by Anju Mathur, MD

The Thyroid Foundation of America says YES!

There could be tens of millions of women in American suffering from an under active thyroid gland who aren’t even aware that this little gland causes their problem. Certainly there are over 11 million women known to have a thyroid gland not working properly, says the Thyroid Foundation of America.

Women ages 35 to 55 are most affected – during this time women start and go through the change of life – menopause.

Cold hands and feet, low body temperature, headaches, insomnia, dry skin, puffy eyes, hair loss, brittle nails, joint pains, constipation, mental dullness, tiredness, frequent infections, hoarse voice, ringing in the ears, dizziness, loss of sex drive and weight gain (sometimes uncontrollable) are some of the symptoms caused by underproduction of thyroid gland hormones.

Current research has led doctors to believe that an under active thyroid gland could be the primary cause of obesity. Thyroid function is something one needs to consider in solving these problems, especially in women.

A thyroid disease causes your body to use energy more slowly or more quickly than the optimum level. Hypothyroidism is the condition where the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. Hyperthyroidism is the condition where the thyroid produces too much. The most common disease is hypothyroidism – not enough hormones – which leads to depression, high cholesterol, hot flashes, irritability, and palpitations, in addition to the symptoms listed above.

Controlling thyroid hormone production can help control weight gain.

As main regulators of the body’s rate of metabolism, thyroid hormones regulate how the body burns carbohydrates and fats. Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland does not produce enough of these “energy-generating” thyroid hormones, causing a low resting metabolic rate, which can cause weight gain and obesity.

Appetite can also be affected by lack of thyroid hormones. The hormones have been shown in some studies to regulate the levels of leptin in the body, another hormone, which is produced from fat cells. Leptin is believed to be used by the body to regulate hunger and energy levels.

When your thyroid hormone production is too low, you lack energy – affecting not only weight, but also how well you sleep, how much stamina you have for the day, and how easy it is to get up in the morning. Handling daily tasks is a hardship, especially when this condition is added to the stress and emotional mood swings associated with menopause.

In addition to the condition of an under active thyroid gland, hypothyroidism can also include hormone imbalance. There can be a deficit of the thyroid gland’s main hormone, T4 or thyroxin. But thyroxin must be converted by the liver to its active form, T3 or triiodothyonine. The body then must utilize T3. Symptoms of hypothyroidism can be caused by malfunction of any of these processes, bringing on a slow down of bodily functions.

The lack of uniformity of symptoms makes thyroid diseases hard to diagnose, and for that reason the only certain way to detect the condition is blood tests.

Control of thyroid hormone production, can result in:

1. Increase in energy burned with a higher metabolic rate.

2. Diets now work for weight loss because failures were caused by hormone imbalance.

3. Less feelings of hunger.

4. Remedy of other hypothyroid symptoms.

About the Author:
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