Fired Up & Taking Action: 5 Non-Negotiables for Thyroid & Brain Health
Happy Sunday!
Okay, let's get right to it, some practical stuff and down to business today.
Sarah here today! I'm an Aries (Aries sun and moon, Scorpio rising. If you're a fellow crazy astrology girly- reply with your big 3 because I'm curious!) and when I get fired up about something, I want to do something about it.
The last few weeks, I think it's been clear that both Mere and I have been fired up about some topics: thyroid health (hence our upcoming webinar Wednesday) and brain health. And well, those two areas pretty much impact every other area of health and the body. That's because truly nothing in the body works in isolation. Which, when you're looking to support your health, I know can be overwhelming. People are generally either 1) overwhelmed trying to do ALL of the things, or 2) overwhelmed and doing nothing at all.
So today I have 5 things I would look at if you've been reading along and are fired up to make some changes too.
Let's get to it.
1. Strength Train- and Take Your Creatine
What happens when you build muscle? You support your metabolic health. Muscle is literal gold for your metabolism. Muscle tissue produces myokines, signaling molecules that communicate with the brain, the liver, and the immune system. More muscle mass improves insulin sensitivity, regulates blood sugar, reduces inflammatory markers, and supports the hormonal environment that protects cognitive function. What else do those environments do? They support thyroid health.
Skeletal muscle contains enzymes that convert inactive thyroxine (T4) into the active triiodothyronine (T3), allowing a higher capacity for thyroid hormone utilization.
What else? Training helps you sleep. It often helps a lot of people eat more mindfully and with more balance, and focus more on protein- all things your brain and thyroid need (more on both below).
Practical Measures for Muscle
Lift heavy, within 2 reps shy of failure, generally in a 6–12 rep range. Fuel for it, recover from it… and get your cardio in too. All of these health-supportive behaviors we take for granted really do benefit all systems of your body, and mind.
Training appropriately can also be helpful from a stress management standpoint. High stress (chronic stress especially ) is one of the main triggers of thyroid and hormonal dysfunction. Get those endorphins.
A bonus one here: More and more research suggests creatine may support cognitive function and bone strength. When it comes to enhancing strength, power, and muscle mass, creatine is the gold standard.
I wrote so many papers in grad school about creatine, so I'm glad it's finally having its internet moment. I do know there are a lot of myths still floating around about its benefits. I'm a big fan of what we can do as athletes — and as humans — with full creatine stores, and that's exactly where creatine comes in.
You can read more below in the blog I published on Creatine.
2. Know Your Thyroid numbers
Regular blood work checks are so valuable , not as the whole answer, but as one important piece of the puzzle.
What that internal check offers:
- If you've never had labs done, you get a baseline.
- If you have, you get a checkpoint
When we reference a "full thyroid panel," we are referring to:
