Why Am I So Tired?: Is your thyroid making you ill? - Литагент HarperCollins USD

Скачать книгу

conversion role, the body’s endocrine glands can be suspected. Underactivity of the adrenal glands and the thyroid gland being particularly implicated.

      When this thyroid-brown fat link was identified, it was assumed that a person with inactive brown fat was also suffering with hypothyroidism and a prescription for thyroxine would solve the problem.

      More recently, however, research has shown that the thyroid may be working normally, but the conversion of T4 to T3 may be inefficient. This has lead to the view that re-balancing normal hormone conversion with the help of an optimum diet, supplement use and exercise, may be the answer, Jeffrey Bland believes that the minerals copper, zinc, iodine and selenium are of particular benefit.2

      The amino acid tyrosine that combines with iodine to make T3 and T4 may also be responsible for increasing brown fat activity. It has been recommended for those individuals who show signs of low brown fat activity. As we know that this protein is so important for thyroid metabolism, it would appear to offer an invaluable dual role in treating obesity, particularly when the obesity is partly caused by underactivity of the thyroid gland.

       Weight, Exercise and the Thyroid

      Experiments involving low calorie diets have yielded significant information on the link between weight loss and the metabolic rate.

      In 1919 F. G. Benedict placed 34 American student volunteers on a diet of 1,500 calories a day. After an average weight loss of 10 per cent (this took 60 days), their metabolic rate had fallen by 18 per cent3. More recently George K. Bray at UCLA put six very overweight women on a 450 calorie diet for 24 days4. Their weight loss averaged seven per cent, but their metabolic output fell by 15 per cent. Such evidence confirms that dieting slows down our metabolic rate. In particular the vital organs are slowed, chiefly by a reduced use of oxygen. It follows that dieting cannot be seen as a healthy option. As the thyroid both regulates and reflects our metabolic rate, it is clear that a mildly underactive thyroid is incompatible with lasting weight reduction.

      Weight loss should not depend on low calorie diets or low carbohydrate diets. Any attempts to lose weight should be directed towards normalizing the thyroid activity, eating a healthy balanced diet and following regular, preferably non-competitive, exercise. I have found that those patients who come to see me with a weight problem very often show low morning temperatures, and when they have in the past lost weight this was usually rapidly regained, sometimes with interest.

      If you are a disillusioned dieter who has for some time yo-yoed from weight loss to weight gain on various diets, it is essential to ask yourself the following two simple questions in order to begin to assess whether you may be hypothyroid:

      1 How much exercise do you do?

      2 Are you cold or tired?

      Now you have asked yourself these two questions you can begin to resolve your weight problem. Part Two shows you how to lose weight effectively without disturbing your metabolism, exercise efficiently, and begin to treat your mild hypothyroidism.

       CHAPTER FOUR ‘Why Do I Feel so Depressed?’

       The Thyroid Gland and Your Emotions

      Those of us who have never experienced the symptoms of clinical depression may liken depressive emotions to unhappiness. However, depression and unhappiness are completely different. This misunderstanding — or underestimation of the crippling effect of depression — can lead to a lack of sympathy with a depression victim. If you are depressed you might be told to ‘take a holiday’ or ‘pull yourself together’. And if your depression persists — as it surely will without treatment — you may even be accused of self-centred sympathy seeking.

      We all know about unhappiness. The causes are many and varied — we may have suffered a broken relationship, be frustrated in our career, or feel our life is unfulfilled — the list is endless. The common theme however, is that we usually know the cause of our unhappiness. Significantly the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines depression as ‘A lowering in quality, vigour or amount: the state of being lowered’. Unhappiness is not mentioned. In fact many depressed patients are not always unhappy.

      Those of you who may be suffering from clinical depression know that breaking the bonds of your depression cannot be achieved through a holiday or good night out with friends. If you suffer from depression nothing and no-one can make you feel better. This type of depression comes from within and cannot be solved by external factors. The medical term is ‘clinical’ or ‘endogenous’ depression. Depression which results from an external factor, such as divorce, bereavement or an known event is called ‘secondary’ or ‘reactive’ depression.

       What Exactly is Depression?

      Depression, like fatigue, is very difficult to define. We can only count on ourselves or loved ones to help us decide if we are indeed clinically depressed. Often the feeling of depression creeps onto us so slowly that we may not even be aware of what we used to feel like.

      The American Psychiatric Association1 lists eight typical symptoms associated with depression. These being:

      1 Inappropriate weight gain or weight loss without obvious cause and with poor appetite.

      2 Hyperactivity or hypoactivity.

      3 Too little or too much sleep.

      4 Reduced interest in normal activities including reduced libido.

      5 Poor concentration.

      6 Low self-esteem and feelings of inadequecy and guilt.

      7 Suicidal tendencies and obsession with death.

      8 Fatigue.

      An individual suffering at least five of these symptoms for a minimum of four weeks could be diagnosed as a depressive. This criteria may seem rather vague and arbitrary, but it must be remembered that depression presents many symptoms that are difficult to categorize or measure.

       Are you depressed?

      A useful guideline for telling if you may be depressed is offered by Dr Ridha Arem in his book The Thyroid Solution2.

      Read through the following 22 questions and answer them as honestly and objectively as you can.

      1 Are you tired all the time?

      2 Have you lost interest or pleasure in activities that you used to enjoy?

      3 Have you lost interest in sex?

      4 Are you in a more or less constant sad mood?

      5 Are you often irritable and become angry over trivial matters?

      6 Do you experience crying spells?

      7 Do you feel slowed down?

      8 Do you have feelings of worthlessness?

      9 Do you often experience a sense of guilt about things?

      10 Has

Скачать книгу