Do you find it difficult to lose weight? Do you also suffer from depression, fatigue, dry skin, constipation and sensitivity to cold? If so you may be a victim of HYPOTHYROIDISM - which means that your thyroid gland may not be producing as much of its special hormone as it should. If the thyroid gland produces too much hormone, however, this causes HYPERTHYROIDISM, in which case the victim is unable to put on weight and can suffer from fast pulse, hyperactivity, insomnia, irritability and nervousness.
FUNCTIONS OF THE THYROID GLAND
The thyroid gland regulates metabolism in every cell of the body - that is not just energy production, but also the construction of body structures for utilization in the body e.g. hair, skin, digestive enzymes, hormones, nerve cells, brain chemicals, and so on.
The thyroid's other role is to regulate the amount of calcium in the blood stream, and in turn the levels in your bones. The body should maintain a set level of calcium in the blood stream (11mg per 100ml) for the maintenance of the nervous system and flow of other minerals in and out of the body cells.
HYPOTHYROIDISM is the underproduction of the thyroid hormone. This is a very common condition, especially in women - its suffered by fourteen times as many women as men. Symptoms include fatigue, loss of appetite, overweight, painful premenstrual periods, muscle weakness, dry and scaly skin, a yellow-orange coloration in the skin (particularly on the palms), yellow bumps on the eyelids, hair loss (including eyebrows), recurrent infections, constipation, depression, slow speech, and drooping, swollen eyes. The most frequent symptoms seen in those suffering from this disorder are fatigue and intolerance to cold; if someone is cold whilst others around them are hot, that person is likely to be suffering from reduced thyroid function.
Deficiency of thryoid hormone may be due to defective hormone synthesis or lack of stimulation by the pituitary gland which secretes thyroid stimulation hormone. A deficiency of thyroid hormones can affect virtually all body functions. The degree of severity of symptoms in the adult range from extremely mild deficiency states which are barely detectable to severe deficiency states which are life-threatening.
There is much controversy over the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Before the use of blood measurements, it was common to diagnose hypothyroidism based on basal body temperature. With the advent of sophisticated laboratory measurement of thyroid hormones in the blood, these 'functional' tests of thyroid activity fell by the wayside. However, it is now known that the blood tests are not sensitive enough to diagnose milder forms of hypothyroidism. As mild hypothyoidism is the most common form of hypothyroidism, the majority of people with hypothyroidism are going undiagnosed.
You can check your basal body temperature in the comfort of your own home...
GOITROGENS
Sometimes hypothyriodism is caused by a dietary deficiency of iodine. Some foods contain substances which prevent the utilisation of iodine. These are termed "goitrogens" and include such foods as turnips, cabbage, mustard, cassava root, soya beans, peanuts, pine nuts and millet. Cooking usually inactivates goitrogens.
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