Thyroid – Iodine a vital supplement

Boost Your Thyroid Function,
Eliminating Your Most Troubling Symptoms…

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The Thyroid is one of the largest Endocrine Glands in the body and gets its name from the Greek word for “shield”, due to the shape of the related thyroid cartilage.

The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland located in the front of the neck, below the thyroid cartilage (which forms the laryngeal prominence, or “Adam’s apple”).

The gland wraps around the windpipe  (Trachea) and its distinct shape that is similar to two wings (lobes) is attached by a middle part (isthmus).  The isthmus (the bridge between the two lobes of the thyroid) is located inferior to the cricoid cartilage.

Thyroid diagram.These hormones regulate the rate of metabolism and affect the growth and rate of function of many other systems in the body.

 

The hormonal output from the thyroid is regulated by the body’s thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) produced by the anterior pituitary, which itself is regulated by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) produced by the hypothalamus.

The most common problems of the thyroid gland consist of:

The Thyroid Gland controls how quickly the body uses energy, it makes proteins, and it controls how sensitive the body is to other hormones.   It participates in these processes by producing thyroid hormones, the principal ones being triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine which can sometimes be referred to as tetraiodothyronine (T4).

The Thyroid Gland works like a tiny factory that uses Iodine (mostly from the diet in foods such as seafood and salt) to produce Thyroid hormones.  These hormones regulate the rate of metabolism and the functioning of many other systems in the body.  T3 and T4 are synthesized from both iodine and tyrosine.   The thyroid also produces calcitonin, which plays a role in calcium homeostasis.

Feeling tired or depressed is a common enough complaint, particularly among women.  Paying attention to the thyroid is so important.

  • Common Thyroid problems include over-activity (hyperthyroidism) and under-activity (hypothyroidism) of the thyroid gland.
  • Common causes of thyroid disorders are Hashimoto’s disease and Graves’ disease. An enlargement of the thyroid gland is called a ‘goitre’.  Treatment decisions must be made based on the independent judgment of  each patient’s individual circumstances.  The following information is a guideline and is not intended to take the place of physician’s judgment in diagnosing and treatment of particular patients.

Goitre is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. Symptoms of a goitre include enlargement of the throat, ranging from a small lump to a huge mass, swallowing problems and breathing problems. Causes include iodine deficiency and thyroid conditions, such as hyperthyroidism,

Hashimoto’s disease is a common cause of hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid).  Hashimoto's Disease. It is an autoimmune condition.   The Immune system cells attack the thyroid gland, causing inflammation.   This reduces the thyroid’s ability to make hormones.   The condition is also called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis or autoimmune thyroiditis.

Hyperthyroidism   means the thyroid gland is over-active.   The thyroid gland controls important metabolic processes, such as growth and energy expenditure.  It is the overproduction of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, and is most commonly caused by the development of Graves Disease

Graves Disease   an autoimmune disease in which antibodies are produced which stimulate the thyroid toGraves' Disease. secrete excessive quantities of thyroid hormones.  The disease can result in the formation of a toxic  Goiter as a result of thyroid growth in response to a lack of negative feedback  mechanisms. It presents with symptoms such as a thyroid goiter,

  • protruding eyes  (exopthalmos),
  • palpitations,
  • excess sweating,
  • diarrhea
  • weight loss
  • muscle weakness
  • unusual sensitivity to heat.
  • The appetite is often increased.

Hypothyroidism means the thyroid gland is under-active and fails to make enough hormones.

When left untreated, hypothyroidism can raise your cholesterol levels and make you more likely to have a stroke or heart attack.   In severe cases, very low levels of thyroid hormones can trigger a loss of consciousness and life-threatening drop in body temperature. Untreated hyperthyroidism can cause serious heart problems and brittle bones.

There is the underproduction of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, iodine deficiency (more likely in poorer countries) or the removal of the thyroid following surgery to treat severe hyperthyroidism and/or thyroid cancer.

Where the hypothyroidism is caused by iodine insufficiency, the thyroid is unable to produce T3 and T4 and as a result, the thyroid may continue to grow to form a non-toxic goiter.

It is termed non-toxic as it does not produce toxic quantities of thyroid hormones, despite its size.  Typical symptoms are :

  • abnormal weight gain,
  • tiredness,
  • baldness,
  • cold intolerance, and
  • Bradycardia

Bradycardia is (“heart slowness”),   is the resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute, though it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 beats/min.    It may cause cardiac arrest in some patients, because those with bradycardia may not be pumping enough oxygen to their hearts. It sometimes results in fainting, shortness of breath, and if severe enough, death.

Trained athletes or young healthy individuals may also have a slow resting heart rate.  Resting bradycardia is often considered normal if the individual has no other symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, dizziness, light-headedness, fainting, chest discomfort, palpitations  or shortness of breath associated with it.

 

Just how important is iodine?

Consider this… By adding a simple but vital supplement of Iodine to your diet whilst you are pregnant, you can increase the chances of an infant developing normally rather than one that could be severely mentally handicapped for the rest of its life because of Iodine Deficiency.   Cells of the developing brain are a major target for the thyroid hormones T3 and T4.

Thyroid hormones play a particularly crucial role in brain maturation during fetal development.I should remind you that the cellular enzymes which are responsible for making metabolism possible are themselves protein in nature.  So in effect the cell’s metabolism is speeded up.  That is why we see that thyroid hormone values in growing children is higher than adults as a growing body needs more energy thus a higher rate of metabolism per unit mass.

In children thyroid hormone levels have a great effect on growth. Those who are hypothyroid exhibit stunted growth. The fetal thyroid also secretes thyroid hormone and its deficiency shows up as mental retardation in later life. Such a disease is known as cretinism.
Cretinism is a condition of stunted body growth and impaired mental development.  The symptoms, whichFig-2 - Cretinism in children. appear during early infancy, are the gradual development of a characteristic coarse, dry skin, a slightly swollen face and tongue, umbilical hernia, and an open mouth that drools.

The baby is usually listless, slow-moving, constipated, and a slow feeder.  The base of the skull is foreshortened, the face is wide and short, the mandible underdeveloped, and the maxilla overdeveloped.

Every newborn in Australia is given a blood test to check for the presence of particular genetic or metabolic disorders, including phenylketonuria (PKU), hypothyroidism and cystic fibrosis.   The few drops of blood needed for the test are taken by pricking your baby’s heel.

 Thyroid Hormone Level in Mothers Linked With Presentation of Babies During Deliveries

An interesting link also seems to exist between the presentation of a Baby’s body during delivery and the level of  maternal thyroid hormone.  A process by which a baby in the breech position can sometimes be turned from buttocks or foot first to head first is known as ‘External Cephalic Version’ (ECV). 

Recently, a group of scientists studied the maternal thyroid function and the outcomes of ECV outcome. They found that at 36 weeks of gestation, women whose TSH levels were above 2.5mIU/l were at risk for breech presentation. But fetal movements and mobility are prerequisites for spontaneous version in cephalic position.

(TSH is a Thyroid-stimulating hormone (also known as thyrotropin)  Hormonal output from the Thyroid is regulated by TSH is a peptide hormone synthesized and secreted by thyrotrope  cells in the anterior pituitary gland which itself is regulated by  thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)is produced by the  hypothalamus and regulates the endocrine function of the thyroid gland

Iodine is extremely essential in order for the Thyroid to function properly and in preventing hypothyroidism.  

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As we grow older, our thyroid starts slowing down. It just can’t metabolize the iodine it needs as efficiently, and that means the hormone produced (also known as thyroid) goes down as well.  There are 3 other reasons why most of us are iodine deficient:

  • Inadequate dietary intake,
  • Stress
  • Exposure to toxic substances that displace iodine.

 FACTS ;

The thyroid is the largest endocrine gland in the human body.  It plays a vital role in a person’s well being.

Thyroid produces hormones that essentially control the body’s metabolism through the hormones that it produces.  These hormones are in turn controlled by the pituitary gland.Pituitary gland.

When thyroid produces less hormones it is called hypothyroidism. Here the body utilizes energy at a much slower pace.  Common symptoms include weight gain, fatigue, forgetfulness, heavy periods, dry skin, hoarse voice and cold intolerance.  Other symptoms include muscle weakness, sleep disturbances, vision problems and sensitivity to heat.

The two most important thyroid hormones are thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), representing 99.9% and 0.1% of thyroid hormones respectively.  The hormone with the most biological power is actually T3.

Once released from the thyroid gland into the blood, a large amount of T4 is converted to T3 – the active hormone that affects the metabolism of cells throughout our body.    T3 and T4 regulate the metabolic rate and this in turn affects the other systems in the body.   Iodine is a integrated component of these hormones.

The thyroid also produces the hormone calcitonin which plays a role in calcium metabolism.

At the microscopic level, there are three primary features of the thyroid:

The thyroid is composed of spherical follicles that selectively absorb iodine (as iodide ions, I) from the blood for production of thyroid File:Gray42.pnghormones, but also for storage of iodine in thyroglobulin, in fact iodine is necessary for other important iodine-concentrating organs as breast, stomach, salivary glands, thymus etc. (see iodine in biology). Twenty-five percent of all the body’s iodide ions are in the thyroid gland. Inside the follicles, colloid serves as a reservoir of materials for thyroid hormone production and, to a lesser extent, acts as a reservoir for the hormones themselves. Colloid is rich in a protein called thyroglobulin

The follicles are surrounded by a single layer of thyroid epithelial cells, which secrete T3 and T4. When the gland is not secreting T3/T4 (inactive), the epithelial cells range from low columnar to cuboidal cells. When active, the epithelial cells become tall columnar cells.

Scattered among follicular cells and in spaces between the spherical follicles are another type of thyroid cell, parafollicular cells, which secrete calcitonin.

 

Natural Thyroid Support

The metabolism is a very complex set of chemical processes.  The body produces and uses many tens of thousands of chemicals.  Controlling all those metabolic reactions is a very difficult job for the brain and different hormones like thyroxine.

Many people, instead of going straight to a hormone replacement therapy, try ways of boosting and supporting the glands first to see if that can make any kind of difference. There are a number of ways to do this, diet being the largest.

In Western diets, things like refined sugar and soy products are in great abundance.   These foods are known to suppress thyroid function.

SOY has an estrogen-like quality that has been shown to interfere with the delicate balance of hormones in the body, including Thyroxine.

Refined sugar is something that everyone should try and eat less of, not just for thyroid support, but because the Standard Diet contains far too much sugar that has been shown to lead to a host of health conditions.

Foods that are known to boost thyroid function are seaweed and coconut.   Coconut oil was once widely used in the modern world but was demonized heavily once cheaper vegetables oils started becoming mass produced.    But in recent years, coconut oil has begun receiving praise as a cooking oil for its wide range of health benefits, including thyroid support.

Something else that a person should consider are natural thyroid boosting supplements.  The natural ingredients and will help give the thyroid gland the building blocks it needs in order to produce normal levels of hormones.  Always get advice from a Natural Practitioner.

 

Thyroxine — Side Effects

NOTE :  If you have been taking Thyroxine Hormone Replacement  drugs for a long time, the chances of weaning off the drug to try a natural supplement may not be possible and could be detrimental, as the body becomes dependent upon the medication and the Thyroid ceases to function.  It is imperative that your doctor monitors you regularly with blood tests whilst taking the drug.

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects.  Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.Medication in hand.

 

The hormone replacement therapy, thyroxine is generally catered specifically to the needs of each patient, depending on their specific needs.   Thyroxine hormone replacement isn’t like a normal deficiency, where a person just takes a standard 500mg pill everyday.   For that reason, if the thyroxine therapy is doing it’s job correctly, there shouldn’t be little side effects.

If however, the dosage isn’t perfectly suited for the individual, some thyroxine side effects might ensue.  It has been noted however, that in women, many have experienced a very dry vagina, which causes considerable discomfort and is often painful in a relationship.

Since thyroxine is involved in stimulating the metabolic rate, the potential side effects generally have to do with allowing too much thyroxine into the system and experiencing increased metabolic symptoms such as:

  • * stomach cramps
  • * nervousness
  • * irritability
  • * insomnia
  • * excessive sweating
  • * increased appetite
  • * fever
  • * changes in menstrual cycle
  • * sensitivity to heat
  • * Increased Heart Rate and Palpitations
  • * Muscle Cramps and Trembling
  • * Headaches
  • * Insomnia
  • * Sweating
  • * Chest Pain
  • * Rare Allergic Reactions that can Manifest in Skin Conditions

Buyer, Beware of Over-the-Counter Thyroid Supplements:

View the Hyperthyroidism Slideshow Pictures Over-the-counter “thyroid support” supplements commonly used for weight loss and to fight fatigue are mostly ineffective and may pose a health threat, a new study warns.

The supplements contain widely varying amounts of two kinds of thyroid hormones — triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) — apparently derived largely from chopped up animal thyroid glands, according to senior investigator Dr. Victor Bernet, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida.   The amount of thyroid hormone a normal person would have to take to lose weight would be dangerously high and there is no evidence that use of thyroid hormone effectively treats fatigue when used in people without actual hypothyroidism.

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