Assess Thyroid Status
According to Fariduddin & Singh (2023) and Blood Chemistry and CBC Analysis by Weatherby & Ferguson (2004),
- a decrease in TSH, increase in free T3 and T4 is suggestive of a shift towards hyperthyroidism
- an increase in TSH, decrease in free T3 and T4 is suggestive of a shift towards hypothyroidism
- the presence of thyroid antibodies suggest autoimmune thyroid disease
Mayo Clinic (2022) stated the following,
“What causes the immune system to attack thyroid cells is not clear. The onset of disease may be related to:
- Genetic factors
- Environmental triggers, such as infection, stress or radiation exposure
- Interactions between environmental and genetic factors
Seasonal Changes
Seasonal changes can affect thyroid and autoimmune disease onset, relapse, and activity. For example,
- Serum TSH levels were observed to be high in winter in the northern hemisphere while serum FT3 differed among countries, and those of Japanese, an iodine-sufficient country, were high in summer (Yamada et al., 2022).
- While the etiopathogenesis remain obscure, different environmental factors were suggested to have a role in the development of autoimmunity, including infections, low vitamin D levels, UV radiation, and melatonin. Interestingly, such factors possess seasonal variation patterns that could influence disease development, severity and progression (Wattad et al., 2017).
Iodine Intake
- Given iodine supplementation, consider testing iodine levels, as excessive iodine intake may contribute to hypo- or hyperthyroidism, with or without goiter.
- The authors noted that even small systematic increase in iodine supply can significantly increase the risk of thyroid disease and emphasized the importance of increasing iodine intake to the level where iodine deficiency disorders are prevented and not higher (Smyth, 2021).
- Labelling of iodine content was lacking for a large share of the products consumed. This study found excessive iodine status in macroalgae consumers after intake of dietary seaweeds. Including macroalgae in the diet may give excessive iodine exposure, and consumers should be made aware of the risk associated with inclusion of macroalgae in their diet (Aakre et al., 2020).
- According to NIDDK (2021), “Eating foods that have large amounts of iodine—such as kelp, dulse, other kinds of seaweed,— iodine supplements, and certain iodine-rich medicines may cause or worsen hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.”
