Your thyroid affects nearly every system in your body, yet thyroid dysfunction can be missed for years when symptoms are dismissed or testing stops at TSH.

In this episode of the Body Wisdom Podcast, Jamie sits down with fellow Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Alison Marras for a foundational conversation about thyroid health, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, and the thyroid-gut connection.

After years of digestive issues, painful periods, exhaustion, hair loss, blood sugar instability, PCOS symptoms, and being told her lab results were “normal,” Alison was eventually diagnosed with Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease. That experience led her back to school, through the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program, and into a career helping other women uncover the root causes behind chronic symptoms.

Jamie and Alison discuss common signs of thyroid dysfunction, including unexplained weight changes, fatigue, constipation, loose stools, hair loss, dry hair, thinning outer eyebrows, temperature intolerance, poor sleep, hormonal imbalances, anxiety, inflammation, and the frustrating feeling that something is wrong even when standard testing says otherwise.

They also break down:

• The difference between hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s, and Graves’ disease

• Why TSH alone may not provide a complete picture of thyroid function

• T4, T3, reverse T3, TPO antibodies, and thyroglobulin antibodies

• The three-legged stool of autoimmunity: genetic susceptibility, intestinal permeability, and a trigger

• How digestion and gut health influence thyroid function

• The relationship between blood sugar, adrenal stress, cortisol, and thyroid hormones

• Why birth control, perimenopause, menopause, chronic stress, nutrient deficiencies, and total toxic load can become tipping points

• Iodine, selenium, nutrient status, and why supplementation must be bio-individual

• The role thyroid medication can play alongside foundational support

• How to advocate for comprehensive testing and find a practitioner who will listen

• Where to start your healing journey

Alison is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Restorative Wellness Practitioner, Holistic Health Coach, Certified Yoga Instructor, passionate home chef, and the founder of Food by Mars. She turned her own Hashimoto’s healing journey into a functional nutrition practice that has supported more than 500 women struggling with autoimmune conditions, IBS, food sensitivities, hormonal imbalances, inflammation, and a damaged relationship with food.

This conversation is a reminder that your body is not broken. Symptoms are communication, lab ranges are not the same as optimal function, and your thyroid cannot be separated from the health of the rest of your body. Supporting the foundations gives every other tool, treatment, medication, or protocol a stronger place to work.

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