What’s reverse T3?
It is also known as anti-thyroid metabolites. It means that reverse T3 slows down Your thyroid.
Why would You want to slow down Your thyroid?
Because there are times in which it would not make sense to burn too much energy or have a too active metabolism.
It would just be a waste of energy.
Especially if You are ill, You need all energy to be driven to Your immune system rather than burning excess of energy.
Thus, You can think of reverse T3 as a way Your body employs to control how much energy You need.
How do You make reverse T3?
Reverse T3 comes from T4. So T4 can make both T3* and reverse T3.
*T3 hormone is the active thyroid hormone.
The problem arises if You make too much reverse T3. If this happens then You will start to experience Hypothyroidism symptoms, because reverse T3 will block the action of the T3 hormone.
What can cause high levels of Reverse T3?
Low caloric diet
Nutrient deficiency
Inflammation
Stress
Intestinal problems
Sleep disturbances
1. Low caloric diet:
Eating a too low caloric diet will not trick Your body into burning more fat. Instead, it will slow down Your metabolism even more.
If Your metabolism slows down, it means You will produce less energy. This causes an increase in reverse T3 as Your body thinks that You have no need to increase energy burning. Instead, it will protect You, by saving more energy.
2. Nutrient deficiency:
Vitamins, minerals and all other nutrients are important co-factors.
Everything in our cells is triggered by enzymatic reactions. So enzymes are important for a proper well being.
But enzymes are controlled by co-factors. Co-factors can speed up or slow down an enzymatic reaction.
The nutrients that help Your body to make T3 instead of reverse T3 are Zinc, Selenium, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A.
For this reason, You must make sure to supplement those if You have Thyroid disorders.
How much should You take?
Zinc (5-15 mg per day)
Selenium (50 to 150mcg per day)
Vitamin E (1 capsule per day)
Vitamin A (2-3 drops per day)
3. Inflammation:
Inflammation speeds up the conversion of T4 into reverse T3.
Inflammation can give non-specific symptoms like joint and muscle pain, headaches, fatigue, sore throat, skin problems and others.
We actually have seen that most inflammation comes from the Gut. However, Your gut flora and health are strongly influenced by food.
Foods high in sugar, processed foods, and foods made with industrial seed oils, are often the triggers of gut disequilibrium.
By cleaning up your diet you should be able to see a reduction in inflammation fairly rapidly.
What to exclude?
Gluten
Sugar
Processed food
Dairy
Try to eliminate them for a while and see how You respond.
4.Stress:
Chronic stress can have a bad impact on our health.
When stress becomes chronic we have a continue release of cortisol (aka the stress hormone).
Cortisol can have a bad impact on Your thyroid health. Specifically, cortisol increased the levels of reverse T3 and increases TSH.
Why? Because in time of stress You want to focus Your energy into something specific.
If You want to know more about why cortisol is bad for You, click here https://www.thyroidboss.com/post/cortisol-could-be-your-thyroid-enemy
What to do?
If You have a stressful life and suspect cortisol problems the do a 4 point saliva cortisol test.
Make sure You have a healthy diet
Take Vitamin B
Dedicate some of Your time to a hobby
Use adrenal adaptogens
5. Intestinal problems:
Your gut is also in charge to convert T4 into active T3.
If Your intestine is inflamed then Your gut will not produce T3. This can increase reverse T3.
What are the most common disorders of an unhealthy gut?
Acid reflux
SIBO
IBS
Bloating
Diarrhoea
Constipation
Yeast overgrowth
Leaky gut
What’s more, is that if You already have a thyroid condition this might have been triggered by an intestinal disequilibrium.
6. Sleep:
Sleeping well is actually not that simple. The more we want to have a peaceful sleep and the hardest it is.
Unfortunately, not only not sleeping enough is frustrating, but also it increases our reverse T3.
If You cannot sleep well make sure You follow a sleep routine, sleep in a cool and quiet room. All of these to promote good rest.
If You still cannot sleep well, then it may be time to check Your adrenals.
If You want to know how Low Stomach Acid Can Cause Your Thyroid Disease click here: