

| By Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum
This article originally appeared on Vitality 101 with Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum.
In the first installment of my “Ten-Point Tune-Up” series (a ten-step method to energize every system and organ in your body) I discussed the importance of getting a good night’s sleep. In this installment, I’d like to talk to you about another must for vitality and good health: optimizing your hormones.
What’s so important about your hormones? To answer that question, let me ask a few others:
Every one of these common health problems, and many more, can be traced back to problems in the endocrine system — the endocrine glands and the hormones they produce (for instance ovaries and the estrogen they produce, and testicles and the testosterone they produce).
The typical problem with the hormonal system is usually underproduction: low amounts of one or more hormones. The most common deficiencies are thyroid, adrenal and sex hormones. (I’ll cover thyroid and adrenal in this blog post, and sex hormones in the next.)
The good news? Optimizing and balancing your hormone levels can optimize your health and well-being.
But don’t rely on your primary care doctor (or even a conventional endocrine specialist) to spot and correct a hormonal deficiency. They usually don’t! And that’s why I wrote this issue of the newsletter — to tell you about the many self-care methods that can help optimize hormonal function, and the medical options you can discuss with a holistic-minded physician.
Let’s make sure you get the hormonal tune-up you deserve!
Located in the neck, the thyroid gland is your body’s gas pedal. It controls how fast or slow just about every part of you goes. The following list of symptoms are common signs of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) that isn’t manufacturing enough T4 (the storage form of the thyroid hormone) and/or T3 (the active form):
Tests for hypothyroidism are notoriously unreliable and miss the large majority of those who need and/or would benefit from thyroid hormone! If you have one or two of the above symptoms of hypothyroidism you should consider being treated for the condition, even if your thyroid tests are “normal.”
The best prescription treatment options include desiccated thyroid (a natural form of the hormone that contains both T3 and T4); compounded thyroid hormone (prepared by a compounding pharmacy); and Synthroid (if treatment with desiccated thyroid or a compounded drug doesn’t work, I try Synthroid, a synthetic form of thyroid hormone).
Iodine deficiency is a recurring epidemic, and it is reasonable for those with the above symptoms to try supplementing with iodine 6.25 mg (6250 mcg) a day (I like Tri-Iodine 6.25 mg) to see if it helps. Iodine also supports breast health. Sometimes taking it for 3 months is enough to “fill the tank,” allowing the amount in a good multi to be enough, where others prefer to continue it long term.
I also recommend a good multivitamin, such as the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder, which contains thyroid-building treatments, like iodine (200 micrograms daily); selenium (50 mcg daily); and tyrosine, an amino acid (500-1,000 milligrams daily).
For a complete discussion of treatment options for hypothyroidism, please read Thyroid Hormone Deficiency — An Overview.
Famous for producing adrenaline (the hormone that triggers the fight-or-flight response) these two glands sit atop your kidneys. The outer section (the adrenal cortex) produces corticosteroids (hormones that help regulate your blood sugar, your immune system, your sex organs, and your response to stress). The inner section (the adrenal medulla) makes adrenaline, which readies you for sudden stress.
Symptoms of adrenal exhaustion include:
Strategies to optimize balance adrenal hormones include:
In the next installment in this series, I’ll talk about optimizing testosterone, and optimizing and balancing estrogen/progesterone.
Though we think of declining estrogen as the hallmark of menopause, it's actually common for…
Up to 12 percent of Americans have ulcers at some point in life. Peptic ulcers…
Gallbladder disease is a modern illness. An estimated 20 million Americans have gallbladder disease. The…
Inflammation is the common denominator for a host of medical conditions: whatever “-itis” you may…
March is Sleep Awareness Month, with National Sleep Week coming up on the 12th. In commemoration, I’ll…
March is National Nutrition Month. Health or Disease? YOU choose. Believe it. In many cases, you…
Keeping Your Seasonal Allergies from Going into Overdrive, Part 1
Our virtual voicemail is open 24/7, so there's no need to wait to submit your questions for Dr. Hoffman. Leave a message, and you may hear your question featured on the Intelligent Medicine radio program!