How to Know if Your Thyroid Needs to be Checked

It's not difficult to understand how an underactive thyroid—the medical condition known as hypothyroidism—can slow your metabolism and play havoc with weight loss. Among other things, your thyroid gland regulates your body temperature. In fact, sensitivity to cold is one of the first signs that you may have a sluggish thyroid. Like other hormones, thyroid production naturally diminishes slightly with age; in fact, easily 25 percent of adults suffer from low thyroid function. The swings of estrogen production in perimenopause or menopause can also throw thyroid function off.

To ascertain whether you have hypothyroidism, your doctor will do blood tests to evaluate your production of thyroid hormones T4 (also known as thyroxine) and T3 (your body converts T4 to T3), as well as another hormone called TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), which is produced by your pituitary gland. Practitioners do tests on free T3, T4 and TSH levels; however, these clinical tests do not catch all cases. To ascertain whether you might have a sluggish thyroid, first think about whether you are experiencing any of the aforementioned signs, such as sensitivity to cold, as well as weight gain or inability to lose weight, hair loss, fatigue and lethargy, depression, dry skin, chronic constipation, poor nails, poor memory and elevated cholesterol levels. If so, there is that simple way suggested by the nutritionist -the Barnes technique of basal metabolism-to ascertain if you are hypothyroid. It doesn't even require a trip to your doctor.

The way we did it at the Atkins Center was advising patients to simply take thier temperature orally four times a day (before each meal and before you go to bed) for four days. Average your temperature each day, and if it is consistently below 98° F, you are likely to have hypothyroidism. If it is significantly lower, you almost definitely do, and you should bring this information to the attention of your physician. (Be prepared: Not all doctors take basal metabolism as seriously as they should.)

Occasionally, the reason for an underactive thyroid is the deficiency of the amino acid tyrosine and the mineral iodine, both of which help make T3. Zinc and selenium help produce the enzyme that converts T4 to T3. But nutritional deficiency is rarely the cause of hypothyroidism. There are other causes, one of which can be an autoimmune response. The over the counter desicated thyroid may or may not help. I prefer Standard Process Thytrophin brand . I found better results with this than other varieties.

A major reason for hypothyroidism is simply the body's own attempts to preserve the status quo while on a weight-loss program. Dr. Atkins used a therapeutic trial to treat thyroid problems. He started patients with a very low dose of a prescription thyroid hormone replacement and built up gradually and very carefully. In most cases, when the right dose is reached, patients start to feel dramatically better, with a much better overall sense of well-being and increased energy and vitality.

Best of all, they start to lose weight.

The solution is to take thyroid hormone—both T3 and T4, preferably—in a natural form (rather than the synthetic type). Dr A prescribed the synthetic kind of thyroid hormone only in cases of an autoimmune disease, when your own immune system might destroy the natural kind.

Well, that would explain your slow rate of weight loss.