The Thyroid Gland: Master of Metabolism

In a recent interview, Dr. Kaufman was asked about the thyroid gland; everything from what a thyroid gland is, what is does and how to know if it is functioning – here are some of her responses:

What is a thyroid gland?

The thyroid gland is a little gland that sits in your neck and is considered to be the master of metabolism. So when people have a dysfunction of the thyroid, it includes everything from brain fog to depression to slow metabolism, inability to lose weight, difficulty keeping energy throughout the day and even brittle hair and nails and losing hair actively.

Some people’s symptoms are more apparent than others, but definitely getting a robust thyroid panel which includes about six labs and is more telling about your actual thyroid function. The important thing to remember is that thyroid function actually is sandwiched between your hormones and your adrenal gland as far as each affecting the other. So you can’t really just treat one without treating the others.

Sometimes thyroid medication alone will not make someone feel better. But if you address the whole system, looking at the cortisol, which is the fight or flight hormone that we all live under, then addressing the thyroid and also looking at nutrients that might be depleted. Supplementation of depleted nutrients can either be from food or actual nutrients that you take to make your thyroid function better.

I’m on thyroid medication, but I just don’t feel any improvement. What should I do?

I hear a lot from people that they were prescribed thyroid medication and at first, it made a difference, but they’re not really sure, and now they’re still struggling with the same things they were struggling before. It’s time to get a fuller look at it, both looking at the comprehensive six blood draw panel for thyroid as well as acknowledging other things that impact the thyroid, like your fight or flight response. That’s cortisol. Like your sleep, like your food intake and the nutrients you’re getting and any nutrient depletion that might actually slow down your own thyroid function. So it’s not always medication that makes the thyroid function better.