Thyroid Function, Assessment & Intervention
Understanding thyroid markers from a functional perspective can transform the way you support clients. Beyond medication, there are impactful ways to help. As the master regulator of metabolism, the thyroid affects everything from body temperature and hormone balance to digestion, nutrient absorption, liver function, cholesterol, and even aging.
In this course we will teach you how to identify the signs of both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism from a functional perspective. We’ll show you what questions to ask and teach you how to determine why dysfunction is present. More importantly, we will teach you how to address the cause of the dysfunction.
Lesson 1
Build the foundation for everything that follows. Learn how the brain, thyroid, liver, and gut work together to produce, transport, and convert thyroid hormone. You’ll also learn how reverse T3 and binding proteins determine how much active hormone actually reaches the cells.
Learn to tell hypothyroid from hyperthyroid presentations, then trace symptoms back to their root causes: chronic stress and HPA axis dysfunction, liver congestion and toxic burden, gut dysfunction, blood sugar and insulin resistance, medications, and nutrient deficiencies. The lesson also covers autoimmunity in depth, including Hashimoto’s, Graves’ disease, the gluten connection, and how immune pathways drive thyroid dysfunction.
Learn what belongs on a comprehensive thyroid panel and why conventional testing so often misses dysfunction. You’ll review each marker in detail, including functional ranges, causes of high and low values, and related blood chemistry. Then you’ll learn to identify eight patterns of dysfunction, know when to test and when to wait, and track progress with basal body temperature.
Lesson 4
Start with the foundation: a thyroid-supportive diet, blood sugar balance, sleep, exercise, toxin reduction, and nervous system support. From there, learn a tiered approach to thyroid support, moving from gentle nutritional formulas to glandulars to prescription options, plus strategies for lowering antibodies and balancing immune function in autoimmune thyroid clients.
Apply what you’ve learned through three detailed client case studies, then interpret five real thyroid panels on your own to sharpen your pattern recognition.
Everything you need to put the course into practice: downloadable slides for the full training, a Practitioner Reference Guide, a Thyroid Blood Chemistry Spreadsheet (available in both US and SI/international units), and a client-ready Thyroid Info Sheet you can hand out to clients.
Addendum 1
Learn where FDNs order thyroid testing today, how the major ordering platforms compare, and how to access FDN’s custom thyroid panels. You’ll also learn what belongs on a comprehensive panel, when a spot check is enough and when to retest the full panel, and how to time retesting after a medication change.
Addendum 2
There is no single “correct” functional range. This addendum compares how four functional practitioners define optimal ranges for free T4, total and free T3, reverse T3, TBG, and more, so you can see where they agree and where they differ. You’ll leave with a clearer framework for interpreting labs with your own clinical judgment rather than relying on any one set of numbers.
Addendum 3
Updated guidance on thyroid nutrition, prescription hormone options (T4, T3, combination, natural desiccated, and compounded), and the inactive ingredients that can derail results for sensitive clients. It also covers current supplement strategies for hypothyroid support, calming an overactive thyroid, lowering antibodies, and immune modulation in Hashimoto’s, along with the core supplements the presenter recommends for nearly every thyroid client.
