Is there Link between Strong Bones and Healthy Parathyroid Glands?

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Achieve Thyroid Levels within a Short Period of Time

If you have hypothyroidism and are worried about your bone health, or have been told you have osteoporosis you will definitely want to read this article to find out why healthy parathyroid glands keep your bones strong.

The parathyroid glands are endocrine organs. They play an important role in the body’s complex hormone system to keep you fit and well.

‘Para’ means near, or next to which explains the name given to these four glands that are attached to the rear of the thyroid. In fact, the tiny parathyroid glands are so closely situated to the thyroid that they share the same blood supply.

Although the parathyroid and thyroid glands have similar sounding names each gland produces different hormones, each with their own specific functions.

Strong bones need healthy parathyroid glands

When it comes to bone health, the most fundamental nutrient is calcium. This mineral plays a critical role to safeguard against osteoporosis, which leads to weak and fragile bones. The bones are a vast reservoir for calcium as it is an essential building block to maintain healthy bone structure.

The parathyroid glands keep your bones strong by ensuring your body gets the calcium it needs to maintain bone strength. Optimal calcium balance is also crucial for muscle function and healthy nervous system activity.

As you may already know, bone is a dynamic, living tissue. Healthy parathyroid gland activity supports the normal process of bone breakdown and bone building. Steady and balanced bone turnover is a normal process that benefits lifelong bone health.

To help regulate levels of calcium the parathyroid glands make ‘parathyroid hormone’. This hormone is often termed a calcium-regulating hormone.

When blood calcium levels drop extra parathyroid hormone is released into the bloodstream. This draws calcium from the bones and stimulates greater uptake of calcium by the kidneys. The net effect is an increase of calcium in the blood.

When blood calcium levels get too high the parathyroid glands respond swiftly by reducing parathyroid hormone production. This keeps calcium stored in the bone and puts a halt to bone breakdown.

Strong bones need a well-functioning thyroid

The thyroid plays an important role in building bone health by producing a plentiful supply of calcitonin. This thyroid hormone is also termed a calcium-regulating hormone as it helps block excessive bone breakdown.

When blood calcium levels rise, the thyroid releases greater amounts of calcitonin to bring blood calcium levels back down to normal. Parathyroid hormone and calcitonin work in sync to regulate calcium balance. By having two hormones with opposing actions, the body can closely regulate calcium concentrations.

The vitamin D – parathyroid connection

The link between vitamin D and healthy bones was made many years ago when it was realised that sunlight, or taking cod liver oil boosted vitamin D which in turn helped prevent a soft bone disorder in children called rickets.

Today, vitamin D is seen as vital for overall health and strong bones.

Calcitriol is a calcium-regulating hormone produced from vitamin D. When blood calcium levels drop, parathyroid hormone triggers the kidneys to make greater amounts of this active form of vitamin D. Calcitriol increases blood calcium levels by increasing absorption of calcium from the digestive system.

A drop in vitamin D is associated with higher production of parathyroid hormone. This has the potential to increase bone loss. Maintaining optimal vitamin D can therefore have a protective effect to guard against excessive bone turnover.

How do you check parathyroid health?

If you are worried about your bone health or have been told you have osteoporosis it is a great idea to check your parathyroid health.

A blood test that specifically measures parathyroid hormone levels is the main way to diagnose a problem. Medical practitioners and pathology labs routinely abbreviate the words parathyroid hormone to ‘PTH’. The PTH test is usually done along with a check of blood calcium levels.

Problems can occur if the parathyroid glands are either producing too much or too little parathyroid hormone.

Hypoparathyroidism is characterised by low levels of parathyroid hormone. On the other hand, when the parathyroid glands are overactive these glands produce an inappropriately high amount of parathyroid hormone.

When parathyroid hormone levels are high the rate at which bone is lost exceeds the rate at which new bone is being formed. This leads to bones becoming weak and susceptible to fractures. This is the reason hyperparathyroidism is linked to the development of osteoporosis.

The parathyroid glands are tiny and are normally only the size of a grain of rice. This makes visual identification of a problem tricky. Your medical practitioner may request a scan to help diagnose a problem with one or more of the parathyroid glands. A bone density test may also be performed to assess bone health.

The 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, or 25OHD blood test is the most accurate way to measure how much active vitamin D is in the body.

Are environmental toxins also taking a toll on parathyroid health?

Like or not we are exposed to a wide range of environmental toxins in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. As mentioned above the thyroid and parathyroid glands share the same blood supply.

Further, there is a high volume of blood washing through these glands. This can make these glands susceptible to the damaging effects of environmentaltoxins or other harmful compounds that may be circulating in the blood supply.

Watch these videos below

What Are Parathyroid Glands? How Calcium is Controlled.

Top 15 Super Foods to Build Strong Bones and Teeth

How to Keep Your Bones Healthy?

Author Bio:

Louise O’ Connor, the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.

The Natural Thyroid Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details, Click on The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com

Why Vitamin D is needed for a Healthy Thyroid?

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Achieve Thyroid Levels within a Short Period of Time

For decades vitamin D was thought of only in terms of bone health. This nutrient decreases parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels which reduces calcium loss from bone. This is important for maintaining bone density.

However ongoing research reveals vitamin D plays a much broader role.

When converted by the body to its active form this nutrient actually has hormone-like functions. The active form of vitamin D is referred to as D3 and it is now recognised as a hormone, not a vitamin.

D3 is important for many aspects of health including supporting optimal thyroid hormone activity. D3 deficiencies occur more frequently than previously believed.

Reduced sun exposure along with ageing significantly decreases the skin’s capacity to activate D3. A specific blood test of D3, not vitamin D is a good place to assess D3 levels.

The body naturally makes vitamin D when the skin is directly exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun. That’s why this nutrient is often dubbed the ‘sunshine’ vitamin.

Absorption of vitamin D occurs rapidly and you don’t need to tan or to burn in order to get adequate amounts. In addition, individuals with paler skin are able to produce vitamin D more easily than those with darker skin.

D3 deficiencies occur more frequently than previously believed and a significant number of individuals are at risk due to reduced sun exposure and the widespread use of sunscreens.

More than just bone health

Emerging research reveals vitamin D plays a much broader role to support health.  The active form of vitamin D is referred to as D3 and it is now officially termed a hormone rather than a vitamin.

D3 is important for many aspects of health. Most notably this nutrient controls the way in which cells grow and divide. For this reason research continues into the anti-cancer effects of D3.

Some of the functions of the body that D3 supports include:

·         Immune system to help fight infection

·         Muscle function by reducing inflammation within the muscles

·         Cardiovascular function for a healthy heart and circulation

·         Respiratory system for healthy lungs and airways

·         Brain development to ward off neurological decline

·         Anti-cancer effects

Low D3 now common even in countries with abundant sunshine

The most natural way to get vitamin D3 is by exposing your bare skin to sunlight. However there are some limiting factors which can affect the amount of vitamin D your body can produce. This includes:

·         The amount of skin you expose. The less skin you expose, the less vitamin D you can produce.

·         Your age. As you get older, your skin has a harder time producing vitamin D.

·         Wearing sunscreens. Sunscreens block a lot of vitamin D production.

·         The altitude you live at. The sun is more intense at the top of a mountain than at the beach. This means you make more vitamin D when you live at a higher altitude.

·         Cloudy weather. Less sunlight reaches your skin on a cloudy day and your skin therefore makes less vitamin D.

·         Air pollution. Particles in polluted air reflect sunlight back into space. This means that if you live somewhere where there is lots of air pollution your skin produces less vitamin D.

·         Working or living behind glass. Glass windows blocks UVB rays so you can’t make vitamin D even when there is sunlight outside.

·         You avoid direct sun exposure. If you have had skin cancer or if you’re worried about exposing your skin to the sun you are more likely to have low D3 levels.

D3 and thyroid health

A recent study published in Endocrine Practice reveals low D3 may contribute to the severity of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This thyroid disorder is extremely common, especially in women. It is associated with high levels of autoimmune antibodies that directly target the thyroid gland.

Researchers found patients diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis had significantly low levels of active D3 in their blood and the scale of the vitamin D deficiency correlated with the severity of the thyroid disorder.

Endocrine Practice is the official journal of the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE).

Additional research is required to determine if low thyroid function causes a vitamin D3 deficiency, or low vitamin D3 status may contribute to a thyroid disorder.

Getting the right amount of vitamin D3

The 25-hydroxycholecalciferol blood test, abbreviated to 25 OHD is the most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is present in the body.

It’s now accepted vitamin D can do so much more than simply prevent bone disease.

However the ground breaking research into the effects of vitamin D has significantly changed the viewpoints on the accepted reference ranges. It brings into question the current reference ranges that start at around 50 nmol/L.

The Vitamin D Council is a leading US research organisation committed to educating the public on the importance of vitamin D. They currently suggests that 50 ng/ml of 25 OHD is the ideal level to aim for. The equivalent metric measurement is 125 nmol/L.

Whereas the Endocrine Society recommends taking a vitamin D supplement of around 2,000 IU daily to reach and stay above a level of 30ng/ml or 75 nmol/l.

Until the experts agree on an acceptable target if you have been told your levels are low after a blood test it’s a good idea to take a vitamin D3 supplement to restore healthy levels. This is a simple, cost effective step to ensure adequate intake.

Balanced intake using a specific vitamin D3 supplement is the best strategy to consider as this form is more effective at raising levels 25 OHD in the blood than a D2 supplement.

Watch this video – How to make enough vitamin D for your thyroid

Author Bio:

Louise O’ Connor, the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.

The Natural Thyroid Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details, Click on The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com