Deep Dive Into The Thyroid Hormones, Plus The Forgotten Thyroid Hormone T2 & It’s Surprising Benefits

Dr Amie Hornaman and Faraz Khan deep dive into the thyroid hormones. We get into a ton of detail so you should get a lot from this podcast.

Dr. Amie Hornaman “The Thyroid-Fixer”, is host to the top-rated podcast in medicine and alternative health: The Thyroid Fixer™, with listeners around the globe.

She is the founder of The Institute for Thyroid and Hormone Optimization, an organization with transformational, proven approaches to address thyroid dysfunction and support people in returning to full health.

2:20 Dr Amie Hornaman’s Background

• Competed in fitness tournaments
• At one point, struggled with weight gain
• Suspected it was her thyroid, went to different doctors
• Realized she had hypothyroidism after going to an integrative doctor
• Went back to school to learn integrative medicine
• Became a thyroid hormone expert

8:10 Why Is Thyroid Gland So Important

• The thyroid gland is a master gland and controls many functions in our body
• Thyroid gland helps regulate weight gain, hair loss, fatigue, cold hands and feet, constipation, insomnia, joint pain, muscle pain
• You must look at the thyroid gland instead of giving out bandaid medications

9:50 Do Women Struggle With Hypothyroidism More Than Men?

• Yes, women do
• 95% of hypothyroidism is due to hashimotos
• When testosterone is too low, then they can be more susceptible for auto-immune conditions
• Sometimes, a predisposition to auto-immune or additional stressors can turn on the auto-immune conditions

11:50 What Are The Main Thyroid Hormones?

• TSH is the thyroid stimulating hormone which doctors test for
• T3 and T4 are actual thyroid hormones.
• T4 is inactive and must be converted to T3. T3, however, is active.
• It’s important to also view reverse T3.

16:23 Why Does The Thyroid Gland Release So Little T4?

• T4 is the savings account, so you can pull from it when you need to.
• T3 is the checking account
• T4 converts to T3 and usually this process works good
• Sometimes it gets harder to convert T4 to T3

18:44 What Is Hyperthyroidism?

• It’s caused by an autoimmune condition, called Graves disease
• When thyroid gland overproduces T4 and T3, then usually you are overthyroid
• TSH is low, free T3 and T4 will be high.
• Important to also ask the person how they feel as well
• In Dr. Amie’s practive, 99% of people are hypothyroid and 1% are hyperthyroid

26:10 How Do You Decide To Prescribe Thyroid Hormone To A Patient?

• Some docs prescribe T4 only, Dr Amie is not a big fan of that
• She recommends a combination of T3 and T4
• Dr Amie is on T3 only – but that’s just her
• It’s very personalized
• Armor Thyroid and ND Thyroid
• There are also T3 and T4 thyroid medications
• Dr Amie has not found anyone that does good on compounded medication

37:00 How Do You Bring Down The Thyroid Antibodies To Zero?

• Low dose naltrexone is very anti-inflammatory
• It can reduce thyroid antibodies
• Black cumin seed oil can lower antibodies as well

40:15 What Is The T2 Thyroid Hormone?

• T2 increases basal metabolic rate
• Also improves mitochondrial function
• People experience lesser fat and more energy
• Taking T2 does not change your lab values

49:50 Where You Can Find Dr. Amie?

• Her website and supplements are available at Dr Amie Hornaman
• Dr Amie’s podcast link