Last Updated on August 6, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
Many of you, your friends, or your family members are dealing with thyroid disease. It’s a growing epidemic that’s quickly becoming one of the most health problems in America. Over the last several years, the wonderful Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (NTPs) at Biodynamic Wellness have given me a wealth of information so I asked them to write a series of guest posts. They’ll help us understand more about thyroid disease including the symptoms, what tests to get, steps to take, foods to eat, and other ways to help bring the body back into balance.
Today, Anna Penick NTP, answers questions about the basics of thyroid disease.
What are some of the most common symptoms of thyroid disease?
Temperature fluctuations – cold hands and feet or feeling hot
Weight fluctuations or difficulty losing or putting weight on
Depression
Fatigue
Trouble sleeping
Muscle and joint pain
Swollen neck
Hair and skin changes
Bowel disturbances
Hormonal changes
What tests should you ask your doctor for?
The short list:
TSH
TPO
TAA
Free T3
Free T4
Reverse T3
T3
T4
T3 uptake
Total T3
The Long List (if your doctor or insurance allows, this list will give a complete picture of what’s going on in your system):
Lipid Panel: Cholesterol, Triglycerides, LDL, HDL, Cholesterol/HDR Ratio
Thyroid Panel: TSH, Free T4, T4, T3 Uptake, Total T3, Free T3, Reverse T3, Anti-TPO antibodies, Anti-Thyroglobulin Antibodies
Iron Panel: Iron, TIBC, Ferritin, Serum Iron, Iron Saturation
Liver: SGOT (AST), SGPT (ALT), GGTP, Alk. Phosphate, Total Bilirubin, Total Protein, Total Globulin, Albumin / Globulin Ratio, Albumin
Electrolytes Panel: Glucose, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Carbon Dioxide, BUN, Creatinine, Bun/ Creatinine Ratio, Calcium, Phosphorous, Uric Acid
Additional: 25 OH Vitamin D (inactive Vitamin D), Homocysteine, CRP (C-reactive protein), Magnesium, LDH, Fibrinogen, Hemoglobin A1
CBC with Differentials: HGB, HCT, RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, WBC, Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils
What are the first 5 steps one should take if they find out they have thyroid disease?
1. Seek a health practitioner that is willing to work with the root of your condition and not just use medication to manage the disease.
- Here’s a good place to start:
Biodynamic Wellness (they do in office, phone and skype sessions)
To find a Functional Medicine Doctor
To find an Integrative Medicine Doctor
To find a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
2. Run blood work (see the list above).
3. Cut out all gluten.
4. Make dietary changes depending on what your practitioner has suggested – these will vary depending on what thyroid condition you have.
5. Get lots of rest and cut back on stress-related activities.
Sometimes the significance of a healthy thyroid can be difficult to understand. Here’s a great video to help clarify the role the thyroid plays in your body. Of course, I wish they’d mentioned that nutritional support and other holistic therapies can help instead of just recommending medicated disease management, but you can’t win them all!
How can I learn more about the steps I can take for thyroid disease?
I have four fantastic options for you!
- To download my 50 of my top tips to support the thyroid naturally, tap here. I’ll also send you an educational email every few days to help you learn how to support your body naturally.
- If you’d like to learn from first steps you can take to help support your thyroid, check out my class, “5 Keys to Thyroid Hormone Balance”. It’s just 45 minutes and I promise you’ll learn something new!
- If you’re looking for a step-by-step plan for Hashimoto’s that truly works (no more piecing together info!), check out my 90-Day Thyroid Reset Program.
- Book a consult with me for one-on-one help. Here’s info about what working with me looks like.
Should that read bowel disturbances?
Haha! Thanks for catching that. I just made the edit! 🙂
I love how basic this post is – what to watch for and what to do about it. Super helpful – definitely sharing!
It looks like the link to the Functional Medicine Doctor is actually linking to the TED video.
Thanks! I made the edit.
Which of the 4 types of health practitioners that you mention do you suggest to start with? I’m completely new to this and don’t know which of them to pick.
I’m a bit biased, but I’d call Biodynamic Wellness (even if you can only do phone/skype sessions) because they were the ones that helped me turn my health around. 🙂 But, if you prefer to see someone in town, I’d first see if you can find a functional medicine doctor to work with.
Question,
At some point I read where you said what your blood work was and then what it is now (supposed to be). I don’t remember where to find it again. Could you give that information. My husband has been fighting this for 3 years now and his blood work came back looking good to us. However, we have just moved and can not find someone who can read his blood work other then a doctor who says he is fine.
Thank you so much
God Bless you, Linda
I have some of that information in my book, “The Grain-Free Family Table”. Here’s a fantastic post about thyroid labs and how to interpret them:http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/lab-values/
Thank you Carrie,
I have your book and that is were I read it…..
Thanks, Linda
I have followed your blog for a few years and have enjoyed reading about your success in healing from Hashimoto’s, as well as adding many of your recipes to our family recipe box. I have also appreciated learning and implementing many holistic lifestyle changes for my family. This website is full of useful information for healing Hashimoto’s and I’m hopeful that many people will benefit from it and see the same success that you have. However, I think it should be mentioned that it is possible, though rare, to have non-Hashimoto’s hypothroidism. Although similar, there are differences. “Stop the Thyroid Madness” does a great job interpreting the similarities and differences with the most basic difference being “Hypothyroidism is a problem with your thyroid gland: Hashimotos is a problem with your immune function.” Our daughter was diagnosed with non-Hashimotos hypothyroid at 4 years of age. I am thankful for her Naturopathic Physician who specializes in thyroid disfunction and has educated us on the differences between hypothroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease. I might have missed it, but while reading your articles about thyroid disfunction I do not remember ever reading about different types of hypothyroidism, or how they differ in treatment. For example, Hashimoto’s patients often have higher markers of inflammation, while those with non-Hashi’s typically do not. While I am in agreement that those with Hashimoto’s Disease should avoid gluten, it is not always necessary for those with non-Hashimoto’s (since it is not an autoimmune disease) and I think that should be mentioned in your posts regarding how to treat hypothyroidism. I am aware that the majority of hypothyroid patients are suffering from Hashimoto’s, I just wanted to point out that this is not always the case. Thank you for all the time and research you put into your posts!
Hi Carrie,
I’ve been finding your blog so encouraging, and informative. You talk about cutting out gluten (which I’ve done for a few weeks now) and then figuring out which other foods to cut out based on your blood work – do you have any info sources on specific foods for specific blood type/contents? (I’m trying to cut back on dairy and grains, but I’m also nursing a baby, and I feel I have even less energy, and am always hungry when I have absolutely no grain in my diet… I also do a lot of wild caught fish, veggies, fruit, and organic chicken.)
Thank you so much, and I look forward to getting your book!
I don’t have any resources on eating for your blood type, but I’d definitely look into getting a nice amount of saturated fat from butter, ghee, lard, or tallow with each meal. It will nourish the thyroid, endocrine system and also be very good for the baby!
Any thoughts on high calcium issues (hyperparathyroid) along with being hypothyroid? I’m asymptomatic and feel fabulous!!! Have been monitoring Calcium level & PTH but don’t hear much about this condition as it’s separate from the Thyroid!! Thoughts! Love your posts!
I’m glad you’re feeling better! 🙂 As you know the parathyroid regulates calcium in the body, so it’s quite different than the job of the thyroid. Different things can affect the parathyroid including: digestion, stress, too much sugar, hydration and not getting enough fatty acids in the diet. So, some simple things to do would be to make sure you’re hydrated each day, keep sugars to a minimum, eat healthy fats (butter, ghee, lard, tallow, coconut oil, etc. ), reduce stress and make sure your digestive system is working properly.