Support Your Thyroid
It’s easy to chalk your fatigue up to your never-ending “to do” list but it could be more than that. Over 10 million people in Canada suffer from Thyroid Disease. The most common form of Thyroid Disease is low thyroid, a prevalent condition in North America that affects between 20-25% of the female population.
Consider low thyroid function if you experience fatigue or sluggishness, hair or eyebrow loss, weight gain, coldness in your extremities, insomnia, moodiness and more. Approximately 30 per cent of people over the age of 35 may have sub-clinical or mild hypothyroidism where conventional lab testing is within normal range but they still experience many symptoms of low thyroid.
In Canada, most doctors only test the TSH level and consider the thyroid function to be normal if the TSH falls between .4 and 5.0 IU/ml. However, naturopathic doctors and some medical doctors are using a new ‘norm’ for the TSH lab value between .4 and 3.0 IU/ml and will treat for hypothyroidism if the person has accompanying symptoms. It is also important to measure the level of the actual thyroid hormones T4 and T3 to get a more accurate picture of the function of the thyroid. TSH alone and the old lab value are inadequate and many hypothyroid patients suffer needlessly for years.
One of the hormones that helps with optimal thyroid function is cortisol. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands as a stress response. Cortisol makes the thyroid work more efficiently– not too low and not too high. It is very important for normal thyroid function and this is why many people who have an imbalance in adrenal cortisol levels usually have thyroid symptoms. When cortisol levels are low, caused by adrenal exhaustion resulting from chronic stress, the thyroid is less efficient at doing its job.
Clinically low thyroid, as confirmed by your doctor requires prescription medication.
However, if lab tests fall within the normal range or you are on low thyroid medication and you are still experiencing the many symptoms of low thyroid ask for ThyroSense®.
ThyroSense is a balanced nutritional and herbal formula that supports a healthy metabolism to help with the symptoms of low thyroid and is safe to use in combination with low thyroid medications.
Dr. Marita Schauch BSc ND is a graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Canada’s premier institute for education and research in naturopathic medicine. Dr. Schauch’s health articles educate the public about health and wellness and have been featured in numerous print media. She currently resides and has her clinical practice in Victoria B.C. www.drmarita.com