Maintaining Thyroid Health

Do you know the importance of your thyroid gland?  This small, delicate butterfly-shaped endocrine gland in your neck helps regulate your metabolism, heart rate and body temperature. The roles it supports mean it is crucial to have a healthy thyroid to help regulate essential body functions mentioned above.

However, if you don’t stay on top of your thyroid health, you're at risk of depression, fatigue, heart palpitations, weight gain and more. Today, in this post, learn how to stay on top of your thyroid health and uncover everything you need to know about it.

Your thyroid health explained

Maintaining good thyroid health requires looking after several areas, Such as diet, exercise, managing stress and staying on top of your levels. That means going for regular check-ups. At the very basic level, you can do the following to have a healthy thyroid:

1. Stay on top of stress levels.

Stress directly influences your hormone function, and too much stress can cause your thyroid to be overactive or underactive. When you’re stressed, the cortisol hormone is released, which can influence the function of your thyroid. To stop large amounts of cortisol being released, it’s wise to practice deep breathing, meditate, get a good amount of sleep a night, regular exercise and self-care practice.

2. Remove processed foods

Eating a balanced diet high in nutrients (that follows the Eat Well Guide) can support the health of your thyroid. If you have a diet high in fats, it can disrupt its role completely. Whereas eating foods high in iodine, i.e., fish, seaweed, dairy and iodised salts can help support thyroid function and hormone production.

3. Frequent exercise

Taking part in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week can help your thyroid hormone levels. Frequent exercise can boost your metabolism, helping you feel more energised and alert. When you feel more energised, your mood is likely to improve, and you are in a stronger position for your body to fight common symptoms of thyroid disorders such as fatigue and depression.

4. Reduce your exposure to bad toxins

Toxins are everywhere, but without you realising, the environment around you carries bad toxins. Toxins like metals, pollutants, chemicals and more can impair your thyroid function. Whenever possible, try to control your exposure to these bad toxins by wearing masks, using natural cleaning equipment, drinking from filtered water, and more.

5. Go for regular check-ups with the doctor

Another important factor is to be aware of the signs and symptoms of an unhealthy thyroid. Typically, signs and symptoms can vary depending whether your thyroid is overactive or underactive. Here are some to spot:

If you feel you might have any of these, it’s best to book an appointment with your local GP who may refer you for a blood test.

What are the factors that influence thyroid health?

In order to have a healthy thyroid, you need to know the factors that can negatively impact your thyroid health, such as:

• Smoking: Nicotine and chemicals in tobacco can increase the chances of your thyroid growing bigger in size, putting you at risk.

• Stress:  Can increase cortisol levels, having a direct impact on your thyroid gland.

• Genetics: Autoimmune diseases like Graves’ disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis can increase your risk of thyroid issues. 

• Pregnancy: Sometimes when you’re pregnant, there’s a higher demand for thyroid hormones due to the growth of your foetus. The higher demand can increase hormones, putting you more at risk of having an overactive or underactive thyroid.
  

Supplements to support thyroid health