The first time I heard about the thyroid was through my Mom. For as long as I can remember, she’s had thyroid disease. I didn’t understand it, and honestly thought it was something “older people got.” It also seemed like something insignificant. Oh man, I can’t even believe I admitted that.

To help clear up exactly how important the thyroid is, I urge you to read on…

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the neck in charge of metabolism. The rate at which your thyroid functions directly impacts your body temperature, ability to lose/gain weight, ability to conceive, mood, hair loss, and much more. Pretty big deal, huh?

The thyroid is part of the endocrine system which contains glands responsible for producing, storing, and releasing hormones throughout the bloodstream. The pituitary gland and hypothalamus in the brain communicate to the thyroid on how much triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (t4) to make. The communication looks like this:

The hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) signals the pituitary gland to communicate to the thyroid on how much T3 and T4 to make. The thyroid gland does this by producing more or less of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

The majority of the hormone produced by our thyroid gland is T4 which is the inactive form of the hormone. When T4 is made, it converts into the active form of thyroid hormone, T3.

With me so far?

After T3 is converted from T4, it is then converted into either Free T3 or Reverse T3. The form that “does the work” such as regulate body temperature, cause metabolism to rise, keep our bowels moving, and keep our hormones in balance is Free T3.

Pretty incredible, right? All of this happens without us even knowing about it- unless your thyroid isn’t working properly. The prevalence of thyroid disease is growing and it’s important to know how yours is functioning and which direction to go with your treatment.

As a health coach, I guide women on which blood work to ask for and dig deep to find underlying issues to thyroid malfunction. The first step towards healing is knowing our current condition. Do you know yours?

Schedule a consultation with me today here. I look forward to talking to you and hearing how we can build a plan to strengthen your thyroid for better health.