Problems with the thyroid gland are affecting more and more middle aged women in today’s world. It is important to identify the different problems that your thyroid can cause along with how these problems should be treated. Everybody has the basic idea that having an overactive thyroid, i.e. hyperthyroidism results in weight loss whereas on the flips side, having an underactive thyroid, hypothyroidism results in weight being gained. However, the issue has been studied more deeply and doctors have come up with further factors that connect thyroid levels to fluctuating weight.
The thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH is a hormone which induces the thyroid gland to produce its functional enzyme thyroxine which then affects the metabolism of every living organism in your body. Studies have shown that even slight changes in the levels of TSH produced by the body are associated with weight levels changing. This could come about as a result of two things. Firstly, a lower consumption of energy in your body because of lower thyroid activity and secondly, less thyroxine might be produced because the cells have a decreased metabolic rate which is usually a result of weight being gained.
Even though these findings are not conclusive as yet, they still strongly suggest the correlation between THS and weight gain and as a result you need to consider them carefully. This means that if after intense dieting and working out for long period of time, you are unable to lose weight you need to get a complete check up of your thyroid gland and the amount of THS that is being secreted in order to figure out whether it is an imbalance of THS that is preventing you from losing weight despite trying so hard.
If you are suffering from hypothyroidism, that means that your thyroid is failing to secrete enough TSH as a result of which the metabolic rate of your cells is slower and you tend to put on weight. This condition can be treated using an artificial hormone which is known as Synthroid. Also known as Levothyroxine, Synthroid is basically the cure to hypothyroidism. However, if you are using this hormone, it is essential that you do so with your doctor’s consent and prescription and Synthroid cannot work on its own. You need to supplement it with the correct diet and regular exercise for it to be able to help you lose weight.
Weight levels are not the only thing that your thyroid affects, there are a variety of other symptoms of thyroid that you need to be aware of so that you can identify it and get yourself treated before it becomes worse. If you are randomly experiencing increased levels of fatigue, anxiety and stress or if issues like hair loss are popping up even though they were never there before, this shows a clear imbalance in your hormone levels and you need to get yourself checked for thyroid.
