The talk about stress continues. This time I am going to share how chronic stress can negatively impact your thyroid health. As I have mentioned in previous posts and videos, stress is a daily thing for many of us. As a functional medicine practitioner, our goal is to provide you with the resources and tools to help your body better respond and adapt to moments of stress. With these systems in place, it can have a huge effect on overall health including your thyroid. ⠀
So, how exactly does stress lead to thyroid issues? Well, remember during periods of stress, your other stress hormones redirect your body’s normal functions to de-prioritize anything that is not necessary for overcoming the stressor in front of you. Normal functions such as immune response, digestion, and thyroid hormone production are all slowed down until the stressor has passed.
But, imagine when you are in a constant state of stress. How much thyroid hormones are you really going to be making? The short answer is, not a ton, which can lead to you feeling various symptoms of a low-functioning thyroid (hypothyroidism), such as changes to your menstrual cycle, mood changes, cold intolerance, difficulty concentrating, and weight gain. ⠀
Stress also affects your thyroid health in the following ways:⠀
1. Reduces the conversion of T4 to the more active T3⠀
2. Makes cells less responsive to thyroid hormone due to an increase in inflammatory immune cells⠀
3. Increases Reverse T3 levels ⠀
What to do? Well, obviously controlling stress is key, but it is also important to help the body deal with these stressors that may or may not be avoidable. Other things to consider: therapy, nutrition, supplements, or botanical medicine, specifically adaptogens and even meditation can all be extremely helpful.
Best in Health,
Team Infinite Wellness
