6 Common Causes of Hypothyroidism And How To Boost Thyroid Health Naturally

Listen to the post, 6 Common Causes of Hypothyroidism And How To Boost Thyroid Health Naturally, on our Live Lean TV Podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast!

How To Stop Hypothyroidism Naturally

On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing the 6 common causes of hypothyroidism and how to boost thyroid health naturally.

If you’ve been thinking your thyroid could be a potential reason why you’re not losing weight, today’s post is for you.

By understanding how your metabolism works, you can effectively take control of one of the most important factors in losing body fat.

In a previous post, I shared 3 Simple Ways To Make Your Metabolism Love You.

However, the rate of your metabolism can also be affected by many other factors in the body.

So today, lets talk about one of those important factors, your thyroid health.

Table Of Contents: Jump To

If your metabolism is feeling sluggish, it may be caused by low thyroid function, also known as hypothyroidism.

What Does The Thyroid Do And How Does it Work?

The thyroid is a gland that is located in the front of the neck and plays a major role in many different aspects of your overall health.

One of the big roles of the thyroid is to regulate your metabolic rate.

Essentially the thyroid affects how active your metabolism is, and when healthy, it can help you lose body fat and maintain a healthy body for life.

The thyroid releases two hormones:

• T3 hormone (Thyroxine)
• T4 hormone (Triiodothyronine)

T3 is the active hormone in the fat burning process.

T4 is a non-active hormone that can be converted into the T3 hormone by the liver and kidneys.

Thyroid problems exist when the T3 and T4 hormones are not functioning properly and are out of balance.

Hypothyroidism Symptoms

If you think you may have hypothyroidism, check out these common symptoms:

• Weight gain
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Constant fatigue

If you are experiencing these hypothyroidism symptoms, rather than just making the assumption that you have hypothyroidism, due yourself a favor and see your physician.

6 Common Causes Of Hypothyroidism

Now that we have that out of the way, here are the 6 common causes of hypothyroidism.

#1. Prolonged Excessive Calorie Restriction

We talk about this all the time.

Weight loss plateaus often occur when people follow prolonged excessive calorie deprivation diets.

As a Live Leaner, that’s not how we roll.

You’ll often see people starving themselves in an attempt to lose weight fast.

Unfortunately, this is counter-productive as the body fires back by releasing less of the fat burning T3 hormone, thus slowing your metabolism and burning less calories at rest.

The body does this as a defense mechanism.

It’s called entering starvation mode.

Rather than burning calories at a normal rate during rest, the body slows down your metabolism, thus allowing your body to survive longer.

This is not good, because in reality, you’re not starving and you’re not out in the wilderness.

Less production of the T3 hormone can also affect:

• Muscle repair
• Decrease protein synthesis
• Cause sluggishness

Again, this is not a good thing since maintaining and building muscle is one of the key drivers of a healthy and fast metabolism.

Plus, let’s be real, when you’re sluggish, you won’t move as much, thus burning less calories throughout the day.

Here’s Your Solution:

If your goal is fat loss, of course a calorie deficit is required.

However, there are better strategies to achieve a calorie deficit, without ruining your metabolism.

One of these strategies is cycling your calories via carb cycling, as well as incorporating a weekly cheat meal to keep your metabolism elevated during this calorie deficit.

Curious about how cheat meals may help?

Check out this post where I talk about the leptin hormone and cheat meals.

Let’s move on to number two.

#2. Extreme Zero Carb Diets

A certain level of insulin production is required to convert the T4 hormone into the T3 fat burning hormone.

When following a severe zero carb diet, insulin levels are extremely low, thus the thyroid function is negatively affected.

Here’s Your Solution:

Although I do recommend you limit carbohydrates, I don’t recommend you 100% avoid them, especially if you’re suffering from hypothyroidism.

If your goal is fat loss, depending on your activity level and your body type, I usually recommend you stick between 50-150 grams of carbohydrates per day.

#3. Excessive Body Fat

Yes, you guessed it, with an increase in body fat more inflammation is created in the body, thus leading to negatively affecting your thyroid health.

Here’s Your Solution: 

Follow a workout program designed for fat loss and get on a structured meal plan that contains quick, easy, and delicious recipes so you can consistently stick to it.

That is the key.

#4. A Lack of Key Thyroid Healthy Nutrients

Not surprisingly, the foods you eat have a huge impact on the health of your thyroid function.

Consumption of specific foods may actually reduce the production of the healthy T3 hormone, while the underconsumption of other healthy nutrients can also affect your thyroid health.

Here’s Your Solution:

Focus on consuming the following thyroid healthy nutrients.

Iodine is used by the thyroid to produce the T3 and T4 hormones.

Consume Foods Rich In Iodine Include:

• Salt
• Seafood
• Vegetables grown in iodine rich soil

Here’s another thing.

People diagnosed with hypothyroidism are generally instructed to stay away from certain foods containing goitrogens.

Goitrogens can interfere with the absorption of iodine and inhibit the T4 to T3 conversion.

Avoid Foods Containing Goitrogens:

• Cruciferous vegetables
  • Cabbage
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Spinach
• Fruits
  • Strawberries
  • Peaches

However, if you haven’t been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, continue eating these healthy foods.

Consume Foods High In Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, And Vitamin B12:

Without proper levels of vitamin A, vitamin B2, and Vitamin B12, the body doesn’t produce sufficient amounts of the healthy hormones required for thyroid function.

Vitamin A is also required for proper absorption of iodine.

Even if you are consuming sufficient amounts of iodine, the body won’t absorb as much without vitamin A.

Let’s Not Forget to Consume Healthy Fats:

Get the majority of your healthy dietary fat from:

• Monounsaturated fat sources
  • Avocado
  • Nuts
  • Olive oil
  • Seeds
  • Seafood
• Saturated fats

Limit the amount of polyunsaturated fats from refined vegetable oils:

• Corn oil
• Soybean oil
• Canola oil

Consume Foods High In Selenium:

The mineral selenium may also help in the conversion of T4 to T3 and works with iodine.

Foods high in selenium include:

• Brazil nuts
• Tuna
• Beef
• Sunflower seeds
• Mushrooms
• Halibut

#5. Reduce Exposure to Chemicals that Disrupt Iodine Absorption

Over exposure to chemicals such as bromine, chlorine, and fluorine can affect the absorption of iodine in the body, thus reducing the production of the healthy T3 and T4 hormones.

The Chemicals Bromine, Chlorine, And Fluorine Can Be Found In:

• Some municipal sources of tap water
• Swimming pools
• Refined foods
  • Bread
  • Baked goods
  • Soda
  • Sports drinks
  • Vegetable oils

Here’s Your Solution: 

• Drink filtered water
• Reduce time spent in chlorine pools
• Reduce consumption of refined foods containing these chemicals
• Avoid cosmetics, shampoos, deodorants, and other personal hygiene products containing BPAs, parabens, and phthalates as these can not only affect estrogen and testosterone balance, but also thyroid health.

#6: Aging

Yes aging.

However, don’t use this as an excuse.

For women, menopause can affect thyroid function due to the drop in progesterone and estrogen levels becoming more irregular.

The change in these hormones, along with the reduced T4 to T3 conversion, can negatively effect thyroid health in older women.

Also for aging men, reduced production of DHEA can also reduce T4 to T3 conversion, thus negatively effecting the thyroid health in older men.

Here’s Your Solution: 

Follow all the other solutions that I’ve given you in this post, and you will be well on your way to keeping your thyroid healthy and your metabolism on fire.

That’s it.

Put these healthy thyroid tips to action to create a healthier thyroid to spark up your metabolism for life.

Join Team Live Lean

If you’re ready to take control back of your diet, I recommend you join our Team Live Lean group coaching platform where our members get access to our:

• Weekly meal plans
• Recipes
• Cooking video lessons
• Grocery lists
• Workout program every month

You’ll also have access to a private Facebook community group to stay accountable and meet other Live Leaners on the same journey as you.

I hope you’ll join us over there.

Keep Living Lean.