Thyroid Basics I wish I knew 5 Years Ago, and Why Your Thyroid Health Is So Important

For years, I misunderstood how to truly support my thyroid.

I believed keto, carnivore, and long fasting windows were the “ultimate” metabolic reset. I cut carbs, pushed through fatigue, and thought if I just disciplined my way through, everything would fall into place.

It didn’t.

Over time, my labs showed low T3 (my lowest on record was actually a 1.5 in 2020 & 1.7 in 2021), my energy tanked, I started losing hair and my body slipped into a kind of metabolic hibernation.

My doctor gave me T3 (Cytomel), and I had almost immediate insomnia - heart palpitations & anxiety - even on the lowest dose.

Unfortunately I was stuck in an echo chamber of other low carb fanatics who reassured me that low T3 was not a problem, but I couldn't get the scale to budge & kept feeling worse.

Today I want to talk about some thyroid basics I had to learn (that everyone should know), and at the bottom of this email I will have a new resource I have recently discovered for hair loss!

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A few months ago I wrote a pretty extensive article that explains the impact of blue light on thyroid (as well as disrupted circadian rhythms). I still absolutely believe that light exposure is crucial for thyroid, but today I want to dive into nutrition - micro & macro nutrients a bit deeper.

 ​Click here to read the article on thyroid and light.​ 

(And a quick note before we dive in - this is not medical advice - this is me sharing my experience & you always need to look at a full thyroid panel alongside of other markers - click here for my blood chemistry expert)

Thyroid hormones don’t just control weight - they actually control cellular energy.

They regulate mitochondrial activity, oxygen use, and how efficiently every cell in your body makes ATP. When thyroid function slows down, mitochondria slow down, and everything from mood and metabolism to hormone balance is affected.

This is why thyroid health is foundational - not just for “thyroid people,” but for everyone who wants their cells to make energy well.

Where I Went Wrong -and How I Fixed It

My biggest mistakes:

• Staying keto, carnivore, and low-carb for too long, sending my body a “permanent winter” signal (essentially fearing healthy carbohydrates).
• Ignoring key nutrients like zinc, selenium, potassium, and B vitamins that are essential for T4→T3 conversion and mitochondrial function.
• Overusing fasting instead of supporting circadian and metabolic safety signals.
• Blue light at night & absolutely zero morning sunlight

This is what I had to change in order to get my T3 (total T3) back in normal range again & start feeling better:

✔ Reintroducing seasonal carbs SLOWLY - like roots and baked apples to support liver glycogen and T3 conversion

✔ Optimizing zinc, selenium, potassium, and B vitamins (when I tested zinc & selenium - they were both low) - through nutrient dense foods like oysters, lamb, beef, eggs, potatoes & mineral rich broths

✔ Layering in ​red light therapy​ over my thyroid a few times a week to support mitochondrial energy at the source

✔ Re-aligning with natural light and daily rhythms to restore my body’s “timekeeping” systems & blocking blue light at night

✔ Liver support (for me this meant getting rid of toxic beauty products and household cleaners & adding ​castor oil packs​)

✔ Progesterone/Estrogen balance (I did short bursts of vitamin C supplementation, cut down on stress & added ​sauna​ regularly)

This took some time & patience, and I think if I hadn't been so fearful of carbs initially - it might have happened a little quicker.

By the time I had my. labs run in January of 2022 (right before I became pregnant with my son James) - my T3 had gone up to 3.0.

I had also lost 30 pounds & brought my leptin, testosterone & progesterone levels up into normal ranges (*For the record, TSH, T4 - reverse T3 & thyroid antibodies always looked "great" for me - which is why a lot of the low carb docs said I shouldn't worry).

I would love to say that I have kept "perfect" thyroid numbers, but stress did a bit of a number on me this summer, and my most recent labs showed that T3 was still "normal" - but had gone a little under 3.0 (which is where I feel my best).

Here's what I am doing to get back to optimal:

1. I've cut out all dinner skipping (which was becoming a bad habit as my kids can easily keep me overly busy from 4pm-8pm, and I suspect this pushed my thyroid down a little 😅).

2. My personal red light therapy protocol: (​using my EMR TEK firewave - code SARAHK for the maximum 40% discount​) - shine it on the front of your neck (thyroid area) for 5–10 minutes, about 6-12 inches away, 3–5 days per week, ideally in the morning or early day.

3. I tested my selenium & zinc (I used ​Labcorp on Demand - code SARAH​ - to buy your own test), and saw they were a little on the low side, so I increased food rich sources & will be re-testing. (My B vitamins looked great thankfully.)

4. More potassium rich foods & bumped my carbs.

5. Tightened up on my doom-scrolling habit 😅- as stress/cortisol is a huge huge player in thyroid health.

6. Back in the ​sauna​ more regularly (now that summer is winding down - this will be easier).

More resources:

I’ve just completely updated the Thyroid Guide inside my ​Leptin Diet Course​, ​Basics​, ​21 Day Leptin Reset​ & ​Quantum Nutrition​, and it’s the most comprehensive version I’ve ever created (if you already have these courses - just log in to see the new ebook),

Inside, you’ll find:

• Thyroid-supportive food lists with practical examples & healthy carbs - including a list of potassium rich foods
• Food rich sources of zinc, selenium, and B vitamins
• How to reintroduce carbohydrates strategically without crashing the ship (this is in the Leptin Diet & Leptin Reset via the ​Metabolic Flexibility Webinar​)
• A simple red light therapy protocol for the thyroid
• Best practices for testing, nourishment, and circadian alignment

If you are ready to learn the basics of getting thyroid back on track after a stressful period of time (and you know that more restriction isn't the answer) - grab the ​Leptin Diet ​- or one of the other mentioned courses - to get the new extensive guide!

All of the courses mentioned above also contain the Estrogen Dominance ebook.

 

Struggling with hair loss? ​ Click here ​or on the photo above for YouTube - ​Click here for Spotify​ & ​Click here for Apple ​ 

Did you miss Thursday's article about Cold & Flu support? - ​Read it here!​ 

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In Health🌞,

Sarah