Today’s post focuses on digestion and the gut-thyroid connection. My tummy used to be more than a little problematic since I can remember. A little heartburn after meals, painful bloating that made me look suddenly 6 months pregnant and definitely too much gas for a lady. I thought this was just something that ran in my family and never thought my bloating and thyroid could be related.
Now I know for most of us one of the root causes of this condition lies within the gut. To develop an autoimmune condition we need to have a degree of gut permeability (aka leaky gut), so everyone with Hashimoto’s or Graves by definition has gut issues that need healing. But a leaky gut is not the only predicament that we often deal with alongside a thyroid issue.
2 most common GI tract complaints
1. Bloating, constipation & gas
Bloating, gas, painful belly. Looking (and feeling) like a little balloon about to pop. Having someone offer you a seat on the bus (legit happened to me). Not being able to wear your favourite clothes to events as they will not fit after meals. Bloating after heavy meals. Sometimes bloating after no meals, just water!
Almost every single person I work with at some point experienced bloating on an every day basis. It’s a hallmark thyroid symptom but not many people link the two.
2. Constipation, gas and other IBS like symptoms.
Then we have the constipation, a direct result of slow gut motility as well as various pain sensations, often resulting in an IBS diagnosis.
This includes going to the bathroom only every other day or less often, feeling like you can’t fully empty your bowels, not digesting food properly, pain in your upper belly and/or various colic like pains, can also present as constipation with bouts of diarrhoea especially after eating something your body doesn’t agree with. Many food sensitivities that you cannot make any sense of. Meat and raw veggies can be tricky to digest. Sound familiar?
3 reasons behind 90% of your symptoms
1. Leaky gut/ Gut dysbiosis/ food intolerances
We can assume with 99% certainty that most of us with thyroid disorders and everyone with Hashimoto’s or Graves’ has a permeable gut.
What is gut permeability aka ‘leaky gut’? It’s an issue with your small intestine gut lining leading to food particles, toxins and bacteria seeping through to your bloodstream, resulting in an immune system reaction and body-wide inflammation. Not what we want to be happening if we want to truly heal. What caused it? High antibiotics and other prescription meds, high usage of anti-inflammatory OTC drugs, chronic stress, infections… the list is super long! It can result in all the symptoms listed above, is a root cause of most food intolerances, and can be the factor driving your antibodies.
The good news is that IT CAN BE FIXED.
2. Low gut motility
So, this is mainly the symptom of under active thyroid but could also be present in Graves’. When the thyroid gland is under active and not producing enough hormones, it can lead to slow digestion or slow motility.
Thyroid hormones control A LOT of process happening in the body and one of them is regulating the movement of food through the digestive system. When thyroid hormone levels are low or we are not converting properly, the muscles in the digestive tract may not contract properly, leading to slowed digestion and constipation.
3. Low stomach acid and insufficient digestive enzymes
Ok this is a biggie and a lot of things will make sense now. With hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s we tend to produce not enough stomach acid and other digestive enzymes, which leads to issues with digestion and absorption of nutrients. Got a pretty decent diet but still showing nutrient deficiencies ? This is probably why.
Low stomach acid can interfere with the proper breakdown of proteins, and the undigested protein fragments can trigger an immune response/ inflammatory response. Now let’s connect this with the leaky gut issue, and we can clearly see how this is a direct diver for autoimmunity and various inflammatory symptoms like aches and pains, brain fog and more.
Additionally, we need to be able to digest protein FOR ENERGY so if your body doesn’t know how to do that, no wonder you are knackered all the time!
(There is some evidence to suggest that low stomach acid and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis may be related. In particular, some research has suggested that low stomach acid may contribute to the development of autoimmune conditions, including Hashimoto’s).
1 not-so-very-known condition often co-existing with thyroid issues
SIBO
Not heard of SIBO before? Well it might be the culprit if your symptoms are particularly annoying.
A lot of people with Hashimoto’s develop SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) which is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine (this is linked with low stomach acid!), which can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhoea.
If you have severe bloating and pain in the upper tummy area it’s worth considering testing for SIBO (it’s a breath test you can do at home) as it won’t go away without treatment. There are some super effective holistic approaches available but again first we need to know what we are dealing with!
I know how overwhelming this can be (and equally frustrating if we are just hearing about it for the first time). I get it. I have been there. But knowledge is power and my goal is to share all that I know to get you on your road to recovery.
Aggie McCabe
Your Thyroid Nutritionist
DipNT mBANT CNHC