MY STYLE

You should work with your doctor to treat any thyroid problem.  For  thyroid disorders  stemming from the over- or under-production of thyroid hormones, you want to try to restore the hormone levels to their proper balance. Hyperthyroidism needs treatment that will slow down the making of thyroid hormone, while hypothyroidism needs  hormone replacement . Drugs and surgery are usually effective ways to adjust hormone levels. Other treatments, including  diet supplements , herbal remedies, and special exercises, may relieve some of the discomfort and help the thyroid gland work better. Before she decides which treatment is best for you, your doctor will consider your particular thyroid condition as well as your age, general health, and past medical issues. Blood Tests Your doctor can diagnose  hyperthyroidism  and  hypothyroidism  by testing the levels of  thyroid  hormones in your  blood . The ...

For many thyroid patients, weight control is one of their biggest frustrations. Here at BTF HQ we have received countless emails and calls on the subject and many members mentioned it in the recent BTF Member Feedback survey. This article, written by the  American Thyroid Association  sets out why and how thyroid disorders affect a person’s weight What is the relationship between thyroid and weight? It has been appreciated for a very long time that there is a complex relationship between thyroid disease, body weight and metabolism. Thyroid hormone regulates metabolism in both animals and humans. Metabolism is determined by measuring the amount of oxygen used by the body over a specific amount of time. If the measurement is made at rest, it is known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR). In fact, measurement of the BMR was one of the earliest tests used to assess a patient’s thyroid status. Patients whose thyroid glands were not working were found to have low BMRs, and th...

There are many different kinds of fats, but each is a variation on the same chemical structure. All fats are derivatives of  fatty acids  and  glycerol . Most fats are  glycerides , particularly  triglycerides  ( triesters  of glycerol). One chain of fatty acid is bonded to each of the three -OH groups of the glycerol by the reaction of the carboxyl end of the fatty acid (-COOH) with the alcohol; I.e. three chains per molecule. Water is eliminated and the carbons are linked by an -O- bond through  dehydration synthesis . This process is called  esterification  and fats are therefore  esters . As a simple visual illustration, if the kinks and  angles  of these chains were straightened out, the molecule would have the shape of a capital letter E. The fatty acids would each be a horizontal line; the glycerol "backbone" would be the vertical line that joins the horizontal lines. Fats therefore have "ester"  bonds . The ...