What is Hashimoto’s and How do I know if I have it?

Hashimoto Thyroiditis is part of the spectrum of autoimmune thyroid diseases and is characterized by the destruction of thyroid cells by various cell and antibody-mediated immune processes.

Can Hashimoto’s cause thyroid abnormalities?

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can absolutely cause a hypothyroid sort of situation and thyroid abnormalities in general, and it is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States in individuals older than 6 years. Typically with Hashimoto’s, it’s things called thyroglobulin antibodies and thyroid peroxidase antibodies that will attack your thyroid and create stress on it.

When stress gets put on any organ, it causes the organ to adapt to the stressors or act in a way that is not normal for the physiology of the body. By working to figure out why the body is producing these inflammatory responses or these autoimmune responses, we can design programs and design lifestyle choices that can mitigate the autoimmune antibodies, and we can change all that. But absolutely, when you have Hashimoto’s it’s bound to affect your thyroid and create different thyroid hormone levels.