I was recently alerted to a blog post by Dr. Jeffrey Garber entitled “What You Should Know About Your Thyroid“. While much of the information in this article is already on my website in various places, this article does a great job of compiling it into a concise, easy read that will be very helpful to those new to thyroid issues. Topics covered are: explanation of what the thyroid is and what it does, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Grave’s Disease, thyroid nodules, and diagnosis and screening. It’s worth a quick read.
I came across a short article tonight stating that thyroid cancer rates are increasing. In fact, the number of cases of thyroid cancer have risen 6.5%. Doctors and researchers are not quite sure why, but suspect either better screening is behind the increase in cancer discovery or it’s something else entirely that they haven’t pinpointed yet.
Three possible factors doctors are considering as likely culprits are obesity, radiation exposure, and diets low in fruits and vegetables. Someone who is overweight has a 20% increased risk for thyroid cancer and those that are obese have a 53% increase in risk. Studies also show that people who have more dental x-rays have higher risk for thyroid cancer as well.
Estimates from the National Cancer Institute state that nearly 56,000 cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed this year. Statistics show that women are three times as likely to develop thyroid cancer than men. Women tend to suffer from thyroid problems in general more often than men. Fortunately, thyroid cancer is usually very survivable, with a 5-year survival rate of 97%.
Anyone with thyroid problems knows how difficult it is to cope with a slow metabolism. A slow metabolism is the reason for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (or hypothyroid) weight gain. Boosting that metabolism can be difficult, but not impossible.
I ran across a recent article about getting key hormones in balance to boost your metabolism and lose weight. The article, Mastering Your Metabolism Is Complex But Not Impossible, covers 8 key hormones and what you can do (and eat) to get those hormones in balance. Of course, the article mentions thyroid hormone as the number one hormone to get in balance. The thyroid controls just about every cell in your body, so it’s an important one. The article mentions selenium as being important for thyroid health. Read the article to find out the other hormones you need to get in balance and what your body needs to do just that.
I recently read about a controversy over a Good Housekeeping article regarding hypothyroidism. The article doesn’t seem to take Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and hypothyroidism very seriously. The gist of the article and the opinion of the “experts” the author talked to was that hypothyroidism doesn’t need to be treated when TSH is between 5 and 10. Well, I can say from personal experience, I would be a useless lump if my Hashimoto’s wasn’t treated when my TSH rose over 5. In fact, my last TSH test a week ago showed a level of 3.2 and I’ve been completely exhausted lately and lost in brain fog. I function best when my TSH is around 1.
It’s unfortunate that articles like this are published that misinform the public and those that might be looking for answers to their medical issues. Fortunately, many well-informed doctors are speaking out to set the record straight.
Read more about the Good Housekeeping thyroid article controversy. Read the original article at Good Housekeeping and Mary Shomon’s response.
