What is the Thyroid Gland?
The thyroid gland is undeniably the biggest organ in the endocrine system. Located in the inner part of the throat, the thyroid gland produces the thyroid hormones mainly responsible for metabolism. The gland’s role in your metabolism is to simply break down food molecules and regulate it to produce fuel for your body. In other words, it’s responsible for giving you the energy to sustain.
The thyroid gland produces T3 and T4 hormones which manage the metabolism rate of the body. These hormones, secreted with iodine, are released through the bloodstreams to every part of the body possible. Every cell of the body receives the thyroid hormone, too much or too little of it may result is varied thyroid disorders.
Hypothyroidism, or thyroid hormone deficiency and Hyperthyroidism, or excess of the thyroid gland are some of the most common thyroid disorders. While the works of the thyroid gland are not in our hands, we can always rely on external sources to regulate the working of the gland in a better way so as to avoid these problems.
One sure shot solution is investing in Ayurvedic treatments for the same. Ayurvedic medicine for thyroid at Nirogam is one of the best options to look into further. Considered very safe and trustable, these treatments work upon the functioning of the gland and cure not only thyroid-related issues but more, directly or indirectly affected by the thyroid gland.
How Does The Thyroid Gland Affect Metabolism?
The thyroid gland is known to regulate metabolism in the body while also affecting the growth and development of the body as a whole. The hormones namely T3, T4 is excessively produced through the thyroid glands and it affects metabolism. The gland’s effects on our metabolism work two ways:
Hypothyroidism often goes hand in hand with hypometabolism where our body receives less energy due to the thyroid gland producing insufficient amounts of the thyroid hormones. This results in weight gain, high cholesterol levels and changes in the lipid profile of the body. Less production of the hormone deaccelerates the metabolism rate often leading to minimal to excess weight gain depending upon an individual’s body.
Some very common symptoms of Hypothyroidism are:
- Weight gain
- Obesity
- High cholesterol levels
- Fatigue and Weakness
- Vision-related issues
- Swelling in various parts of the body
- Changes in voice
- Pains and cramps
These symptoms are not only permanent, but they may even escalate to higher diseases such as impairment and more.
Hyperthyroidism, which often goes hand in hand with hypermetabolism is just the opposite of what hypothyroidism is. The thyroid gland produces an excess of the thyroid hormone, often more than what the body needs leading to weight gain, low cholesterol and more production of energy. Hyperthyroidism accelerates the metabolism rate and hence leads to the body working at a faster pace than designed to, often leading to weight loss.
Some of the Symptoms Pertaining to Hyperthyroidism are:
- Random weight loss
- Irregular heartbeat
- Insomnia
- Increased sensitivity
- Changes in the menstrual cycle
- Breathlessness
- Anxiety and frustration
While the functioning of the thyroid gland is such that it regulates the number of hormones secreted to control the metabolism rate, some external factors play a role in the secretion of the hormones often leading to thyroid-related disorders. These external factors include lifestyle, eating habits, consumption habits among more.
What Does The Thyroid Gland Do To Our Weight?
There’s a complicated triangle between the thyroid gland, its effects on metabolism and simultaneous effects on body weight. Weight gain is the most common effect of the thyroid gland on the human body, previously described as Hypothyroidism. It may cause unintentional weight gain and makes it harder to keep the weight in check even through diets and exercises.
An insufficiency of the thyroid hormone is often because of limited oxygen intake hence making it harder to produce more and secrete more, which further leads to a big chunk of the cells not receiving energy to keep the body going or if it does receive the hormone, it is too less to regulate the functioning at a pace that keeps up with the body and its daily changes.
Hence Hypothyroidism comes into the scene. It’s effects on the metabolism rate also affects the weight of the individual, often increasing ranging from a few extra kilos to even obesity depending on the intensity of the hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism plays its own role in affecting weight where the individual notices irregular and unintentional weight loss despite no major factors leading to it.
How Does One Cure Thyroid-Related Disorders?
Hypothyroidism is often reversed using hyperthyroidism. Regulating more of the thyroid hormone in the body through external ways is one way to reduce the impact of the weight gain due to hypothyroidism. While this does work, if the extra thyroid hormone is stopped, it may undo all the changes and complicate the body even more.
The best way to cure thyroid-related issues is to either surgically get the gland removed or resort to medicines and treatments to facilitate the production of the hormone so that it does not have adverse effects on the body, metabolism, and weight.
As mentioned before, ways to cure thyroid-related issues include Ayurvedic medicines and treatments, often considered trustworthy and harmless by people. These ayurvedic procedures range from medicinal pills to changes in eating habits, increase, and reduction of certain foods and the use of products like oils to regulate the thyroid. Yoga has been listed as one effective way to get the thyroid gland under control.
Such ayurvedic treatments are often long-term ones, lasting years with equally effective results through medicines, yoga, diet and more. Getting your thyroid checked is the initial step to caring for your body. Always make it a point to consider symptoms like a red mark for something more and consult a doctor’s time and again. Do keep a check on what you eat and how it affects your body because you may not even realize when you may develop a thyroid-related issue.