Feeling Sluggish? It Could Be Your Thyroid

Your thyroid is a small gland in your neck. Its role is to secrete hormones that regulate metabolism, or the rate at which you burn calories to fuel everyday biological functions like staying warm and breathing. A normally functioning thyroid maintains balance in your body. When you thyroid produces too much of these metabolism-controlling hormones, things speed up and you are burning more calories than are necessary, this is called hyperthyroidism. On the flip side is hypothyroidism, wherein the thyroid makes too little of the hormones required to balance metabolism and you begin to burn calories too slowly.

Women over age 50 are more likely to have hypothyroidism than the rest of the population. Coincidentally this corresponds with the age that most women are going through menopause, and the symptoms can be very similar.
Some symptoms of hypothyroidism:
• Fatigue/Sluggishness
• Mood Swings
• Unexplained weight gain
• Muscle aches and weakness
• Depression

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms see your physician, she will likely perform a blood test to determine if you symptoms can be attributed to menopause or hypothyroidism. If you are found to have hypothyroidism your physician will likely give you a prescription for an artificial form of the hormones that you are not making naturally.

Weight Gain
Weight gain is not an inevitable part of aging. Healthful eating and exercise are important at all ages. If diagnosed, hypothyroidism may explain some weight gain, but medication for an underactive thyroid is not a “miracle drug,” and despite what you may read in the media, there are no super foods, or miracle diets that will enhance thyroid function. Healthful eating and exercising vigorously for about an hour most days of the week are necessary for sustained weight loss.

Here are some healthful eating tips
• Ensure that you are eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day- more is even better!
• Choose whole grains over refined. For example, chose whole wheat bread instead of white and bulgur instead of white rice.
• Hydrate- the recommendation for women is to consume about 75 ounces of fluid each day, this doesn’t all have to come from water but it’s cheap and calorie-free.
• Choose lean meats and dairy products- these food categories are great sources of protein but can also provide a lot of saturated fat which can increase your risk of developing heart disease.