How to Control Thyroid?

Autoimmune disease accounts for 90 percent of Americans with hypothyroidism. The other 10 percent are afflicted with non-autoimmune hypothyroidism.

Hashimoto’s is one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the United States. When a person has Hashimoto’s, antibodies specifically attack and damage his or her thyroid tissue.

Patients with hypothyroidism suffer from symptoms that are rarely traced to a sluggish thyroid. If you’re feeling blue or unmotivated, you may be prescribed an antidepressant.

If you’re constipated, you’re told to take a laxative. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, you’re given a sleeping aid. The list goes on.

Thyroid experts often advise to cut gluten from the diet and eat foods with thyroid-friendly vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin D, iron, selenium, and zinc.

Other foods that inhibit thyroid health: raw cruciferous vegetables, soy, sugar and caffeine.

Other foods that inhibit thyroid health: raw cruciferous vegetables, soy, sugar and caffeine.

Some people need thyroid drugs to treat Hashimoto’s. In some cases, medication is required indefinitely, especially when Hashimoto’s has gone undiagnosed and the thyroid is no longer producing hormones.

It’s important to work with a qualified doctor to find what type of medication and dosage works well for you.

The specific hormones the thyroid produces that are most critical to our health are triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), both of which regulate metabolism.

The most popular thyroid drug, Levothyroxine (commonly known as Synthroid), is a synthetic T4-only drug.

T4 is a mostly inactive hormone and is the forerunner to T3, which is the predominant and active hormone and which has the greatest affect on our health and well-being.

The body is designed to convert T4 to T3, but many people have trouble with this conversion, mostly due to stress, hormonal and gut imbalances, and nutritional deficiencies.

T4 drugs like Synthroid or levothyroxine are often prescribed, but many still complain of symptoms even when lab results come back normal.

What often works is a combination T4-T3 medication. Biodentical T4-T3, known most commonly as Armour Thyroid, for example, comes from dried porcine thyroid

These natural hormones have been successfully used since the late 1800s and, after decades of the prevalence of T4-only prescriptions, are gaining use again.

Located between your voice box and collarbones and no bigger than your thumb, your thyroid affects almost every process in your body. "

"It produces hormones that regulate your metabolism by controlling how many calories you burn, as well as how fast or slow your brain, heart, liver, and other organs work," says endocrinologist Christian Nasr, MD, medical director of the Thyroid Center at the Cleveland Clinic.

The thyroid gland is a 2-inch butterfly-shaped organ located at the front of the neck. Though the thyroid is small, it’s a major gland in the endocrine system and affects nearly every organ in the body.

It regulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism, respiration, body temperature, brain development, cholesterol levels, the heart and nervous system, blood calcium levels, menstrual cycles, skin integrity, and more

The most common thyroid condition is hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. In the United States, hypothyroidism usually is caused by an autoimmune response known as Hashimoto’s disease or autoimmune thyroiditis.

As with all autoimmune diseases, the body mistakenly identifies its own tissues as an invader and attacks them until the organ is destroyed. This chronic attack eventually prevents the thyroid from releasing adequate levels of the hormones T3 and T4, which are necessary to keep the body functioning properly.

The lack of these hormones can slow down metabolism and cause weight gain, fatigue, dry skin and hair, and difficulty concentrating (see table).2 Hashimoto’s affects approximately 5% of the US population, is seven times more prevalent in women than men, and generally occurs during middle age

Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid gland, is another common thyroid condition. The most prevalent form is Graves’ disease in which the body’s autoimmune response causes the thyroid gland to produce too much T3 and T4. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include weight loss, high blood pressure, diarrhea, and a rapid heartbeat.

Cigarette smoke has a variety of toxins that may affect your thyroid. Thiocyanate, in particular, disrupts iodine uptake, which in turn can block the production of thyroid hormones. In general, smoking can cause elevated thyroxine (T4) levels and a slight decrease in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.