Hormones: What to Know About the Thyroid
Hormones are major contributors to our overall health as human beings, and having proper hormone levels and balances can make a world of difference in how good you feel and how well you function! If you’re getting into learning about your hormones, one of the biggest things that you’ll start hearing about is your thyroid. This part of your body is extremely important, and problems with the thyroid can lead to a whole host of unpleasant symptoms and health problems, but what actually is the thyroid? What does it do, and how do you know if yours is working the way it should? Let’s take a closer look at this organ and learn a little more about what it does for your body!
What is the Thyroid?
The thyroid is a gland that is one of the biggest pit stops in your body’s endocrine system, or the system that controls your hormones. It’s a small but mighty organ that contributes to many essential functions in your body!
What Does the Thyroid Do?
One of the thyroid’s main functions is to regulate your metabolism, or how your body uses energy. The food that you consume powers everything in your body, turning into energy sources that keep your heart beating, your brain working, your hair growing, and so on. Your thyroid makes several of the hormones that help this to happen, namely thyroxine, triiodothyronine, reverse triiodothyronine, and calcitonin. These hormones work together with other hormones and chemicals in your body to control your heart rate, breathing, digestion, body temperature, brain development, mental activity, skin and bone health, and even your fertility.
Where is the Thyroid?
The thyroid is located at the front of your neck, just below your larynx and around your trachea. The gland is about two inches long and roughly shaped like a butterfly. When you go to the doctor, they’ll sometimes push on the front of your throat on either side of your windpipe; when they do this, they’re feeling for your thyroid gland and making sure that it doesn’t have any problems like increased size, tenderness, or lumps and bumps that could indicate a problem.
What Causes Thyroid Problems?
Thyroid disease is a fairly common condition with four main types. You can either have an overactive or underactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism respectively), you can have an enlarged thyroid, referred to as a goiter, or you can have thyroid cancer. There are lots of different subtypes of thyroid disease under these umbrellas, such as Hashimoto’s disease, which is a type of hypothyroidism, or Graves’ disease, a type of hyperthyroidism. The specific type of thyroid disease that a person deals with determines how it presents in their life and how it can be treated.
What are the Signs of Thyroid Problems?
Because there are so many different types of thyroid disease, there are many different signs and symptoms that can indicate one or the other in a person. However, there are some general signs of thyroid problems that are the same between many of these conditions, and you can spot them by looking for issues in the body systems that the thyroid affects. For example, slow or fast heart rate, unexplained weight loss or gain, difficulty tolerating heat or cold, depression and anxiety, and problems with the menstrual cycle can all be indicators of a thyroid problem, especially when they occur together and don’t have other explanations. Your doctor can check for issues with your thyroid by running a blood test called a thyroid panel to see if the hormones that the thyroid produces are all present in normal levels. If you do have a problem with your thyroid, there are many treatments available that can help to get you feeling better again!
Understanding your hormones and how your endocrine system works can help you to be more in tune with your body and your health! If you’re interested in learning more about hormonal health, you can continue reading our blog here for more information.
While not a universal symptom, hot flashes are incredibly common for women to experience during menopause, and any woman who’s ever been through one will tell you that it’s no fun. Hot flashes can be uncomfortable and embarrassing, and you can end up moving through each day dreading the possibility of one occurring.
For many women, summer becomes a particularly stressful time of the year just due to their hot flashes. However, this pesky side effect doesn’t have to keep you from enjoying your favorite outdoor activities from now until fall! There are plenty of ways to minimize and manage your hot flashes to help you stay comfortable and enjoy yourself throughout the day. Here are a few of them.
Choose the Right Clothes
As a hot flash sufferer, you’ve probably been told a million times that choosing light, airy layers is the key to dealing with hot flashes, and that advice is absolutely true. However, you might not know that the type of fabric you’re choosing is just as important as the clothes themselves! During the summer months, it’s especially important to pay attention to the fiber content of your clothes, as some fabrics will wick away sweat and promote air circulation far better than others.
Polyester is the thing you’ll want to avoid above all, as each thread in a piece of polyester fabric is actually plastic, and will keep you hot and sweaty all day. Wool and silk are also fibers to avoid during the summer, as they breathe better but trap and hold heat against your body. Cotton and linen are light, breathable, and sweat-wicking, making them ideal choices for your summer wardrobe! Reach for these fabrics when you’re getting dressed, and don’t be afraid to throw on a loose, long-sleeved shirt over a tank top or a long, flowy skirt or pair of trousers. It may sound counterintuitive, but keeping the sun off your skin can actually help you to stay a little cooler if you’re choosing your fabrics right.
Avoid Triggers
Most women have their own set of triggers that can send them spiraling into a hot flash, and learning what your own triggers are and avoiding them can help you prevent a hot flash from starting in the first place! Warm rooms and spicy foods are common ones, and alcohol or caffeine can also leave you sweating.
If you’re a cigarette smoker or tobacco user, you might also find that these substances can trigger your hot flashes as well. Cutting back or quitting your nicotine habit can be transformative to your health, so ask your doctor for recommendations to help you quit if you can!
Keep Hydrated
Getting your recommended intake of water every day might seem like another obvious piece of advice, but you’d be surprised how many people today are chronically dehydrated, and the serious impacts that dehydration can have on your overall health and wellbeing. If you’re suffering from hot flashes on a regular basis, you need to be drinking even more water than the average person, as sweating saps water out of your system that needs to be replaced!
Grab that big water bottle or travel cup out of the back of your cabinet and sip on it during the day, making sure that you’re refilling it multiple times. You might be shocked at how much better you feel at the end of a week!
Lower Your Stress
It’s a cold truth that stress and anxiety, however unavoidable they may seem in today’s world, can have serious negative effects on your health, and your hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms are one place where you might notice these impacts. Stress and anxiety can often trigger hot flashes, not to mention that they can sap your energy and make it harder for you to deal with hot flashes when they do arise.
Try to look at places in your life where you might be able to reduce your sources of stress, and work on building your resilience and coping skills through practices like journaling, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga. Helping your hot flashes is just one of the ways that you can greatly improve your life by reducing stress!
If methods like these are still not helping you to manage debilitating hot flashes, hormone replacement therapy might be an option that can give you some relief. To learn more about this treatment, contact Renewed Vitality today!
