This past week, I polled the audience about what I should cover in this Thyroid School e-mail and the popular vote was to review the two MAIN categories of hypothyroidism— autoimmune and not autoimmune. So, I’m going to back-track a little bit and discuss more about root causes. Previously I had been discussing disruptions in thyroid hormone production, but will pick back up after I clarify more about identifying your root cause of hypothyroidism— either autoimmune or NOT autoimmune). Alrighty, let’s dive in, shall we? When you’re trying to identify the biggest contributors to WHY you developed hypothyroidism, it is important to first determine whether it is autoimmune in nature. You may be asking, “what the heck is autoimmunity?” I’m so glad you asked! 🙂 Autoimmunity is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. The immune system normally guards against germs, bacteria, viruses, and other potential threats. When it senses these foreign invaders, it sends out an army of fighter cells to attack them. With autoimmunity, for a variety of reasons, the immune system attacks innocent bystanders including organs, tissues, foods, etc. In the case of Hashimoto’s, the immune system is attacking your thyroid. Simply put: autoimmune = confused immune system. Why...