Have you been diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis?
One of the things that gets missed so often in conversations about Hashimotos is that it is an autoimmune condition.
We may know the thyroid is underperforming, but we don’t often talk about WHY the immune system may be targeting the thyroid in the first place.
This is where a more functional medicine and root-cause lens becomes so helpful.
It doesn’t mean we are going to find ONE cause, and it certainly doesn’t mean we throw out conventional care and treatment, like thyroid hormone replacement.
But, it means we start asking better questions to uncover the WHY in your particular case.
When I see that one of my patients or clients has been diagnosed with Hashimoto's, I think….what is contributing to immune dysregulation in this person?
What is happening with gut health and digestion?
Are there blood sugar swings, toxin burden, chronic stress, under-eating, nutrient insufficiencies, poor sleep, overtraining, or a body that has been stuck in a prolonged stress response for years?
Are there inflammatory patterns that have never really been addressed?
Hashimoto’s is not just about the thyroid.
It is about the immune system, and the thyroid becomes one of the places where that imbalance gets expressed, especially in women.
This is also why so many women can feel so darn confused when it comes to their thyroid.
If we are not looking more broadly at thyroid antibodies, at the wider thyroid panel when appropriate, and at the bigger physiologic story, we can miss the fact that autoimmune activity is unfolding.
From a functional medicine perspective, we always want to better understand the terrain!
We want to look at the factors that may be increasing stress on the immune system and driving the thyroid dysfunction.
This is a big part of what we’ll be talking about at our upcoming April 15th Integrative Health Speaker Series panel, because I think women deserve a more thoughtful and complete conversation than they are often getting!
Let’s Talk: Integrative Approaches to Thyroid Health: Understanding thyroid health through Ayurveda, autoimmunity, hormone communication, nutrition, and everyday habits
Wednesday, April 15
6:30–8:30 PM (doors open at 6)
Congregation B’nai Shalom, Westborough,MA
$27
Expert Speakers:
Neelima Singh, MD, MSCP, DABOM, DipABLM | EndoHarmony
Your Thyroid, in Harmony: Why So Many Women Feel “Off” — and How to Restore
Balance
Pratibha Shah, BAMS, MD (Ayurveda), MPH | My Ayurved
Ayurveda and Thyroid Health: Restoring Balance Through a Systems based approach
Janel Funk, MS, RDN, LDN | Janel Funk Nutrition and Wellness
Supporting Thyroid Health in Women: Nutrition, Autoimmunity, and the Lifestyle Factors That Shape Symptoms
Olivia Nakimera, FMCHC| Liv Wellness Coaching
Connecting The Dots: Integrated Approaches to Behavior Change that Supports Thyroid Health
If you have ever felt like your thyroid story was never fully explained, on medication and still do not feel like yourself, or that you were given a number without a real understanding of what was actually going on, I know this will be a really meaningful conversation!