underactive thyroid function have a much higher prevalence of obesity, diabetes, osteoarthrosis, osteoporosis, asthma, hypertension, dyslipidemia, infertility, mental health issues; low thyroid function is a symptom among a collection of other related symptoms with an underlying and unifying connection [9] [10] [11]. The role of functional medicine is to investigate and address that connection, while the medication manages the symptoms.

Hypothyroidism Treatment

When we are confronted with sub-optimal or blatant thyroid dysfunction in our clinic, we must always ask two questions:

1. What is happening upstream that is disrupting thyroid function?
2. What else is going wrong in the body as a result of poor thyroid function? 

Simply identifying poor thyroid health and giving the same old nutrients, herbs or hormones to ‘support’ the thyroid gland itself is inadequate in both approach and understanding. At the , we take a functional medicine approach to assessing your thyroid health. Our approach is always personalised and keeps the patient’s specific needs and lifestyle in mind.

Diet

After a thorough assessment into your health and lifestyle, our dietary program focused on improving thyroid function would include the following:

• High in pre and probiotic foods to address dysbiosis [12]
• High in phytonutrients; think about eating for a rainbow.
• Low in the Omega-6 and high on Omega-3 [13]
• Low in saturated and trans fats
• Eating organic produce as much as possible to reduce toxin exposure is always recommended.

Foods to avoid

At our clinic, we often find that eliminating some of the potentially problematic foods may be necessary. 

• Patients with hypothyroidism often find a significant improvement in their symptoms by fully eliminating gluten from their diet. 
• Goitrogens and soya may also be problematic for individuals with low thyroid function. 

Can you still lose weight if you have underactive thyroid?

In short, possibly. But as hypothyroidism is so multifactorial and is caused by a myriad of environmental factors (and also causes systemic complications) it totally depends on the individual.