Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), produced by the anterior pituitary gland, regulates iodine uptake via the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) and controls thyroid hormone synthesis. When individuals with iodine deficiency begin iodine supplementation, TSH may temporarily rise as the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis recalibrates to restored iodine…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Metabolic adaptation is the body’s physiological response to prolonged calorie restriction, where resting energy expenditure, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), and diet-induced thermogenesis may all decrease beyond what weight loss alone would predict. This adaptive reduction in total daily energy expenditure can lead to…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Sprinting (Sprint Interval Training, or SIT) and HIIT may both support fat loss through the release of myokines, including irisin and interleukin-6 (IL-6), which can promote fat oxidation, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic adaptation. HIIT is generally more accessible and better tolerated, while sprinting…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Fasting and starvation are physiologically distinct states. Therapeutic fasting is a controlled, voluntary period of food abstinence during which the body shifts from glucose metabolism to fatty acid oxidation and ketone production, activating adaptive processes such as autophagy. Starvation, by contrast, occurs when…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Persistent inability to lose weight despite calorie restriction and exercise may reflect hormonal and metabolic dysfunction rather than insufficient effort. Thyroid hormone conversion issues, insulin resistance, leptin resistance, elevated cortisol, chronic low-grade inflammation, and gut microbiome imbalances can each impair fat mobilisation and…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) alone may miss significant thyroid dysfunction. This pituitary-derived marker does not reflect peripheral T4-to-T3 conversion, cellular hormone uptake, or autoimmune thyroid activity such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. A comprehensive thyroid panel including free T4, free T3, reverse T3, and thyroid peroxidase…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer The metabolic set point is a weight range regulated by the hypothalamus through leptin and insulin signalling. When caloric intake drops significantly, the body may activate adaptive thermogenesis — a compensatory mechanism documented in research by Leibel, Rosenbaum, and Fothergill — that can…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Early Time-Restricted Feeding (eTRF) is an intermittent fasting strategy that confines all caloric intake to a 6–8 hour morning window, typically 8 am to 2 pm. Research led by Courtney Peterson and Elizabeth Sutton at Pennington Biomedical Research Center suggests eTRF may improve…
