Maria Rigopoulou

One nutrient is often missed in Hashimoto’s. Another may backfire.

The nutrients involved in thyroid health don’t affect only your thyroid—they may also influence your energy, muscles and bones.

🔹 Selenium supports thyroid hormone metabolism and antioxidant protection.
🔹 Zinc contributes to thyroid, immune and bone function.
🔹 Vitamin D supports immune regulation, muscle strength and calcium absorption.
🔹 Iron is frequently overlooked, yet low levels may worsen fatigue and interfere with normal thyroid hormone production.
🔹 Omega-3 fats may support a balanced inflammatory response.

And iodine?

Your thyroid needs it—but more is not necessarily better. Excess iodine may worsen thyroid dysfunction in susceptible people with Hashimoto’s.

This does not mean you need all these supplements.

My advice: assess your diet, vitamin D and a full iron profile first. Then personalise according to your results—not a generic “thyroid support” list.

Save this video before buying another supplement—and share it with someone who has Hashimoto’s.

*Educational content only. Supplements, particularly iron and iodine, require appropriate assessment and professional guidance.*

Your bone loss may not be caused by menopause alone—especially if you also have Hashimoto’s.

Declining estrogen can accelerate bone breakdown. But thyroid hormones also influence bone remodelling, energy and muscle strength—all essential for maintaining strong bones.

Hashimoto’s itself does not automatically cause osteoporosis. The concern is the bigger picture: poorly controlled thyroid function, excessive thyroid medication, menopause, reduced muscle strength and nutritional deficiencies may overlap.

This is why thyroid health and bone health should not always be investigated separately.

And there is another missing piece: several nutrients needed by the thyroid are also important for your muscles and bones—but one commonly recommended “thyroid nutrient” may backfire.

I’ll explain those nutrients in Part 2.

Do you have both Hashimoto’s and bone loss?

*Educational content only. This does not constitute diagnosis or treatment. Thyroid medication should only be reviewed with your prescribing clinician.*

Can we stop blaming hormones for EVERYTHING?

Yes, menopause matters. But hormones are rarely the whole story.

Falling oestrogen can reduce your resilience—making the effects of poor sleep, chronic stress, blood-sugar instability, nutrient deficiencies and muscle loss more visible.

That’s why two women can experience menopause completely differently.

Instead of asking only, “Which hormone is causing this?” ask:

“What else could be contributing?”

Menopause is part of your biology. It does not have to become your identity.

What symptom have you been told is “just menopause”?

Your next DEXA isn't until 2028… but you don't necessarily have to wait two years for clues about what your bones are doing.

Bone turnover markers can give us useful information between scans:

CTX → bone resorption
P1NP → bone formation

They don't prove you've increased bone density — the pattern, baseline and context matter.

And when you repeat your DEXA, use the same centre and ideally the same machine for a more meaningful comparison.

📌 Save this for your next bone-health appointment.

Strong Aging isn't just asking “How dense are my bones?”...

“No one talks about THIS when we talk about bone health…”

We talk about calcium, vitamin D and exercise.

But we rarely talk about environmental exposure.

Take lead, for example.

Lead can accumulate in mineralised tissues such as bone and remain there for decades.

And here's what makes this particularly interesting:

Bone is constantly being remodelled.

During periods of increased bone turnover, some of that stored lead can be released back into the circulation.

So when I'm looking at someone's bone health, I'm not only asking:

“Are they getting enough calcium?”

I'm asking a much bigger question:

“What factors could be affecting the way this person builds and loses bone?”

Nutrition. Hormones. Inflammation. Lifestyle.

And sometimes, environmental exposure deserves consideration too.

Because osteoporosis isn't simply a calcium problem.

Strong Aging means understanding the whole system.

Join my bone reset on mariarigopoulou.com

Your T-score improved. Great news… right? Not necessarily.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is assuming that a higher lumbar-spine BMD automatically means you've built stronger bone.

As we age, osteoarthritis, degenerative changes and calcification can sometimes make the lumbar spine appear denser on a DEXA.

That's why I don't just ask:

“Did the T-score improve?”

I want to know:

Did the hip improve too? What happened at the femoral neck? Are the individual vertebrae consistent? What does the TBS show, if available? And is the change actually significant?

Your DEXA is a story — not one number.

Strong Aging means understanding the numbers, not simply being reassured by them.

Save this before your next DEXA.

Next: How can you tell if you’re building bone between scans?

🔥 Hot flashes worse in the heat?

Most people think of hot flashes as *just* a menopause symptom. But there may be more to the story.

Frequent or severe hot flashes have also been associated with **lower bone density and greater bone loss around menopause** — another reminder that our hormones, nervous system, metabolism and bones don't work in isolation.

And when temperatures rise, those symptoms can feel even harder to manage.

In this video, I’m sharing **3 simple things you can try to help stay cooler and manage hot flashes during the summer.** ☀️

Strong Aging isn't about treating every symptom separately. **Everything is connected.**

👇 **What triggers your hot flashes most — HEAT, STRESS or FOOD?**
You can find my choice of electrolytes here
https://www.lovelifesupplements.co.uk/MARIARIG

Your T-score is NOT your bone health.

If you’ve had a DEXA scan, you’ve probably been told to focus on that one number.

But I want to know much more.

Your BMD, Z-score and TBS can add important information — and even then, I’m still asking:

WHY are your bones changing?

That’s where bone turnover markers such as CTX and P1NP, alongside appropriate investigation of nutrients, hormones, thyroid, absorption and other factors, can help us build a much bigger picture.

Two women can have the same T-score and very different reasons for getting there.

Strong Aging isn’t about chasing one number.
It’s about understanding the body behind it.

SAVE this before your next DEXA