The Thyroid Tie-In To Metabolic Overdrive

The thyroid, is a butterfly-shaped gland found in the neck that releases thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T₃) and thyroxine (T₄). These hormones are tied to many body functions, such as mood,  metabolism of vitamins, carbs, proteins and fats, body temperature, energy levels, heart rate, bone growth and the body’s  use of the hormones produced by the adrenal glands.
Because the thyroid is involved in so many body functions, if it is off by even a little you may feel one or more of the following symptoms: depression or anxiety,  difficulty in maintaining, losing or gaining weight, feeling cold, a general lack of energy, thinning hair, brittle nails, insomnia, high cholesterol,  constipation, low sex drive and much, much more.
A “short-circuit” in the thyroid can be caused by: an autoimmune “attack”, stress, nutritional inadequacy (low iodine or selenium), pregnancy or environmental chemicals such as PCBs, phthalates, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated chemicals; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21939731.
What are the symptoms of a “short-circuit” in the thyroid gland?                                                  
Answer each of the following questions with a yes or no.
1. Do you suffer from cold hands and feet, even when you are in a heated room?
2. Do you feel depressed, lethargic, unmotivated, or hopeless?
3. Do you suffer from constipation?
4. Do your nails break easily?
5. Do you have a low sex drive/libido (lower than in the past or than what you’d like)?
6. Do you have difficulty sleeping (it takes you longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep and you wake more than once at night)?
7. Do you feel tired during the day?
8. Have you recently gained weight, even though you were not overeating?
9. Have the hairs along the outer one-third of your eyebrows thinned or fallen out?
10. Do you suffer from muscle aches or joint pain, despite doing nothing more rigorous than your daily activities?
11. Is your temperature below 98.5°F when you first wake up?
12. Is your total cholesterol above 200 or your LDL cholesterol above 130?
 For Women Only:
1. Even though you are not perimenopausal or postmenopausal, do you skip periods, have periods more frequently than once a month, or menstruate irregularly?
2. Is your hair thinning?
If you answered yes to two or more questions, consider making an appointment with your physician for a thyroid test. If you have a normal test result but answered yes to any of the starred questions, you may have a thyroid issue that is too mild to be diagnosed by a medical test.
The American College of Clinical Endocrinologists estimates that 1 in 10 Americans have an under active thyroid and that half remain undiagnosed. Thyroid conditions typically affect women over 35 but men are not immune.
The thyroid, when not performing well, can be detrimental to the adrenal glands (both can also negatively affect  blood sugar); which can create a domino effect sending metabolic overdrive into full throttle.  This domino effect makes health extremely difficult to manage because instead of just one body system malfunctioning you now have 2 or more systems “out of whack”.  Each body function (insulin, cortisol, thyroid, yeast, sex hormones), although independent, are intertwined.
If MO has affected your thyroid, bring it back to health using “The Stubborn Fat Fix”,http://www.amazon.com/The-Stubborn-Fat-Fix-Metabolic/dp/159486828X. Level 2 is the eating plan to use and take the supplements outlined for the thyroid disadvantage in Chapter 9. You may not lose weight as quickly as someone who does not have a thyroid disadvantage, but you will see results and you can meet your goals.
What is candida and how does it put you in metabolic overdrive? Find out next week!