Traditional Chinese Medicine & Thyroid Optimal Health
Endocrinology is the branch of medicine studying the physiology of endocrine glands and hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers within the body. Hormones help are the messengers between the endocrine glands and organs. In thyroid health, the thyroid hormones help communicate between the brain, endocrine glands, and organ systems. Thyroid hormone imbalances are well known in our society as the communication systems between the endocrine glands and organs become out of balance for various reason. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we use the diagnosis of patterns instead of dis-ease because we can influence these patterns to change for optimal health. In TCM, everything is connected and many factors influence thyroid health such as the Shen (emotional heart and Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis), Gut Health of Liver, Stomach, Spleen, Lung, and Intestines, immune system health through Wei qi, and the San Jiao (the interstiial space in between the cells). Here, we are going to share how certain types of hormones are treated in TCM, explain how thyroid helath is connected to immune and digestive health, introduce how Hypothyroid and Hyperthyroid show in symptoms, and the basics of how we approach treating thyroid health with Acupuncture, Herbal Therapy, Nutritional, Stress management, and more.
In Chinese Medicine, the functions of the body and every substance that the body produces, including hormones, falls under the guidance of one or more zang/fu (organs of the body) (1). When it comes to endocrinology, we need to have an understanding in which zang/fu organ is “governing the endocrine structure”. With thyroid health, we are considering the brain (pituitary and hypothalamic glands), the thyroid (located in the throat), the stomach/spleen, liver, small/large intestine, lungs, and cells. Foundationally, hormones are either steroidal, or nonsteroidal (2). The steroidal hormones are fat-soluble and contribute to thick fluids within the body such as sex hormones of testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and adrenal hormones such as DHEA, aldosterone, and cortisol. We treat steroidal hormones with Yin Tonic herbal medicine and nutritional fats (2). The non-steriodal hormones
As you can see, the thyroid health influences the entire body; which is why symptoms of thyroid imbalances effect the body.
claims that qi, blood, yin, and yang are the essential substances for constituting and maintaining the physiological functions of the zang-fu organs