WELLNESS: YOUR THYROID AND SKIN HEALTH

YOUR THYROID AND SKIN HEALTH: WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

Our skin is an outer reflection of our inner health.  Our inner health depends on many things, including:

• nutrition

• hydration

• sleep

• detoxification

• metabolism

• hormones

Our bodies function optimally when they get the appropriate messages from a variety of hormones: too much, or too little, of one or more hormones will throw the inner balance of our bodies off.  An inner imbalance can cause functional problems including skin that ages earlier, looks and feels drier, becomes more sensitive and prone to rashes and breakouts.  

Hormones are secreted by glands that are part of our endocrine system.  Hormones are technically little chemical messengers that can send a signal from one part of our bodies to another part of our bodies, even if it’s far away.  Our bodies have several glands that make different types of hormones.  Some major glands and their hormones include:

• Ovaries in women, which produce estrogen and progesterone (and small amounts of testosterone)

• Testes in men, which produce testosterone (and small amounts of estrogen and progesterone)

• Adrenal glands, which produce glucocorticoids (cortisol’s family of hormones), mineralocorticoids (which are responsible for blood pressure regulation), and sex hormones to a smaller extent.  They also produce adrenaline (or epinephrine) and noradrenaline (or norepinephrine) which function as both hormones and neurotransmitters inside the nervous system

• Pancreas, which produces insulin and other hormones

• Thyroid gland, which produces two major forms of thyroid hormone: T4 and T3

• Parathyroid glands, small glands behind the thyroid gland that secrete PTH (parathyroid hormone) which is responsible for calcium levels in our blood

WHAT IS YOUR THYROID GLAND? 

Our thyroid gland is the small butterfly-shaped gland at the base of our neck, sitting just above where our collar bones meet.  It’s a pretty small gland, but it has really important effects for our entire body.  Our health, energy, hormones, mood, sleep, and other critical parts of our health and happiness depend on our thyroid gland functioning optimally.  

THYROID GLAND FUNCTIONS

Our thyroid gland is responsible for making and secreting the thyroid hormones T3 and T4.   T4 is the thyroid hormone that is predominantly secreted by the thyroid gland; a smaller amount of T3 is produced and released by the thyroid gland into the bloodstream.  

T3 is the active form of our thyroid hormone: it can directly enter our cells where it directs a multitude of cellular processes including our metabolic rate, body temperature, digestion, brain function, and heart rate.   In contrast, T4 must be converted to T3 in our tissues before it can become active and enter our cells.    

Once inside our cells, T3 interacts with specific genes in our DNA to promote our health, normal growth, reproduction, and other cycles.  It encourages upregulation of specific genes that have big effects on our health and wellness.  The overall effect is optimal function of the cells in our body, which translates to 

• Healthy metabolism

• Optimal digestion and absorption

• Clear mind, sharp focus and concentration

• Balanced moods

• Healthy heart rate

• Energy levels throughout the day

• Promoting growth in children and pregnant women

When our thyroid gland is functioning optimally, we feel energized, we absorb our food appropriately, we can think clearly, we enjoy a clear, radiant complexion and we can easily maintain a healthy weight.  

Sometimes our thyroid gland produces too much, or too little, thyroid hormone.  Too much thyroid hormone causes a condition called hyperthyroidism, and too little thyroid hormone causes a condition called hypothyroidism.  Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can both cause big problems:

Signs and Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism:

• Rapid heart rate, irregular heart rate

• Irritability, nervousness, anxiety

• Insomnia

• Daytime fatigue

• Diarrhea

• Heat intolerance

• Excessive sweating

• Weight loss, especially unintentional weight loss

• Over-exaggerated muscle reflexes

• If severe, can cause a medical emergency called thyroid storm which requires immediate medical attention

Signs and Symptoms of Hypothyroidism:

• Fatigue (which may become debilitating), sluggishness

• Cold intolerance

• Brain fog, difficulty focusing or concentrating

• Hair loss, dry hair

• Brittle nails

• Dry skin

• Constipation

• Other digestive symptoms including bloating, heartburn, decreased appetite

• High cholesterol

• Slow heart rate

• Weight gain and inability to lose weight

• Irregular periods

• Infertility

• Bloating, puffy face

THYROID AND SKIN HEALTH

So how do thyroid hormones relate to skin health?  Because a healthy thyroid gland secretes hormones that have effects in every part of our bodies, we’ll see that optimal thyroid function affects skin health in a lot of ways.  Changes in thyroid hormone levels will affect skin health in direct and indirect ways.  

Hypothyroidism, or too little thyroid hormone, will cause the outer layers of the skin called the epidermis to appear more coarse, dry, and dull by causing thinning, scaly and dried-out skin. This happens because our skin’s stem cells stop getting the signals to grow and develop into new, fresh, healthy skin cells.  The outer layers of our skin cells (which are the thinned, dead skin cells that provide a protection against germs, dirt, etc., almost like a shield) then stick around longer.  The end product is skin that looks thinned, saggy, dull and always feels dry.  In some cases, people with skin manifestations of hypothyroidism may get little or no benefit from moisturizing creams (the large molecules in many creams have difficulty penetrating the shield-like outer layer of skin cells).  In these folks, correcting thyroid imbalance is critical along with regular exfoliation and use of a high quality oil-based serum to penetrate the outermost layers of skin and provide deep nourishment that will jumpstart the skin’s natural healing process.

THYROID, HEALTHY METABOLISM, AND HEALTHY SKIN

Our thyroid hormones are responsible for setting our basal, or base, metabolic rate.  THis is our metabolic rate when we are at rest.  In hyperthyroidism, our basal metabolic rate speeds up and causes symptoms like weight loss, irritability and anxiety, rapid and irregular heart rate, insomnia, and other unpleasant symptoms.  

In hypothyroidism, our metabolism slows down.  This causes us to feel cold, sluggish, have trouble focusing or concentrating, and causes a major drain on our energy reserves.  Hypothyroidism makes for days that feel really tough to get through. 

Hypothyroidism also slows down digestion and detoxification, which allows toxins to build up while also decreasing our nutrient status.  The overall effect is a buildup of toxins in our bodies, and fewer nutrients for skin repair and regeneration.  This causes dull, dry, sagging skin and increases the tendency toward breakouts.   

THYROID, DIGESTION, AND HEALTHY SKIN

Digestion and skin health are closely related, and we’ll see that optimal digestion relies on healthy levels of thyroid hormones.  Digestion is the process by which we break down and absorb the nutrients in our food.  If any aspects of the digestive process are impaired, the net result is decreased absorption of nutrients (called maldigestion) which will have major health effects over time.  Chronic maldigestion leads to early skin aging because our skin cells starve: they’re not getting the nutrients they need to repair and regenerate.  

Healthy thyroid gland function promotes optimal digestion.  When our digestive system does not get a strong signal from the thyroid gland, it slows down.  The net result is a cluster of unpleasant digestive symptoms including bloating, gas, constipation, heartburn, and decreased appetite.  Slowed digestion promotes a host of other issues that over time will cause intestinal irritation and maldigestion.  

THYROID, SEX HORMONES, AND HEALTHY SKIN

Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are the major sex hormones, but they are part of a larger family of sex hormones.  Sex hormones regulate our sexual development and reproduction.  Hypothyroidism will absolutely affect sex hormone levels, and can be an underlying cause of chronic female hormone issues and infertility.  Generally speaking, our thyroid hormones support the sex hormone system through puberty all the way through female fertility.  During menopause, the thyroid gland and adrenal glands will upregulate to try to pick up the slack of diminishing estrogen and progesterone levels.  

Estrogen is an important hormone for skin health: its presence promotes the production of collagen which maintains skin hydration and plumpness and which minimizes wrinkles.  Estrogen has also been found to promote skin cell regeneration.  

Women commonly report skin changes throughout their cycle, and may see rapid changes in the quality of their skin within a few months of the onset of menopausal symptoms.  These are a result of changes in the levels of available sex hormones.  Women struggling with these changes should see a doctor for comprehensive hormone testing that includes thyroid hormone levels.  

Our thyroid health is so, so important for the health of our bodies overall.  And our skin is an outer manifestation of our inner health.  If you’ve noticed any recent changes in your skin, especially in combination with any of the symptoms listed above, talk them over with your doctor.  As a doctor, my optimal thyroid panel includes the following tests:

• TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone, the hormone that sets the pace of thyroid hormone production)

• T4 (the level of T4 hormone available to the cells of our body)

• T3 (the level of T3 hormone available to the cells of our body)  

• Anti-thyroid antibodies (autoimmune antibodies that attack the cells of the thyroid gland so that it cannot produce thyroid hormone)

• Reverse T3 (a hormone produced by the body, a mirror image of healthy T3, but it will not signal cells to upregulate metabolism or do any of the other jobs of T3.  It is often made in acute or chronic illness, during starvation, or in any time when the body senses that it needs to slow down metabolism)