Thyroid Disorders
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WHO IS AT RISK OF THYROID DISORDER?
1. Are you feeling tired all the time? Do you sleep 10 hours straight and even then need a nap? Bingeing double fudge brownies and chocolate but still loosing kilos without any reason? Or sticking to salad and soup and still putting on pounds? Are you feeling listless and low? If that is you, your body’s most important organ thyroid gland could be playing up! It is hard to believe that thyroid disease affects millions when most people don’t even know where their thyroid gland is or what it does!
2. Women are more susceptical to a thyroid malfunction than men due to the interplay of the female sex hormones. About one in eight women are likely to develop thyroid disorder in their lifetime.Women are especially likely to develop a sluggish thyroid after middle age. The disease is more common in women who are overworked and who do not get sufficient rest and relaxation. The period in older women’s life, when she is more likely to be affected by the disease, is at menopause and thereafter, or when there is extra physical strain on the body.
3. Unfortunately most people remain unaware that they have a problem as the symptoms often are subtle, develop slowly and often overlap with other diseases. In case of women, if their periods are irregular and you have trouble conceiving, a thyroid disorders have also been linked to mood disorders and decreased sexual desire. Also thyroid disorders may cause abnormally early or late onset of puberty and menstruation.
WHAT IS THYROID GLAND??
4. The butterfly shaped thyroid gland is located at the base of the neck on both sides of the windpipe and below your Adam’s apple. It weights less than an ounce, but has a big and important role to play in maintaining the body’s health. It produces thyroid hormones called thyroxine (T4) and triadothyronine (T3) whose main function is to regulate the resting metabolism of your cells-that is the chemical changes in your cells that cause them to live, grow and die. There are four tiny parathyroid glands within the thyroid gland, which regulate calcium in your blood and bones. Thus the thyroid hormones ‘activate’ every process in the body literally waking us up and keeping us awake. Thyroid gland also regulates the energy production and oxygen uptake and sends out hormones to all your major organs – an important job for your complete health. That also means when things go wrong with your
