The thyroid gland may be small in size but improper functioning can have a major affect on the overall health of an individual
The thyroid synthesizes, stores and secretes two main thyroid hormones - thyroxine, commonly called T4 and triodothyroxine, commonly called T3.
Your thyroid secretes a mixture of T4 and T3 in the ratio 90:10. Both of them regulate your body's metabolism and certain other important biological functions. An overactive thyroid, which secretes too much hormone, is known as hyperthyroid. Hypothyroid is the opposite condition where there is an inadequate secretion of these hormones.
The symptoms of hypothyroid are general in nature but these can have a long lasting effect on your health. Most common symptoms are fatigue, depression, lack of concentration, difficulty in losing weight, weight gain, sensitiveness to cold and hot, hair loss, constipation, scanty or lack of menstrual periods, infertility, coarse skin, reactive hypoglycemia, yellow palms, puffiness around the eyes or the ankles (fluid retention), increased levels of serum cholesterol and hair loss (especially on the eyebrows).
Conventional thyroid treatment treats all cases of hypothyroidism in the same manner by seeking to replace the natural hormone by synthetic hormones while determining the dosage required by trial and error. A certain method of natural thyroid medication was tried in which a tissue from pigs was used to produce natural hormone for replacement. This was considered better than synthetic hormones since it had fewer side effects. However, the one concern with that remained with this method was the fact that it interfered with the natural functioning of the body to some extent.
Other alternative thyroid treatments like homeopathy, seek to ascertain the root cause of the disease.
Homeopathy is based on the principal that a collection of symptoms produced by a particular remedy in a healthy person will cure a similar set of symptoms in a sick individual. Moreover, homeopathy treats an individual holistically. A homeopathic physician will advise thyroid medications based on each individual's symptoms and strive to augment the natural healing process of the body.
It has been found that homeopathic remedies stimulate body organs allowing the body to heal itself. With regard to hypothyroidism, this would mean that homeopathic remedies reactivate hormone secretions and a grouping of remedies effectively recharges and renovates the thyroid tissue by acting on the pituitary and other glands.
Homeopathy, as against a "ten minute visit - prescription", requires much more time and effort since it requires the physician to study the patients' history while taking into consideration their living styles, diet preferences, and even mannerisms.
One reason why homeopathy is not very prevalent is that once your body is recovered, you do not need to continue medication, a fact that does not go well with drug manufacturers. Moreover, it is nearly impossible to get funding for research, as you cannot get a patent on these remedies.
A homeopathic physician does not over-depend on remedies and may ask you to use some simple procedures to help in your recovery. Some of these may be
* A gentle tapping of the thyroid gland ten times, thrice a day.
* Soaking feet in water with sea salt
* Rubbing feet with a mixture of castor oil and kelp tincture, wrapping in plastic and leaving it overnight
The main aim of homeopathy and alternative thyroid treatments is to impress that the body is capable of healing itself and to avoid synthetic products that produce more harm than the disease itself.
A wonderful product is available at Native Remedies for hypothroidism called ThyroSoothe. It is formulated for the overactive thyroid. Other appropriate herbal products are available for Underactive Thyroid as well at Native Remedies Herbal Homeopathic site.
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDY - HYPOTHYROIDISM - THYROID GLAND
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How to take medicine for thyroid
Some believe that the manner in which the medication is ingested can actually change the overall effect of the drug. Following the recommended method can surprisingly increase the overall benefits that can be derived from the thyroid treatment that has been opted for.
The reason why the manner of administration is so important lies in the nature of the drug.
Most thyroid medicines contain levothyroxine (available in the market under brand names like Synthroid, Levothroid, Unithroid, Eltroxin, Levoxyl). This is a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone T4. The T4 hormone needs to be first converted to the active form of thyroid hormone, T3 for it to be effective. This conversion process takes a long time and therefore diet, precautions, time and manner become extremely important.
Conventional drugs (Cytomel, Thyrolar) or natural thyroid medication that contain the active T3 hormone do not require more than a couple of hours to get absorbed in the body. And therefore the various precautions that need to be taken along with these drugs are limited. The small random studies and surveys that have been conducted on determining the best method of administration have focused more on levothyroxine.
Any thyroid treatment, including alternative thyroid treatments therefore focuses on drugs and supplements that can ensure faster absorption of the hormone into the body.
The various opinions that exist among practitioners are in the context of
* The best time to take the medicine.
* Whether the medicine needs to be taken on an empty stomach or after meals?
* The key foods that need to be avoided while the medicine is getting absorbed?
* The other precautions that need to be taken while on thyroid medication?
The general advice the physicians give to ensure quick absorption is to avoid certain things at all times. These need to be avoided totally for at least two to four hours after taking the thyroid pill.
* Calcium and iron supplements
* High fiber diet
* Antacids
* Antidepressants
Some physicians advocate that taking the thyroid medication in the morning and avoiding meals for at least 30 minutes before and after gives best results. On the other hand some other verifiable studies have indic
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