Understanding Low Thyroid Symptoms

by Caitlin Beale, MS, RDN

Your thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland found at the base of your neck, is the body's metabolic master. It helps regulate every process in the body — from the number of calories you burn to your internal thermometer, heart rate, and even your digestive tract. So when it isn't working optimally, your body will start to send signals that something is off.

What Are Common Low Thyroid Symptoms?

An under active thyroid is very common, affecting nearly five out of every hundred people in the U.S., with women being more likely to be diagnosed than men.

There are a number of key hormones involved in thyroid function. Your hypothalamus in the brain releases thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which tells your thyroid gland to make Thyroxine (T4). Triiodothyronine (T3) is also produced by the thyroid gland, but in much lower amounts than T4. Because T3 is the active form, and mostly what the body uses metabolically, an important conversion process that converts T4 into active T3 needs to happen.

Thyroid symptoms occur when these hormones are no longer at optimal levels. A common reason for an imbalance can be linked to the body not being able to convert the hormone into its active usable form (T3), or that thyroid receptors become resistant to the hormones, affecting the signaling pathways.

Without our master metabolism regulator working well, everything slows down, causing symptoms like:

• Moodiness and irritability

• Weight gain, or difficulty keeping weight off

• Cloudy thinking

• Constipation

• Sleep issues

• Higher cholesterol levels

• Hair thinning

• Fatigue

• Dry skin

• Fertility issues

What Are Possible Causes of Low Thyroid?

The problem is that many low thyroid symptoms are subtle, making them easy to overlook. It's often not until symptoms start to compound that you realize something is off. Unfortunately, this delay also allows for certain lifestyle factors that could be causing the issue to go unaddressed.

So what are the possible root causes? While every person's experience is different, low thyroid function can be caused by a range of factors from nutrient deficiencies and increased stress to poor gut health. Unresolved issues in the gut are one of the most common issues that can impact the thyroid. This is because approximately 80% of the immune system resides in the gut, and gut bacteria play a key role in converting T4 into T3.

Deficiencies in the diet — from micronutrients to antioxidants — can also be a reason for a sluggish thyroid. Certain nutrients like iodine and iron are necessary for optimal thyroid health and hormone production. These deficiencies can be related to food choices and can be further compounded by poor gut health.

Lifestyle Factors to Address Low Thyroid

Fortunately, lifestyle changes can reduce symptoms and help bring your body back to a state of balance.

As a first step, you can start to rebalance your hormones with thyroid supporting foods such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, dark leafy vegetables, mushrooms, lima beans, and certain types of wild caught seafood. These foods and more provide key sources of thyroid supportive minerals such as iodine and selenium.

Next, it's essential to understand your lab values. By doing a Functional Medicine lab test at home, you can look at exactly where you stand when it comes to the key hormones that impact stress, mood and metabolism. Based on these results, you can address hormone imbalances that may be interfering with your body's ability to achieve optimal thyroid levels.

If you feel overwhelmed or are not sure where to start, a comprehensive educational program that outlines and explains all aspects of thyroid health can help give you the confidence you need to understand the reasons behind any imbalance and empower you to take control over your body and your health. (Blog source)

When you’re ready to take the next step, schedule your complimentary call so you can finally uncover the root causes to your symptoms!

Do You Really have a Slow Metabolism?

by Joanna Foley, RD, CLT

You've probably heard that eating less and moving more is all it takes to lose weight. Therefore, you may be surprised to hear that following that method can actually have the opposite effect on your weight and can lead to a slow metabolism.

What you eat plays a large role in how you look and feel, but achieving a healthy body weight is about much more than food and exercise. This article will help explain exactly what your metabolism is, the factors that influence it, and what you can do to promote a healthy metabolism and a healthy weight.

What Is Metabolism?

The term metabolism refers to all the processes that go on inside your body to keep you alive and your organs functioning normally. In addition to things like repairing cells, it is in charge of converting the calories you consume from food and beverages into energy. A healthy metabolism is required to use this energy efficiently and plays a role in your ability to lose, maintain and gain weight.

What Causes a Slow Metabolism?

Factors such as age, body size, gender, genetics, and the amount of muscle mass can all influence the speed of your metabolism. Yet many other things can influence your metabolism as well.

Lesser-known factors that contribute to a slower metabolism include:

• Significant calorie restriction and "yo-yo dieting." Fad diets that promise quick results can be tempting to follow. However, years of going on and off diets, and thus losing weight in an unsustainable way, negatively affects your metabolism and can have the opposite effect than you desired. Drastically reducing calories can cause your body to think you are starving. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism will slow down, making it harder to keep losing weight even on fewer calories.

• Metabolic and toxic imbalances. persistent levels of high stress and an accumulation of toxin exposure can alter your hormones, increase levels of inflammation in your body and interfere with your body's ability to burn calories efficiently. These imbalances are often the hidden root cause of many health ailments, including an undesirable metabolism.

If you suspect you have a slow metabolism, you can run a simple at-home lab test to help identify any possible imbalances. Then working alongside a qualified practitioner you can implement the appropriate diet and lifestyle strategy you need.

How Do You Know if You Have a Slow Metabolism?

It's common to think that weight gain or difficulty losing weight are the only signs of slow metabolism, but there are other common signs and symptoms that may be involved as well, such as:

• Low energy and extreme tiredness

• Cold intolerance

• Irregular bowel movements

• Low mood

How Can You Boost Your Metabolism?

Supporting a healthy metabolism requires a whole-body approach. Here are some things to focus on:

• Focus on your diet. Unhealthy levels of inflammation are often an underlying root cause of slow metabolism and weight gain or the ability to lose weight and keep it off. That's why it is important to prioritize the majority of your diet from anti-inflammatory whole foods. Examples include olive oil, tomatoes, nuts and seeds, leafy greens, oily fish and berries. In addition, taking supportive daily nutritional supplements, can help replenish your nutrient reserves, support natural detoxification, and rebalance your body at the deepest level.

• Balance your blood sugar. Having high levels of blood sugar from eating too many processed carbohydrates and sugar can lead to persistently high levels of insulin in your body. Since insulin promotes the storage of fat, this can lead to weight gain if elevated levels of blood sugar aren't cleared efficiently.. You can help balance your blood sugar by including enough protein and healthy fats in each meal and snack, eating three balanced meals works best for most throughout the day, choosing whole-food carbohydrates high in fiber, reducing your intake of processed sugar and being physically active.

• Balance your hormones. Your hormones are a key player in nearly every process in your body. Balancing your hormones can help support a healthy metabolism overall. The best way to uncover any possible hormone imbalances that might be impacting your ability to lose weight is through testing your individual levels. A qualified healthcare practitioner can then help interpret your results and guide you through a strategy right for you.

• Consider reverse dieting. This is the concept of gradually eating more, not less over a period of time to increase your body's ability to burn calories. Contrary to common belief, this can actually help speed up your metabolism and lead to weight loss if your metabolism has slowed down due to prolonged calorie restriction, long-term low carb diets, or other factors. The key is to eat the right amount of food and type of food to support your body's energy requirements in the context of an overall healthy lifestyle to restore hormone balance and support a healthy metabolism.

• Be active, but don't overdo it. There are so many benefits to exercise, and we all should strive to move our bodies every day. However, this doesn't mean putting in long hours at the gym or participating in overly strenuous forms of exercise. Too much exercise, or workouts that are too intense, can be a source of stress on your body, especially if you are already in an imbalanced state. It's best to choose a variety of workouts you enjoy so you are more likely to stick to them. Remember that little movements add up, so simply being more intentional to move your body more often can make a big difference in your metabolism and overall physical health.

Bottom Line

There may be more behind a perceived slow metabolism than you realize. Focusing on your diet, hormones, exposure to toxins, and level of activity are all effective ways to help rebalance your body and improve your metabolism. (Blog source)

Eventually, you’ll get frustrated with conventional methods of trying to lose weight. If you’re ready to uncover the root causes of your slow metabolism and drop the weight for good, click here to schedule your complimentary consultation.

Immune System Basics: Why Do I Get Sick?

Catching a cold is bound to happen occasionally — it's also a natural part of building immunity. Our immune system is constantly at work to keep us healthy by avoiding germs, defending against them if they do get inside our body and minimizing the extent of possible harm they can cause. If you get ill frequently, it can be a sign your immune system needs additional support.

That's why it's important to understand how you get sick, how your immune system works to fight off illness, and what you can do prevent feeling unwell. Let's dive into some immune system basics.

How You Get Sick in the First Place

Your body is exposed to billions of foreign invaders at any moment including viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi that can lead to illness, infections and more serious diseases. You are breathing them in and swallowing them. They are on your skin and located in your mucus membranes. However, this doesn't mean you get sick every time. It depends on the strength of the specific pathogen and how well your immune system can respond to it – this is immune system basics.

How Your Body Protects You Against Harmful Invaders

Your immune system responds in two ways when it comes into contact with foreign pathogens:

• Your innate immune response is your body's first line of defense and reacts immediately.

• Your specific immune response develops over time and is specific to certain pathogens (like bacteria and viruses). This response learns, adapts, and remembers the pathogen to fight it better and faster next time.

If it's the first time your body is encountering a foreign invader, your innate immune system will respond. But remember, this is just a general response and it's not as strong in fighting specific invaders.

Your specific, or secondary, immune response then gets notified of this invader, learns how to fight it, and makes appropriate antibodies. The first time it is exposed, it can take some time for your specific immune response to combat the invader and create antibodies. As a result, your symptoms may be more severe.

However, the next time your body is exposed to that specific invader (bacteria, virus, etc.), your immune system may be able to fight the pathogen more effectively. The antibodies created earlier will attach to the pathogen and inactivate it, allowing your immune cells to come in and destroy it faster. This time, you may just have minor symptoms or could avoid them altogether.

Different Types of Immune Cells and How They Work

Your innate immune response uses white blood cells like neutrophils, phagocytes, macrophages, and basophils and sends them to the infected area. These immune cells can open up blood vessels, allowing more immune cells to come rushing in to attack the bacteria. Some white blood cells release chemicals to kill the bacteria; phagocytes can even enclose these germs and "eat" them.

Your specific immune response consists of the B and T lymphocytes. Your B lymphocytes produce antibodies when they come into contact with a foreign invader. When your B cells come into contact with that pathogen again in the future, they alert your T lymphocytes into action to destroy the pathogen quicker. This is why you may experience less severe or no symptoms the second time around.

Why You Could Be Getting Sick More Frequently Than Others

While we all get sick from time to time, some people are more susceptible. Here are a few reasons why:

• Micronutrient deficiency. Vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, and magnesium all play a vital role in supporting a healthy immune system. If your body doesn't have adequate stores of key nutrients, then the immune response may be impaired.

• Hidden stressors. Your body could be putting its energy and resources into hidden stressors, like trying to overcome an infection, a traumatic event or injury, even digestive imbalances. This can weaken the immune system's ability to respond appropriately and effectively to foreign invaders.

• Environmental toxins or food sensitivities. These could be constantly activating your immune system, using up resources, and leaving your body more vulnerable to other harmful invaders.

Tips To Support Your Immune Response

Now that you understand how you get sick, here's what you can do to help prevent your body from getting sick and how you can best support your body when you do.

• Restore your micronutrient levels. For example, vitamin D is essential for the growth and function of immune cells. You can run a simple at-home lab test to assess your levels and work alongside a health practitioner on a personalized wellness protocol to ensure your body has the necessary components for optimal immune function.

• Reduce and manage stress in your life. High levels of stress place a large demand on your nutrient stores. Taking a daily activated multi-vitamin and mineral and including additional supportive supplementation like magnesium, B vitamins and vitamin C, can help to buffer the demands of increased stress on the body.

• Address underlying stressors. Underlying gut imbalances, infections, or high levels of inflammation could reduce the absorption of key nutrients needed for healthy immune function and overall health. Even if you are eating a healthy balanced diet, underlying issues could inhibit your body from being able to utilize the nutrients that support robust immunity.

• Address underlying symptoms. Underlying gut overgrowth, infections, or inflammation could reduce gut absorption. Even if you are eating healthily, hidden issues could inhibit your body from receiving those nutrients needed for immune function.

• Prioritize sleep. Studies show people who don't get enough quality sleep are more prone to sickness when faced with a virus. Less sleep can reduce natural killer cells and can promote inflammation, which can both inhibit proper immune response.

When you understand the basics of immune health, you'll feel confident in the power of your innate immune system to do its job of fighting off unwanted germs. It's also empowering to know there is so much we can do to support a healthy immune system and enable it to function at its best all year long. (Blog source)

It’s easy to see the importance of a healthy immune system, is it not? When you’re ready to take the next steps to empowering yourself with a healthier YOU, click here to schedule your complimentary consultation with a certified level 2 Integrative Health Practitioner.

What is a TRUE detox?

When you hear “detox” you probably think of the ads you’ve seen for those gimmicky “detox” teas/smoothies, or even diet pills. These products couldn’t be any further from a true Functional Medicine Detox. A lot of people ask, “Why do you need to do a liver detox? Doesn’t your liver do that on its own?” Well, yes… BUT it’s not that simple.

Fat soluble toxins enter the liver including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, food additives, alcohol, heavy metals, and more. The 1st phase of detoxification requires nutrients like B2, B3, B6, B12, Folic acid, and Glutathione, just to name a few. The 2nd phase requires amino acids like NAC, Glycine, Taurine, Glutamine, Cysteine, and Methionine. This turns toxins into water-soluble waste that can then be excreted via urine, sweat, breath, bile, and stool.

This is an oversimplification of the detox process but helps to understand what the body NEEDS to complete this essential process. You won’t get these crucial nutrients in those gimmicky products mentioned above.

Ideally, you’re eating a plenty of fruits and vegetables to support the liver’s function. Unfortunately this isn’t the case if you’re used to eating the Standard American Diet, so these toxins start to pile up into what I call the “Toxin Tank.” With over 200,000 man-made chemicals in the world today, and about half of those being listed as possible carcinogens, and even some approved for consumption, it’s no wonder our bodies are having more and more difficulty staying healthy.

When our "toxin tank" fills so much that it begins to overflow, that's when we start to see disease. It’s a common misconception that genetics determine our fate, however there’s a saying that says, “Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger.” Essentially, your environment determines whether you’re in a state of health or dis-ease, and genetics determine how that dis-ease presents itself — whether it’s heart disease, Alzheimers, arthritis, or something else that runs in your family.

Additionally, even if you ARE eating a whole foods diet that contains phase 1 & 2 nutrients, our soil has become so depleted through mono-cropping and mistreatment of our earth, that our crops just don’t contain the same amount of nutrients that they once did.

By now, you’re probably realizing that our livers are overloaded and need support. This is why quarterly Functional Medicine Liver Detoxes are NECESSARY. Only a true Functional Medicine Detox will contain the Phase 1 and 2 nutrients mentioned above to support the liver in its natural processes.

Lucky for you, you don’t have to do them alone. Every quarter, the Love Energy Wellness community completes a detox together. When you join our private Facebook group, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions, get access to live videos each day of the detox, and connect with others on the same journey to make lasting connections. Also within the group, you’ll find a FREE detox course — so if you’re ready to learn more be sure to join today.

If you want to stay in the know of when our community comes to together to detox, be sure to join our email list below.

If you’re curious about how else Integrative Health can help you sleep deeper, find your ideal weight, slow the aging process, and increase your energy levels, click below to sign up for your complimentary consultation!

How To Finally Get Well

How To Finally Get Well

By the time many of my clients come to me they’ve reached the old adage that goes, “I’m just sick and tired of being sick and tired…”

I’ve heard this hundreds of times over my coaching career and I’ve experienced it myself as well. The problem is that you have most likely never been shown how to finally figure out how to get well, lose the weight, or grow younger. The reason I say this is that before I discovered this myself more than 10 years ago I just thought I was going to have to live with my genetics, current ailments, and the fact that I may never have the energy, ambition, or life I truly desire.

What You’re Missing

What changed my life and what I think may be missing for you as well is the fact that everything we suffer from comes down to one or more underlying root causes that are creating imbalances in your body. You see, underlying imbalances caused by certain vitamin, mineral, or other deficiencies do not enable your body to have the raw material it needs as you age in order to slow the inflammation and repair as quickly as you once did when you were younger.

When you combine these deficiencies along with all of the environmental toxins we are exposed to and hormonal and balances that can come as a result you are dealing with a two-front battle that is causing you to feel the outward symptoms of poor health, fatigue, weight gain, or rapid aging.

Although none of this sounds like good news, there is hope. The reason why I say this is that for myself and the thousands of others I’ve worked with, once we discover your unique underlying root cause imbalances (which are your specific deficiencies and toxicities) we can go about rebalancing those. Because remember, when you bring up your deficiencies your body now has the raw material it needs in order to be able to provide energy for your system. And when you remove a lot of the toxicities, the blockages that were once holding you back have now gotten out of the way.

How to Figure It Out

So now that you know how to go about getting well once and for all, the next step is figuring out what your specific deficiencies and toxicities are that lead to a dis-ease of the body in the first place. What I did, and what I now share with my clients is using simple to complete, at home health tests that show you what your current levels are of all of these biomarkers in your body:

●      Digestive imbalances

●      Hormone levels

●      Stress levels

●      Neurotransmitter mood levels

●      Vitamin levels

●      Mineral levels

●      Omega-3 inflammatory levels

●      Heavy-metal toxicities

●      Food sensitivities

●      And so much more

This Makes All the Difference

To be honest any program you begin that doesn’t look at you as an individual is going to be hit or miss in terms of being able to promise results. The difference with what myself and other Integrative Health Practitioners do is that we take the guesswork out of the equation and instead figure out what it is that’s holding your body back from becoming well again.

Once you have knowledge of your individual deficiencies and toxicities, a personalized plan can then be developed in order to go about rebalancing your body and mind. When an Integrative Health Practitioner works with the client they don’t just provide you with your testing results, but they empower you with a knowledge of what your numbers actually mean. After that, you can then easily see for yourself what needs to be done in order to bring life and vitality back to your body.

It Will Work for You Too

All of this is truly an amazing process and with the help of the right IHP Certified Health Coach to guide you along the way you will learn more about yourself in the next 12 weeks than you may possibly ever have. This exact process has worked for me and my clients and that is why I can’t wait to share those same results with you.

For more information on this exact process simply book a complimentary consultation!