Thyroid Health: What You Can Do To Help Your Body

thyroid-health-primaryThe health of your thyroid and the hormones it makes are both necessary for all of the cells in your body to work normally.

Your thyroid is responsible for breathing, metabolism, heart rate, central and peripheral nervous systems, body weight, muscle strength, menstrual cycles, body temperature, cholesterol levels and more, according to Dr. Bridget Brady, a writer at Endocrineweb.

If you have too much T3 and T4 in your body and have hyperthyroidism, you may experience anxiety, irritability or moodiness, nervousness, sweating or sensitivity to high temperatures, hand trembling (shaking), and hair loss for example.

If your thyroid isn’t making enough T3 and T4 in your body, and you suffer from hypothyroidism, you may have trouble sleeping, feel tired, have difficulty concentrating, have dry skin and hair, depression, sensitivity to cold temperature, frequent, heavy periods, and joint and muscle pain.

With thyroid imbalances, exercise often can worsen or exacerbate the problem.

According to Wellness Alternatives, Whole Body Vibration is a safe and effective means of exercise when your thyroid is off. WBV is one of the gentlest and most efficient ways to exercise because it is both low exertion and low impact. The small muscle contractions that happen when 97% of your muscles are activated on a platform, also mobilize blood and oxygen into the tissues and move toxins out while being gentle on your joints and your organs. Because toxins weaken the thyroid and disrupt hormones, any means of detoxing and moving toxins out of the body can help strengthen the thyroid and support hormonal balance.

Foods for thyroid health:

  • Cooked cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, etc)
  • Brazil nuts (the richest dietary source of selenium, essential in converting thyroxine to its active form, T3)
  • Sea vegetables (seaweed, such as nori, in sushi, but also wild harvested seafood also are rich sources of iodine)
  • Chlorophyll (can be found in health food store, is added to water and has a minty flavor)
  • Maca (a Peruvian root vegetable that is sold as an herb/supplement in health food stores)

Foods that harm the thyroid:

  • Gluten
  • Soy products and soy protein isolate
  • Refined sugars

Click here for more information on how to better maintain the health of your thyroid.

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