Hypothyroidism Remedies NYC - Dr. Alicia Armitstead

If you are concerned about your thyroid, contact us to get muscle tested today so we can determine the root cause or causes of your thyroid imbalance.

-Dr. Alicia Armitstead

Natural Remedies for Hypothyroidism at the Healing Arts NYC Health and Wellness Center in Manhattan NY 10017 and Connecticut

What is Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone, slowing down metabolism. The thyroid gland is important for energy and weight management, hormone balance, and body temperature regulation. 

Sometimes, patients come to me with a sluggish thyroid already diagnosed as hypothyroid based on blood work, and sometimes, they have the symptoms, but on blood work, their thyroid looks normal. It is difficult to diagnose thyroid conditions via blood work because it doesn't always become sluggish right away when the thyroid is having trouble. It can act like a pendulum and go hyper, producing too many hormones, and then later in the same day crash and burn, becoming sluggish and going back and forth for years until one day it swings low and doesn't have enough support to swing back up so it stays down, becoming truly hypothyroid. 

If your thyroid is in the middle of swinging high and then low, and you have some symptoms of hypothyroidism, do not get discouraged. Get muscle tested to see if your thyroid is having trouble producing hormones. If it is your thyroid, you would not be alone, for about 20 million people in the U.S. alone have some form of thyroid disease.

The thyroid is located in our neck, right above the collar bones. It secretes hormones T3 and T4 that help control our fertility, our energy, our weight, how we metabolize food, and even how we sleep. The thyroid shifts during menopause and under chronic stress. Personally, I want to have steady energy all day long and a metabolism that's on my side, and if you do, too, then it's important to take care of your thyroid. 

Common Causes of Hypothyroidism

• Pesticides
• Artificial sweeteners
• Low-fat No fat diets (or diets high in the wrong fats)
• Iodine Deficiency
• Eating certain foods raw
• Fluoride toxicity
• Mercury toxicity
• Candida
• Eating Sugar
• High Stress Levels
• Soy and soy-containing foods

Sometimes, the hypothyroid is due to a chronic infection that has burrowed itself into the thyroid gland. This is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's. Western medicine has a way to test for this on blood work, but you have to specifically ask for a thyroid antibody test, which is not part of the normal thyroid panel in blood work. If the thyroid antibody test is positive with low T3 and T4 levels, then know it is an autoimmune condition causing the hypothyroid. 

Traditional medicine thinks the autoimmune condition is the immune system attacking the thyroid for no specific reason. It will give thyroid medication to boost the thyroid hormones or wait for it to get worse before giving the medication. Instead, we can help the immune system fight the infection and stop the autoimmune reaction. In fact, we do this with all autoimmune conditions, giving the immune system the right support and fighting the infection to get rid of it once and for all.

The thyroid produces T3 and T4 in response to a hormone secreted from the pituitary gland called thyroid stimulating hormone. The pituitary gland is located in the brain and it is stimulated to release this hormone by another hormone called thyroid releasing hormone that is released by the hypothalamus gland, also in the brain. The hypothalamus gland is really in charge of the hormones the thyroid makes. 

Unfortunately, the pituitary gland will overproduce thyroid-stimulating hormones as a stress response, but if the stress is chronically high, cortisol levels secreted from your adrenal glands inhibit the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid relationship, leading to a decrease in thyroid-stimulating and thyroid-releasing hormones, resulting in a hypothyroidism. 

Hypothyroidism Left Untreated

Leaving hypothyroidism untreated can lead to a range of serious complications, affecting various systems in your body:

• Heart problems: Untreated hypothyroidism can lead to a slow heart rate, high cholesterol, and even heart failure.
• Brain function: It can impair cognitive function, causing memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and even depression.
• Reproductive issues: In women, it can cause irregular periods, infertility, and miscarriage.
• Muscle and nerve issues: It can cause muscle weakness, stiffness, and nerve damage, leading to carpal tunnel syndrome and other problems.
• Weight gain and obesity
• Elevated blood pressure
• Increased risk of osteoporosis
• Depression and anxiety
• Slowed growth in children

The severity of these complications varies depending on the individual, but it's crucial to understand that untreated hypothyroidism can significantly impact your overall health and well-being. Early intervention can prevent or minimize the development of these complications.

Additional References

• Hypothyroidism (Underactive Thyroid) Causes - Mayo Clinic
• What is Muscle Testing - Dr. Alicia Armitstead