Photo Credit: Лена Грималкин
This is the second post in a series about the thyroid and its impact on our overall health. The first post, which covered getting sick at the change of season, can be found here.
Today, I want to discuss a topic that most of us secretly care about but may be too humble or embarrassed to talk about. The issue of growing old gracefully and keeping our looks as long as we can.
Let’s be honest, we all want to look good. Did you know that changing your hormones can actually help you age SLOWER and make you look younger for MUCH longer?
That’s right. Having a healthy thyroid can do more for your hair, nails, skin, and weight than simply picking out a nice outfit.
We all want to look good and keep our looks as long as possible—and do it NATURALLY. Women pay top dollars for anti-aging treatments from facials to Botox, and even reconstructive surgery. But what if I told you there is a natural way to slow down aging?
There is. It’s called balancing how your thyroid functions.
How Thyroid Impacts Aging
The thyroid plays a large role in the aging process. When running optimally, it can keep you looking youthful. But a low thyroid function can make you age quicker. How?
Let’s explore specific ways the thyroid impacts aging.
Skin-The thyroid gland regulates circulation in the body. So, if your thyroid is running slow, it takes longer for skin cells to regenerate. Because your skin cells are not nourished with nutrients from your blood stream, your skin will look rough, dry, and scaly (often times people mistake this for eczema when in fact it’s hypothyroidism). This can also cause you to develop wrinkles much sooner than your counterparts with normal thyroid function.
Hair-Low circulation also prevents nutrients from getting to your hair follicles, causing hair growth issues. Additionally, we also see iron deficiency anemias and low mineral status in many patients with thyroid issues, which compounds the issue, causing slower hair growth, hair to fall out quicker, and hair to be course and brittle. It is very common to see the loss of the lateral third of your eyebrows with hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s as well.
Body Aches and Pains-It is commonplace to have body aches and pains because of low thyroid hormone production. Often this is found in those with elevated antibodies-in Hashimoto’s or Graves. This can feel debilitating especially at the change of a weather season.
Brain Fog/Low Energy-Low level of energy and brain fog are also frequent findings with low thyroid activity. You need a proper level of thyroid hormone to activate brain activity. When this doesn’t happen, you can experience “loss of words,” lack of clarity in thinking, and feeling overall slower. It is very common for newborn babies to be tested for thyroid activity to ensure it’s working properly as low thyroid activity can lead to major developmental issues.
Sleep-Sleep is foundational to longevity, healthy metabolism function, proper recovery, and slower aging. When your thyroid isn’t working properly, it is very common to see sleep issues in patients. We know that poor sleep leads to bad metabolic health, which causes premature aging. Getting your thyroid fixed will lead to better quality of sleep.
How to Address Thyroid Issues
So, what can you do if you think you might have a thyroid issue?
First, I always recommend my patients get tested by a functional medicine doctor, as they will go out of their way to do a comprehensive panel of your thyroid markers. You should at LEAST have the following tested to ensure good thyroid activity: TSH, free T3, free T4, rT3, TPO/TGA and TSI, at the very least. If you do not do all of these, something will likely be missed.
So, let’s say you’ve found out that your thyroid isn’t working well. Now what?
I would always advise working with a functional medicine doctor to figure out the root cause of your thyroid disorder (no, it’s not always genetic).
Additionally, here are 3 things you can do today to feel better:
1. Skip the wheat-there is a large correlation between wheat protein and thyroid protein in what’s known as molecular mimicry. If your body cannot process wheat well, it will mount an immune response to it because it mimics molecules of thyroid so well, it will start attacking your thyroid. Skip the wheat for at least 30 days to really tell the difference. Research shows that majority of thyroid patients, even if they aren’t celiac, will commonly have wheat sensitivity. Wheat is also known to increase thyroid antibodies.
2. Practice stress-relieving techniques-we know that the higher the stress is it will suppress thyroid activity. Practice meditation techniques, walking, and spending time with people who bring you joy!
3. Supplementation-there are often very common supplement deficiencies found in thyroid patients. These deficiencies include selenium, vitamin D, iron, etc. Some of my favorite products which have helped my patients in the past have been Cataplex E (selenium), Cataplex D (vitamin D), Neuroplex (minerals/B vitamins which include iron) along with Ashwaganda, known to be amazing for thyroid health—but be careful if you are on thyroid meds because this bad boy works extremely well). You can purchase all of these at this link: https://drveronikavlasov.standardprocess.com/products (always make sure to check in with your doctor to ensure any vitamin/herb is the right fit for your medical needs). This blog is not official medical advice.
Your thyroid plays a significant role in your health and appearance, but there is hope in finding help. Have any more questions or want to come in for a visit? Contact me today.
Dr. Vlasov is a functional medicine doctor based in Elmhurst, Illinois who offers both in-person and telehealth visits. If you need more support or are interested in services, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can schedule an appointment at drveronikavlasov.com or call our office at 630-394-4333.