There are number of glands in human body which secret different hormones necessary for our living. A little misbalance in their secretion may cause serious health problems in our body. Thyroid is one of such gland which is found in the lower neck of our body.
Thyroid secrets thyroxin and tryiodo thysenin. Due to iodine deficiency in our body the balance between the two hormones change. There are many diagnostic tests like T3, T4, T F and TSH which helps us to know the problem in thyroid gland.
There are two types of situation –
Hypothyroid – wherein the thyroxin is produced less than what is required. Less than normal secretion of thyroid gland leads to obesity and loss of internal body temperature. It is the most common type of thyroid problem and women are more prone than men.
Hyperthyroid – where there is more secretion of thyroxin. In case of hyper thyroid the patient cannot bear heat, the body temperature is usually high , they tend to loose weight and get excited and irritated very easily.
Other effects of thyroid problem –
Thyroid misbalance has many side effects.
1. Young children who have hypothyroid often have delayed or abnormal development of brain.A lack of thyroid hormones in the system at an early age can lead to the development of cretinism (mental retardation) and dwarfism (stunted growth). Most infants now have their thyroid levels checked routinely soon after birth. If they are hypothyroid, treatment begins immediately. A hypothyroid infant is unusually inactive and quiet, has a poor appetite and sleeps for excessively long periods of time.
1. Usually people do not take problem of thyroid very seriously but due to its hormonal misbalance it leads to misbalance in cholesterol and lipoprotein which leads to heart problems.
Remedies –
There are medicines to bring back the balance back for this it is advised to consult a doctor and have the full prescribed course of medicine. It is also important to keep a regular check as thyroid problem tend to reoccur.
Acupressure may help in normalizing the secretion of thyroid. The sensitive points of thyroid gland exist just below the thumb finger of hands and toes. In case on hypothyroid the movement should be clockwise and in case of hyper thyroid it should be done on anticlockwise. However it is advised to go for a specialist for initial treatment and then can be practiced at home.
As far as daily life is concerned it is important to keep our body detoxify by eating more fibrous food , vegetables and fruits and exercise regularly.
I really am glad I found Mary Shoman’s Thyroid Diet book. I have been hyopthyroid for a few years, and I never had a weight problem in the past. But the weight creeped up and by the time they diagnosed me, I had gained something like 40 pounds. (I never found out the final #, cause I wouldn’t even look at the scale at my highest. UGH!) I felt awful, and I tried every single diet program out there, I did no-carb, I did low-fat, I did low-cal, and I just kept gaining weight, or I didn’t lose anything. It was ridiculous. My doctor said that my thyroid had nothing to do with anything, but I knew, I just KNEW that my thyroid had something to do with it, because, for goodness sake, I never had an extra pound on me until the thyroid problems started up and I started with hyopthyroidism. A friend of mine who is also hyopthyroid told me that she had some success following some things she’d read from Mary Shoman at her website, and so I decided to get this book. It’s been a real godsend, because for the first time in about 5 years, I’ve actually been consistently losing weight. First it was just a few pounds, really slow, but I LOST!!! I’ve started taking a couple of vitamins that she recommends, and I think that’s helping too, but the overall diet is what’s making the difference. I’m eating, but I finally feel like I’m eating the RIGHT things, and believe me, you can go spend 7 a week, or 20 a month, or 2000 a year at a local weight loss program, but if you don’t lose weight and you tell them you have a thyroid problem, they’re going to tell you you’re not doing the program right. And Shoman doesn’t tell you that she knows how the thyroid affects weight, and she explains it, she interviewed doctors who also talk about leptin, and metabolism, and the impact of thyroid on blood sugar, timing of food, and the best thyroid medicines and such all things I think are what helped me sort of break the losing streak I had at weight loss! I even had a blood sugar test I read about in the book, and the doctor says I could be headed for pre-diabetes, so I definitely am doing the right thing by losing weight! There is definitely no magic diet cure wish there WAS!! with a thyroid problem or otherwise, but I feel like with Thyroid Diet, I at least have a fighting chance to figure out what foods, calorie levels, supplements, and other sorts of approaches might actually make a difference for me. I really recommend this book. I got it January of 2005, and as of April, I’m already down 20 pounds!!! Can’t argue with success, right?