Written by Dr. Sandra Miranda, ND

Think of your thyroid as a car engine that sets the pace at which your body functions.  Unfortunately, it is probably one of the organs most misunderstood and under-treated by conventional medicine.  There are so many women who have all the typical low thyroid symptoms such as feeling tired, achy, stiffness, hair loss, constipated and chilly. They feel like their thyroid is not working well yet they are told that it is “normal”.  With time these women can also develop foggy thinking, weight gain and even their blood sugar and cholesterol can start becoming a problem.

Today we have the science to understand that conventional medicine has a very simplistic way of looking at thyroid health.  Typically, women will get only 1 thyroid hormone tested called TSH, when in fact there are a total of 3 more thyroid hormones and 2 antibodies that should get checked for a thorough evaluation.

Without a doubt, women with a thyroid that is hormonally balanced feel energized, enthusiastic, lighter, focused, and have a better metabolism.  Their memory comes back and all of a sudden maintaining a healthy weight is not so hard anymore.

Jenny who is 51 years old came to see me after gaining 40 lbs in the past 4 years even though her diet or activity level had not changed.   She had lost 70% of her eyebrows.  She was having a bowel movement once a week and could not focus on her work at all.  She went to her medical doctor to get her thyroid checked and like many other women, was told that everything was fine.  The doctor had even prescribed an anti-depressant which she refused.  She was not convinced, so she decided to get a naturopathic opinion.  All her symptoms indicated a possible low thyroid problem so we did a thorough thyroid blood panel which included all 4 thyroid hormones and the 2 antibodies.  To our surprise Jenny had 1 of the thyroid hormones really low and high antibodies.  For the past 2 months, Jenny has been on a specific anti-inflammatory diet, she is taking the right supplements to support her thyroid and is trying to be more active.  Today, Jenny has lost 12 lbs, feels a “lighter energy” that she doesn’t remember feeling for a long time. She feels happy and is back to being productive at work.  She is also slowly starting to see some regrowth in her eyebrows which she is really happy about.

So if you are a woman who suspects your thyroid is off balance yet you have been told that everything is “normal”, if you have been feeling tired, foggy, having a hard time losing weight, losing hair, constipated and chilly, or if your blood sugar and cholesterol has been increasing even though your diet is fairly clean, then you may benefit from getting a thorough thyroid evaluation.  30% of women will have a normal TSH level but have their other thyroid hormones off balance.

Don’t suffer unnecessarily! Today we have the science to help you balance your thyroid naturally. Call us at 905-239-3900 for a free “Meet & Greet” to see if you would benefit from this type of testing. We are happy to help!