What the Heck is a Thyroid Anyway?
Are you one of the thousands, perhaps millions,of individuals (primarily woman over 40) who struggle with a sluggish thyroid?
Have you been told you have Hypothyroidism, or Hyperthyroidism. Or Hashimoto’s Disease or Grave’s Disease. How about thyroid nodules that can be both cancerous and benign?
It can be mind boggling for anyone trying to get to the bottom of whether or not their thyroid is working properly. To make matters worse, most of the time we are dealing with a medical community that just doesn’t understand what the Thyroid is, or why you are having difficulty.
Let me tell you, you are not alone!
Every day we get desperate cries for help from all over the world about thyroid impairment, thyroid exhaustion, thyroid nodules, and yes, thyroid cancer. These issues are the single most-commonly occurring hormonal disturbance in America today.
We have the answers.
Because this has become such a huge issue, we thought it was time to devote some real space in our newsletters to understanding the thyroid.
Let’s start with; What actually IS a thyroid anyway?
The Thyroid – What is it Exactly?
The thyroid is an endocrine gland located in the front of our necks. It stores and produces hormones that affect the function of virtually every organ in our bodies. Thyroid hormones Triiodothyronine or T3 and Thyroxine or T4 regulate our metabolic rate, and is associated with modest changes in body weight and energy levels.
The thyroid is the “master of metabolism” and as such controls body temperature, digestive enzyme synthesis, stomach acid production, calorie burning, fat and protein synthesis and white blood cell activity. It is crucial for menstruation and activity of all reproductive hormones.
An interesting point is that thyroid hormones are created not just in your thyroid, but also in a woman’s ovaries (Diiodothyronine or T2) and in the white blood cells of your bone marrow.
How Does it Work?
Your thyroid gland is controlled by the pituitary gland, a pea-sized gland located at the base of your brain. The pituitary gland keeps checking the amount of thyroid hormone in your blood. Then it tells your thyroid to make more or less hormone so there’s always the right amount.
Your thyroid uses iodine to make thyroid hormone. Iodine comes from food, mainly seafood and dairy products. Iodine was added to table salt in 1924 at the request of the US Government in response to certain regions in the US where the soil was lacking natural iodine, and people in these areas were developing goiters, or swelling of the thyroid gland.
What Can Go Wrong?
The problem begins when we do not eat properly. Diets high in junk food and heavy meat consumption can often be low in selenium, which assists in iodine production.
Sometimes the thyroid gland doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone, which is called hypothyroidism. When you don’t have enough thyroid hormone, parts of your body work too slowly.
Symptoms of underactive thyroid include:
- Feeling tired
- Feeling cold even when other people are comfortable or even warm
- Having a slow heart rate and dry skin
- Being constipated
- Gaining weight even though you’re not eating more or exercising less than usual
- In children, growing very slowly
Sometimes the thyroid gland makes too much thyroid hormone, which is called hyperthyroidism. Think of your body as a car and your thyroid as the engine. An overactive thyroid makes your body idle too fast.
Symptoms of overactive thyroid gland include:
- Feeling nervous and irritable
- Having trouble concentrating
- Feeling too warm even when other people don’t feel warm
- Having a fast heart rate and diarrhea
- Having trouble sleeping
- Losing weight without trying