Weight Loss

Hyperthyroidism or active thyroid – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland at the base of your neck and below Adam’s Apple and close to the collar bones. The wings are connected in the middle and spread on each side of wind pipe. Thyroid gland controls the rate at which every cell, tissue and organ in the body functions from your muscles, bones and skin to your digestive tract, brain, heart and more.

Thyroid secretes hormones T3 which is called thyroxine and T4 which is called triidothyronine. They control how fast and efficiently cells convert nutrients into energy. Thyroid gland is controlled by pituitary gland and it produces a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and it pushes the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones in balancing quantities.

Hyperthyroidism or active thyroid is the result from excess production of thyroid hormones particularly T3. The increased level of T3 pushes up the body’s metabolism which is the main reason for losing weight despite eating well.

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism
- Anxiety
- Fast heart rate
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Muscle weakness
- Weight loss
- Hair loss
- Trembling hands
- Moist warm skin
- Heart intolerance
- Frequency of bowel movements increase
- Less or decreases menstrual flow
- Painful enlarged thyroid gland

Causes of Hyperthyroidism
- Hyperactive thyroid nodules
- Graves disease affecting people between age 30 and 50.
- Thyroiditis which is the inflammation of thyroid gland releasing excessive hormones and it is caused by virus.
- Over stimulated pituitary gland which produces too much TSH.
- Excessive iodine in the form of iodised salt, sea food, dairy products.
- Thyrotoxicosis is taking too much thyroid hormone while treating for hyperthyroidism.

Treatment for Hyperthyroidism
- Anti thyroid drugs interfere with gland’s ability to make T3 and T4 but they are accompanied by side effects like rash, itching, fever and very rarely liver inflammation and deficiency of white blood cells.
- Beta blockers to prevent symptoms of palpitations and tremors.
- Radioactive iodine treatment is done to damage and kill thyroid cells. The only side effect is the destruction of thyroid tissues.
- Surgery of land or nodules.

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What are different benefits and types of oats?

Oats are super food because of the vast array of essential nutrients that are not only needed by the body but also boost overall health. The cereals that contain oats are supposed to have the property of lowering the cholesterol level. Recent study has found that:

- Oats have compounds that also reduces inflammation inside the artery walls.
- These compounds are called avenanthramides and they contain anti-inflammatory properties and they help in reducing inflammation.
- These compounds inhibits the action of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
- Cytokines are small proteins that are released by cells to repair tissues.
- Few cytokines triggers inflammation which can also lead to atherosclerosis in response to an infection.
- Oats and other cereal grains helps in a gradual rise in the level of sugar in the blood as they are digested slowly. Less insulin is needed to control blood sugar after eating plain, unadorned cereal grains than after eating some other high-carbohydrate food.
- Oats are rich in soluble fibre and it helps in reducing hypertension, or high blood pressure.
- The high content of fibre in oats keeps the bowel movements regular.
- Oats contain iron which helps to boost the immunity of the human body.
- Oats are a good source of magnesium, selenium, manganese and phosphorous.
- Oats are also a good source of vitamin B1 and dietary fiber.

Consumption of oats is an optimal way of lowering health risks. The three instants of oatmeal – regular, quick or instant have same amount of beta-glucan, a kind of fibre, which gives oats their cholesterol claim to fame.

TYPES OF OATMEAL
- Plain oatmeal groats i.e. whole kernels take a very long time to cook.
- Steel cut oats groats are cut into 2 or 3 chunks and they cook a little quicker as the piece is smaller and water gets penetrated more easily.
- Rolled oats are first steamed, then rolled and dried. Since they are already steamed and rolled, water penetrates more easily and they cook more quickly. Rolled oats come in three varieties:
regular oats – whole groats rolled.
quick oats – oat in pieces and then rolled thinner.
instant oats – oats cut even smaller and rolled even thinner.

Underweight – Weighing less than normal – Causes, Symptoms, Remedies, Dietary Considerations

There is an ideal weight for a given height, built, and sex. A person is regarded as moderately underweight i he or she weighs ten percent below the ideal body weight. Sometimes, it gets extremely difficult for underweight people to gain weight due to various factors such as a genetic predisposition, certain hormonal imbalances, and even some health conditions.

CAUSES OF BEING UNDERWEIGHT

- Inadequate calorie intake.
- Excessive bodily activity.
- Bad eating habits like skipping meals, small meals, fasting etc.
- Emotional factors.
- Inadequate digestion.
- Wrong dietary pattern for a particular metabolism such as overactive thyroid.
- Hereditary tendencies.
- Chronic dyspepsia.
- Chronic diarrhea.
- Intestinal worms.
- Liver disorders.
- Diabetes.
- Insomnia.
- Constipation.

SYMPTOMS OF BEING UNDERWEIGHT

- Fatigue.
- Poor physical stamina.
- Low resistance to infection.
- Diseases like tuberculosis, respiratory disorders, pneumonia, heart disorders, cerebral hemorrhage, typhoid fever and cancer are common.

REMEDIES FOR BEING UNDERWEIGHT

- Include banana milk shake in diet.
- Take musk melon three times a day for forty days.
- Have fruit diet with milk.
- Have a mango with a glass off milk.
- Figs have high percentage of rapidly assimilation sugar make it strengthening and fattening food.
- Raisins help in gaining weight.
- Nutrients like Vitamin D and Vitamin B6, calcium and magnesium are important for underweight people.
- Take a cup of milk and put some almonds, date palm and anjeer in it. Boil this milk and have it when warm. This is helpful in treating underweight problem.

DIETARY CONSIDERATIONS

Diet plays an important role in building up health for gaining weight. Underweight person should:
- eat frequent meals.
- diet should contain more calories than normal.
- regular exercise like walking, dancing, yoga, meditation and massage.
- proper sleep.
- reduced stress.
- yogasanas like sarvangasana, halasana and matsyasana.