Hormones: Thyroid in Men

The thyroid gland and its many associated hormones can be thought of as the “traffic center” for your endocrine system. Thyroid hormones are important in their own right, especially for regulating metabolism. But healthy thyroid function is also critical to the balance of your other hormones. When something is out of whack elsewhere in your endocrine system, the thyroid gland will work hard to compensate.

The Facts about Thyroid

• Being low thyroid frequently goes hand in hand with imbalances in other hormones.
• There is a symbiotic relationship between thyroid and other hormones. Treating other hormones without checking thyroid is not an effective way to balance hormones.
• Many symptoms of low thyroid overlap with symptoms of other hormone imbalances, including fatigue, weight gain, irritability, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and poor concentration.

T3 and T4

T4 is the thyroid hormone that your thyroid gland produces directly. After T4 is secreted by the thyroid gland, it feeds back information to the pituitary. When the pituitary senses that the body doesn’t have enough T4, it releases thyroid-stimulating hormone (or TSH). TSH then stimulates the thyroid to produce more T4. Proper functioning of this feedback loop is the first piece of the thyroid puzzle.

But there’s more. T4 is not the most active form of thyroid hormone that your body uses. T4 has to be broken down into another thyroid hormone called T3.   T3 is the thyroid hormone your body actually uses. 

One of the reasons thyroid levels may decline with age is because the thyroid and pituitary start to slow down. However, as the body ages, it also becomes less efficient at converting T4 into T3.

Why Low Thyroid Falls Through the Cracks

Low thyroid is frequently undiagnosed or treated incorrectly in adults because most healthcare practitioners follow outdated protocols. Here’s what they’re missing:

• T4 only accounts for about 20% of thyroid function in the body.
• T4’s primary function is to be broken down into T3.
• T3 accounts for 80% of thyroid function in the body.
• As the thyroid ages, it produces less T4. However, there are also chemical changes taking place in the body that inhibit T4’s conversion into T3.
• Most healthcare practitioners only measure T4 levels and the feedback loop between TSH and T4. They miss 80% of thyroid function by not testing for T3.
• For some patients with underactive thyroid treatment with synthetic T4 may be enough.  However, if your body is not converting T4 into the active T3 you will still remain hypothyroid at the cellular level.
• What most healthcare practitioners consider a normal level for thyroid isn’t usually high enough. For thyroid, the upper end of lab-tested ranges is usually healthiest.

Unfortunately, all of the above results in many people being inadequately tested and treated for low thyroid, if they’re being tested and treated at all.