What Australian soil is doing to your thyroid (cellulite, hair loss, water retention...)

In my first article, I explained why Australian soils are geologically very different from European soils and how that difference can show up directly in our bodies: hair loss, cellulite, water retention, persistent fatigue. Today, I want to show you the exact mechanism.

Because understanding what is happening in your body is already half the journey.

What if your body wasn't lacking willpower but minerals? And what if stress was quietly making everything worse?

Everything Goes Through the Thyroid

The thyroid is a small gland located at the base of the neck. It is often underestimated, and yet it regulates everything: your metabolism, your body temperature, your circulation, your mood, your digestion, and the quality of your skin and hair.

To function properly, it needs a very specific "toolkit" of minerals. And those are exactly the ones missing from Australian soils.

But here is something that is rarely mentioned: the thyroid and stress are in constant conversation. When one struggles, the other follows. And in the context of mineral-depleted soils, chronic stress can be the final piece that tips a fragile system over the edge.

The 3 Key Minerals

• Iodine: the raw material

Iodine is the basic ingredient from which the thyroid produces its hormones - T4 and T3. Without iodine, there are no hormones. It really is that simple.

Some regions of Australia have a long history of iodine deficiency, to the point that Tasmania recorded documented resurgences of goitre as recently as the 2000s. Today, the deficiency remains present to varying degrees, often without any immediately visible symptoms - what researchers call a subclinical deficiency.

• Selenium: the converter

The thyroid mainly produces T4, but it is T3 that is the active hormone - the one your cells actually use. Converting one to the other requires selenium.

A study published in *Frontiers in Endocrinology* (2023) explains the mechanism in detail: selenium activates the enzymes (deiodinases) responsible for this conversion. Without it, T4 accumulates unused, T3 is in short supply, and the thyroid receives the signal that it needs to work even harder - raising TSH levels and progressively exhausting the gland.

A study published in 2000 in *Biological Trace Element Research* went even further, showing that a selenium deficiency alone - without any iodine deficiency - can be enough to trigger hypothyroidism.

• Zinc: the translator

Zinc plays a double role that is often overlooked. On one hand, it is needed for the brain to produce TSH (the hormone that tells the thyroid to work). On the other, it allows cell receptors to "read" and use the thyroid signal.

In other words: without zinc, even a thyroid producing enough hormones cannot do its job - because the cells simply cannot hear the message.

This creates a well-documented vicious cycle: you need zinc to produce thyroid hormones, but you also need thyroid hormones to properly absorb zinc. This is why people with hypothyroidism often have chronic zinc deficiencies, with hair loss as one of the first visible signs.

And Then There Is Stress

Here is where things become even more interconnected and where I see a pattern repeat itself again and again in my practice.

When we are under chronic stress, the adrenal glands produce cortisol. In short bursts, this is completely normal and healthy. But when stress becomes a constant background hum, the kind that comes with moving to a new country, building a new life, juggling work, family, and the invisible mental load... cortisol stays elevated for too long.

And elevated cortisol has a direct impact on thyroid function. It inhibits the conversion of T4 into T3, the very same conversion that selenium is supposed to support. So if you are already low in selenium due to Australian soils, and also running on chronic stress, the two problems compound each other.

There is another layer:

Stress rapidly depletes magnesium.

Every time your body produces cortisol, it burns through magnesium reserves. And magnesium, in turn, is essential for hundreds of enzymatic processes, including those that regulate metabolism, blood sugar, and lymphatic flow. A magnesium deficiency keeps the nervous system on high alert, making you more reactive to stress, which depletes more magnesium, and so the cycle continues...

This is not about telling you to "just relax." It is about understanding that the body is an ecosystem. Mineral depletion and chronic stress do not exist in separate boxes, they feed each other. And when you live on a continent whose soils are already low in these key minerals, your reserves are simply thinner to begin with.

When the Thyroid Slows Down, Everything Slows Down

Here is what concretely happens in the body when the thyroid is underperforming, often amplified by chronic stress running in the background:

• Hair - The hair follicle is one of the tissues most sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. A thyroid deficit lengthens the resting phase of the hair cycle, reduces growth, and weakens the hair's structure. Cortisol further accelerates hair loss by pushing follicles prematurely into the resting phase. Around 30 to 50% of people with thyroid dysfunction experience noticeable hair loss.

• Cellulite and water retention - A study published in *PMC / NIH* (2024) explains the mechanism: hypothyroidism triggers an accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in the tissues. These substances attract and retain water, increasing the volume of fluid between cells. This excess fluid distorts the architecture of the subcutaneous tissue and promotes the characteristic dimpling of cellulite. At the same time, lymphatic flow slows down, the kidneys struggle to eliminate excess fluid, and the body stores more fat while slowing its breakdown. Chronic stress adds to this by promoting fat storage, particularly in subcutaneous tissue and increasing inflammation in the connective tissue.

• Overall metabolism - Fatigue, feeling cold, weight gain, dry skin, constipation, difficulty concentrating: these are the classic signs of a body conserving energy because the thyroid is no longer providing enough of it. When cortisol is chronically elevated, it further suppresses metabolism, increases appetite for sugary foods, and disrupts sleep, making everything harder to recover from.

Why Standard Blood Tests Miss It

Most standard blood panels only measure TSH. That is not enough to detect subclinical hypothyroidism, mineral deficiencies, or the cortisol dysregulation that is quietly disrupting the whole system without yet crossing "pathological" thresholds.

On top of that, lab reference ranges are based on general populations, not on what is optimal for each individual. Being "within normal range" does not mean being in good health. In naturopathy, what I look for is the optimal, not the threshold below which something becomes a diagnosed disease.

The full picture always requires looking at minerals, hormones, and stress load together.

Not in isolation.

A Word of Caution Before You Reach for Supplements

Reading this, you might be tempted to immediately go out and buy selenium, iodine or zinc.

I understand that impulse and I want to gently stop you right there.

These minerals are powerful. And precisely because they are, they can cause real harm when taken without proper testing and guidance. Selenium, for example, becomes toxic at doses that are not far above the recommended intake. Iodine supplementation without adequate selenium can actually worsen thyroid function in some people, particularly those with an underlying Hashimoto's condition they may not even know about. And zinc taken in excess can deplete copper, creating a new imbalance in the process.

More minerals is not always better. The right minerals, in the right form, at the right dose, for the right person, that is what makes the difference between feeling better and making things worse.

This is exactly why I always recommend starting with a proper assessment before supplementing anything. Know what you are actually deficient in. Know your baseline. Then build from there, with support.

In my next article, I'll share concrete solutions: which tests to ask for, how to adapt your diet to the Australian context, how to support your stress response naturally and how to build a protocol that is truly tailored to you.

If you'd like to go further with me or talk about it

→ Book your discovery call

### Sources

- Selenium and thyroid disease — *Frontiers in Endocrinology*, 2023

- Selenium, iodine and thyroid — *PMC / NIH*; *Biological Trace Element Research*, 2000

- Cellulite and metabolism — *PMC / NIH*, 2024

- Hypothyroidism and water retention — *Paloma Health*; *Pfizer Health Answers*

- Cortisol, thyroid suppression and T4→T3 conversion — *Pharmacy Science Journal*, 2024

- Magnesium, stress and the vicious cycle — *Nutrients (MDPI)*, 2020