How Healthy Is Your Thyroid? |
Posted: March 24, 2023 |
It is estimated that 200 million people in the world have some form of thyroid disease. In Canada there is a staggering number of people affected. Recent studies indicate that 1 in 10 Canadians suffer from a thyroid condition of one type or another! Of those, as many as 50% are undiagnosed!
While the thyroid gland's primary function is to produce thyroid hormones, which regulate your metabolism, among other vital body functions like body temperature, muscle strength, menstrual cycle and more, not many people are actually aware of its importance. Your thyroid is essential to your energy production, mental focus as well as cognitive function, as research shows that lowered thyroid function can cause decreased memory, depression as well as general mental slowing down.
So in this article I will be discuss
What is Thyroid?
The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland that is located in the front of the neck and wrapped around your trachea, or windpipe.
It is one of the endocrine glands in the human body that secretes the thyroid hormones-Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) which help control many vital functions of your body like metabolism, heart rate, heat production, development (especially brain development in fetal and postnatal life. It is also important for maintaining normal sexual function, fertility, sleep as well as thought patterns.
It also produces calcitonin, a hormone which plays an important role in calcium and phosphorus metabolism that is essential for the health or your bones. Why is having an optimal thyroid function crucial to your health? Your thyroid is not just any other gland, but one of the most important parts of your endocrine system.
When the thyroid gland goes off balance due to either producing too much thyroid hormone or too little thyroid hormone, it can pose significant problems to people by impairing the quality of life, impact physical and mental health, sexuality and fertility and can also become life threatening.
The conditions related to the thyroid gland are more common than you think, about 200 million people worldwide suffer from thyroid disease of which almost half are undiagnosed and of the 50% that are diagnosed, they still continue to suffer with various symptoms of thyroid malfunction due to persistence of the root cause. What Causes Thyroid Issues?
Causes of Hypothyroidism
Causes Of Hyperthyroidism
We have seen above that thyroiditis or inflammation of the thyroid gland can create both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, this is because the thyroid is a very sensitive gland.
The Standard American Diet today is full of fried foods, processed meats, refined sugars which can create a low grade inflammation in the body that can end up affecting the normal functioning of your thyroid gland. What are the symptoms of Thyroid Disorders? If you struggle with hypothyroidism, due to lowered production of thyroid hormones you could have signs and symptoms like
Untreated advanced hypothyroidism can result in
An overactive thyroid causes hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis due to overproduction of hormones. This leads to a variety of symptoms like
How To Heal Your Thyroid - Masterclass
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