thyroid assessment/physiology

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THYROID ASSESSMENT

Hair analysis reveals very different information about

thyroid activity than a blood test. Most confusion arises because

blood

thyroid tests do not reveal much about thyroid physiology. Standard

tests only measure circulating hormones (T3 and T4) and pituitary

stimulation of the thyroid (TSH).

THYROID PHYSIOLOGY

Thyroid metabolism involves four important stages:

1) Hormone Production. To produce thyroxine (T4) requires manganese,

iodine, tyrosine, cyclic AMP, vitamin C and B-complex, and other

micronutrients. Radiation toxicity, excessive oxidant stress or

toxic

chemicals can block hormone synthesis. Mercury and copper toxicity

stimulate hormone synthesis.

2) Hormone Release. Secretion of thyroid hormones requires sympathetic

nervous stimulation. Many people have exhausted adrenals or other

autonomic imbalances that may affect the sympathetic nervous system.

3) Absorption into the Cells. Once released into the blood, T4 must be

absorbed into the body cells. For this to occur, the cell membranes

must

function properly. Accumulation of biounavailable calcium and

magnesium

excessively stabilize cell membranes and reduce cell permeability.

Deficient calcium and magnesium cause excessive cell permeability.

Oxidant stress or impaired fatty acid metabolism or other damage to

cell

membranes can also block absorption of thyroxine.

Copper affects absorption by altering calcium and

potassium levels. Cadmium or nickel toxicity affect hormone absorption

by affecting the levels of calcium, sodium and other critical

minerals.

4) Utilization in the Mitochondria. Once inside the cells, thyroxine

must be converted to to T3 and utilized in the mitochondria. Potassium

plays a role in sensitizing the mitochondria to thyroid hormone.

Fluorides in drinking water and chlorides found in bleaches used to

make

white flour are powerful inhibitors of thyroid hormone utilization.

They

interfere with iodine metabolism. Substances in soy and in raw

cabbage,

cauliflower and broccoli also inhibit thyroid hormone utilization. The

worst foods for one's thyroid are soy products and foods made with

white

flour. Many packaged foods processed with water contain high levels of

fluorides that have found their way into water supplies.

Cells must also be able to respond to thyroid

hormone

stimulation. A range of vitamins and minerals are required for energy

production in the glycolysis and carboxylic acid cycles in the

mitochondria. If these co-factors are missing or toxins block steps in

the pathway, thyroid hormone will be ineffective in increasing energy

production.

THYROID PROBLEMS

Imbalances can occur at any stage of the production

or

utilization of thyroid hormone. The concepts of hypothyroidism and

hyperthyroidism are incomplete and often misleading as they only

relate

to hormone production and release. One person might have inadequate

hormone production due to radiation damage. Another produces enough

hormone, but has an autonomic imbalance preventing its release.

Another cannot transport enough hormones into the

cells due to low cell permeability. Still another person might have

adequate hormone production but be unable to utilize the hormones in

the

cells due to manganese deficiency or fluoride toxicity.

Another may have excess hormone production due to

copper or mercury toxicity and at the same time have inadequate cell

permeability, causing a mixture of hypo- and hyperthyroid symptoms.

Blood tests do not assess these factors. As a

result,

they miss many problems, may indicate a problem where none exists or

may

indicate one imbalance when the opposite condition exists at the

cellular level.

Most commonly, serum thyroid tests are normal but a

thyroid imbalance is present. This may occur because the normal ranges

of the blood tests are too large. TSH should not be above 3.5, yet

many

doctors still use 5 as the upper limit of normal. In other cases,

however, the blood tests cannot detect deficiencies and toxins

affecting

thyroid activity.

The most common imbalances are low thyroid effect

due

to impaired cell permeability in slow metabolizers and hyperthyroid

symptoms due to copper or mercury toxicity of the thyroid gland. These

commonly occur together causing a mixture of symptoms.

HAIR ANALYSIS FOR THYROID ASSESSMENT

Hair analysis is excellent to help assess thyroid

difficulties. It can indicate imbalances in many steps involved in

thyroid hormone metabolism:

* The hair calcium level is an approximate thyroid effect indicator

because thyroid hormone lowers calcium in the body. The higher the

level

of hair calcium, in general, the lower the effective activity of the

thyroid gland.

* The potassium level is associated with sensitivity of the tissues to

thyroid hormone. Low hair potassium is associated with reduced

sensitivity of the mitochondrial receptors to thyroid hormone. Even if

circulating hormone levels are normal and hormones can be absorbed

into

the cells, when tissue potassium is low they may not be utilized,

resulting in a low thyroid effect. This commonly contributes to

thyroid

problems in slow metabolizers. Potassium supplements rarely help

because

the problem is a loss of potassium due to kidney dysfunction and

electrical imbalances at the cellular level.

* Manganese deficiency can reduce thyroid activity. Manganese is

required for T4 production. Manganese deficiency or biounavailability

are very common today. Deficiency is associated with a hair manganese

level less than 0.03 mg%. A level greater than 0.07 mg% often

indicates

biounavailability. Adrenal exhaustion causes manganese to become

biounavailable as the binding protein, transmanganin, is not produced

in

sufficient quantity.

* Metabolic typing can assess vitamin needs. Vitamins C and B-complex,

for instance, tend to enhance thyroid activity. Higher doses are given

to slow metabolizers and less to fast metabolizers to help balance

thyroid activity. Supplementation without testing for the metabolic

type

is often ineffective or can aggravate thyroid imbalances.

* Hair calcium and magnesium levels are associated with cell

permeability. Biounavailable calcium and magnesium stabilize cell

membranes. This causes reduced cell membrane permeability that

decreases

thyroid hormone uptake into the cells. This produces a cellular

thyroid

hormone deficiency. Serum hormone levels may be normal or even

elevated.

A hair calcium above 50 mg% and magnesium above about 9 mg% indicate

some degree of biounavailable calcium and magnesium. This occurs

mainly

in slow metabolizers. Since serum hormone levels are normal or

elevated,

physicians may not give thyroid support when it is in fact needed.

The opposite may also occur. When tissue calcium and

magnesium are low, as in fast metabolizers, cell membranes are more

permeable. This causes more rapid uptake of thyroid hormone into the

cells and an increased thyroid effect. Serum thyroid hormone levels

may

be normal or even decreased. A physician who only measures serum

hormone

levels (T3 and T4) or TSH might conclude that the patient needs

thyroid

hormone. This will make the patient's condition much worse, although

it

may provide a temporary energy boost.

* Copper is an important thyroid indicator. The key here is that one

cannot use the hair copper level as the only copper indicator because

copper often does not accumulate in the hair, but rather in the brain,

liver and other organs. One must not supplement copper simply on the

basis of the hair copper level. Other test numbers, however, offer

excellent information about copper status:

1) Copper raises calcium and lowers potassium. Elevated calcium and

low

potassium is a slow metabolizer pattern associated with the presence

of

excess tissue copper. It does not matter if the hair copper is low,

normal or high. The pattern is associated with reduced thyroid

utilization and hypothyroidism.

2) Compensatory effects may occur. Copper stimulates the production of

biogenic amines - epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine. These can

cause anxiety, sweating and other symptoms similar to hyperthyroidism.

The body may compensate for the inhibitory effect of

high calcium and low potassium by increasing T3 and T4 to force more

thyroid hormone into the cells. TSH may vary. The symptoms and blood

tests cause some physicians to diagnose hyperthyroidism. Irradiation

or

even surgery may be recommended when the real problem is copper

imbalance. This occurs commonly.

3) Weak adrenals cause copper to become biounavailable. This produces

another mixed picture. Often this is indicated by a sodium/potassium

ratio less than 2:1 or a hair copper less than 1.0 mg%. In these

cases,

even if hair copper is high, one must give some copper to relieve

symptoms until copper becomes biologically available.

4) Fast metabolizers are copper deficient. They have a relatively low

hair calcium level and elevated hair potassium. Their cells are

excessively permeable and sensitive to thyroid hormone. Fast

metabolizers all require copper supplements even if their hair copper

level is normal or elevated.

* Other Toxic Metals and Imbalances. Energy production requires many

nutrients, and can be blocked by toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

Hair

analysis may provide indicators of an impaired energy such as cadmium

toxicity or zinc deficiency that causes thyroid hormone to be

ineffective in stimulating energy production.

* Autonomic Balance. Most slow metabolizers have depleted their

sympathetic nervous systems and are in a pathological parasympathetic

state. This can affect thyroid hormone release.

1. Eck, P. and , L., Toxic Metals in Human Health and Disease,

Eck

Institute of Applied Nutrition and Bioenergetics, Ltd., Phoenix, AZ,

1989.

2. Gittleman, A.L., Why Am I Always So Tired?, Harper San Francisco,

1999.

3. Nolan, K., " Copper Toxicity Syndrome " , J. Orthomolecular

Psychiatry,

12:4, p.270-282.

4. Pfeiffer, C., Mental and Elemental Nutrients, Keats Publishing, New

Canaan, CT., 1975.

4. Twyman, J., Emissary of Light, Warner Books, New York, 1996.

5. , L., Nutritional Balancing and Hair Mineral Analysis, L.D.

Consultants, 1998.

[Guest guest]

Must be the questions!!!! hahhaha---

>

[Guest guest]

Wow, that's pretty cool. Wouldn't it be nice just to drop or send

off a strand of hair and get the whole scoop?

Ella

[Guest guest]

Will they take just whatever you give them - like some that has already fallen

out on its own? LOL! They'd probably insist upon clipping off a new chunk, tho'

Patti

Re: thyroid assessment/physiology

Wow, that's pretty cool. Wouldn't it be nice just to drop or send

off a strand of hair and get the whole scoop?

Ella