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A podcast by millennials, for millennials, covering health challenges unique to Gen Y. Get expert insights, practical patient advice, and inspiring survivor stories to help you make informed healthcare choices. Empower your journey with YMyHealth!
Melissa Schenkman (00:40)
I am so excited to have registered dietitian, Lindsay O'Reilly here with us. She specializes in thyroid disorders and functional nutrition. And she knows firsthand what it is like for your thyroid to be too high or too low and how that can affect the way that you feel day to day. And there are a lot of millennials out there, a lot of women of all ages really, that are affected by their thyroid. And ultimately all of us are, which we're going to talk about today.
We're going to talk about a topic that you just don't hear enough about, which is stress and its impact on the thyroid gland. All of us are under stress. It's just different types of stress, different amounts of stress. And so I'm really looking forward to hearing about some of those different ways that we may not realize that are impacting our thyroid health and how we can optimize it and maybe change. Welcome.
Lindsay O’Reilly (01:31)
Thanks, Melissa for having me. I'm looking forward to this discussion. It's a big topic. So, we'll try to break it down into kind of digestible pieces.
Melissa Schenkman (01:40)
Tell people a little bit about your background and how you got into specialized thyroid in particular.
Lindsay O’Reilly (01:45)
Yeah. So probably like a lot of people that you see in the space that do nutrition work, functional medicine. I have my own story with thyroid disorder, I've been a dietician for 19 years. This is my 19th year, which is crazy. But I started this almost six years ago.
After I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, just kind of randomly out of the blue at a primary care doctor's appointment with some, you know, just regular blood work that I had done. And they basically told me you have thyroid issue, here's your medication, go get it filled. We'll see you back in a few weeks to retest your labs. And that was it. They didn't tell me anything else. They didn't give me any more detail, even how to take my medication. And so I just didn't think that that was, I don't know.
I took it upon myself really to…to research and dig in and try to find more answers and ways that I could help myself. And the more that I got into it, the more I got into functional medicine and the more I realized that this is a huge, huge problem. And a lot of women especially are dismissed, misdiagnosed, kind of pushed aside and not given adequate. So it's a passion of mine to work with women with thyroid disorders and even just to educate like we're doing on ways that it's impacting you and things that are impacting your thyroid too.
Melissa Schenkman (03:06)
Absolutely. We greatly appreciate that because it is a very, like you said, it's amazing that they gave you such little information for such an unbelievably complex part of the body to regulate. The thyroid gland is this butterfly-shaped gland. You often hear it described, it's at the base of your neck. But while it's really small, it controls so many different functions in our body that people
A lot of times don't realize until it's not working properly. And you have a very cool animation on whymyhealth.com that'll show you, you have a lot of cool things on your Instagram page that'll show people in terms of talk about how it works. But as we kind of enter our discussion, if you want to go over kind of a crash course, thyroid 101 to tell everybody how it works in some of the different functions.
Lindsay O’Reilly (03:53)
Yeah, absolutely. So like you said, it's a gland that's at the base of the neck. It does control a lot of things in our body. It works together with the brain. So we have the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain and they work with the thyroid. We call that the HPT axis. The brain signals the thyroid to make and secrete thyroid hormone. And then that's what gets into the cells to do the work.
And so when there is not enough thyroid hormones circulating, when there's low thyroid hormones, the brain is kind of kicked into gear to produce more of its hormones to trigger the thyroid to make more. And then that's what we call hypothyroidism. So we usually see TSH, which is coming from the pituitary gland. That's the main test that they run at the doctor's office. Usually high, usually we have low thyroid hormones. And then the opposite is true for hyperthyroidism where we have too much thyroid hormones circulating. And then the brain pulls back on producing TSH so it doesn't trigger the thyroid to make more.
So really kind of making a really complicated thing, not so complicated. The thyroid works with the brain to function and to make the right amount of thyroid hormone that your body needs. Thyroid hormone for a lot of reasons. There's really a thyroid hormone receptor on every cell in our body. So it regulates the metabolic rate or metabolism is what we think about. Temperature control. So a lot of people with thyroid disorders are either really cold or really warm. So it's really hard to regulate that temperature.
Aids in digestion, so digesting food, also motility in the gut, so how things move through the gut. So we can see really slow digestion and motility with a brain function. Gallbladder health, I see a lot of people with gallbladder issues. A lot of my clients have had their gallbladders removed. Cholesterol. So there's a lot of different ways. And so kind of in thinking about that, a lot of people will have symptoms kind of in a lot of different areas of the body because the thyroid does so much.
Melissa Schenkman (05:53)
Absolutely. The gallbladder one, that's a very interesting one that people don't hear about, at least in the public. But you know, knowing that the thyroid does all these different things, can you really work on thyroid health without addressing stress?
Lindsay O’Reilly (06:06)
I think it's a lot harder to do that if you're not addressing stress. And it's kind of like the chicken or the egg, right? Which one is causing which one? And they really both work together with the problem first, we won't always know, but either way, stress really needs to be dealt with if you are working on dealing with a thyroid issue or trying to improve your thyroid.
And what about chronic stress, right? Because that actually is probably without looking at data, but just knowing what we have heard, especially over the last three years, chronic stress is something that so many people are dealing with. What are some potential impacts of having being under that type of stress every single day on the thyroid gland. Yeah. So the thyroid really wants it's what I'm trying to say, but it's basically the controller and it really thrives on like you being safe. Right. So it wants to function when everything else in the body. So when your body isn't safe or when there are signals that's telling it that it's not safe, that's really when the thyroid's like, okay…
We need to slow down function. need to slow down metabolism. We need to kind of have the reserves to deal with the stressors that are going on. And so it slows down that function. And again, the thyroid works together with the brain. And so the brain also is the control center for our stress response system. works with the, and so you might think about the adrenal glands in cortisol. That's kind of a big term that we hear about with stress is cortisol.
And so we have the brain that works with the thyroid. The brain also works with the adrenals. That's our HPA axis. It's always going to prioritize working with that stress response system first. So if there's a lot of stress, if there's chronic stress happening, then that's what's going to be the priority so that you're not doing, want your body to digest food. It doesn't want you to create a baby when you're dealing with a lot of stress.
Melissa Schenkman (05:53)
Absolutely it does. And that's why to your point, you have to address it because otherwise the party don't go there and the regulation will take second. Yeah. At least as far as the thyroid. You have been trained in and specialized in diet and nutrition. And we have a story that features you on whymyhealth.com that talks about the impact of nutrition in thyroid health. So, talk to us about what can happen to the thyroid from stress in relation to things that a lot of people don't think about, but a lot of people do, like not eating enough food, doing some sort of fad diet, skipping meals, period. What can happen to our thyroid gland when we make those kinds of choices?
So, unfortunately there are additional stressors on the body and really again, kind of what I just said, the thyroid wants to know that the body is safe. And so when you are under eating, skipping meals, um, It's like a danger response to the body or starvation, which is kind of like when we were, you know, like other eras, when we had times of famine, the body slows down those processes in order, you know, hold on to those reserves. So it's just showing that the body is under stress. And so those can be really, really hard on the body, especially when there's other stressors happening too. like you're already, you're stressing out an already stressed out body. Intermittent fasting?
And so that's kind of what we think about when we think about skipping meals a lot of times. And it can be really therapeutic. A lot of people use it for different reasons and there's been a lot of research around it, but it doesn't mean that it's right for everybody. And I think about it, especially in this population of women who are still having cycles, it can be a lot harder for women and it can increase those stress hormones quite a bit.
So again, you're stressing your body out a little bit more. And soI tend to not love intermittent fasting for that population. And everybody's different. And so it's not a blanket statement. Everybody has to kind of do their own thing and know what is right for their body. But if it doesn't feel good to you, then it probably isn't right for you. Also when we restrict intake, we're restricting nutrient intake and nutrients are really important for our stress response system for making thyroid hormone.
And then we think about fad diets and things like made diet or, you know, restricting whole food groups that can also be stressful on the body. I don't know. I mean, diet is tricky, but really the important thing is to nourish yourself when it comes to diet and just to make sure that you're giving your body what it needs.
Melissa Schenkman (10:54)
And just out of curiosity, have you ever had anyone come to you who changing their diet so drastically down a path where it actually impacted the thyroid so much that it dysregulated it to a point of becoming a thyroid disorder. Yes, really?
Lindsay O’Reilly (11:08)
Yeah, so I've had clients with a past history of a lot of yo-yo dieting, a lot, a lot of those. I've had clients with past histories of anorexia where we're seeing some really big issues with thyroid. I've had half people reach out to me who have done body competitions where there's a lot of restricting that's going on there. So, so yes, I have definitely seen that. I think that's something that people might not think about that it really does. It's not just a matter of maybe a temporary type of change, but it can permanently until you get right where you can go back to regular regulating it with medication and things like that.
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Melissa Schenkman (12:56)
What about other stressors that are out there that we may not realize that could potentially affect our thyroid health?
Lindsay O’Reilly (13:06)
Yeah, we think, I mean, stress is hard because there's lot of different types of stress. So we think about like situational stress. We think about mental stress, emotional stress, maybe it's relationships or it's work or it's financial stuff, death of a loved one, a divorce. You know, there's lots of things that can be what we think about as stress.
We also can have physical stressors. So, I think about over-exercising as being a physical stressor, and that's really common in women. And I think we, especially in our age group, we've grown up kind of learning that more is better when it comes to exercise. We hear at the doctor's office to eat less and move more.
And so we think that that's the answer to control what's going on with our bodies, especially when we see our bodies changing, which is definitely not the answer. So we can see physical stressors. We can have stressors going on inside of the body that we can't see, which is really hard to know.
So thinking about things like dysbiosis in the gut, infections, maybe something like Lyme disease, toxin exposure, blood sugar imbalances. So those types of things that may not be situational stressors that we, you could be stressing your body out with like temperature extremes, like doing a lot of sauna use, they're doing cold plunging is super, super popular right now, which is not a bad thing, but it could be for you depending on kind of where you are, you know, with stress.
So none of these things are bad, but it's really about how long that they're going on, how you're feeling, how you can recover from stress, and knowing your body well enough to say that something is not working for you that you're doing. So yeah, lots of different types actually.
Melissa Schenkman (10:54)
And I'm curious because like you said, yes, I've seen several stories on cold plunging. Then you have, of course, hot yoga, which I tried once and said I would not do again. Unless I was training, it was living in a really cold, I think it would be really great if you were living in a really cold climate and you were training for a marathon in a really hot climate.
But just like for weekly, just there are so many other things you can do that are not as stressful on the body. But I think you made me think about that when you were talking about that. And I think, you know, I'm just kind of wondering because people, especially in our generation, are often trying new things, whether it be changing their diet or giving up a particular food group, right?
Or going and trying a new form of exercise because they want a new challenge. Just curious kind of as you try new things, is there kind of a general rule of thumb that you recommend in terms of, okay, maybe if I'm gonna try these two new things, I should get my thyroid levels checked every so many months to make sure it's not affecting. And I'm really curious about your thoughts on that.
Lindsay O’Reilly (15:57)
Yeah, that's a really good question. I definitely would think that that would be appropriate to do.
Especially if it's something that feels more extreme like you're talking about you're doing multiple times a week if you're training for a marathon Which is really hard on your body if you're doing stuff like that
Yeah, I definitely would think about getting your labs tested in a couple of months. I also really like to tell people to pay attention to how you feel. How do you feel energy wise throughout the day? How do you feel during that activity? Also, how do you feel after that activity? How are you sleeping? How are you?
I think are really big indicators on whether they that it's a good thing or whether it's something that may not be right for you and a lot of us especially women have a hard time listening to our bodies because we want that thing that we are told is the great thing to work for us and so we continue to do it in spite of our bodies telling us to maybe stop.
Melissa Schenkman (16:53)
Great point and that is very true. Very, very true. And you think about kind of knowing all of this, what ways we could potentially address stress that could optimize our thyroid health. Obviously there's some stressors like choosing to do cold plunging that we can say no and do something else. But there are other things as far as like, and I know you're probably going to know what I'm going to say in terms of, know, there's work stress and family stress and sometimes with schedules, people, which we should not, but skip, you know, all these things. What, how can we, as we think and we put into context, you know, this is going to impact my thyroid health and it may not impact it. It may, this one time may not impact it long-term, but if I repeatedly do this, it could, you know, what are some things that we can do that you recommend to people?
Lindsay O’Reilly (17:44)
I think first and foremost is probably taking an inventory of where stress is from in your life. So is it work stuff? Is it family stuff? Is it food? Is it exercise, like what do you feel like could be those stressors for you? And again, we want to think about creating an environment that tells your body that it's safe. So what does that look like for you? Right? So making sure that you're eating three meals a day. If that's something you're not doing, then prioritize that start there, figuring out how to meal prep your plan ahead for making sure that you schedule a lunch, 30 minute lunch on your calendar.
So it's not, I tell my husband all the time that he like works through lunch. I'm like, just put it on the calendar schedule. Those little things can make a big difference in making sure that you have what you need for yourself. Because I think too, I say this, I've been saying this a lot as women, but as women, put a lot of people in front of us, right? And we are kind of on the back burner for when you're dealing with thyroid stuff. I do think it's super important to make sure that you are taking care of your needs too. So, that's one thing you can also make sure that you're eating to balance blood sugar.
So eating balanced meals, that's really important to that. Because when you have blood sugar issues, it creates a stress response, you know, in your body. Eat really good nourishing foods. thinking kind of outside of food, like things that you really enjoy. What brings you joy in your life and doing more of those things that can really lower your stress boundary setting.
That's a hard one, but are there boundaries that you can set at work or at home? Or can you say no more often to, you know, your kiddos PTA stuff or for the meantime, while you're working on trying to get everything figured out for you. So I don't know. And if there's, if you feel like you're things and you're still really struggling, there's practitioners out there that can help you to dig deeper, to find are there other stressors in your body that we need to uncover?
Melissa Schenkman (19:48)
Great points for people to use because. There are so many people dealing with so many different types of stress that who want to improve that, decrease that and really improve the way they feel overall. So definitely in thinking about that, as we kind of wrap up, what do you think makes optimizing the thyroid gland and thyroid levels so challenging in general? Because that is what you often hear about a lot. There's a lot of trial and error almost at times.
And why is it so important that we think about stress during our thyroid health?
Lindsay O’Reilly (20:24)
Yeah. I… that's a hard question to answer, but I think thyroid just in general is tricky. think everybody presents differently. Labs are kind of tricky because everybody's labs look differently. Your root cause may be different from somebody else's root cause. I also think, I mean, stress obviously plays a big role. Like we talked about, stress can really impact how the thyroid functions. Also what about was autoimmune disease. So, one of the major factors in autoimmune disease is a stress. So, autoimmune disease is one of the major causes of hypothyroidism. so stress is a really big piece. It's also the really big piece that's really hard to work on, I find for a lot of people.
We tend to want…some direction in diet and exercise and some of those things that are easy to manage. feels very hard and it tends to be what we put aside. But when we do that, it often is the thing that really holds us back from moving forward faster in feeling better. So I don't know if that answers that question.
Melissa Schenkman (21:32)
It does. It does. It's a great way to think about it because it is. People always do want what's the quick, right? Easy fix to something and stress is not necessarily easy.
Lindsay O’Reilly (21:44)
Yeah. And it's hard to see. It's hard to see the benefits of it. It's hard to see the impact. You're doing deep breathing every day. It's not like the next day, don't have all this energy and all of sudden your labs look great. But the more you do it and the more often that you do it consistently, it's going to help. And you're also going to be able to have an appropriate stress response instead of kind of consistently be in that fight or flight. So it's really about consistency. It's about being safe, telling your body it's safe, nourishing yourself. Yeah.
Melissa Schenkman (22:22)
Absolutely. It's such a great point. You got to be in for the long haul. Yeah, really, because those changes do over time. They add up. They absolutely add up to me.
Well, I know I speak for so many people who are really excited when I told them that you were coming on and wanting to learn more about stress and thyroid. This has been one of the most informative and insightful discussions that we have ever had because there are so many things that you've identified for us as stressors in relation to thyroid health that people just don't recognize, and it'll help us to be aware of those things and what we're doing and taking different approaches for our health.
Anything else that we did not touch on? Because as you said, there's so much when it comes to stress that you wanted to make sure.
Lindsay O’Reilly (23:09)
Not that I can think of. Yeah. I mean, I think I hit on the main point of, know, make sure your body feels safe. I think that's just a main takeaway. Nourish your take care of your body, you know, make time for your
And if you're struggling, if you know you're struggling with a thyroid issue, you know, you can always get help to figure out what those triggers are and learn more about kind of your stressors. And if you are not, suspect you might be, you know, think about stress and, and kind of how that could be impacting how you feel and what's going on there.
Melissa Schenkman (23:43)
So stress inventory is warranted. No, absolutely. Well, this was so incredibly insightful and helpful. And I know that this will help so many people. I know I've learned a lot. Thyroid gland is always so fascinating to talk about. And there's a lot that we have, a lot of power we have in our hands, which is a wonderful thing to hear and to optimize it. We really do.
Then working with experts like yourself. We're very, very, very fortunate. Thank you so much. Also check out Lindsay's and @thyroidnutrition.rd