Stressed? Take care of your Thyroid

Have you ever noticed how you can feel very tired, even exhausted, after a prolonged period of stress? There may be many reasons for this so get a check up with your Doctor. If everything comes back as “normal”, but you still feel awful, it could be due to the effect stress has had on your thyroid.

The thyroid is a small endocrine gland located at the base of the neck. It’s secretions affect the body’s metabolic rate. Too much or not enough can be equally difficult. Symptoms could include fatigue, brain fog, memory issues, cold hands and feet, hair loss, depression, constipation/diarrhoea, difficulty sleeping, muscle weakness, joint pain, anxiety… quite a list.

The medical tests check the amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone in the blood. This hormone calls iodine into the gland; another hormone enables thyroid cells to combine iodine and tyrosine to make T4 (a prohormone with 4 molecules of iodine) and T3 (a bioactive hormone with 3 iodine molecules). The T4 needs to be converted to T3. Under prolonged stress, this may not be so efficient.

Three enzymes control this process: –

  1. Deodinase type 1 (D1) converts inactive T4 to active T3. It can be suppressed by stress, liver dysfunction, insulin resistance, inflammation and gut dysbiosis.
  2. Deodinase type 11 (D2) is 1000 times more efficient at converting T4 to T3 and responds to stress by up-regulating the conversion.
  3. Deodinase type 111 (D3) converts T4 to rT3 , which is permanently inactive. rT3 is up regulated in times of chronic physiologic stress and illness to calm the body so it can rest. These control the balance of thyroid activity in the body.

Chronic stress, physical, emotional or environmental, results in decreased D1 activity and an increase in D3. This means an increase in inactive rT3, which slows the body down. As part of the controlling negative feedback loop, D2 increases T4 to T3 conversion in the pituitary and reduces production of TSH. If the low level is severe enough it is detected in blood tests. This is when it looks as if Thyroxin is needed. Poor conversion of T4 to T3 doesn’t show up in blood tests. You have low energy and feel tired.

To operate optimally, the thyroid needs iodine and an amino acid, tyrosine. It also needs other vitamins and minerals and also for you to feel relaxed, with a sense of well being. (See next blog).

My thanks to the Cytoplan editorial team for the details of the biochemical activity that goes on in the Thyroid – activity that occurs in a wink of an eye without us having to think about it at all!

This information is not intended to replace the diagnosis of a medical professional, which must be sought whenever you feel unusually poorly.

Contact Wendy on 01594 832430

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