Cracking the Code on Your Ideal T4 Range: A Comprehensive Guide to Thyroid Optimization

How high should your T4 levels be?

Some say the most important thing is to feel your best and have normal thyroid levels.

Another idea is that you must have T4 and T3 levels as high as possible.

• Which is true?

The quick summary is that you don’t need T4 or T3 as high as possible if you’re feeling well.  If you don’t feel well, taking more medication is usually not the solution, even if it feels like it at first.

It is essential to make this distinction because many who chase higher levels don’t get to feel their best, miss the real cause of their symptoms, and create health risks.

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Table of Contents

Understanding TSH Alongside T4 and T3
A Deeper Dive Into T4 Lab Reference Ranges
The Pitfalls of Over-Reliance on Reference Ranges
The Ideal Free T4 Range for Hypothyroidism
Putting You In Control of Your Health

Understanding TSH Alongside T4 and T3

The truth is that your TSH level is something of a “backwards indicator” when compared to your T4 and T3 levels. This means that when your TSH is super high, we generally see low levels of T4 and T3. When it’s low, we see the opposite.

It is also true that healthy people have a “low-normal” TSH level. TSH ranges are typically called normal between 0.4 and 4.5 (by most labs today). If you are on the high side of normal, more than 2 or 2.5 there is a good chance your thyroid might be causing symptoms.

The issue arises when folks assume that T3 and T4 should always be on the high end of normal. Remember what I mentioned before about TSH being high and low and how that affects T4 and T3? That is only true when it comes to extremes.

That is only true when someone is extremely hypo or extremely hyperthyroid. Healthy people, even when they have a low-normal TSH, they rarely have high T3 and T4.

We know that low-normal TSH is typical in healthy people because that is where people have the lowest rates of thyroid symptoms. And, generally better health overall. This is typically focused on adults who are not pregnant and below the age of 65.

When their TSH is low-normal, they generally have:

• Good health
• Lower disease rates
• Fewer symptoms

A Deeper Dive Into T4 Lab Reference Ranges

When we look at populations that are healthy, what are their typical T3 or T4 levels? To put it simply, they are not high-normal. In fact, a recent study found that people with consistent high-normal T4 levels have a greater risk of heart disease.

We see similar things for T3 levels. We have many studies showing that high T3 levels correlate with higher risks of breast cancer, diabetes, obesity, and more.

This idea that healthy people who have a low-normal TSH must have a high T3 or T4 isn’t based in reality.

The Pitfalls of Over-Reliance on Reference Ranges

So, what is happening here? The TSH is your body’s first control for regulating thyroid hormones. It goes higher the moment that we need more of it and lower the moment that we need less of it.

On the other hand, your T3 and T4 levels are so different. They are not the first control. In fact, they are what we call lagging indicators. They are 50 times less sensitive than your TSH. But, why is that the case?

Because that is how much your body has to work with. Even if you have more than you want, you would try to control that to keep the amounts healthy. You would get rid of it fast.

If you had less than you want, you would do the opposite. You would hold onto it longer and you would make better use of it.

Therefore, your T3 and T4 do not correlate immediately with a lack of an excess. Your body keeps them stable until the point of extreme.

The Ideal Free T4 Range for Hypothyroidism

The first thing that reflects your thyroid status is your TSH. Unfortunately, the conventional world has gotten too wrapped up in thinking that you’re doing great as long as your TSH is normal.

At the same time, the natural world of medicine ignores TSH altogether. Both approaches lack nuance, but if you drive the T3 and T4 levels to the high side of normal, the body will fight back.

Lowering your TSH is dangerous and it corresponds with many additional risks. The first goal is regulating your thyroid levels is getting your TSH where it needs to be (in a good range).

This does not mean medication as a first step, but as a last one. The Thyroid Reset Diet improves TSH scores for over 80-90% of people.

And, once your TSH has gotten healthy, if your T3 and T4 are not yet where they need to be, it doesn’t mean that you need a different amount of hormone.

What it means is that you need better thyroid regulation. How does that happen? The easiest way to treat it is with a blend I made called T2/T3 Converter.

And, if your levels are off and still not stabilizing, we need to consider some other factors. These might include:

• Anemia
• Cortisol abnormalities
• Blood sugar problems

When your TSH is reasonable but your T3 and T4 are off, that is no longer a thyroid issue. That is a problem with the regulation of thyroid hormones.

As it concerns the TSH being optimal, it does not mean that medications make you feel optimal (if your TSH is not there). We have a lot of data saying that, even if your TSH is really high (between 5 and 20) in most cases medications will not improve symptoms.

Putting You In Control of Your Health

If there is one thing that I want you to get out of today’s discussion, it’s this: The idea that you must have your T3 and T4 at a high-normal range is not accurate, it doesn’t reflect a deep understanding of thyroid function, and it can lead you to unsafe levels.

I want to help put you in control of your thyroid health. If you want to know where you stand at this very moment, I would definitely recommend taking the Thyroid Quiz. It can give you a good sense of where you are right now, and the steps you can take to get to your best health.

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:

1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need A Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz Now
3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here

Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a board-certified Naturopathic Endocrinologist, and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, Metabolism Reset Diet, Thyroid Reset Diet, and the Healing Hormone Cookbook.

Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.