What is Hypothyroidism?
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland placed in the front of the neck. It produces two types of thyroid hormones T4 and T3.
T3 is the active thyroid hormone and T4 is a storage hormone, that is turned into T3 when needed.
The thyroid hormone T3 controls metabolism and cellular energy production.
Low thyroid function (also called hypothyroidism) results in a lack of energy production in all cells of the body, this has devastating consequences for the body.
The low cellular energy leads to many different symptoms as the body’s cells and tissues are not working optimally.
In hypothyroidism, there is a gap between the body’s energy resources and the demands placed on it by the environment.
Low thyroid function is thus associated with stress, aging, inflammation, and disease.
How common is Hypothyroidism?
Many people have hypothyroidism without knowing it. You might be suffering from fatigue, low energy, cold hands, and feet, digestive issues, etc. without knowing that the cause of your symptoms is low thyroid function.
Even if you fall within the normal range on the thyroid blood test you can still have hypothyroidism.
According to Dr. Ray Peat, the reason is that the normal range for the thyroid blood test has been made too wide.
You can learn much more about hypothyroidism and thyroid blood tests in our Hypothyroid Treatment Program, which also discusses our treatment method for overcoming thyroid problems and hormonal imbalances in general.
You can also check out these two articles by Dr. Ray Peat:
TSH, temperature, pulse rate, and other indicators in hypothyroidism.
