What are Optimal Thyroid Levels?
If you’ve ever expressed to your primary care provider that you’re worried about your thyroid function, they most likely had you get some lab work done to check your thyroid levels.
But if you’re like a lot of my clients, when the results came back, you got a call saying the results were normal.
Which is great, right? But you’re left scratching your head wondering how the levels could possibly be normal when you have a laundry list of symptoms that led you to the visit with your provider in the first place.
When lab results fall outside the normal range, disease is often already present. The goal is to catch imbalance or dysfunction before you get to the stage of thyroid disease. This is why it’s important to take your lab results and have them compared to optimal ranges instead of just the normal ranges so you can see if yours are within optimal thyroid level ranges.
What does "Optimal" Thyroid Levels Mean?
As I previously mentioned, in Functional Medicine the goal is to be proactive and address imbalances within the body before a chronic condition develops.
Optimal ranges are what the level would be for someone that’s in an optimal state of health. No chronic conditions, no obesity, no symptoms, etc.
What Thyroid Levels Should I Be Getting Checked?
For a full thyroid assessment you need:
- TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone)
- total T4
- total T3
- Free T4
- Free T3
- reverse T3
- anti-thyroperoxidase (TPO)
- anti-thyroglobulin (TGB) antibodies
(to download a list of these labs, plus more click here)
Now, let’s dive into these thyroid labs and uncover what they’re assessing.
TSH is how your brain talks to your thyroid – in other words, it tells it how much thyroid hormone to produce.
But the story doesn’t end there. Our body has to do something with the resulting thyroid hormones.
Your thyroid primarily produces T4, the inactive form of thyroid hormone. T4 travels to your gut, liver, & kidneys where it is converted to T3 (active form of thyroid hormone).
T3 affects our mood, energy, metabolism, body temperature, and menstrual cycle.
A lot of providers will include a TSH in their annual wellness lab panel, but having just a TSH level drawn only shows us part of the picture. TSH levels can be optimal, but if there’s an issue with the conversion of T4 to T3, you’re still going to be symptomatic.
What are the Optimal Thyroid Level Ranges?
It is always best to have your lab results reviewed by a practitioner that knows your history and understands what your current symptoms and concerns are (I can totally do this for you, just email me). That’s how you will get the most actionable information from your lab tests.
But, in the spirit of empowering you with information, here are the optimal ranges I use in my practice:
- TSH 0.5 – 2.0
- Total T4 6.0 – 11.9
- Free T4 1.4 – 1.8
- Total T3 120 – 180
- Free T3 3.4 – 4.4
- Reverse T3 0 – 15
- TPO antibody 0 – 10
- TGB antibody 0 – 20
When Should I Ask for Thyroid Testing?
If you are experiencing symptoms that are commonly linked to a thyroid disorder, getting a thorough evaluation is warranted.
Signs and Symptoms may include:
- weight gain
- feeling cold all the time
- anxiety
- depression
- decreased heart rate
- fatigue
- memory loss
- thinning hair
- constipation
- irregular periods
This is not a comprehensive list, so please discuss any symptoms or concerns with your provider and let them guide you.
How can I Support my Thyroid if my Thyroid Levels are not Optimal?
My first recommendation is always going to be to try and get to the root cause. There are a lot of factors that can impact your thyroid function, but commonly: presence of heavy metals, inflammation within the body, chronic or frequent infections, stress, and nutrient depletion, all of which we can assess with a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. In some cases, thyroid dysfunction may also be auto-immune related.
While you work to identify a root cause reason, if you’re experiencing symptoms, you’ll want to start right away incorporating habits that support thyroid health.
Since 20% of T4 to T3 conversion takes place in the gut, you want to optimize your gut health.
Think: Are you having at least one bowel movement daily? Are you getting 25-30g of fiber each day? Are you staying hydrated? Do you need to incorporate collagen daily to help heal your gut lining? Do you need to incorporate a probiotic?
You’ll want to be sure you’re having breakfast within 1 hour of waking up and always before having any coffee.
Consider supplementing with selenium, zinc, and B vitamins.
Selenium and zinc are needed for thyroid hormone production and the conversion from T4 to T3.
Zinc is also needed to get our thyroid hormones and thyroid hormone receptors on our cells talking.
B vitamins are essential for the production of thyroid hormone.
Lastly, think about how many calories and nutrients you’re consuming on an average day. Chronic under eating leads to a decrease in thyroid hormone production, so you’ll need to make sure you’re consuming enough calories to fuel your body.
What If I need Help Supporting My Thyroid?
Within this post I’ve given you a great place to start, but if you desire to work with a Functional Medicine Nurse that can help you get to the root of your thyroid symptoms and imbalance – I’m your girl! Click here to apply to work with me!