Years ago, ferritin, which is our iron storage protein, was explained to me by a functional medicine doctor like this: Iron is the merchandise in the front of the store. Ferritin is what’s in the back storage room. Unfortunately, most doctors only check what’s on the shelves.
If you’ve been on a journey of resolving your adrenal dysfunction and hypothyroidism, it’s possible that you’ve either read about or worked with a practitioner who’s suggested bovine (cow) or porcine (pig) glandular supplements. This is misguided. And I’m calling out one supplement company and also one facet of practitioners.
While optimizing thyroid hormone production is obviously necessary, one often missing and critical piece of the conversation is thyroid hormone conversion…converting “the lame duck” to “the big daddy.”
Low iron—and more specifically, low ferritin (iron storage protein)—is common in the hypothyroid / Hashimoto’s and also hair loss / alopecia communities. Let’s look at this root cause contributor, including issues people can have with absorption.
Low hydrochloric acid is pretty chronic in the alopecia community. It has a far-reaching impact on our overall health—with two specific relationships that are also chronic for many experiencing hair loss.
I’ve had alopecia (autoimmune hair loss), off and on, for nearly 35 years. And alopecia can be late to the party when it comes to healing the immune system.
It’s common for those with hypothyroidism to be low in iron; low iron inhibits the ability to produce adequate thyroid hormones and interferes with thyroid hormone synthesis.
