Research suggests that your thyroid function is influenced by many different factors but our gut health seems to shine bright as one of the key players in the game. Let’s be honest here, whatever condition your gut is in is going to affect the condition of your general health and well-being. Our gut is home to a bunch of beneficial bacteria and microorganisms (among other things) that have a huge influence in the production of hormones throughout the entire body, and that includes the thyroid hormones as well.
When your gut becomes inflamed ic can cause damage to the intestinal wall lining which can lead to impaired nutrient absorption. Nutrients like selenium and iodine are some of the nutrients that are crucial for thyroid health. One of the components of the intestinal wall is Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and when the intestinal permeability is increased the LPS leaks out too, which is bad news for the thyroid! Conditions like leaky gut syndrome and SIBO can affect the thyroid as well.
Heal Your Gut Heal Your Thyroid!
Healing you digestive and gastrointestinal health issues is definitely going to have a positive impact on your thyroid and the rest of the body as well. When bad things are going on in the gut there are bound to be bad things happening elsewhere in the body too. Here are a few different ways you can improve your thyroid function by healing your gut!
- Consume Plenty of Fermentable Fiber: Cassava, plantain, and sweet potato are all fermentable fibers which can provide prebiotics to our gut. The bacteria in the gut ferment these fibers producing short-chain-fatty-acids (SCFAs). SCFAs inhibit enzymes that increase the impression of thyroid receptors.
- Probiotics: Probiotics can help our gut heal, repair, recover, and strengthen. Whether you get your probiotics from fermented food or through supplements doesn’t matter but the results do.
- When In Doubt Get Checked Out: You can arrange to have various breath tests that will test the amount of bacteria in your gut and further testing to find out if they are beneficial or harmful. When you have gut health issues don’t hesitate and do what’s necessary to be sure your gut is healthy.
Gut Health Tips: Manage your diet so that foods causing negative effects are limited or eliminated. Consume more gut healthy foods and eliminate over-processed foods, GMO’s, and anything with harsh pesticides or herbicides. Healing your gut can help heal your whole entire body including your skin, hair, and nails. The healthier your gut is the better you’ll feel.
