Ah, the thyroid. Such a little gland with such a big impact on our bodies! The thyroid sits at the base of the neck and produces thyroid hormones that play a crucial role in the regulation of metabolism (plus several other metabolic processes… don’t worry, we’ll get there!). Thyroid hormones are involved in every single cell in the body. For as important as it is, the thyroid sure can be temperamental, huh?

So why is thyroid disease so common?

I’m so glad you asked!

Let’s begin with a basic overview of the thyroid to understand how it works so that we can further dissect why it became dysregulated in the first place.

Meet Your Thyroid— the queen bee of your bod.

(Pssst…“sciency” stuff ahead… beware!)

She is small, but she sure is mighty— and if you have thyroid issues you know this first hand. The little thyroid of yours is busy doing a lot, including masterminding your metabolism, regulating your sleep/wake cycle, puppeteering your sex hormones, controlling your heart rate and muscle contractions, regulating your menstrual cycle, body temperature, and even your immune system. With this lofty list, it’s easy to see why “just having hypothyroidism” isn’t just having hypothyroidism!

Fun fact: thyroid hormone is the ONLY hormone directly involved in EVERY. SINGLE CELL. It’s a pretty big deal, eh?

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The thyroid gland sits on the base of the neck in front of the trachea and is shaped like a butterfly. It produces hormones that are necessary to the body to maintain metabolism and support normal hormonal fluctuations. Thyroid hormones include: thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), T2, T1, and Reverse T3.

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The thyroid takes iodine that we get from foods and combines it with an amino acid, tyrosine, to make thyroid hormones. These hormones control our metabolism, growth, repair, and general development in the body.

Next post covers: THE starting point of thyroid hormone production (spoiler: it’s NOT the thyroid!)

Until next time,

Nicole

Disclaimer: Please note that “Thyroid School” emails from Chews Food Wisely, LLC (and Nicole Fennell, RD) are not intended to create any physician-patient relationship or supplant any in-person medical consultation or examination. Always seek the advice of a trained health professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and before seeking any treatment. Proper medical attention should always be sought for specific ailments. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking medical treatment due to information obtained in “Thyroid School” emails. Any information received from these emails is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure. These emails, websites, and social media accounts are for information purposes only. The information in these emails, websites, and social media accounts are not intended to replace proper medical care.

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Our Natural Hospital Birth

Hey There, I'm Nicole!

I'm Nicole, Integrative & Functional Registered Dietitian Nutritionist — and a Hashimoto's patient and busy momma of three who has been in your shoes. I spent years trying to figure out why I felt so off despite doing all the "right" things, and that experience completely shaped the way I work with women today.

My whole approach is built around nourishing your body with real food you actually want to eat, not white-knuckling your way through a six-week protocol that leaves you more exhausted and more confused than when you started. Because restriction doesn't heal anything. Real, sustainable nourishment does.

I'm a college professor and educator at heart— I teach a range of classes from freshman level "Introduction to Nutrition" and graduate-level Women's Health and Nutrition courses, and that passion for making complex science click in plain English is woven into everything I do. If you leave a session without actually understanding why we're doing what we're doing, we haven't done our job.

I love going on long walks while listening to an audiobook (my FAVORITE is The Count of Monte Cristo, but I'm currently reading Lord of the Rings), being totally outnumbered with my three wild kiddos, eating yummy food, sipping a good cup of coffee, and (trying) to crochet!

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Whether you're running on fumes no matter how much you sleep, trying to make sense of a Hashimoto's or thyroid diagnosis, dealing with periods that knock you completely sideways, navigating PCOS, struggling with cholesterol or blood sugar that won't cooperate, or carrying weight that refuses to budge no matter what you try — please know you are not alone. And more importantly, there is an actual reason you feel this way.
At Chews Food Wisely, we're not here to hand you a meal plan and wish you luck. We're here to look at your full picture — your labs, your symptoms, your life — and find the connections that explain why your body has been doing what it's been doing. Then we build you back up with real food, realistic strategies, and a plan that fits your actual life. Not a protocol designed for someone else's body.

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Meet the Thyroid// Thyroid School, Issue 1

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Thyroid School, Issue 2// Thyroid Hormone Production

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