Can nutrition issues cause thyroid issues?

[GMason]

I have normal T4 but high TSH, could this be caused by nutritional issues? For example deficiency in something?

[Marz]

What is your *normal* T4 result ? - and how high is your TSH ?

[GMason in reply to Marz]

I would need to check that, are the numbers significant to see if it is caused by nutrition issues?

[shaws Administrator in reply to GMason]

Usually, hypothyroidism is caused by our thyroid gland not issuing the amount of hormones required to run our whole metabolism. I am not aware it is caused by nutritional deficiencies.

Did you have your blood test at the very earliest a.m. fasting (you can drink water). The TSH is highest early in the morning and reduces during the day and could mean the difference between being diagnosed or not or getting an increase in hormones.

If taking thyroid hormone replacements the aim is a TSH of 1 or lower not somehwere in the range. Few doctors seem to be aware of this.

Always get a print-out of your results with the ranges for your own records and you can post if you have a query.

[Marz in reply to GMason]

GMason - Reading your other posts I see you are new to this forum - so Welcome !

thyroiduk.org

The above website is the one for this Forum so you can have a good read. Come back here if you have more questions .... everyone happy to help 😊

[Marz in reply to GMason]

GMason - to establish nutritional deficiencies you would need to have them tested - the ones suggested on this forum are :- B12 - Folate - VitD - Ferritin. When you have the results with ranges pop them into a new thread for people to comment

[greygoose]

Starvation diets can cause hypothyroidism. A lot of anarexics end up hypo. You need calories for things like conversion to work.

'Normal' is not a work we like, on here, it doesn't mean anything. What is normal for one person, is not at all normal for another. When a doctor says 'normal', all he means is 'in range'. But, the ranges are usually so wide that you're going to feel completely different if your result is at the top of the range, than if it's at the bottom. If your TSH is 'high' - I presume you mean over-range - then your FT4 is probably at the bottom of the range, which could mean that your FT3 is also low, so you are hypo. However, it's very rare to actually find what caused you to be this way.

Most people are hypo because they have high antibodies, which means they have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is slowly destroying their glands. But, finding what caused the Hashi's, is just as difficult. Some say it is caused by gut problems. Sometimes, it may be, but I doubt if it always is.

I imagine you're thinking along the lines of : if my hypo is caused by nutritional deficiencies, fixing my deficiencies will also fix my hypo. Well, it's worth a try. And, of course, you do need optimal nutrients for you body to be able to use thyroid hormone. But, whether or not that will fix the actual gland, is doubtful.