Feel sluggish, tired, constipated, have difficult concentration, or are a wee bit depressed?
Naturopathic Medicine exists to strengthen and encourage optimal health. It is a practice that addresses the fundamentals of disease. It honours and cooperates with the healing power of nature.
If you seek a caring professional who is a registered naturopathic doctor in Guelph with a functional medicine approach, you’ve come to the right place.
Subclinical hypothyroidism is when you have sluggish digestion, cognition, fatigue and weight issues, a high TSH but normal T4. It is important to look at the reasons for the symptoms, which could have multiple causes, before reaching for the thyroid hormone replacement drug.
What nutrients help the thyroid?
Nutrition is a factor. Consider levels of zinc, iodine, selenium and iron as they all play a role in thyroid function. B12 is also an important one to look at and easy to run the labs to determine its status. Also the health of the gut microbiome and liver needs to be healthy as a large amount of the inactive T4 converts to the active T3 thyroid hormone in the liver and the gut. So many people have issues with the balance in their microbiome.
Does stress play a role?
Another area of thyroid health to consider is the stress axis. This involves the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal, or HPA. Chronic long term stress can make it difficult for optimal thyroid function. In addition to mineral level attention, it is highly important to support the adrenals and provide opportunities for stress management.
Are there natural thyroid medications?
Finally, there are other options to synthetic thyroid. Natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) may be something to consider if diet and lifestyle changes don’t break through the fog. NDT provides both T4 and T3, which is good if there is an issue with conversion.
How can a naturopathic doctor help?
Naturopathic doctors are medical trained and naturally focussed. They can run labs for the nutrient levels, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), T4, T3, and any antibodies to help rule out autoimmune thyroid disease. This helps determine what nutrients might be missing and what foods or nutraceutical dose to suggest and for how long. Naturopathic doctors with education in pharmaceuticals are able to prescribe natural desiccated thyroid. They are also very good at stress management and adrenal (HPA-axis) support with both nutrition, lifestyle and stress management programs.
Dr. Laura M. Brown, is a registered naturopathic doctor with a functional medicine approach. She focusses on stimulating the body’s natural mechanisms to repair damage and rebuild health. A HeartMath® Certified Practitioner and a level 2 Certified Gluten Free Practitioner, she holds the designation of ADAPT Trained Practitioner from Kresser Institute, the only functional medicine and ancestral health training company.
