The endocrine system can be equated to corporate America, where there is a CEO, a General Manager, Employees, and independent contractors.
- The CEO is the hypothalamus, commanding the business operations from a general overarching POV.
- The Pituitary is the General Manager, overseeing the front lines employees.
- The Employees are three glands: thyroid, adrenal cortex, and gonads who must listen to the General Manager / pituitary gland.
- The Contractors are another set of three glands: parathyroid, adrenal medulla, and the pancreas who are not necessary forced to obey the CEO / Hypothalamus and/or General Manager / Pituitary.
Just like running a company, it's complicated.
What complicates finding the root causes of signs and symptoms in the endocrine system is that it can be the result of a few different things: (1) tissues in the gland itself (the actual employee), (2) the previous gland one step before (the General manager’s lack of communication or inability to perform their job), OR (3) all the way at the top / a bad CEO.
For example...
Let's say your blood tests show low levels of TSH. This is known as “hypothyroidism” and could be because of three things: (1) low “T4” or “T3” (the thyroid hormones) released in the thyroid gland itself OR (2) blockage in the pituitary gland that signaling clear messages to release, OR (3) the hypothalamus not indicating when / how much thyroid stimulating hormone to release and trickle down the line.
What does the thyroid feed on?
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) comes from the lipid-dissolveable (aka "fat loving") family. The the raw materials needed to make thyroid hormones are: Iodine and Tyrosine. You get both of these from food.
- Iodine specifically from sea foods, kelp, seaweed, iodized salt.
- Tyrosine is a protein, therefore in any protein sources like Greek yogurt, beef, chickpeas, tofu, salmon, etc.
Some "fun facts" about the thyroid hormones:
- Thyroid hormones have a permissive action of other hormones, adrenaline (aka: epinephrine) and dopamine. These can both increase blood pressure, increase heart rate, and can trigger anxiety.
- Thyroid hormones can boost ovarian cycle AND spermatogensis. So, if you have low thyroid hormone, you can potentially experience infertility or irregularities.
- The thyroid hormone are the furnace of your body. They increases your body temperature and brain pace; it has been shown that children who suffer from congenital hypothyroidism have low IQ.
- It increases gastrointestinal motility; if you have hypothyroidism you might experience constipation, while those hyperthyroidism might experience diarrhea.
The thyroid is extremely sensitive...especially to:
- Heavy metals (like those found in some laundry detergents, lotions, chocolate, etc.)
- Foreign substances
- Endocrine imbalances
- Food allergies
- Drugs - even aspirin
