“Why am I always tired?” Your thyroid may hold the answer
A. - Fatigue is a common complaint in a physician’s office. Many people are feeling run down and tired. They don’t wake up rested and have a lack of energy in completing daily tasks of life. Naturopathic medicine aims to find the cause of fatigue. Although there are many reasons for fatigue ranging from insomnia to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, under active thyroid function – or hypothyroidism - is often a part of the problem.
The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland located in the front part of the neck, just below the larynx – or “adam’s apple”. When stimulated by signals from the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary – which are parts of the brain – the thyroid gland releases the hormones T3 and T4 into the blood. The T3 hormone is the active form of the hormone that actually affects tissue, while the T4 hormone is mostly inactive and is converted to T3 in the liver and kidneys. The thyroid hormones have many important functions in the body including regulating the body’s metabolism. When your metabolism is decreased, your whole body will feel it! Not only will you feel constantly tired, you may also experience symptoms such as weight gain, water retention, constipation, cold feet and dry skin.
One of the possible causes of hypothyroidism is an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s disease. MORE INFORMATION….
