How Does Estrogen Affect Your Thyroid?
Hormones are bio-chemicals in our body that facilitate the communication between organ systems and cells. Imbalances in one hormone can impact some of the others. I would like to discuss the impact estrogens have on thyroid because this is something I see as an issue that is not recognized in some patients with hypothyroidism. The hormones are involved in a dance with each other, and if one partner is overpowering, it will affect the other dancers and overall performance.
Hypothyroidism or an under-producing thyroid gland is a disease of women. A woman is 5-8 times more likely to develop hypothyroidism in her lifetime than a man. This may be because women are more susceptible to autoimmune conditions. A large proportion of people with hypothyroidism have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis which is an autoimmune condition. But does this also have to do with the hormone differences, namely the impact of estrogen on thyroid function? Does the rollercoaster of estrogen levels which fluctuates throughout a woman’s life (puberty, pregnancy, peri-menopause and menopause) influence thyroid function?
Estrogen's Effect on Thyroid Hormones
The science tells us that estrogen levels – occurring naturally or with the use of hormone therapies such as birth control, hormone replacement therapy can affect how much “free” bioavailable thyroid hormone is in our body. Some of our thyroid hormone is attached to Thyroid Binding Globulins (TBGs). Estrogen will increase the amount of Thyroid Binding Globulin and thus DECREASE the amount of free thyroid hormone available to our cells. And just to be clear, EVERY cell in the body has thyroid hormone receptors which is why when thyroid hormone levels are not quite right, everything seems out of balance.
I often see women with thyroid levels that look a bit on the low side and have signs and symptoms of excess estrogen (usually in relationship to progesterone) such as heavy painful periods, breast tenderness, difficulty with weight loss and the “pear” shape body type. Often if we check estrogen levels, the numbers tend to be on the higher side for the phase of the menstrual cycle. In this circumstance, even if the woman is on thyroid hormone replacement therapy, levels of free T4 and free T3 can be low due to the increase in the Thyroid Binding Globulins. In this circumstance, we often need to work on the healthy metabolism of estrogen to allow for the thyroid hormone replacement therapy to work better. This is more likely to occur in peri-menopause and menopause, pregnancy and when there are body composition problems with excess fat tissue. It can also be more likely to occur with use of oral contraceptives that contain estrogens, higher doses of estrogen replacement therapies and maybe even from estrogen like endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Steps to Improve Thyroid Function:
- Be judicious with the use of estrogen hormone medications- especially when administered orally. Topical therapy does not have the same effect.
- Eat foods that can help the body detoxify excess estrogens such as detoxifying greens.
- Work on reducing exposures to hormone disrupting chemicals such as in plastics, and parabens, consider a metabolic detoxification periodically.
- Supplementation with B vitamins and extracts from vegetables that support detoxification of estrogens if needed.
- Consider seed cycling especially in the second half of the cycle by consuming seeds that contain progesterone promoting compounds such as sunflower seeds and sesame.
- Exercise regularly and work toward a healthy body composition
- Manage your stress, imbalances in adrenal stress hormones like cortisol impact progesterone levels and can lead to imbalances in estrogen / progesterone ratios.
Contact us today to learn about how functional medicine and osteopathic medicine can help you better manage and treat your Thyroid Disorder or hormonal imbalance.
References
- Arafah BM1. N Engl J Med. 2001 Jun 7;344(23):1743-9. Increased need for Thyroxine in women with hypothyroidism during estrogen therapy
- Mazer NA1.Thyroid. 2004;14 Suppl 1:S27-34. Interaction of estrogen therapy and thyroid hormone replacement in postmenopausal women
- Ain KB1, J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987 Oct;65(4):689-96. Reduced clearance rate of TBG with increased sialylation: a mechanism for estrogen induced elevation of serum TBG concentration.
