Millions of Americans who have elevated cholesterol levels may actually need to check their necks for an underlying condition that could be putting them at greater risk for heart disease and stroke, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). A new survey released by AACE found that fewer than half of the adults who had been diagnosed with high cholesterol knew if they had ever been tested for thyroid disease, despite the well-documented connection between the two conditions. After diet, thyroid disease is the most common secondary cause of high cholesterol.
Even more astounding, nearly ninety percent of survey participants were unaware of the thyroid gland’s impact on cholesterol regulation. While most adults did not know which organs in the body played a role in the regulation of blood cholesterol levels, the role of the thyroid gland was the least well-known among the organs, which included the heart and liver.
“For the millions of Americans actively trying to reduce their cholesterol levels by eating right, increasing physical activity and taking medication, understanding the role of secondary medical conditions, such as thyroid disease, is essential,” says AACE President Richard A. Dickey, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E. “Individuals who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol should ask their physician about having their thyroid checked. If they have an underlying thyroid condition in addition to their high cholesterol, the cholesterol problem will be difficult to control until normal levels of thyroid hormone are restored.” Both the National Cholesterol Education Program and the Food and Drug Administration recommend thyroid testing in patients with high cholesterol levels. The prescribing information for the most widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs - a class of medications known as statins - clearly states that all patients diagnosed with high cholesterol should be tested for thyroid disease prior to initiating cholesterol-lowering therapy.
The Thyroid-Cholesterol Connection
Cholesterol is a substance that is transported by fat-carrying proteins in the bloodstream. The body manufactures cholesterol to maintain the integrity and strength of cellular walls. However, if there is a decrease in the body’s ability to metabolize cholesterol, an excess of cholesterol in the blood may occur - a condition known as hypercholesterolemia. Elevated blood cholesterol levels can lead to the formation of cholesterol deposits in the walls of the arteries, especially around the heart. These deposits can potentially block blood flow, causing heart attacks or strokes.
The thyroid, a small, butterfly-shaped gland located below the Adam’s apple, produces hormones that regulate body metabolism. If the thyroid gland is underactive (hypothyroid) and producing too little thyroid hormone, metabolism can slow, having a direct impact on the body’s ability to metabolize blood cholesterol. Common symptoms of hypothyroidism include moderate weight gain, fatigue, mood swings or depression and dry skin, hair or nails. The average blood cholesterol levels of patients with underactive thyroid are often 250 mg/dL or more, which is 30 to 50 percent higher than desirable (normal range is considered under 200 mg/dL).
Treatment of hypothyroidism with thyroid replacement hormone or herbal remedies and natural iodine will restore the body’s metabolism to normal levels and increase the ability to clear cholesterol from the blood, resulting in lower cholesterol levels and a decreased risk for heart disease if needed.
Thyroid disease affects approximately 13 million Americans, yet more than half of these patients remain undiagnosed. In addition to hypothyroidism, thyroid disease can result from an overactive thyroid gland, a condition known as hyperthyroidism. Commons symptoms of hyperthyroidism are weight loss, insomnia, sleep disturbances, nervousness and irritability. An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter) can be a sign of either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
Once treated, these symptoms can be relieved and the individual’s quality of life can be improved. Left untreated, however, thyroid disease can lead to an increased risk for heart disease, infertility and osteoporosis.
“It is important that individuals learn to recognize and evaluate the subtle signs and symptoms that can be significant markers of thyroid disease,” says Dr. Dickey. “Many people dismiss common feelings of fatigue or mood swings as part of normal menopause/andropause or aging when, in fact, they are symptoms of thyroid disease and can be relieved easily with treatment.”
Even the slightest thyroid abnormality can have a serious impact on long-term cardiac health.
What Other Health Problems May Be Associated With Hypothyroidism?
Several potentially significant health conditions are common in persons with hypothyroidism. They include: Heart Disease, High Cholesterol, Anemia, Infertility, Goiter.
IODINE CONNECTION:
Before the connection of iodine and thyroid function was made, people realized that goiters (large thyroid gland seen as a swelling in the neck) were more common in certain areas-areas we recognize as low in iodine in the average diet. Indeed, the area around the Great Lakes was called the “Goiter Belt.” The goiters in many people living there were not due to a problem within the thyroid such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Instead, the goiter developed because of the lack of iodine needed for the production of thyroid hormone.
The cells of the thyroid gland increased in size and number in response to long-term high levels of TSH (, the hormone that stimulates the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone, working overtime in an effort to get the thyroid gland to produce adequate amounts of thyroid hormone, despite the low level of available iodine. This ability of the cells to adapt to chronically low levels of dietary iodine by enlargement and increase in function meant that many people retained low normal levels of thyroid hormone because their thyroid cells could take up and use virtually all of the iodine they consumed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE THYROID:
Your thyroid gland is a small gland, normally weighing less than one ounce, located in the front of the neck. It is made up of two halves, called lobes, that lie along the windpipe (trachea) and are joined together by a narrow band of thyroid tissue.
The thyroid is situated just below your “Adams apple” or larynx. During development (inside the womb) the thyroid gland originates in the back of the tongue, but it normally migrates to the front of the neck before birth.
The function of the thyroid gland is to take iodine, found in many foods, and convert it into thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body which can absorb iodine. These cells combine iodine and the amino acid tyrosine to make T3 and T4. T3 and T4 are then released into the blood stream and are transported throughout the body where they control metabolism (conversion of oxygen and calories to energy). Every cell in the body depends upon thyroid hormones for regulation of their metabolism.
The normal thyroid gland produces about 80% T4 and about 20% T3, however, T3 possesses about four times the hormone “strength” as T4.
The thyroid gland is under the control of the pituitary gland, a small gland the size of a peanut at the base of the brain (shown here in orange). When the level of thyroid hormones (T3 & T4) drops too low, the pituitary gland produces Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) which stimulates the thyroid gland to produce more hormones. Under the influence of TSH, the thyroid will manufacture and secrete T3 and T4 thereby raising their blood levels. The pituitary senses this and responds by decreasing its TSH production. One can imagine the thyroid gland as a furnace and the pituitary gland as the thermostat. Thyroid hormones are like heat. When the heat gets back to the thermostat, it turns the thermostat off. As the room cools (the thyroid hormone levels drop), the thermostat turns back on (TSH increases) and the furnace produces more heat (thyroid hormones). 100% OF THE TIME if your body is running a low temp (below 98.6) they you are experiencing some level of thyroid dysfunction!
Remember… the thyroid gland produces T4 and T3. But this production is not possible without stimulation from the pituitary gland (TSH) which in turn is also regulated by the hypothalamus’s TSH Releasing Hormone. No one single laboratory test is 100% accurate in diagnosing all types of thyroid disease; however, a combination of two or more tests can usually detect even the slightest abnormality of thyroid function. For that reason we use both Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis to help determine the function of the thyroid SYSTEM as well as blood spot testing of key thyroid hormones as well as checking for any anti-bodies that stop and attack the thyroid hormones from working properly.
For example, a low T4 level could mean a diseased thyroid gland ~ OR ~ a non-functioning pituitary gland which is not stimulating the thyroid to produce T4. Since the pituitary gland would normally release TSH if the T4 is low, a high TSH level would confirm that the thyroid gland (not the pituitary gland) is responsible for the hypothyroidism. If the T4 level is low and TSH is not elevated, the pituitary gland is more likely to be the cause for the hypothyroidism. Of course, this would drastically effect the treatment since the pituitary gland also regulates the body’s other glands (adrenals, ovaries, and testicles) as well as controlling growth in children and normal kidney function. Pituitary gland failure means that the other glands may also be failing and other treatment than just thyroid may be necessary.
1.5 billion people (1/3 of the world’s population) live in an area of iodine deficiency as defined by the WHO (world health organization)!
Therapeutic actions of iodine: antibacterial, anti cancer, antiparasitic, antiviral, mucolytic agent. Conditions treated with iodine: Breast disease, Excess mucous production, fatigue, fibrocystic breasts, hemorrhoids, headaches, migraines, scars, ovarian cysts, sebaceous cysts, thyroid disorders (including autoimmune disorders of the thyroid). Every cell in the body contains and utilizes iodine. Iodine is concentrated in the glandular system of the body. The thyroid gland contains a higher concentration of iodine than any other organ of the body. Although the addition of iodine to the salt supply has lessened the prevalence of goiter, it is inadequate to supply the body’s needs for iodine.
Diets that are deficient in iodine can result in many severe medical conditions: brain damage, mental impairment, reduced intellectual ability, goiter, infertility, increased risk of breast, prostate, endometrial and ovarian cancer, MS. A low salt diet can naturally lead to an iodine deficient state. Many chemicals inhibit iodine from binding in the body (bromide, fluoride, chloride). Diets high in the consumption of bakery products (breads, pasta, etc.) which contain bromide. Vegan diets also create deficiency in iodine (no fish).
In the 1960’s iodine was added to the commercial baking industry as a dough conditioner. Bromine is a halide and these compete with one another (bromine and iodine) for absorption and receptor binding in the body. So bromine interferes with iodine utilization in the thyroid as well as wherever else iodine would concentrate in the body. So people who eat lots of pasta and bread will be low in iodine!
Iodine concentrates in and is secreted from the breasts (in men and women). The breasts are one of the body’s main storage and utilization sites for iodine. Without iodine, breasts won’t form properly. In an iodine-deficient state, the thyroid gland and the breasts will compete for what little iodine is available.
Therefore, this will leave the thyroid gland and the breasts iodine depleted and can set the state for illnesses such as goiter, hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroid illness, breast cancer and cystic breast disease. Hypothyroidism predisposes one to a poorly functioning immune system. This can set the stage for serious illnesses and cancer. It is impossible for the thyroid gland to function optimally in an iodine deficient state.
If someone is taking thyroid meds then these thyroid hormones introduced into the body will raise the body’s need for iodine! When there is iodine deficiency, the breast and thyroid gland enlarge to compensate for that deficiency. If a person suffers from iodine deficiency, using thyroid hormone supplementation without first correcting (or simultaneously correcting) the iodine deficit will worsen the body’s deficit state of iodine.
Prostate cancer in men follows a similar picture as the female cancers. Iodine deficiency is the link and is responsible for the increased risk of prostate cancer. When iodine levels fall, the rates of prostate cancer will begin to increase. The prostate gland, gastrointestinal tract, salivary glands, bones, connective tissues and the fluids of almost the entire body utilize iodine. All of the glands of the body depend on adequate iodine levels to function properly.
Taking iodine in physiological doses can help to competitively inhibit the binding of bromine (bromide) and allows the body to detoxify itself from bromide in both the thyroid tissue as well as other tissues in the body. The daily intake of iodine necessary for maintaining the iodine sufficiency for the whole body is at least 13mg per day.
Signs and symptoms of HYPOTHYROIDISM:
Brittle nails
Cold hands and feet
Cold intolerance
Constipation
Depression
Hoarseness
Inability to concentrate
Infertility
Irritability
Menstrual difficulties
Muscle cramps
Muscle weakness
Nervousness
Poor memory
Puffy eyes
Throat pain
Weight gain
Slower heartbeat
Difficulty swallowing
Dry skin
Elevated cholesterol
Eyelid swelling
Fatigue
Hair loss
HASHIMOTO’S DISEASE
Hashimoto’s disease is also an autoimmune illness where the body produces anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti- TPO) that cause an inflammation of the thyroid gland. The end result is goiter formation in many and hypothyroidism is usually the end result. It is of near epidemic rates and caused from iodine deficiency. Excess thyroid tissue is not the cause of autoimmune thyroid disorders but the result of the illness!
Underlying causes of autoimmune diseases:
Infections, food allergies, toxins, heavy metals, gluten intolerance, nutritional imbalances, iodine deficiencies.
Iodine replacement is not the only therapy for thyroid illness: nutritional supplements, detoxification, drinking plenty of water and changing diet will also help.
For complete help call our offices at 1-888-918-9352 and let’s get proper testing done to ensure the correct protocol is being followed!