So may of us out there have issues with our thyroid, yet we don’t know it. Even when we do know it though, there’s not a lot that we do, other than medicate, to fix it.
Our thyroids are such an integral part of making our body function, yet one of the most overlooked when you have symptoms that clearly indicate an issue:
Inability to loose weight
Fatigue
Sluggishness
Mood disturbances
Rapid weight loss
If this sounds like you, then maybe your thyroid is to blame!
Here are some simple, yet effective steps for figuring out if your thyroid is functioning properly and what do to about it when everything goes wrong!
Step 1. Get your Thyroid Checked
There’s no point assuming things, so just go and get a test and see where you’re at. Make an appointment to see your local GP and explain how you’ve been feeling and suggest he checks your thyroid. Here’s a tip though, just because your blood test comes make ‘normal’, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of the woods. The norms that the labs use to test your blood are an average of people that get blood tests – have you ever had a blood test when you were perfectly healthy? No. So the norms they use are based off sick people, which means that if you want to just survive and exist then be happy with this result, however, if you want to function at a high level and live and long and happy life, then don’t just settle for ‘normal’.
Step 2. Get rid of the Cause
Imagine stepping on a nail every single time you took a step – ouch! That’s what’s happening to your thyroid if you don’t remove the stressor.
Diet is the first place to start – here is what you should eliminate:
Gluten
Soy
Wheat
Yeast
Dairy
Start by eliminating one at a time, starting from the top, and monitor how you feel.
While you’re doing this, add in some foods to help get your thyroid going again:
Seaweed
Sardines
Salmon
Broccoli
Spinach
Brussels sprouts
Scallops
Brazil nuts
Stress is another cause of thyroid disorders, so make sure you either eliminate or control the stress in your life. Try some meditation or yoga; find an activity that you find relaxing and do it!
Toxins can have a huge effect on your thyroid, even if you don’t feel toxic! You need to have a look at the cleaning products you use, deodorants, perfumes, and anything else you expose yourself to. These products ramp up your level of toxicity and wreak havoc on the body.
Check out www.ewg.org to see if your products are harming you and swap them for cleaner products.
Step 3. Get Hot and Sweaty
Getting hot and sweaty has never been so attractive than it is now! You want to be training 3-4 days per week, and you want it to be hard where you are sweating, a lot. Exercise helps your body respond better to thyroid hormones in the body which will help you in the long run to get your thyroid back on track. If you can afford a sauna treatment, then you’re one step ahead of everyone else. Saunas heat the body in a way where we can remove toxins from the body – when you’re done though, make sure you thoroughly wash your skin otherwise all the toxins you’ve just excreted will be reabsorbed back into the body.
Step 4. Think about taking some Supplements
You can never out-supplement a bad diet, hence why this is that last step. There’s no point adding in supplements when you’re eating and drinking items that are harming you – that’s when supplements become a waste of money.
If you have cleaned up your diet, then this section is for you.
Here are some basic supplement recommendations for fixing your thyroid:
Multivitamin
Iodine
Zinc
Selenium
Fish oil
Vitamin D
Obviously everyone is different, so use this is a general guide and a place to start!