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Having hypothyroidism doesn’t just affect your thyroid, it affects other parts of your body and your life, too. Here’s what you can expect with your new diagnosis.
If you’re confused by the types of hormones that show up on your thyroid labs, use this guide to understand what your results mean for your health.
One of the most common concerns for people with hypothyroidism is maintaining proper body weight. For people with Hashimoto's (the most common cause of hypothyroidism) this comes in 2 varieties. They gain weight and can't lose it or they have trouble keeping it on.
A large hippo returning to the Luangwa River with a full belly!
A comprehensive hypothyroidism symptoms checklist. Learn the most common symptoms and why they occur when thyroid hormone levels are low.
Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, a small gland in the front of your throat. Triggered by the pituitary gland, your
In first world countries, it can sometimes seem like everyone is overweight. According to the American Heart Association, an astonishing 60-75% of the United States population is overweight or obese!1 People swing in and out of challenging diets, and gain and lose weight in cycles. The good news is that by using lifestyle and nutritional tactics that consistently help burn fat, you can make long-lasting healthy weight loss a reality. Also, boosting the function of your thyroid gland helps to keep you lean. This is because the thyroid plays a crucial role in controlling the metabolism of your cells, the rate at which they use energy or the rate at which your cells perform their duties. If you’re looking to lose weight, you should know that the thyroid and weight loss are deeply connected. Hypothyroidism not only slows down your metabolism, making it take longer for you to burn calories, it also can make you gain water weight. 9 Ways to Burn Fat and Boost Your Thyroid 1. Eat Foods in a Traditional Mediterranean Diet A Mediterranean diet, a diet rich in whole plant foods and omega 3 fats from plants and fish, has been evidenced to fight disease in a multitude of scientific studies. Importantly, a review of randomized controlled studies found that a Mediterranean diet consistently helps people lose weight.2Whole plant foods like vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and seeds help to keep blood sugar and insulin within healthy (or lower) ranges because the sugars in these foods are absorbed more slowly than processed carbohydrates. The higher your insulin, the more energy you store and the fatter you tend to get. Interestingly, chronically high insulin causes itself to lose its ability to signal satiety, leaving you feeling hungry all the time (which leads to overeating).3 Nuts consumed in a Mediterranean diet might increase the rate at which you burn energy, and the olive oil, which is traditionally eaten, has been shown to help people lose weight as compared to reduced fat diets.5,6 Exclusive Bonus! Download the FREE report ‘10 Top Foods To Boost Your Thyroid’ by clicking here. 2. Reducing Calories Let’s get this boring one out of the way. Reducing calories does help people lose weight.4 More interestingly, reducing calories can also lower fasting blood glucose and inflammation throughout your body.4, Lower glucose means less insulin that causes you to store calories, and inflammation has been implicated in promoting weight gain and causing insulin resistance. 3. Ashwagandha Ashwagandha has been used for thousands of years in Indian Ayurvedic medicine and can bolster thyroid function. In humans, more thyroid hormone was produced as a result of daily Ashwagandha supplementation. Patients’ levels increased in the range of 7-24%.7, This herb is also indicated to help burn fat and promote muscle growth.8 So take Ashwagandha to be a lean, mean, muscle machine. 4. Guggul Guggul has also been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine for close to 3,000 years. In animal studies, this herb has been shown to promote thyroid function, and there is some evidence that it reduces body weight.9 5. Berberine This is a powerful alkaloid found in some plants. It can be taken as a supplement and is a powerful anti-diabetes herbal compound. A clinical study has shown it to be as effective as metformin, a popular diabetes drug, at lowering numerous parameters of diabetes-like insulin, glucose, and plasma triglycerides.10 Once again, lower insulin and glucose means less fat storage. Berberine also activates an enzyme, AMPK, that increases glucose and fat energy usage in cells.11 AMPK is important for keeping a lean body because it reduces fat storage and lowers insulin resistance. (Note: If you want to discover the top 10 foods that Master Herbologist and Nutritionist Dr. Donna Schwontkowski recommends to boost your thyroid, then you can check out the guide here.) 6. Cayenne Pepper This spice is a great adjunct herb for boosting metabolism and energy expenditure. (This means it burns up fat.).12 Cayenne has been thought of as having thyroid-mimicking stimulatory effects, and it is a great tool for fighting the clinical disease signs that accompany weight gain: diabetes and metabolic resistance.12 7. Ginseng Ginseng has been shown to promote weight loss in humans and might increase thyroid hormones.13,14Ginseng has also been shown to reduce levels of the thyroid hormone-inhibiting factor, “reverse-T3”.14 8. Coconut oil It might seem paradoxical, but coconut oil (which is a densely fat substance) has been shown to reduce abdominal fat in humans.15It's thought that the medium chain triglycerides in coconut oil speed up fat burning in our bodies. And although there is little research at this time that relates coconut oil to the thyroid, many practitioners and hypothyroid sufferers swear by coconut oil’s ability to help vitalize the thyroid. 9. Green Tea Green tea is evidenced to have mild weight loss effects.16 Polyphenols in green tea can inhibit fat absorption in the intestines, and they also activate AMPK, the enzyme that helps you burn fat.17 Change Your Body with Lifestyle and Nutrition These are just a few of the ways that nutrition and lifestyle habits can help burn fat or invigorate thyroid function. There are plenty more. But as you can see, there are realistic and easy ways in which you can fight fat storage and give your thyroid a boost. By eating healthy, using lifestyle and nutritional tricks to burn fat, and invigorating your thyroid, you’ll feel more energetic, slim, and just plain better. Natural Ways To Support Normal Thyroid Function Did you know that you can naturally support your thyroid function with certain foods and herbs without the harsh effects of prescription drugs? It’s true - and we’d love to share them with you! Evan Burns, lead nutritionist and researcher at Nutracraft, shows you exactly what foods and herbs work to naturally maintain normal thyroid balance and function. Click here to download this FREE report now. These foods are easy to get and found at nearly every grocery store -- and they’re delicious!
Team Fiona at Cincinnati Zoo has raised this little hippopotamus girl since she was born prematurely on Jan. 24.
If you are feeling something strange in your body it could be a subtle sign that something is amiss with your thyroid so pay attention.
Hypoglycemia is a common problem that affects many of us. A reactive hypoglycemia diet may be what you need to enhance your quality of life.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about TSH including why it isn't always the best marker of thyroid function in the body and which conditions make the interpretation of TSH
Hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and Hashimoto's; what is the difference, and is your thyroid holding back your weight loss? Lethar...
How I stopped my hair loss from clogging the shower drain. Hey thyroid, You will not take my hair too. From, Hypothyroid Mom
Most often when we discuss thyroid disorders we talk about Hypothyroidism, which is the under-active form. But today we’re discussing the other end of the spectrum, Hyperthyroid or the…
Having hypothyroidism doesn’t just affect your thyroid, it affects other parts of your body and your life, too. Here’s what you can expect with your new diagnosis.
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