New TikTok lingo everyone is talking about although no one actually understands it, if you read this you will understand it in more detail than anyone who you discuss it with.
However, it could be the reason you’re still ‘bloated’ even though you are low bf and have changed your diet and drink 3L of water per day.
However, it could be the reason you’re still ‘bloated’ even though you are low bf and have changed your diet and drink 3L of water per day.
What is the thyroid
It is a 25-gram butterfly shaped endocrine gland in your neck wrapped around your windpipe, it produces hormones that control the metabolism, energy, growth and body temperature.It increases production of the hormone T3 from production of T4 which fits into receptors of most cell nuclei and increases the genes that will make proteins which increase mitochondria (more energy in the cells), burns fat, grows hair and produces more collagen.
This basically affects all of your tissues which would change the way you look, for the better or worse. It especially affects skin tissue, hair and fat, which is why keeping your thyroid in good health is also keeping you looking better because tissue regeneration is faster and you will be less bloated because your water retention will be reduced.
When T3 is low due to a lack of iodine there would be increased mucin and it would build up in the dermis (the deep layer under the skin) and other tissues. This would cause more water to be held in the mucin in your face causing face swelling and puffiness and no debloating method such as drinking 3L of water could reverse it, only fixing your thyroid.
The thyroid is a neck gland that controls metabolism, energy growth and body temperature. It produces T4 which produces T3 that causes protein production, faster fat burning, skin and hair health and tissue regeneration due to collagen. Low T3 causes bloating and bad tissue quality.
What does this actually mean?
Iodine is used to create T4 which in turn creates T3 if you don’t have enough in your diet then your thyroid will respond to TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) produced by the pituitary gland, which would aim to uptake all the iodine in your body, the increase in TSH would make your thyroid swell and in turn your hormones (T3 and T4 ) would no longer increase and remain low because although the TSH increases and the thyroid swells, there is still not enough iodine in the body to make the hormones.Easy ways to increase iodine is by having iodised salts (half a teaspoon) and some kinds of seaweed. But it should be added to your diet consistently and you should check the brand and nutrients of the foods you eat that you believe will increase iodine as not all of them will.
Iodine is essential to make the T3 hormone. Low iodine in the system will cause thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) to be released that would increase the size of the thyroid. But hormone levels stay low so issues caused by low T3 would persist.
Adults are recommended to have 150mcg of iodine daily. It can be provided through seafood, dairy, eggs and iodised salts.
Adults are recommended to have 150mcg of iodine daily. It can be provided through seafood, dairy, eggs and iodised salts.
What happens if your thyroid is functioning badly?
Face
Your skin will store mucin (a sugar protein), this will cause puffiness in your eyelids and cheek, this can be the cause of fat in people’s faces even if they appear skinny, a ‘fat face’ or a ‘moon face.’An under active thyroid can also cause a slower blood flow. It does this by decreasing the heart rate and increases the resistance in the blood vessels. This is because hormones produced in the thyroid (T4 which creates T3 ) directly affect the heart's function by having influence on the genes which control things such as heart rate and the cardiac muscles contractions.
A slower blood flow can make your skin look paler. A low amount of T3 causes an increased visibility of your pores; this is due to reduced skin cell turnover that the hormone causes. There would be an accumulation of dead skin cells which would cause a thick dry top layer of your skin. This makes your pores more visible as they would become clogged by the dead skin. As a result, skin would look less smooth and tight.
Low T3 hormone causes mucin buildup in the top layer of your skin, this causes puffiness and a moon face (shown above). As well as this it also makes you paler and causes visible pores and dry skin.
Hair
When your thyroid is under functioning, your hair follicles will be more prone to shedding.A hair follicle has two main life stages:
- Anagen - the growing stage which lasts 2-6 years.
- Telogen - The shedding stage which lasts 2-3 months
The effect is particularly prominent in your outer eyebrow hairs; they are most dependent on the T3 hormone, this is because they have a shorter anagen stage. This is a good indicator of your thyroid health, of the hormone production rate. When your eyebrow tail is disappearing or has already disappeared it may be the case that your thyroid is under functioning.
It also affects the look of your remaining hairs. Your keratinocyte (primary hair cell) division will slow down in every hair shaft, this means hair cuticles would no longer align, hairs would usually align like roof shingles with cuticles overlapping and pointing downwards. When this happens your hair will have a smooth surface that would cause a shine.
The cross section of the hair would also be reformed to an oval instead of a circle like it should be, as a consequence hair shafts would be scattered causing light to no longer cause a smooth shine look of your hairs. This also could not be fixed by hair products like gloss serums.
Low T3 also causes your hair to be in the shedding phase for longer causing your hair to fall out, especially your outer eyebrows which you can use as an indicator for bad thyroid health. It also can make your scalp dry and cause scalp flakes.
Body/Figure
As stated before, if your thyroid is in bad health it can reduce your basal metabolic rate, that is the minimum number of calories your body needs to perform. It can reduce this by 15-40%. This means that you would burn 300-500 less calories. You may think that you are eating the correct amount of food based on your body weight but in actuality it is being stored due to your dysfunctional thyroid. The thyroid hormone also affects the process of active transport of sodium out of your cells.A swollen tongue (macroglossia) can push against your teeth possibly affecting your teeth alignment without you particularly noticing. This can also lead to difficulties when chewing, wallowing and it can also cause increased snoring. Mouth breathing when you are asleep can cause downwards growth. This is due to mouth breathing dropping your thyroid bone.
Bad thyroid health lowers metabolism so you burn less calories. Moreover, it causes more water and sodium to be stored in cells. This causes puffiness that cause soft jawlines.
Increased water and sodium in cells can cause tongue swelling which causes things like teeth issues and snoring causing downwards growth.
Increased water and sodium in cells can cause tongue swelling which causes things like teeth issues and snoring causing downwards growth.
Mood and Gastrointestinal effects
The stomach and small intestine are affected by the T3 levels in the body. The smooth muscle cells present in both have thyroid receptors. These receptors would send electrical signals that would regulate constrictions and relieve gastrointestinal issues. A reduction in the hormone causes mobility to reduce, you will store more food for longer as it increases the time taken for digestion. In turn, this would also make you more bloated and this bloat probiotics cannot fix.A reduction in stomach emptying also means that there is an increased likelihood of Small intestine bacterial overgrowth. Which is also what causes bloating, stomach pains and cramping, nausea and increased methane due to bacteria growing producing it. An influx of methane can cause an increase in TLR (Toll like receptors) . These receptors recognise invading pathogens and an increase in TLR means your gut will produce non-inflammatory cytokines. The cytokines enter blood vessels and travel throughout the body, causing inflammation in parts of the body. Specifically, your face causing flushing and rosacea.
Slow emptying of the food in your body can also cause increased estrogenic, bacteria in the stomach and small intestine can cause reabsorption of estrogenic that the liver will not clear. Increases can cause higher water retention in your face like puffy under eyes.
The mental effect of low T3 is that it can reduce dopamine production, the hormone required for an enzyme that will convert tyrosine to L-DOPA, a predecessor to dopamine. When dopamine is reduced you will feel unexcited and unmotivated and your reward system will become faulty causing you to not be excited after achieving things, like doing well in an exam reducing your motivation to carry on with certain tasks or deplete the effort you put into activities. So, an increase in the hormone will not only improve your looks but also improve your mood and your sociability.
Low T3 hormone slows down digestion increasing bloating and risk of small intestine bacterial overgrowth which can cause inflammation. It also causes more oestrogen to be absorbed which can cause you to store more water in your face.
In addition, low levels of the hormone cause dopamine to drop.
In addition, low levels of the hormone cause dopamine to drop.
What else happens if the thyroid is functioning correctly?
Temperature regulation
When T3 is produced in the right quantities, you will be warmer like the TikTok’s do say but not in the exaggerated way that they claim. You will have a better blood flow so blood reaches extremities in your body like your toes, fingers and the tip of your nose. This doesn’t mean that you will be able to walk around in freezing weather in a T-shirt. But it does mean that your colouring gradient will improve and you will look more ‘alive’ due to a better undertone which in turn makes you look younger.
Better Hair
It also increases hair growth and the strength of the hair that is growing back making your head of hair much healthier. This is due to an increased anagen stage, meaning more hair growth for a longer time. With high T3 levels your anagen phase can increase from 2-3 years to more than 6. And if you protect your hair and correctly take care of it, the timeline can increase and your hair growth may be even faster. Increased levels of the hormone also mean that your hair grows stronger and better because high levels would cause better density of your hair.This is due to your hair growth cycle not being cut short by the telogen stage, if your hair grows back for longer and grows in the structured way it's supposed to, the roof shingle formation that I mentioned before, then your hair will look smoother as it will reflect light better because the shape of the follicles is not scattering light due to uneven growth and rounded ends. Moreover, hair loss will also decrease.
Lower cholesterol
LDL cholesterol (The bad cholesterol) will also fall. LDL is known as the bad cholesterol as it can cause a build-up of fatty materials in your arteries and internal systems which can restrict blood flow and in the long-term cause strokes, heart attacks etc. However, even if you may not have high enough levels of LDL to cause these issues, T3 increases the uptake of LDL into the liver causing a reduction of around 20% when you get your hormone levels higher. This can actually affect the way your eyes look making them pop more, increased blood flow means more oxygen around the body, this can cause your eyes to look whiter making your eye colour pop.
Lowering cortisol
Your morning heart rate will also increase if your thyroid hormone levels are optimal. The heart rate when you wake up will be around 60-70, this is good as it calms your nervous system, so your body is more relaxed, reducing cortisol. High cortisol causes your body to reduce the amount of cortisol produced alongside elastin. Which both work together to make your face look tighter and better. This will cause your face to change as collagen production can cause your jawline and other facial features to look better and more visible.When your thyroid is heathy and your hormone levels are normal/increased, you will feel warmer, have better blood flow and your hair and skin will improve. You will also have less LDL cholesterol in your system. It also increases your waking heart rate making your nervous system function better making you more relaxed and increases collagen making you better looking facially.
How to fix/preserve thyroid health
Foods/ Vitamins
Iodine
Iodine is the element that is used by tyrosine to create the thyroid hormones that are being constantly mentioned. Low iodine in the diet causes TSH influx as said before. Since only 150mcg is needed daily this can be fulfilled by constantly making sure you are eating foods rich in iodine like seaweed, or more specifically planned a half teaspoon of iodized salt or dried nori (a type of seaweed). Having too many iodine pills can cause too much iodine in your body causing flares which would not improve your health as you are aiming to.
Selenium
Without selenium your thyroid gland can inflame and cause all those previous issues that were previously mentioned. It is a mineral that causes antioxidant systems inside the thyroid follicle and detoxes the hydrogen peroxide that is made when hormones are produced. Hydrogen peroxide is toxic waste made by this and selenium is needed to prevent damage to the thyroid causing an autoimmune response. Once the thyroid tissue is damaged it cannot be regenerated without some medical intervention from a professional. A permanently damaged thyroid causes a bloated puffy face and brittle hair that can't be fixed by methods other than fixing your thyroid.
Iron/Ferritin
Iron is used in turning inactive T4 into T3 because the conversion requires an iron sulphur cluster inside an enzyme and if ferritin falls to low levels the reaction rate will decrease greatly. It may seem to be the case that the hormone levels are correct, but you will have the issues you would have if they were low, like bad hair health, bloating, coldness etc.To increase iron, you could take tablets high in iron and eat foods high in iron like, 25mg iron and 500mg vitamin C in addition every other day.
Others
Zinc + Copper
15mg zinc and 2mg copper increase keratin in your hair keeping the shafts strong making sure you don't lose hair, you can also take them as capsules which include both.
Gluten + Dairy
Gluten should be decreased if thyroid peroxide antibodies are high and dairy should be reduced/cut out if you have acne along the jaw or postnasal drip (mucus at the back of your throat) because they are signs of mucin being in excess.Lifestyle
TSH is released as a large pulse at around midnight to 3am, only if you are asleep. If your awake the pulse will be much smaller and TSH levels in the morning will be higher than they should.It only occurs when you are sleeping because your core temperature is dropping. If your TSH levels are high you may think you need to take some kind of medication when in reality all you needed was to limit blue light exposure that reduced melatonin and raises cortisol, which leads to a process which will reduce the thyroid hormones made.
Other lifestyle methods to increase thyroid hormones are getting natural light when you wake up because it sets the circadian clock, your body's internal clock, and in turn this would lower reverse thyroid hormones.
If cortisol remains high for weeks it can reduce iodine and so of course reducing the thyroid function causing increased TSH. The best way to keep cortisol high is mental stress through methods such as, over-reaching when working out, infections, extreme calorie deficits and basically just anything you know of that personally makes you stressed out. Reducing stress is a great and inexpensive way to improve thyroid health.
Sleep is important so your body can release high levels of TSH at midnight to 3am. Reducing stress and getting natural light in the morning to set your circadian clock also increase thyroid health.
Exercises
Lower demand exercises
Longer brisk walks or any long sessions at 65% max heart rate causes muscle fibres to make more mitochondria. The T3 hormone's main role is to activate genes which would make mitochondria, having more of it means that the T3 you produce does more work because there are more mitochondria that they are ‘in charge of.’ If they are working harder it causes your body to become more sensitive and responsive to the hormone.The outcome of this is that you will have a higher respiratory quotient, this is the ratio of CO2 produced to O2 consumed, A lower respiratory quotient means that you burn more fat for fuel as burning fat requires oxygen. After increasing your mitochondria through these workouts your muscles will burn fat much faster and will have a lower respiratory quotient. As a result, you would have a leaner face as intramuscular fat is oxidised quickly. Your whole body would be less inflamed but most importantly facial puffiness that causes low cheekbone definition would be reduced.
Long walks of long exercise sections which aren’t too demanding boost mitochondria increasing your bodies sensitivity to T3 hormone. This means more fat is burned and your face features will look sharper
Heavy Lifting
Fast twitch muscle fibres contain the highest amount of the enzyme which converts T4 into T3, but the enzyme is only activated and up regulated when the fibres experience mechanical tension under stretch. These occur when you do exercises such as compound lifts , and things like deadlifts and pull ups. It needs to be done enough that there are microtears in your fibres which would activate androgen and thyroid receptors to multiply, raising T3.These the same as slower less demanding workouts previously discussed would also increase the mitochondria in the cells. Which therefore would lead to a slimmer face and etc. Neck exercises like chin tucks and etc. Also, would improve thyroid health through keeping blood flow around the gland unrestricted.
Tension in your fast twitch muscles fibres cause more T3 to be produced. Neck exercises also cause better blood flow around the thyroid making it more active. This will cause you to have a leaner face, better hair and skin.
Supplements
- Ashwagandha - Lowers cortisol improves thyroid health as spoken about previously
- Myo-inositol in addition to selenium - Lowers thyroid peroxide more than just selenium alone and also improves hair quality regardless and reduces the risk of balding.
- Magnesium glycinate - required for the enzyme which produces T3 increasing the levels and therefore also increasing your health.
- Vitamin D3 - the thyroid hormone can’t bind DNA if you are deficient in vitamin D your T3 can't activate your genes properly.
- B-complex - The vitamins B2 and B6 are used in the thyroid peroxide enzyme.
Thank you for reading
This took a long time, but it was really interesting please read and learn or you will never ascend.
NRTS = Not reading ts
This took a long time, but it was really interesting please read and learn or you will never ascend.
NRTS = Not reading ts
Last edited:
