Thyroid Problems - How To Tell If Yours Isn't Functioning Properly
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits on our throat. It's main job is to produce hormones that modulate our metabolism. Therefore, it regulates heart rate, body temperature, mood, energy production, sex hormone production and body weight. For a small little gland it has a big role to play!
Thyroid health can start to suffer when our body becomes imbalanced by:
Too much stress
Too many chemicals and toxins
Nutritional deficiencies
Infections
When this occurs for a prolonged time our thyroid can become overactive producing too many thyroid hormones or underactive and not producing enough. Having a steady hormone balance is one way to feel better. This does not happen when the thyroid is either overactive, or fatigued.
Overactive thyroid symptoms
Below is a list of symptoms that may indicate that you have an overactive thyroid.
Racing heart, nervousness, anxiety,
Heat intolerance and excessive perspiration
Fatigue, interrupted sleeping patterns
Increased bowel movements, diarrhoea,
High libido
Tremors and muscle weakness
Unexplained weight loss or weight gain,
Menstrual irregularities and infertility,
Shortness of breath, especially when exercising,
Loss of hair or hair thinning
Double vision and swollen eyes,
Enlarged thyroid gland (goitre)
Underactive symptoms
If your thyroid is underactive, there are also symptoms that you may notice. Some of these can include :
Weight gain Sensitivity to cold Depression, feeling withdrawn and a lack of motivation Body fatigue, muscle aches, low energy levels, Constipation Heavy, irregular or prolonged menstrual periods Goitre (enlarged thyroid gland)
In many cases people with thyroid problems have an autoimmune condition associated. This is where the immune system detects an issue with the cells in the thyroid. It then creates antibodies against the thyroid (marks the cells as bad) and launches an attack against the gland.
Naturopathically the body doesn't just decide to go and attack itself for no reason. Your body it very intelligent, so I find the issues the immunes system detects are infections and toxins such as heavy metals.
How to nurture an unhappy thyroid back to health:
Going gluten free (100% ) is one of the best things you can do for a thyroid problem. Gluten often causes inflammation in the gut. That inflammation then flows on to affect the rest of the body, including the thyroid. Gut healing is essential as this is where the problem and inflammation usually starts. To do this we have to take a look at our nutritional status. Iodine, Zinc and Selenium are essential mineral for a healthy thyroid, so we need to make sure we are getting this from our diet or a high quality supplement.
We also need to look at our adrenal health as these two glands work very closely together. Take a look at these key dietary and lifestyle recommendations for adrenal health.
These are some great steps to take when on a thyroid healing mission.
If you want more info please do come to my MeetUp or join me on a webinar sometime.
Or the other option is to work with me :)
You can book in for a Free 30 minute Balance appointment to see me either online or in person. During the 30 minutes we have together, I'll answer your questions & outline how I can help you to improve your health & wellbeing.
Please book this appointment to experience my guidance for yourself.
xx
Hannah