Thyroid Hormones
Thyroid problems are at epidemic levels in our country. Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) are used control metabolism, how your body regulates energy. Along with adrenal hormones, they are responsible for your metabolism. T3 is the active form that your body cells require for proper function. Hypothyroidism is part of Syndrome X which includes:
- Glucose resistance, i.e. diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Obesity
- Fibromyalgia
Hypothyroidism
Many experts believe that Hypothyroidism is actually the main cause of Syndrome X because with proper treatment protocols many of the listed problems/issues disappear. There is also an opinion that over 90% of the population has undiagnosed hypothyroidism. It is actually an epidemic that causes havoc with our physical and mental health.
The primary causes of Thyroid dysfunction is TOX, especially heavy metals and Fluoride. Other causes may be due to previous EBV (Mono) viral or Strep bacteria infections.
Hashimoto’s is just another classification for a medical condition that continues to be mistreated and misunderstood because the underlying TOX problem is not addressed.
Normal blood tests focus on TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) which is produced by your pituitary in order to stimulate your Thyroid gland to make T3 and T4. Low levels of TSH indicate that you have enough T3 and T4 while high levels show that your thyroid needs to produce more T3 and T4. If TSH stays consistently high than your doctor prescribes T3 and T4 in order to “help out” a diseased thyroid gland. These lab tests are normally wrong and here are the reasons.
Your doctor looks at TSH levels that are supposed to be normal between .5 to 5.0
They are educated to get the levels between .3 and 3.0 in patients who require treatment and supplementation with a medication such as Synthroid. The TSH levels are dependent on the amount of T4 in your blood. The problem is that T4 needs to convert to T3 and then this T3 requires glutathione in order to be shuttled into the cells so that it can function. When T4 is not converted to T3 your blood levels may still look normal but you lack the T3 that your cells require. The same thing is true when you are glutathione deficient.
Normal Thyroid
A normal thyroid makes 20% T3 and 80% T4. The T4 needs to be converted to T3, which is the active hormone form. In order to do this it requires
- Iodine
- Zinc
- Selenium
- Iron
- Cortisol
- Progesterone
- Glutathione
- Hydrogen Peroxide
When ANY of the above 7 are missing then the T4 can only convert into RT-3 which is an aberrant form of T3 that fools the pituitary into believing that the body has enough T3. Furthermore, any lack of glutathione will render the T3 unable to enter cell’s membrane. The mitochondria inside of a cell requires T3 for function and the only way for the T3 to enter the cell and help the mitochondria is by using glutathione. If you have heavy metal toxicity then your cells are already compromised and cannot function to produce T3.
People (most of us) who have problems digesting foods will have a deficiency of glutathione because they cannot break down proteins into the essential amino acids that are required for glutathione production. So again, digestion and your GI are the key to health.
The problem with normal thyroid blood tests is that they cannot tell the difference between real or fake hormones. Other than Armour, which is a natural dessicated form of T3, most prescription thyroid medications (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Cytomel) are synthetic and your cells cannot use them properly for two reasons:
- They cannot be digested and broken down if you lack stomach acid.
- They get converted into rT3 and pituitary T3
There are 3 enzymes that function to convert T4 into T3. They are the D1, D2, and D3 Deiodinase enzymes. The D1 is the most beneficial because it converts T4 into T3 in the whole body. The D2 converts T4 into T3 but it does so only in the actual pituitary gland, and not in the rest of your body. The D3 produces rT3.
The problem results from the fact that D2 is 100 times more powerful than D1 and therefore you will get more T3 in the pituitary gland which causes it to stop producing TSH and thereby your blood tests appear normal. While the pituitary has plenty of T3, the rest of your body does not because the D2 is more efficient than the D1 and it fools the system into believing that there is enough T3 already. Illnesses such as depression, obesity, diabetes, fibromyalgia will also cause the beneficial D1 enzyme to drop while the D2 levels will increase.
Furthermore, the D3 will produce rT3, which is an aberrant form of T3 that actually blocks your cell’s receptors and won’t allow normal T3 to enter them even if you have enough glutathione. Blood tests must show that T3 levels are 20 times higher than rT3 in order to be considered normal.
Optimal blood levels should be:
TSH .3
T3 4.0
T3/rT3 ratio 20:1
Adrenal Gland Problems
Adrenal gland problems are part of the metabolism equation and must be considered with Thyroid issues. The easiest way to determine if your adrenals are sluggish is to take your Blood Pressure lying down and then again standing up. It should go up 10 points. If it does not, you may have an adrenal problem. If the diastolic reading goes below 80 you may be severely deficient. This is called a Ragland Test. Another test would be to see if you are intolerant of children and to a certain degree around others. If you get annoyed or angry around kids or adults you lack adrenalin.
Now What?
So now that you have had a quick endocrinology lesson, consider what you can do to improve your thyroid condition. Also, think about the fact that most of us have thyroid deficiency issues. Review all of the other pages of this website and realize that TOX is ultimately responsible for your health issues. Level 3 Treatments can help patients improve Thyroid function especially if they have a heavy metal or Fluoride TOX problem.
