"Could My Thyroid Be The Reason Why I'm Tired And Overwieght?"

It seems like everyone you talk to these days is tired, lacking energy and struggling to lose weight. One of the most common reasons that we see for these problems in our clinic is poor thyroid function. This is a wide-spread and often under-diagnosed problem in Western societies.

"But my thyroid was in the normal range on my blood test" ...I hear you cry.

This is something that we also find very commonly in the clinic. The normal range for thyroid function on a blood test is quite a wide margin, and your levels may be at the bottom of the range, even though your particular metabolism might require them to be at the top of the range for you to function at your best. However, to the test, you are still "normal".

Through the use of kinesiological testing it can be determined whether your thyroid is functioning optimally for your health.
So how do you know if your thyroid may be under-functioning?

These are some of the most common signs and symptoms:

-Tiredness and lack of energy
-Weight gain and difficulty losing weight, despite diet and exercise
-Feeling sluggish, slow and heavy
-Low libido
-Poor circulation/ cold hands and feet
-cracked skin around your heels
-raised cholesterol...it is a little known fact that lack of thyroid hormones actually increases the body's cholesterol production
-sore, tired, slumped shoulders....some of the muscles in the shoulders are related to the thyroid gland in applied kinesiology.

If you have one or more of the above symptoms then it would be worth getting checked out by someone like a chiropractor, kinesiologist or naturopath who is trained to detect and treat thyroid problems.

One of the reasons that this problem is so common in our society is that the function of the thyroid gland is quite susceptible to interference from toxins, something which unfortunately most of us have plenty of. These toxins can be broadly broken up into 3 groups: toxic metals, chemicals and toxins which are produced in the body (primarily in the gut).

You might not think you have many of these in your body, but you would probably be surprised. We absorb aluminium from deodorant and cooking utensils, mercury from fish, vaccines and fillings, nickel from our jewellery, the list goes on and on.
Chemicals we also get from everywhere in our environment- shampoos, soaps and cosmetics, cleaning products, pesticides on food, chemical sprays on carpets and clothing, insect sprays....again, the list is endless.

If the liver is having trouble breaking down and processing these toxins it interferes with the production of our thyroid hormones.
Nutritional deficiency is another common cause of poor thyroid function. There are a number of vital nutrients needed by the thyroid gland to function. The most important of these are usually zinc, selenium and iodine. It is important to consult a practitioner to ensure you are taking the right type and amount of these nutrients for your particular body.

Thyroid function can also be affected by our emotional state. In Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) the thyroid is associated with the emotions of muddled, instability and confusion. Often this is exactly how we feel when our thyroid is not doing its job!

Whatever the cause, most thyroid problems can be easily taken care of once they have been identified. So don't just rely on a blood test in the "normal" range. Get your thyroid checked by someone like an applied kinesiology practitioner and rediscover your energy for life.

Andrew is a chiropractor in Castle Hill Sydney who believes in balancing mind and body to achieve real wellness.

Read his special report on tiredness now.