Dr. Westin Childs Podcast: Thyroid | Weight Loss | Hormones

Improving your gut health is one of the most important things you can do as a patient with Hashimoto’s. Targeting your gut can increase T4 to T3 conversion thereby providing your body with more T3, it can improve thyroid medication absorption, it can reduce inflammation, help you lose weight, and improve your overall health. Targeting your gut is a no-brainer and one of the easiest ways to do this is with the use of probiotics. But which probiotics are best? That’s exactly what we are going to be talking about today. #1. Soil-based organisms. These probiotic species come from the ground and we are no longer exposed to them due to the fact that we no longer drink well water and due to changes in our farming techniques. Soil based organisms have been shown to populate the intestinal tract which means they provide long-term benefit, they are long-lasting, they are heat stable, they can be used to treat conditions like SIBO, gas, distention, bloating, and more. Strains to look for: Bacillus coagulans, ba

T4 is the most abundant thyroid hormone in the body by far. Roughly 80% of all thyroid hormone floating around in your body right now is in the form of T4. It may not be the most powerful, but it’s obviously very important to thyroid hormone regulation because your body can draw upon your T4 store to create various types of thyroid hormone as needed. If you are someone who is trying to optimize your thyroid function for better health or because you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s, you should find this information on how to increase your T4 levels naturally very helpful: 1. Diet: Look for foods that are high in iron, tyrosine, and iodine as all 3 of these nutrients are needed for thyroid hormone production. #2. Food volume: Not only are the type of foods that you eat important but also the quantity or volume of food that you eat. Avoid calorie restricted diets if you are trying to increase your T4 level. You may paradoxically see an increase in T4 temporarily but this comes at the cost of low T3 which

Iodine is critical for overall health, especially thyroid health. But the question is, how much should you be getting each day? This is an incredibly contentious topic because everyone seems to have a different opinion. What I’m going to do today is break down iodine dosing in a simple and easy-to-understand way so you understand how much you should be taking to minimize negative outcomes while maximizing positive ones. When you look at the RDA for iodine you’ll see that the recommended dosing should be between 150 and 270 (~300) mcg per day depending on whether or not you are a lactating woman or a pregnant woman. Those who are lactating or pregnant require more than the average adult because they need to make up for what a developing child needs. What happens when you don’t get enough iodine? You will end up with a goiter and hypothyroidism which is not ideal. What happens when you get too much? You increase your risk of developing autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto’s and Graves’ disease. How

No matter how you look at it, your diet has the ability to negatively or positively impact thyroid function. Today I want to talk about what type of changes you can make to the foods that you eat to improve your thyroid if you have hypothyroidism. These tips and tricks will help your thyroid function more optimally so that you can not only produce enough thyroid hormone but also convert that thyroid hormone into its most active form. These tips are primarily targeted at those with hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, low thyroid, and a sluggish thyroid. Tip 1: Find a whole food-based diet and stick to it for at least 90 days. It doesn’t really matter which diet you use but here are some of my favorites and some that I have personally recommended to thyroid patients in the past: whole30, elimination diet, keto, carnivore, paleo, AIP, and gluten-free/dairy-free/soy-free. Tip 2: Avoid calorie-restricted diets. It may be tempting to reduce your calories if you are trying to lose weight but it can be d

Thyroid nodules are incredibly common and impact up to 65% of people! The number of people who have thyroid nodules goes up as they age as well leaving a huge number of people with these bundles of joy toward the end of their life. Why should you care about thyroid nodules? Because sometimes (rarely) they may be cancerous. Luckily, 95% of the time they are benign and don’t do much except cause stress to the patient who has them but if they are present, you do need to keep an eye on them to make sure you aren’t one of the unlucky few who does end up with thyroid cancer over time. Because of this problem, many patients with nodules are looking for ways to shrink them so let’s talk about how that can happen right now. Here are 6 potential therapies that may help you reduce the size or eliminate your thyroid nodules but you should be aware that they don’t always work! But even if that’s the case, it’s still always a good idea to use these treatments because they won’t hurt and only have the potential to hel

Armour thyroid is one of the most popular natural desiccated thyroid medications on the market. For that reason, we are going to be taking a close look at both the inactive and inactive ingredients found inside of this thyroid medication to see what it’s actually made of. I plan to do this for all thyroid medications and if you’d like to see my previous video on levothyroxine ingredients you can find that here: When it comes to active ingredients, Armour thyroid contains the following: Standardized doses of T4 and T3 and non-standardized doses of T2, T1 (probably), and calcitonin. These are active hormones found inside of this medication. A non-standardized dose just means that it’s probably found in there but they don’t ensure any sort of level between lots. The inactive ingredients include calcium stearate, dextrose, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, and opadry white. If you are having issues with Armour thyroid it is almost certainly due to the inactive ingredients as opposed to

Is Hashimoto’s considered a fatal disease? Technically, yes, but the reality is that most people will not die directly from Hashimoto’s. In order for this to happen you must neglect your health and thyroid for decades which is very unlikely to happen in developed countries like the United States. But does that mean you are free from risk if you have Hashimoto’s? Not at all. We know from twin studies that patients with hypothyroidism have a 50% increased risk of mortality compared to the average population and we also know that Hashimoto’s leads to hypothyroidism so this risk is likely relevant to patients with autoimmune thyroid disease as well. But what causes this risk? It’s not from the thyroid itself but from comorbidities that are associated with hypothyroidism. These conditions include: 1. An increase in cancer risk. 2. An increase in cardiovascular disease. 3. And an increased risk of obesity which leads to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and insulin resistance. This may

Is Hashimoto’s a genetic condition? The short answer is yes but what’s key here is that just because you may have the underlying genetics associated with developing Hashimoto’s doesn’t guarantee that that the disease state will manifest in your body. And this is key. Understanding this genetic component will allow you to live your life in such a way as to avoid certain factors which have the potential to trigger Hashimoto’s. This means you can either a) prevent Hashimoto’s or b) treat your condition upstream if it’s already present. The genes and endogenous factors associated with Hashimoto’s include: - HLA class DR3 and DR5 (there are many others but these are most common) - CTLA4 receptor - PTN22 - Female sex - Pregnancy - Skewed X Chromosome inactivation These by themselves are not enough to trigger the disease, though, as they must be combined with exogenous or environmental factors as well. The environmental factors that trigger these genes include: - High-dose iodine exposure - Infections - Cy

Ever wonder what is actually in levothyroxine? This medication is one of the most prescribed medications in the United States and yet so many people have no idea what they are actually consuming every day. Understanding what’s in this medication is important because some of the ingredients may be causing you problems. When it comes to thyroid medications there are two types of ingredients you should be aware of: 1. Active ingredients And 2. Inactive ingredients The active ingredients are usually not the problem for most thyroid patients because this component is dose dependent. You are either taking enough or you aren’t. But this isn’t true for the inactive ingredients. These ingredients can cause hypersensitivity reactions regardless of the dose and may lead to a host of symptoms. The active ingredients found in levothyroxine include: thyroxine. The inactive ingredients include: magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal silicone dioxide, sodium starch glycolate, and color additive

Many thyroid patients with autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto’s and Graves’ don’t realize this but the antibodies that cause thyroid problems (that are associated with these disease states) also cause problems in other tissues in your body. These antibodies are like heat-seeking missiles that target various proteins and receptors in your thyroid gland which results in abnormalities in thyroid function as well as thyroid gland damage. We are also learning that these antibodies can cause harm and damage to other tissues as well depending on which antibody you have present in your body. Let’s go over each antibody and the problems they can cause: Thyroid peroxidase antibody: - Hashimoto’s encephalitis - Infertility - Vasculo-placental complications - Health in aged women - Increased cancer incidence in breast, colon, kidney, and uterus - Decreased survival rate in breast cancer patients Thyroglobulin antibody: - Infertility - Increased cancer incidence of breast, colon, kidney, and uterus - Decre

Early research suggests that up to 30% of thyroid patients currently taking thyroid medication may not need it. That’s great and all but what does that mean for you? How can you tell if you are in that lucky 30%? Well, if you’ve ever wondered about that I’ve got some good news for you: We have some signs that, if present, indicate that you have a higher likelihood of getting off of your thyroid medication. In addition to these positive signs, we also have some negative ones as well and today I’m going to go over both. Before we jump in, you should be aware that this data is still emerging so it’s subject to change as we get more information. If it does change then you can bet I will provide you with that updated information but, for now, this is what we have. These positive signs indicate you have a higher likelihood of getting off and staying off of thyroid medication: - If you’ve been using thyroid medication for less than 4 years. - If you had a normal free T4 on diagnosis. - If your current TSH is

Contrary to popular belief, hypothyroidism doesn’t have to be a disease that lasts forever. While there certainly are irreversible causes of hypothyroidism there are also plenty of reversible causes as well. And today I want to focus on just that: Reversible causes of hypothyroidism. If any of these underlying causes of hypothyroidism have caused your thyroid disease then there is hope that you may be able to get off of your thyroid medication! And that’s why understanding this information is so important. With that in mind, let’s jump in: 1. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: Hashimoto’s can cause both a reversible and irreversible hypothyroid state, depending on the severity of the disease. 2. Stress: Stress can cause a time-limited hypothyroid state that typically returns to normal after a few months to years. 3. Acute and chronic illness: Both acute and chronic illness can result in a euthyroid sick syndrome which makes you look hypothyroid but resolves once the illness has resolved. 4. Iodine deficien

Does it feel like everyone is getting thyroid disease right now? When you look at the numbers, it’s clear that the amount of people getting diagnosed with thyroid diseases like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism is increasing. The question is why? Well, no one knows for sure but I have some ideas as to why this might be the case. Let’s take a look at what conventional doctors say about this very problem and what my opinion is and why they differ. Here are some potential reasons why thyroid disease is increasing and becoming more common: 1. Better diagnostic testing: Whenever you look at increasing numbers of something you always need to consider the fact that technology and better testing may account for that increase. In the case of thyroid disease, it’s probably not the case that better and more advanced testing is the cause here because most doctors still use the TSH. 2. More patient awareness: There’s no question that patient awareness is playing a role but the role is probably not as big

I’ve been helping patients with Hashimoto’s for a long time and throughout that time I’ve seen a lot of bad information, misinformation, and just plain wrong information. What I want to do today is just set the record straight. Here are 4 things that I wish every patient with Hashimoto’s knew either early on in their diagnosis or right when they were diagnosed. Understanding these facts will help shape your understanding of your disease and better help you navigate the world you are about to step into. Without further ado, here they are: The first fact: If left untreated, Hashimoto’s will result in thyroid gland atrophy. Atrophy just means that it shrinks and once it gets to this point, it’s no longer functional. Your goal should be to prevent this from happening. The second fact: You can put your Hashimoto’s into remission but curing Hashimoto’s isn’t really possible. Curing implies that the disease goes away forever which isn’t usually the case. Remission is a better term because it means you can 100%

Thyroid conversion is one of the most important aspects of thyroid function that thyroid patients need to be aware of. Thyroid conversion refers to the ability that your body has to take inactive thyroid hormone and turn it into active T3 thyroid hormone. Throughout your time as a thyroid patient, you may have heard others mention that they have issues with thyroid conversion. Have you ever wondered how these people know? There are a few ways to find this information and today we are going to be talking about how to test for this problem. Before I do, let’s talk about some facts as it relates to your thyroid, T4, and T3: Fact #1. T3 thyroid hormone is by far the single most important thyroid hormone in your body. It is roughly 300 times more biologically active than T4 thyroid hormone. Fact #2. Most thyroid hormone produced by your body is NOT T3 but is actually T4. Fact #3. Only 20% of T3 in your body is directly produced by the thyroid gland. Fact #4. Roughly 80% of T3 is created through peripheral

Did you know that with the clever use of some over-the-counter supplements and one prescription medication you can re-create all of the benefits found in natural desiccated thyroid hormone formulas? Doing this allows you to make whatever thyroid medication you are using even more effective by mimicking what makes NDT so great. Why is this important? Because when Nature-throid and WP Thyroid were removed from the market, there were a ton of thyroid patients who started doing poorly when they were transitioned over. In addition, we have a ton of thyroid patients using levothyroxine who are still experiencing low thyroid symptoms. The tips and tricks I’m about to share assume that you are starting with a levothyroxine base but all of these tricks can be applied to any thyroid medication including NDT and T3 formulations. Step #1. Add a thyroid glandular. Using a thyroid glandular allows to benefit from the proteins, enzymes, and pro-hormones naturally found in NDT. Step #2. Add T2 thyroid hormone. NDT con

Adthyza is a relatively new thyroid medication that was released within the last 1-2 years. I say new because that’s still pretty new in the grand scheme of things especially when it’s so rare to see a new thyroid medication. *note: I am not paid by Adthyza or any pharmaceutical company! I don’t even have a very favorable opinion of this medication and I’m just sharing what I think. How does Adthyza compare to other thyroid medications? Let’s discuss: First, you should know that Adthyza is a porcine derived thyroid medication which means it falls into the family of natural desiccated thyroid hormone. This means it should be compared to medications like Armour thyroid and NP thyroid. Adthyza contains a combination of T4 and T3 thyroid hormone and markets itself as a sort of cleaner option compared to what’s available. According to their own website, Adthyza claims to be lactose, gluten, corn, dye, and latex free. While you can consider this to be low allergen, I don’t think you can consider it to be

Can certain exercises help your thyroid gland function? Not in a direct way but perhaps in an indirect way! And that’s exactly what these neck exercises are designed to do. You can indirectly support thyroid function by exercising your neck which can help in a number of different ways: #1. Neck exercises can help improve blood flow to the area of your neck. Working out the muscles in your neck will increase blood flow to the musculature itself. Your thyroid will benefit due to its proximity to these muscles. #2. Neck exercises help improve venous outflow out of your thyroid gland. Bringing new blood into your neck will mean blood must flow out of it! #3. Neck exercises can help improve lymphatic flow OUT of your neck. The lymphatic system is designed to help carry waste products away from your cells so your body can eliminate them. Exercising muscles is known to improve this system. #4. Neck exercises can bring balance to the musculature of the neck and help with things like tension headaches, trigge

A new study of over 600,000 thyroid patients from Taiwan suggested that thyroid patients taking levothyroxine have a 50% increased risk of developing cancer at any site. While concerning, the results of this study certainly do not prove that levothyroxine causes cancer but every thyroid patient taking levothyroxine should be aware of this potential connection. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cas.14908 This information is not meant to cause fear or alarm but to simply break down this study, explain some of the issues with the study, and some of the key takeaways. Let’s start with the problems first: #1. The study was retrospective. Retrospective studies look backward in time at existing data and can show a correlation between things but do not necessarily prove causation. This is very important because many thyroid patients suffer from conditions that can also increase cancer risk and these must be taken into account. #2. More research is still needed before any definitive conclusion is ma

Do you feel like your thyroid medication just isn’t working as it should? Do you still have symptoms of low thyroid even though you are taking your thyroid medication faithfully? It could be that your dose is just not high enough and that you need to increase it. This problem is actually more common than you might think. It’s been estimated that as many as 25-30% of thyroid patients may be taking too much thyroid medication at any given time. We don’t know the numbers for how many people are not taking enough but it’s probably safe to assume that it’s at least equal to the number of people taking too much. This promotes a big problem for thyroid patients because you simply won’t feel better if your dose is not sufficient. The good news? There are ways to determine just based on your symptoms if your dose is too low. Let’s talk about those right now. Signs that your thyroid medication dose is too low include: #1. Gaining weight despite taking your thyroid medication every day #2. Fatigue that is g