Thyroid Supplements

 The thyroid gland, which sits in the throat just below the voice box, controls metabolism, which contributes to the body’s ability to turn food into fuel or fat.  This relatively small gland does an amazingly large job in helping the body take the food you give it and turn it into energy or make the opposite trip and turn into fat.  When the metabolism slows down, so does our ability to turn food into energy.  

Some natural slowing of the metabolism is normal with age; hence the middle age pooch so many people start sporting in their forties and fifties.  If you don’t increase your exercise level as you age, you will start to see the effects of this slowed metabolism showing up on the scale and in the waistband of your favorite clothes.  

But, when the thyroid isn’t functioning the way that it should, a change in diet and exercise won’t have the desired or predicted effect.  Weight creeps up, even in the face of a good diet and exercise plan, and it won’t budge.  Some people gain weight steadily thanks to an underactive thyroid gland.  

What does the thyroid do?

The thyroid gland, like other glands in the body, produces hormones.  In this case, the thyroid is solely responsible for the absorption of iodine and its conversion into important hormones that control the metabolism.  We hear a lot about metabolism, but might not be sure exactly what it is. Most of us only know whether ours is “fast” or “slow” which essentially tells us if we can eat candy bars without getting fat or not.  

Metabolism really refers to the body’s ability to take nutrients from foods and convert them into the energy we need to live.  When the metabolism is slowed, from age or an underactive thyroid gland, we get less and less energy from the foods we eat and more of these foods are converted to sugars and fat in the body.  Thus, the weight gain begins.  When the necessary hormones from the thyroid glands are lacking, a person can eat healthy foods in reasonable portions and still not lose weight.  In fact, they may even gain weight while dieting when they are dealing with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).

Hypothyroidism diagnosis

Being diagnosed with an underactive thyroid gland can be difficult at best, as many overweight patients understand.  The blood test that looks for T3 and T4, the thyroid hormones, in the blood can have a range of normal and abnormal.  A patient can still be suffering from underactive thyroid when their numbers might tell otherwise.  

When a patient presents to a doctor with a weight problem, their first assignment is usually to change their eating habits and add exercise to their daily routine.  This is good advice, but won’t be enough to remedy a thyroid problem.

Thyroid supplements as an aid to weight loss

People with persistent weight gain or the inability to shed weight in the presence of a good eating and exercise regimen should consider adding thyroid supplements to their arsenal.  When weight doesn’t budge, it can be a symptom of underactive thyroid and a natural supplement will support the body’s inherent ability to regulate the absorption of food for energy.  

Other symptoms of an underactive thyroid, which often plague people who find themselves struggling with weight are low energy, low sex drive, hair loss and depression.  These conditions can all have their root in a poorly functioning thyroid gland.  

A good quality, natural thyroid supplement will have a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral base, plus add in herbs that support thyroid health.  These include:

• Licorice

• Shilajeet

• Makandi (Coleus Forskohlii)

• Kanchanara

• Green Oats (Avena sativa)

• Bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus)

All of these work in conjunction with the body to restore order to the thyroid gland and increase the amount of hormones it produces.  

Of course, thyroid supplements alone don’t guarantee weight loss.  You can also increase your metabolism by choosing healthy foods that require the body to work a little harder to convert them to energy.  These include vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean meats and fish.  Exercise also boosts your metabolism, especially exercise that builds muscle.  Lean muscle mass is more efficient than body fat.  

Thyroid supplements can be a great addition to any weight loss plan.