The thyroid gland lies just below the Adam’s apple (and yes, women DO have an Adam’s apple) and is shaped somewhat like a butterfly.  It regulates your metabolism which means that all organs in the body depend on its ability to work correctly.

There are two major types of thyroid distress:  Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism.  In the first, the thyroid is not producing enough hormones to keep the metabolism up to speed.  In the second case, there is too much thyroid being produced and the body reacts by increasing the metabolism which creates a whole different set of problems.  It is the first scenario, hypothyroidism, which will be discussed here.

Weight gain is a major problem as the metabolism is so slow that it does not burn calories at a normal rate.  It also causes one to feel sluggish and fatigued. Often, hypothyroidism will cause the skin to become dry and cracked and the hair to be coarse and dull.  Occasionally, hair loss is noted.  Muscle aches and pains, swelling from water retention and an aversion to cold temperatures are also possible.

The first thing one must do when suspecting a thyroid problem is to visit a physician who will perform a head to toe physical to rule out any other medical causes for the weight gain or other problems.  Then a blood test will be ordered to check the TSH levels and other thyroid levels in your body. TSH, or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, is a key factor when determining how the gland is working in your body.  A high TSH level indicates that the thyroid is not working properly and the body is trying to compensate for lack of the proper hormones. Specialists in thyroid and other gland disorders are endocrinologists.

Often a physician will prescribe a synthetic thyroid hormone to regulate the TSH levels in the blood.  If this does not seem to be working, an additional thyroid medication may be required.  As the physician watches your condition on a regular basis, he or she might require that you have an ultrasound, with or without a biopsy.  If a nodule or a goiter is found, the biopsy will be absolutely necessary to rule out cancer or other diseases. The biopsy usually consists of a pathologist inserting three very fine needles into the thyroid to extract cells for review.  This is often done in conjunction with an ultrasound.

One disease that is actually quite common for people with a low functioning thyroid is Hashimotos Thyroiditis.  The symptoms are much the same as those for a low functioning thyroid, but may show signs of spreading cells which could lead to cancer if not monitored regularly.  Hashimoto’s disease comes on gradually and symptoms may be scarce at first.  But some of the more prevalent symptoms are: dry skin, depression,

Sensitivity to cold, muscle aches and pains, fatigue, high cholesterol counts and weight gain.  The weight gain could be as much as twenty pounds and is hard to lose even with the most rigid of dieting plans.

The only way a person can be sure that weight gain is associated with a malfunctioning thyroid gland is to see a physician who specializes in diseases of the glands or an endocrinologist.  He or she can tell you for sure if your thyroid is out of whack and help you to understand what choices you have for treatment.  Treatments range from medication to surgery and should be considered very carefully.

When the thyroid is functioning properly, it absorbs the iodine found in many of the foods we eat and converts it into two kinds of hormones: T3 and T4. These two hormones are released into the bloodstream to control and monitor all the body’s metabolic processes. However, if the thyroid produces too much of these two hormones, a condition known as hyperthyroidism occurs. This means the body’s metabolism speeds up abnormally, which can lead to an increased heartbeat (or even heart palpitations), sweating, overheating, fatigue, swelling of the thyroid gland (goiter), hair loss, insomnia, and weight loss.

Hyperthyroidism usually occurs in people between the age of 20-40, as well as pregnant women or any individual undergoing a great deal of stress. One of the most common manifestations of this disorder is Grave’s disease, in which the pituitary gland — the “master” gland located at the base of the brain which controls all the other glands in the body — mistakenly instructs the thyroid to release too many T3 and T4 hormones. The opposite of this condition is of course hypothyroidism, wherein the thyroid does not produce enough of the hormones required to maintain a proper metabolic rate. Ironically, however, many of the symptoms are the same in both conditions.

Although weight loss may seem to be the obvious correlation of an overactive thyroid, recent studies have shown that despite an increased metabolism, many people suffering from hyperthyroidism have in fact actually gained significant amounts of weight, and continued to gain weight after they were treated. This is most likely due to the increased appetite that results from a faster metabolism, in addition to an inability to burn off the extra calories because of weakness, apathy and depression — three other symptoms associated with this disorder.

Another possible explanation for the weight gain in an individual with hyperthyroidism could be that since the overabundance of T3 and T4 originally prevented the patient’s body from ever regulating itself, the individual can no longer properly monitor his or her caloric intake, even with normalized hormone levels. Making a concerted effort to maintain a proper diet and a strict exercise regimen can help alleviate some of the weight gain experienced by people with hyperthyroidism.

While treatment of hyperthyroidism might involve the use of drugs such as radioactive iodine (or other forms of medication designed to slow down the production of T3 and T4 by the thyroid), or even having part of the thyroid removed surgically, some nutritional experts recommend a diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C and calcium. Certain foods known to inhibit thyroid overproduction include cauliflower, beans, green leafy vegetables and soy. Herbs such as motherwort, turmeric and bugleweed have also been known to stabilize the thyroid gland, but of course one should always check with one’s health care practitioner before attempting to diagnose or especially to treat an ailment of this type of severity.

Thyroid diseases interfere with how your thyroid works.  People can develop goiters which is an enlarged thyroid or they may develop either hyper or hypo thyroids.   Hyper refers to the condition where your thyroid is over active and hypo means that your thyroid is under active.

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:

* Weight loss
* Sensitivity to heat
* Anxiety and irritability
* Panic attacks
* Insomnia
* Fatigue
* More frequent bowel movements
* Sweating
* Goiter (enlargement in your neck)
* Graves’ disease ophthalmology – bulging and drying out of the eyeballs

Symptoms of hypothyroidism, or under active thyroid, include:

* Weight gain
* Fatigue
* Sensitivity to cold
* Clinical depression
* Constipation
* Dry, rough skin and hair
* Irritability
* Memory loss

When your thyroid gland is not working properly, it will either release too much thyroid hormone into your system or too little.  Women should be more concerned about thyroid cancer than men.  However, thyroid cancer is very treatable with iodine and the thyroid gland may be removed to treat it.

Recent findings give great hope for successfully treating thyroid problems holistically.  Natural approaches to treating thyroid conditions involve exercise, diet and certain supplementation.  When you begin to eat the proper foods that actually feed your thyroid gland, your metabolism will be corrected and your weight gain will vanish without effort.  There are several thyroid diets you can read about to find out what type of diet is best so you can control thyroid diet and weight gain.

One other important tip to keep in mind is that the type of oil that you ingest daily is of extreme importance when trying to correct a thyroid disorder that leads to weight gain.  Switching to coconut oil has been helping many people to correct a slow metabolism whereas polyunsaturated oils only make the condition worse.  Many such people say that as soon as they taking Virgin Coconut Oil the fat began to melt and many have lost 20 pounds effortlessly.  It has to be Virgin Coconut oil though.  You can find it in your local health food stores.

Make sure you add all natural pure virgin coconut oil to your daily diet. This is possible the #1 all natural diet tips you can find to control hypothyroidism and weight gain. Coconut oil has metabolism-stimulating properties. It will help sooth and heal your thyroid gland. Anyone who has been diagnosed with an under active thyroid will benefit immediately by adding this all natural food to their daily diet. In fact, more and more people are turning to coconut oil as a weight loss supplement and source of increased energy levels.

Little Known Tip #2: Add Sources of Natural Iodine to Your Diet

Certain natural sources of iodine added to your daily diet will greatly benefit your thyroid gland and help control weight gain. These are all natural foods and herbs like unrefined natural sea salts and kelp. Eggs, butter and most sea-foods are natural sources of iodine too. Bladderwrack is natural seaweed from the ocean and it will benefit your thyroid gland as a source of iodine. You can purchase bladderwrack extracts to help nourish your thyroid gland at a health food store.

Little Known Tip #3: Stop Using Fluoride Toothpaste and Fluorinated Water

Fluoride is thought to interfere with proper thyroid functioning. Use toothpaste that does not contain fluoride. These may be hard to find nowadays but there are some available in natural health food stores if you can not find them at the grocery store. Use a water filter if your tap water contains fluoride. Just removing the fluoride from drinking water will be extremely beneficial and helpful to your thyroid health. A properly functioning thyroid will help control weight gain and even lead to a natural and effortless weight loss.

Little Known Tip #4: Rebounding May be the Best Exercise for Your Thyroid

The act of relieving gravity on your thyroid when you rebound is especially helpful to your thyroid gland. People who suffer from hypothyroidism may find this to possibly be the best exercise for them. Rebounding will stimulate thyroid gland secretion and cause your cells to be more sensitive to thyroid hormones. Once you begin to incorporate rebounding exercise into your daily routine, you will notice you have more energy and experience a natural weight loss as a result of the benefits your thyroid gland is enjoying from the exercise. If you do not have the energy to start this exercise, try adding coconut oil or coconut water to your daily diet as this may help your energy levels. You can find a good rebounder on the internet or at your local athletic supply store.

As with any other diet or exercise changes, consult with your physician before you start anything new. With a doctor’s approval, these 4 little known all natural tips can put you well on your way to control hypothyroidism and weight gain.

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism include weight gain, fatigue, feeling cold when others are comfortable or warm, brittle nails and dry skin, and hair loss. Irregularity of menstrual periods, constipation, depression, and swelling in the lower legs are other symptoms of hypothyroidism. As the thyroid gland works harder to produce more thyroid hormones it enlarges and becomes palpable in the neck. This is called a thyroid goiter. Hypothyroidism is diagnosed with blood tests measuring thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH from the pituitary gland along with thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) released from the thyroid gland. A sonogram of the thyroid will reveal whether the gland is diffusely enlarged or if there are nodules present. A thyroid scan using radioactive iodine will determine if areas of the enlarged gland are “cold” or do not take up the iodine. Cold nodules may indicate a thyroid cancer.

The most common cause of hypothyroidism is thyroiditis or an inflammation of the thyroid gland. Other causes include inadequate production of thyroid stimulating hormone from the pituitary gland, surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland, or drugs that affect thyroid function. Once hypothyroid disease is diagnosed thyroid hormone replacement usually in the form of levothyroxine is begun to reverse the effects of hypothyroidism.

A major symptom of hypothyroidism is weight gain. The mechanism of weight gain in people who are hypothyroid is two fold. As a hormone that controls cellular metabolism in every cell in the body it is easy to see that lack of thyroid hormone will cause a lower cellular metabolism. This leads to both a lower metabolic rate and slower burning of calories and also fatigue. By products of fatigue are lower activity levels resulting in fewer calories burned and increased consumption of glucose rich foods in an effort to increase energy.

Patients often feel that once hypothyroidism is diagnosed and thyroid hormone replacement is begun weight loss will be simple. This is not the usual case. It takes an average of three to four weeks for the thyroid hormone to reach a steady state in the body. As the patient begins to feel better both eating habits and exercise levels need to change in order to lose the excess weight.

Patients who have gained weight may also experience something called metabolic resistance. Even after thyroid levels have been corrected it is difficult for these patients to simply reduce calories and lose weight. Their metabolism needs to be stimulated. The easiest way to stimulate the body’s metabolism is with vigorous exercise consisting of at least thirty minutes a day five days each week of aerobic activity. Patients who have been hypothyroid need to begin slowly under a doctor’s supervision but persistence will pay off with weight reduction.

Other important aspects of reversing weight gain once the hypothyroidism has been diagnosed is to make sure that the thyroid replacement is adequate. Since the TSH level is used to measure the adequacy of thyroid replacement this level should be in the low normal range. The range is 0.5 to 5.5 but most experts suggest thyroid hormone replacement should keep the level between 1.0 and 2.0.

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.

The very first thing you should do is to ask for your medical records.  Do not let the doctor fool you and tell you that they cannot allow you to see them. You are legally entitled to see and have a copy of your medical records.  You can officially request your records in writing if the doctor puts you off in the office.  You may see patterns of health concerns as your go over your own medical records that may help you better communicate with your doctor as to what is going on with you.

Next, begin to keep your own health journal.  Jot down how you are feeling day to day and list any symptoms that are troubling you.  Keep a record of menstrual patterns if you are a woman.  Write down your dietary changes and adjustments and keep a track of your medications as you begin to take what your doctor prescribes for hypothyroidism.  Write down any questions that come to mind as you are keeping your journal so you will have them at your finger tips at your next doctor’s visit.

Learning how to take control if you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism can involve learning all you can about alternative treatments.  Although these may be controversial, you may find it necessary to experiment with some of them if your current medication is not doing the trick.  These alternative treatments usually involve such things as taking certain herbs and supplementation along with your prescribed medicine.

You can also ask your doctor to suggest alternative treatments but don’t be surprised if they sound off on how they don’t work.  The truth is, some alternative treatments do work and some do not.  It is up to you to find the ones that do if you are serious about being an active participant in your health care.  On the other hand, if you do find an alternative medical treatment that your want to try, inform your doctor just in case it may interfere with your prescribed medication.

Now if you have all the symptoms listed like extreme fatigue, unexplained weight gain, dry and brittle nails, dry skin and depression or mood swings and your went to the doctor by he or she could find any thing wrong,  ask for more testing.  Hypothyroidism is an often overlooked health problem.  If you have a copy of your records you can always take them with you so you can point out any patterns to your doctor.  If your doctor refuses to listen and you still feel you have an under active thyroid, go for a second opinion.  Learn how to take control if you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and for any other health problems you have.  After all, it’s your life.

Your thyroid gland is located at the front of the bottom of your neck. It has the responsibility to release the proper amounts of thyroid into the body. When the thyroid levels are too low, the pituitary glad will release the Thyroid Stimulating Hormones, also known as TSH. This in turn begins the production of more thyroid hormones that will be released into the body, the metabolism is normalized and weight gain is controlled.

Gaining weight can be the most common symptom of an under active thyroid. It does not matter why your thyroid isn’t producing enough of the hormone. If it isn’t, weight gain will be the expected result. Thyroid is the hormone that regulates the body’s metabolism and when it is out of balance and a thyroid disorder exists, the body will need less energy to tap into and will store the excess energy as sugar and fat in the body. You may eat fewer calories and still not be able to lose weight when your thyroid is not functioning properly. If you have an under active thyroid, you will be tired all the time, have muscle cramps, suffer depression and irritability as well as the inability to lose weight.

On the other hand, if you have an overactive thyroid, you may lose weight and not be able to gain. You will suffer such symptoms as trembling, insomnia, unable to catch your breath and be really fatigued.

Weigh gain has been identified as a major symptom of an under active thyroid. Weight gain leads to fatigue which leaves the sufferer to be too tired to exercise to burn more calories. If you can not increase your activity, you are too tired to exercise. It all becomes a vicious cycle.

If you are experiencing an unexplained weight gain, go to your doctor and ask to have your thyroid levels checked. If the results come back showing hypothyroidism, you will be given a thyroid hormone regime and your doctor will monitor your progress. Once you heal your thyroid disorder and begin to lose weight, you will have more energy. Your hormone level will be brought back into balance and your metabolism will speed up and weight loss will come naturally.

Hypothyroidism means an under active, reduced or less than normal thyroid functioning. Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland located at the base of your throat. It secretes thyroid hormones. Hypothyroidism means the under-functioning of the thyroid gland in the body.

Thyroxine is the hormone that is normally released in the body. It will show up on your blood test under the title of T4. It is called T4 because it has four iodine molecules. Thyroid hormones have various functions in the body. It is carried in the blood stream to the many cells of the body. It ensures that other organs and tissues in the body are functioning correctly. Thyroixine aids the heart, brain, body and muscles of the body. When it is out of balance because of a thyroid disorder, the body has a tendency to gain weight and keep it on even when the victim of hypothyroidism is dieting. The body just will not function properly and energy levels will plummet. The body will be unable to process carbs and calories properly. If you are gaining weight and feeling tired the entire time, go see your doctor as soon as possible and explain all of your symptoms. A blood test will be needed to confirm that you are suffering from hypothyroidism.

Once confirmed as an under active thyroid condition, the proper medication can be prescribed and excess weight will melt off. You may also try a thyroid diet that will help you balance your thyroid levels with out the need for prescribed medication. A few of the proper foods eaten every day can make a world of difference. There is no need to suffer needlessly. Hypothyroidism and weight gain is a tough condition but it can be controlled naturally or with medication.