If you have hypothyroidism and autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease, you may have noticed that there is a link between the thyroid and stress. In fact, thyroid gland is the part of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis (or shortly the HPA axis) which is our body’s system of managing stress response.
While the HPA axis is designed to respond quickly and efficiently to acute stressors it does not respond as well to chronic stress that most of us face with our modern lifestyle and especially right now with everything that goes on in the world.
This means that if you are under chronic stress and pressure it can result in HPA axis dysfunction or an inability of the HPA axis effectively regulate hormone production including the thyroid and stress hormones and many bodily systems.
In early stages, HPA axis hyperactivation may result in high levels of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
On top of the “every day stress,” people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s show an over-activation of stress response when the body is trying to compensate negative effects of low thyroid hormone levels and hypothyroidism by over-producing adrenaline and cortisol even more.
However, with time HPA axis function can also become hypoactive when it bottoms out leading to low cortisol and other hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), suppressed thyroid and immune function and burnout.
When this happens many people feel like they are slipping into a downward spiral of declining health when multiple imbalances drive each other creating a vicious cycle that becomes difficult to break.
As a result their health is declining and they lose their resilience to stress.
I just give you one example.
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Do You Have Magnesium Wasting?
If you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s disease, then you are almost guaranteed to have some level of magnesium deficiency and related symptoms.
In fact, many symptoms of this nutritional deficiency are very similar or overlapping with hypothyroid symptoms. This includes:
| ▪ | Fatigue |
| ▪ | Muscle cramps |
| ▪ | Irritability |
| ▪ | Insomnia |
| ▪ | Anxiety |
| ▪ | Water retention |
| ▪ | Dysglycemia |
| ▪ | Osteoporosis |
| ▪ | Diminished ability to cope with stress |
| ▪ | High blood pressure |
| ▪ | Heart disease. |
Research studies have shown that hypothyroidism can cause rapid loss of magnesium, also called magnesium wasting.
Loss of magnesium in hypothyroidism happens due to 4 main reasons:
1. HPA axis dysfunction as a result of any type of stress
2. Low thyroid hormone levels as a direct consequence of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s
3. Additional over-activation of your stress response when your body is trying to compensate negative effects of hypothyroidism by over-producing adrenaline and cortisol
4. Additional hypo-activation of your stress response when HPA axis capacity bottoms out leading to underproduction of cortisol
5. Estrogen dominance which is very common driving force of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease that gets even worse as you become hypothyroid.
How To Protect Your Thyroid From Negative Effects of HPA Axis Dysfunction
A proper hypothyroidism treatment that addresses glycogen problem caused by hypothyroidism should be your first step if you want to get better sleep, stop and prevent magnesium wasting process and start to retain more magnesium, overcome negative effects of HPA Axis Dysfunction on your thyroid and improve your stress response
But what do you do during times of severe or prolonged stress and when:
| ▪ | estrogen dominance (high estrogen, low progesterone or both at the same time) gets out of control because in hypothyroidism you cannot detoxify estrogen properly |
| ▪ | your thyroid is undertreated or |
| ▪ | thyroid hormones are not at the optimal levels just yet? |
How to get out of this vicious cycle when thyroid and overall health continue to decline and affect your ability to deal with stress?
Well, I have been there and can say that there is ONE THING that is very effective for compensating negative effects of stress, helping to get a good quality sleep. relax and…
It’s a total game changer for many thyroid patients during times of stress and it also helps to overcome one of negative effects of hypothyroidism that makes you even less stress resilient – magnesium wasting.
The good news is there’s actually a solution. One that may sound too simple and easy to be true. Yet, it’s the best answer to combat many negative effects of stress, low thyroid and HPA axis dysfunction problems…
The answer is: magnesium.
You can get it with magnesium-rich foods such as:
- Dark leafy greens
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Pumpkin seeds
- Avocados
- Brussels sprouts
AND you can greatly benefit from getting some extra magnesium in form of a supplement.
The big epiphany for many is to learn that the body needs multiple forms magnesium (there are actually 7 forms of magnesium) because they have different effects on the body. Some help the brain… some help the mood… or energy… some help other systems.
Using multiple magnesium forms and ramping up the dosages makes feel better almost instantly and achieves a profound shift in nervous system within 6 weeks.
This means:
| ▪ | Sleep scores improve massively |
| ▪ | Sleep latency (which is how fast you fall asleep) drop significantly |
| ▪ | You feel calm virtually all the time |
| ▪ | You may notice that from not being able to drink coffee anymore (because it was increasing the stress) you go to being able to drink coffee again. |
All these improvements are just epic for many who try.
That’s why I would like to introduce you one magnesium supplement that can provide all these benefits – Magnesium Breakthrough.
Not only does Magnesium Breakthrough contain magnesium forms to help the brain and heart, but it contains ALL 7 MAJOR FORMS of magnesium to help improve:
| ▪ | Muscle recovery |
| ▪ | Effects of obesity |
| ▪ | Heartburn |
| ▪ | Migraines |
| ▪ | Mood |
| ▪ | Cardiac rhythms |
| ▪ | And energy/performance |
With all 7 major forms of magnesium, Magnesium Breakthrough is the most potent, most effective, full spectrum magnesium available right now.
When taking magnesium 2 hours before bed, better sleep is often observed within the very first week. And many people experience a sense of calm they haven’t felt in a LONG time.
How To Replenish Magnesium
Now that you know how critical magnesium is for everything – it might be tempting to run out to your local drug or health food store and buy some magnesium.
That would be a mistake, though – because most magnesium products do nothing, for three primary reasons:
❌ They are synthetic, unnatural, and not recognized by your body…
❌ They are NOT FULL SPECTRUM
❌ They fail to help you beat stress and its effects
Which means they are missing the various forms of magnesium needed to target various organs in the body and to handle all sources of stress – and boost your performance in every key area.
Most people get 1-2 forms of synthetic magnesium (at best); which is why they typically feel little or nothing from supplements.
But there’s a substantially better effect that occurs when your body gets ALL the magnesium that it needs, in all the forms that it needs at the optimal dosage.
The truth is that if You’re Only Taking ONE Form Of Magnesium – YOU ARE STILL DEFICIENT!
Why Getting ALL 7 FORMS Of Magnesium Transforms Your Stress And Improves Thyroid
One of the biggest misconceptions about magnesium is that you just “need more” of this essential mineral and you’ll be healthy and optimized.
But the TRUTH is, there are many different types of magnesium – and each play a critical role in different functions in your body.
Much of the population is deficient in ALL forms and when you get all 7 major forms of magnesium, that’s when substantial improvements happen.
In fact, the 7 different forms of magnesium connect to a variety of biological systems.
When you get them in the right dose, everything works better.
Without them, EVERY biological system is compromised…
There Are 7 Major Forms Of Magnesium You Need
Magnesium Chelate is especially important for muscle building, recovery, and health.
Magnesium Citrate helps with the effects of obesity and weight gain.
Magnesium Bisglycinate is most often used to treat symptoms of too much stomach acid such as stomach upset, heartburn, and acid indigestion.
Magnesium Malate is thought to be the most bioavailable form (found naturally in fruits, giving them “tart taste.”) It can help with migraines, chronic pain, and depression.
Magnesium L-Threonate (MgT), is important for the brain because it improves learning abilities, working memory, and short- and-long-term memory.
Magnesium Taurate is best for your heart.
Magnesium Orotate helps your heart, too, and is believed to be the best form for metabolic improvements and the thyroid. It assists with recovery process, helps with fatigue and enhances physical performance.
How can you get the benefit of all these forms of magnesium with the right dosages?
P.S. Do you like what you read? Get my FREE Thyroid Diet Guide and FREE Hypothyroidism Seminar: The Right And Wrong Ways To Heal here
My name is Marina Gutner, PhD. I am a researcher, medical writer, Author of forthcoming series on thyroid, hypothyroidism and autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed with autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism in 2004 and soon got so sick that I was unable to function. It took me years of research to find how to recover from severe adrenal insufficiency, stop Hashimoto’s and reduce my high dose of thyroid medication. On my blog I show you exactly how I did it so you can learn how to get started. Read more in 
