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a24 health
Thursday 9 May 2019

Throat’s Door

tor could send you to check your thyroid func- tioning thyroids. The first solution is to put our pa-
tion through a blood test. Unfortunately, the test tients on their metabolic or blood type food list.
results may not be accurate. This is because Because of today’s diet, people will likely never
test “averages” do not show how all of us are experience outstanding thyroid health, unless
unique. Your individual thyroid hormone levels they are encouraged to change their eating
are not like anyone else’s. habits.

Thyroid tests will not give you an accurate in- Your thyroid can be nourished better with a diet
dication of your ideal thyroid hormone level, that includes the good fats (olive oil, pumpkin-
because they are missing a critical piece of seed oil, real, unsalted butter, cod liver oil, and
information which is your peak thyroid level egg yolks) and mineral-rich foods (dark green
when you were young and healthy. Should your leafy vegetables, sea salt and ocean veggies).
thyroid test results indicate that you are in the Supplements that help in building a strong thy-
“normal” range...say 5.5...but when you were roid are kelp and selenium.
By: Dr Carlos Viana younger you would have tested at a 9, then in-
deed, your thyroid is quite under active for you. Most thyroid patients are women and many
At 5.5 you may feel very tired yet your doctor with low progesterone are often misdiagnosed
The word thyroid comes from the Greek “thura” will tell you that your test results are “normal.” as thyroid deficiency. Thyroid and sex hor-
which means “door,” which is what the thyroid You can only truly compare you with you, and mones each affect the other. We often attend
looks like. Your thyroid gland is the largest en- not a range of others. It would be ideal if we women with bulging eyes, racing heartbeat,
docrine gland and is situated in the front of the were tested when we were in our late teens and a swollen neck by naturally stimulating their
neck. Your thyroid gland secretes iodine- rich and twenties and our peak levels were record- progesterone production. Adding zinc to your
hormones thyroxin and triiodothyronine which ed at the topmost physical time in our life. Then, daily supplement routine is important for sexual
regulate your metabolism rate; but its effects as we age, we could test ourselves again to en- health.
are felt all over the body. sure that our hormone levels remain at this peak
level. Irregular periods, often leading to needless hys-
Thyroid glands that are not functioning optimal- terectomies, are unfortunate common aspects
ly produce a myriad of symptoms. Many peo- The second reason that the tests are often in- of hypothyroidism; and breast disease. Too little
ple experience unexplained cold hands and accurate is because they only show what your thyroid production may cause increased pro-
feet, low body temperature, sensitivity to cold, thyroid hormone levels are on the day of test- lactin levels and persistent estrogen stimulation.
a feeling of always being chilled, headaches, ing. Your thyroid is a “tricky” organ to both diag- Prolactin is the hormone that stimulates the pro-
insomnia, dry skin and hair, puffy eyes, hair loss, nose and treat since its hormone levels fluctu- duction of breast milk. Levels rise normally dur-
brittle nails, joint aches, constipation, mental ate all the time. What you eat each day has a ing pregnancy and breastfeeding. Abnormal
dullness, fatigue, frequent infections, PMS symp- tremendous and immediate impact on it, and changes in prolactin production can slow or
toms, hoarse voice, ringing in the ears, dizziness, how much hormone it secretes. stop your menstruation and you may find that
depression, fluid retention, anxiety and panic you are producing milk from your breasts when
attacks, allergies, asthma, acne, skin hives, loss A third reason for their inaccuracy is that the you are not pregnant.
of libido, and weight gain, which is sometimes tests do not indicate if your thyroid hormone is Get The Point! Your thyroid may not be working
uncontrollable. In fact, an insufficiently nour- actually entering your cells. Your thyroid may at its optimum if you are experiencing some of
ished thyroid might be a major cause of weight be manufacturing plenty of hormone but your the symptoms mentioned above. If the guard-
problems, especially among women, in the cells can become resistant to the hormone and ian in your throat isn’t handling the job any-
West today. not able to utilize it. This condition is called Wil- more, maybe it’s time for a change of guard.
son’s Syndrome. If you have low body temper- Take control of your health by opening the door
Research indicates that up to 10 percent of ature and some of the symptoms listed above to diet and lifestyle changes. Don’t settle for
Westerners have a thyroid problem that has you could have this condition. “averages.” We are all different; we offer spe-
most likely gone unrecognized. If you are expe- cialized hormone and other testing. Let us pre-
riencing any of the symptoms above your doc- In our clinic we see a lot of hypo or low func- pare a personal plan to fortify your health.q