The Adrenal Thyroid Connection
It is estimated that 25 million Americans have thyroid disease, and roughly 50% don’t even know they have it and go undiagnosed or, worse, misdiagnosed. There is a connection between the thyroid and the adrenal glands and how they work together, especially under stress.
What are thyroid and adrenal glands?
Your thyroid gland, the small butterfly-shaped organ at the front of your neck, performs hundreds, if not thousands, of essential functions related to growth, metabolism, hormonal control, and utilizing and conserving energy depending on what your body needs moment to moment. Your adrenal glands, two tiny triangular glands sitting atop your kidneys, control the hormones and nervous system chemicals that regulate your stress response, immunity, blood pressure, your reproductive hormones, and much more.
Low blood sugar, hypothyroidism, and adrenal fatigue can all feel like the same thing. Symptoms like a slowed metabolism, brain fog, digestive issues, crippling fatigue, hair loss, cold hands and feet, and skin conditions are increasingly common. But did you know that hypothyroidism is often the easily diagnosable-disguise that hides an underlying illness - missed by even most functional medicine doctors? This is because the symptoms of hypothyroidism are nearly identical to those of adrenal fatigue!
How are these two glands so closely connected when they are in two very different parts of the body? They have one significant common connection that is inevitable in all of our lives, and that one thing is the root of all disease and dysfunction: stress! Whether it is emotional, physical, or environmental. We might not even think that we are stressed, but we are without realizing it.
Some causes of stress:
Financial stress
Relationship problems
Death or sickness in the family
Overbooked calendars
Parenting
Running late to everything
Consuming foods that we have an allergy or intolerance to
Overexercising
Undereating
Chemical fumes
Toxic beauty products
Not enough sleep
And many more ...
What happens when you or your body are stressed?
The HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) is incredibly effective at pumping out the energy you need to run – or fight, the stress response. Sugar is pumped into your bloodstream at a rapid pace. Your body will even break down fat and muscle to create extra sugar, in case it’s needed. Insulin is then pumped out to regulate the sugar, and your blood vessels constrict, causing your blood pressure to go up. Your body directs energy away from any functions that aren’t needed in the face of danger – like digestion and reproduction, affecting your gut and your hormone balance.
Then when the danger is done, your body is designed to quickly recover without any lasting damage. The extra blood sugar gets swept back up into your cells by the insulin, your blood vessels relax, and blood flow returns to your gut, and reproductive hormones once again get released in normal balanced amounts. All of the changes caused by the activation of the HPA axis return to normal.
Thankfully, most of us do not find ourselves needing to activate this quick response to protect our lives. However, most of us experience more minor stress levels on a day-to-day basis that keep us in survival mode like mentioned above. And if we’ve had past trauma of any sort, even relatively small, then our bodies are trained to think of things as life-threatening.
The constant stress in our lives will continue to trigger our bodies to flood with sugar. Then, insulin and the whole cycle never stop, so the body never gets that chance to recover and focus on daily tasks like hormone production or digestion and reproduction.
Stress also causes the liver to have a difficult time converting T4 to T3 (the active form of thyroid hormone that we want), which will drastically reduce energy levels and lead to a cascade of other hormonal effects. If you have tested positive for low thyroid, there is a good chance that it’s your adrenals that need healing first and foremost.
So how do we heal from this?
Number ONE is to reduce stress! This is always easier said than done. However, work on removing the stressors you can. Here are a few ways to manage the ones you cannot.
Go for long walks with only the sounds of nature
Absorb the sun’s rays for vitamin D
Find a cool corner with a book
Learn how to breathe deep into your diaphragm, slow and controlled
Do light movement with a bit of sweat, like lifting weights or yoga
All great ways to reduce stress, accessible, cost-efficient, and easy to fit into any schedule.
Keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Cortisol spikes trigger insulin levels to elevate. Feeling anxious, shaky, having your head in the clouds, afternoon crashes, and being in a state of a hot or cold sweat are all signs your blood sugar is crashing! Consuming all three meals with snacks in between will help keep your blood levels balanced.
Every meal and every snack should have protein, fats, and carbs. Breakfast can be the most challenging adjustment. We are so used to having coffee and a muffin or other dessert-like food. But breakfast is the most important meal, especially when experiencing hormonal imbalances. Be sure your breakfast has vegetables, proteins, and fats to kick start the day on the right foot.
Use adaptogens for extra support. Adaptogens are a class of herbal medicines that have been used in ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. The term adaptogen refers to the unique ability these herbs have to help you adapt to stress in your life. They do this by regulating the adrenal stress response. They provide calmness while also increasing energy. (An exception to this is ginseng: Ginsengs are non-stimulating). Adaptogens are non-toxic and can be used long-term.
Top adaptogens for taking care of your stress system: Rhodiola, ginseng, reishi, Holy Basil (tulsi), and ashwagandha.
Focusing on your adrenal thyroid connection with nutrition and stress management in mind will find you more energetic, lively, happy, and ready for life. Hopefully, you will start to feel like yourself again soon.