Love Your Liver, Heal Your Thyroid

According to the American Thyroid Association, “more than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime. An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease and up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition.”

Those are some alarming numbers.  You could be sitting here reading this right now and not even realize that you’re part of those statistics.  

Or maybe you’re all too familiar with those statistics because you’ve already been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, and you’ve been struggling to get your thyroid back in balance ever since. 

Thyroid conditions are one of the most common health issues that I see in my practice, and one of the most overlooked because the symptoms can look like so many other things…

Weight gain – typical thought is, not exercising enough or eating too much? 

This is also a thyroid symptom.

Hair loss – typical thought, is this part of aging or genetics?  

This is also a thyroid symptom.

Constipation – typical thought, is it something you ate or IBS?

This is also a thyroid symptom. 

Constant fatigue – typical thought, is it lack of sleep, over-scheduled life or insomnia?

This is also a thyroid symptom.

This list goes on and on.

But is the thyroid really the problem?  Or could it be something else…

If you have or suspect you have, a thyroid condition you have to ask the question – what is causing all of these thyroid conditions in the first place?  

Bear with me while I set the stage for you…

The two most important thyroid hormones are T4 and T3.  Your thyroid gland produces thyroid hormone T4 which is then converted into T3.  These two hormones control everything from your metabolic rate, energy, body temperature, hair growth and loss, and weight.

T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone that is actually used by your cells.  The majority of T4 is NOT converted in the thyroid gland.

About 20% of T4 is converted to T3 in the liver.

Twenty percent is a lot in the big scheme of things.  If your liver isn’t converting thyroid hormone as it should, that means you could see up to a 20% decrease in your T3 levels.  Low T3 levels can lead to:

• Constant fatigue not relieved by sleep
• Depression and anxiety
• Feeling bloated, puffy or weight gain
• Dry skin and hair, and hair loss

So again, I’ll ask you to ask yourself the question…

…is the thyroid really a problem?  Or could it be the liver?

With 20% of thyroid hormone T4 relying on the liver to be converted to T3 there is certainly a huge healing opportunity here if you are already suffering from a thyroid imbalance, or even if you want to prevent one.

But we must dig deeper…

Next, you have to explore why the liver wouldn’t be able to convert T4 to T3 optimally in the first place?

One big contributing factor can be non-alcoholic fatty liver, an estimated 30% of U.S. adults have this.  This slows down the function of the liver which means it can’t convert thyroid hormone or do any of its other important functions very well.

The liver is also important for balancing cortisol and sex hormones, both of which can also trigger thyroid issues if they are out of balance

Let’s look at things that slow down liver function:

• Eating foods high in sugar, simple carbs or processed foods
• Chronic inflammation from injuries and different types of stressors
• Exposures to environmental toxins that overload the liver’s detoxing abilities 
• Insulin resistance or irregular blood sugar levels
• Intestinal parasites, bacteria, and yeast waste products

Some of the biggest liver offenders are typically toxins that we come across daily.  Aside from converting hormones, one of the liver’s most important jobs is keeping the body clean by breaking down harmful substances, such as toxins, to be excreted by way of stool and urine

Since the 1940s, over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND toxic chemicals have been released into our environment. Could you imagine taking on 100,000 new tasks without any extra pay or hours in the day?  That’s basically what we have asked our livers to do. 

If you want to improve your thyroid health or to prevent a future thyroid condition, it’s crucial to start paying attention to the burden you’re knowingly or unknowingly placing on your liver.

The good news is that you do have some control over the toxins you are exposed to AND there are some simple daily activities that you can do to support your liver function naturally! 

Obviously, you can’t live in a bubble, but reducing toxin exposure is critical to building your health and maintaining your results.  It’s about controlling what you can and navigating what you can’t control.

Here are some examples of what things are within your control…

• Eating organic food to reduce exposure to toxic antibiotics, herbicides, and pesticides
• Drinking and cooking with filtered water and using a glass or stainless-steel water bottle instead of plastic to avoid chemicals used to treat water and in plastics
• Installing HEPA air filters at home and work to purify and improve air quality
• Swapping out personal care and household cleaning supplies for non-toxic and environmentally friendly alternatives (check out the EWG.org for great alternative products and resources)
• Cooking with stainless steel or cast iron instead of non-stick pans

The general rule of thumb to help boost liver and thyroid function, is to minimize your toxin exposure and maximize the body’s natural detoxification process.

By eating the right foods for your body, exercising regularly, balancing hormones, healing the gut and taking the right supplements, you are promoting the body’s natural detoxification process.

To enhance detoxification and liver function, even more, you can also:

• Incorporate naturally detoxifying foods such as lemons, beets, and grapefruits
• Drink a cup of organic dandelion tea daily (hot or cold)
• Dry body brush and move your body daily to move the lymphatic system
• Sit in an infrared sauna for at least 20 minutes
• Use a castor oil pack over your liver 3-5 times per week

Learning to love your liver like this will also promote gut health by reducing the load on your intestinal tract which is where another large percentage of T4 is converted to T3.

By applying these same principles I successfully reversed my Hashimotos within 6 months and restored my thyroid health, and I’ve helped many other people implement them to do the same.

If you’ve been struggling to get your thyroid back in balance naturally, or if you’re concerned about the possibility of having a thyroid condition then commit to showing your liver some extra love over the next 30 days with these tips and track how much better you feel!

How will you support your liver and therefore your thyroid more after reading this?  Leave a comment below!