There are several ways you can assess your thyroid function. One of the best ways, in our opinion, is by how you feel. Thyroid dysfunction usually goes hand in hand with period problems, see this blog post for info on the connection between your thyroid and your cycle!, but there are so many other symptoms that can occur from a suboptimal thyroid or a hyperactive one.
If you suffer from a handful of these, it’s always helpful to do some testing. Blood work is usually the go-to for doctors, and while labs can give us a decent amount of insight, it’s not the only measurement that matters. If you do get a thyroid panel, make sure to ask for ALL of the markers we share in this post, not just TSH. Find the optimal ranges in the last slide above.
We can also examine how the thyroid is functioning based on your basal body temp (BBT). Is your temperature first thing in the morning consistently above 97.2F? If not, your metabolism might be struggling.
That’s where the HTMA comes in, to show us why. Take your Calcium/Potassium Ratio (the Thyroid Ratio) for example: Higher than 6.2 lets us know that your cells are not getting enough thyroid hormone or not utilizing it properly, resulting in hypothyroidism or a sluggish thyroid. Lower than 2.2 means your cells are getting too much, resulting in an overactive thyroid—what’s known as hyperthyroidism. This ratio is impacted by adrenal function, iron, zinc, and copper.
Keep in mind that you could have perfectly optimal results on your blood work but still be experiencing symptoms, a lower than ideal BBT, or an out-of-whack thyroid ratio on your HTMA. This is why we prefer to look at the whole picture.
I go into detail about thyroid health, what may be affecting it, and how you can optimize it in my Master your minerals course.
Not ready for a course yet? Check out my free thyroid mineral connection training here.
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