Oprah Winfrey has been in the spot light for quite a few years now with her weight problems. There is hardly a person in America who does not know about her struggles with weight. Obviously she is no slacker and has worked really hard to take off the weight, only to see it come back with a vengeance and tip the scales even more than before. Finally, she has a clue as to why she has so much trouble losing her weight. She has a thyroid problem.. Her thyroid gland is diseased and has probably been out of balance for a very long time, if not her entire life. How many other women have experienced this same problem without realizing that they too have either a diseased thyroid gland or at least a sluggish or under active thyroid gland that does not produce enough of this all important hormone?

If your thyroid gland is not working properly, you will find it almost impossible to lose weight and keep it off. Have you ever heard for women who work out in the gyms at least 5 hours a week and still struggle with losing weight? I have heard of them and now I know why. A thyroid imbalance known as hypothyroidism can do severe damage to a woman’s ego, self esteem and body image. Not only that, not enough thyroid hormones circulating in the body can cause all kinds of health problems. You may be reading this article just for information to help you fix your low self esteem, others really need this information to save their health from deteriorating.

If you are embarrassed about the way you look because of excess body fat, it may not be your fault at all. I’m not talking about over eating. You more than likely are watching your diet. I’m talking about not eating the right foods that will feed your thyroid gland naturally and help keep it balanced so that you have a naturally balanced body weight and a good self image. But first of all, you should go to your doctor and be tested for a thyroid balance if you have been dieting and exercising like crazy and still struggling with your weight.

Then, learn all you can about adding the most thyroid nourishing foods to your diet and removing the bad ones. Bad foods meaning certain products containing soy, diet bars, diet sodas and certain vegetables that are bad for the hypothyroid sufferer, vegetables like peas and corn and other bad for thyroid vegetables, like broccoli for example.

Learn how to add in the good foods like coconut oil, certain nuts, whole organic milk products, the best kinds of vegetables for you and many others. Protect yourself image. You can find more information on what the best approach to defending yourself against an imbalanced thyroid in eBooks online. You can find invaluable information from people who have been in your shoes and found a way out.

Many things can and do affect the thyroid’s ability to secrete its hormones. These include toxic chemicals, drug therapies, surgical intervention, autoimmune malfunction and exposure to iodine. When the effect on the thyroid is to produce too much hormone secretion, it results in the condition known as hyperthyroid. Alternatively, when hormone secretion is subnormal, it results in hypothyroidism. People suffering from hypothyroidism far outnumber those with hyperthyroidism. There is quite an array of unpleasant symptoms associated with hypothyroidism including dry skin and hair, brittle nails, sore muscles, feeling cold, constipation, decreased libido, fatigue and, most commonly, weight gain.

Protein intake is an important part of any diet, but more so for those with hypothyroid. Protein requires that the body use more calories to break it down than carbohydrates do. More calories burned means weight loss.

While carbohydrates are an essential in the diet, close attention should be paid to the kinds of carbohydrate eaten. Hypothyroid as been associated with insulin resistance in studies. Insulin is a hormone which unlocks the cell in order for it to take up the energy found in carbohydrates and other foods. If cells become resistant to insulin, this will result in the carbohydrate sugars remaining in the blood stream. The body responds by increasing insulin production which means higher levels of insulin floating around as well. High insulin levels increase the appetite but fewer calories are burned because they can’t get into the cell so fat is stored. You can see how this sets up a vicious cycle for weight gain. It is, therefore, very important to choose low glycemic foods. These are foods which contain carbohydrates which do not rapidly raise blood glucose levels thus triggering high insulin production. Simple sugars and starches found in corn, cakes, pasta, white flour and most confections are just such foods. Look for foods which cause a slower rise in blood glucose such as whole fruits and colorful vegetables. For a more complete list, consult the glycemic index database.

Certain minerals are also essential to thyroid function. Because the thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, are essential in telling each cell how fast to burn calories when we expend energy, their lower amounts result in a decreased metabolism. That is, fewer dietary calories are burned, which, naturally results in weight gain. If there is a lack of adequate dietary iodine, hypothyroid will result because iodine combines with the amino acid tyrosine to produce the thyroid hormones. A simple increase in dietary iodine found in foods such as seafood, iodized salt and certain vegetables grown in iodine rich soil can rectify the deficiency. The recommended daily allowance is 150 mcg for men and women. Zinc and selenium support T3 hormone levels. Recommended daily zinc intake is 15 to 25 mg, and selenium is 400 mcg daily. Foods rich in selenium include barley, lamb and fish while oysters are very rich in zinc.

Happily, hypothyroid is treatable with thyroid hormone replacement. But, becoming comfortable with a diet that supports thyroid function while reducing insulin resistance should be part of the overall plan for keeping the “butterfly” happy and healthy.

Overseeing the functioning of the thyroid gland is the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain. It is ultimately responsible for telling the thyroid how much thyroid hormone to release into the body. When the thyroid hormone levels in the body decrease then the pituitary gland releases Thyroid Stimulating Hormones (TSH) that then signal to the thyroid that it’s time to produce more thyroid hormones. And if there is an excess amount of thyroid hormone in the body then the pituitary gland stops releasing TSH into the blood stream and as a result the thyroid secretes less thyroid hormone into the body.

When the body is functioning properly, there is a balance between TSH and thyroid hormone levels in the body, and our bodies are working at optimal levels. However, too much or too little TSH and thyroid hormones can signal a variety of symptoms, one of which is weight gain.

An over active thyroid, or hyperthyroidism can result in symptoms such as trembling, insomnia, breathlessness, fatigue and more. It is often compared to having had too much coffee. An under active thyroid or hypothyroidism however, has been blamed for such debilitating symptoms as: fatigue, muscle cramps, depression, irritability and weight gain, among others.

Weight gain is perhaps the most common symptom of an under active thyroid. While there are many reasons why your thyroid isn’t producing the levels of hormone that is required by the body, the results are often the same. This hormone which regulates the body’s metabolism is not producing enough hormone and as a result the body’s cells require less energy, therefore more energy is stored as sugar and fat in the body. Even though people with hypothyroidism often consume less calories than other people, the body is functioning so sluggishly that very few of those calories are being burned as fuel.

While weight gain has been clearly identified as a significant symptom of an under active thyroid, this problem is only exacerbated by additional symptoms such as fatigue, muscle cramps and weakness. How is one to increase their activity level if there are other physical reasons preventing them from doing so?

Once your thyroid has been diagnosed as hypothyroidism, your Doctor will likely start you on a thyroid hormone regime and will closely monitor your progress. Dosage will be strictly monitored because too much hormone can be as adverse as too little. Once you begin hormone therapy however, the body will begin to balance out and your metabolism should start to function properly again. As always though, check with your Doctor prior to starting any weight loss program, but weight loss is generally easier once the thyroid levels have been stabilized.