Tag: Blood Test

Skin And Thyroid-Hormones Released Make You Healthier

When people think about getting healthier skin they do not often think of their thyroid gland. Most people do not realize the connection their thyroid has with their skin and as such will often neglect it. Your thyroid is in charge of a lot of things, most people know it for controlling your metabolism. What most people do not know is that your Skin and Thyroid are linked.

The hormones released by the thyroid gland does more than just regulate your metabolism, they also work to make your skin healthier. A lot of people suffering from hypothyroidism will notice that their skin suffers as well. They will feel dry and coarse and in colder temperatures they will seem itchy and may even notice cracks in their hands and fingers.

These problems are caused because your thyroid gland is not getting enough iodine. Iodine is a chemical that can be found in a variety of sources, such as the soil (and thus plants) and seawater (thus seafood). However in today’s society a lot of natural iodine is stripped from our food, which causes people to get less than they need and leads to hypothyroidism.

If you are concerned about your Skin and Thyroid then you should look into figuring out if hypothyroidism is the cause. There are many symptoms associated with hypothyroidism ranging from fatigue, constipation, weight gain, depression, and anxiety. Your skin looking worse is also a symptom.

If you notice that not only your skin is suffering but you also possess some of the other symptoms, than you may have found the cause. It is important you go and see your doctor to confirm whether or not hypothyroidism is to blame. A simple blood test is all it takes to determine that.

If hypothyroidism is the cause all you will have to worry about is making sure yo get enough iodine. Your doctor will likely prescribe some medication for you to take and may even advise you adjust your diet. That should be all it takes to get your thyroid in working order again.

Once you get your thyroid back under control you can expect to see stark improvement in the way your skin looks and feels. It should become smoother and more natural looking as it starts to receive the hormones it was sorely lacking.

While your thyroid may be to blame for your skin problems, it is not the only thing out there that can rob you of your beauty. There is a variety of other conditions and reasons for why your skin has the problems it does, and so if getting your thyroid back in top shape does not improve your skin, there may be other factors involved.

If that is the case you should look into other ways to get your skin looking it’s best and try to find the cause behind it. Your Skin and Thyroid are both important and critically linked, so even if your skin does not clear up at least you found out your thyroid was out of whack and fixed it.

Hormones And Thyroid-Active Or Under Active

Hormones and Thyroid are what control your metabolism and help keep your body running efficiency. If your thyroid is not operating as it should, this can lead to a host of problems. The two main issues with your thyroid are hyperthyroidism, where it is over active, and hypothyroidism, where it is under active.

While hyperthyroidism is not as common as hypothyroidism, both conditions stem from iodine. Iodine is a crucial element in thyroid function as it acts as a fuel for your thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism is generally caused when you take in too much iodine and hypothyroidism is generally caused by not getting enough iodine.

A slew of symptoms can occur from both over active and under active thyroid glands. From gaining weight and being unable to shed it to losing too much weight and putting your health at risk. There are also mental symptoms such as depression and anxiety that can be caused by these conditions.

These problems are why it is important to maintain a balanced intake of iodine so that your thyroid can function normally. The problem with this is that most people do not even know whether or not their thyroid is acting up.

All the symptoms caused by your Hormones and Throid gland acting up can also be caused by a variety of other things, which makes it incredibly difficult to determine whether or not your thyroid is to blame. It is actually because of this that most cases of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism go untreated for a long time.

If you think that your thyroid is to blame then it is advised you go to your doctor and ask them to check it out for you. A simple blood test is all it takes to determine whether or not your thyroid is the cause.

While these conditions are pretty mild and easily treated, they are not something you should ignore if you can help it. They can lead to more serious problems down the road if left untreated and there is always the chance that it is something more serious that is causing your thyroid to go out of whack such as cancer.

If it turns out that your thyroid is the cause and you are suffering from hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, do not be all that concerned. As I already said, these are fairly mild conditions and are easily treated. In most cases simply adjusting your intake of iodine can do the trick.

While this is a lifelong problem you will have to live with, it will not have all that much impact on your daily life. Simply taking medication and maybe adjusting your diet is all that is required to get your Hormones and Throid back in working order.

If, in the unlikely event that your thyroid problems stem from something else you might have to take more drastic measures. As always you should talk to your doctor and get all the facts from them. They will tell you what you should do in order to deal with any condition you may be suffering.

Lowering Cholesterol

The human body produces oils and other substances that circulate in the bloodstream. An example is insulin, which is secreted from the pancreas in response to the increase in the amount of sugar coming from the food that the person eats. The cells then absorb this, which gives the individual calories that are used as energy.

Another substance that the body produces naturally is cholesterol. This is also ingested in the food people eat. There are two types of cholesterol namely LDL and HDL.

LDL is better known as bad cholesterol. The reason why it is bad is because too much of this in the system may put the person at risk of suffering from either a heart attack or a stroke.

HDL in simple terms is good cholesterol because its job is to regulate the flow the bad one so this can be filtered out of the persons system. There must be a balanced between the two so the individual is healthy.

Whenever people get a blood test, the patient will see a breakdown of the LDL and HDL in the system. Though not that significant as the first two, doctors pay attention to two other figures namely the total cholesterol and the triglyceride level.

In order to be given a clean bill of health, the patient must stay within a certain range. Those who have less than 200mg/dl in total cholesterol are safe. The same goes for someone who has less than 150mg/dl in the triglycerides.

So what happens if the person goes beyond the limit? In simple terms, the individual is at risk of developing high blood pressure or a heart disease. The good news is that the person can still prevent such a thing from happening.

There are four simple ways to do it and this must be done gradually before something bad really happens to the individual.

The first is to change the diet. This means eating less of those that are high in saturated fats such as red meat and dairy products. This should be changed for fish, fruits, nuts, oatmeal and vegetables.

Studies have shown that those who eat oatmeal regularly are able to reduce the LDL and trigylecerides level in just 2 weeks. Imagine what could happen if this is done even after just a month?

The second is exercise. The body has stored fat after how many years of not engaging in any physical activity. Changing the eating habits can only go so far and sweating it out will increase the metabolic rate thus helping reduce the patients cholesterol levels.

The third, which doesnt happen often, is for the individual to take supplements to aid in the reduction of cholesterol. Examples of these are bible acid resins, ezetimibe, fibric acid, niacin and statins.

These are available in different brands and studies have proven this can lower the cholesterol from 15% to 30% when this is taken in regularly.

Should exercise and dieting not work, the patient must remember that the intake of these drugs has certain side effects. The doctor should explain this before even prescribing this so the individual can choose from the wide range of drugs that can be used to lower ones cholesterol.

Prevention is the best way to combat any disease. A regular checkup at the doctors office will surely save money instead of being confined in the hospital.

Having A Good Diet Can Lower Cholesterol

James just had a blood test as part of the annual physical examination. This person exercised moderately and loved to eat but this was all about to change when the results came in.

The results showed that the LDL commonly known as bad cholesterol was much higher than the good cholesterol. The doctor said if some changes are not done, this individual will soon suffer from high blood pressure, a heart attack or a stroke.

Being a father of 2 children, this person had to take the situation very seriously to be able to continue providing the needs for the family.

Since James was working out twice a week, the doctor advised the individual to do it more often. This means working out four times a week and engaging in other activities to help lower the cholesterol.

There is no point in exercising more often if the intake of food does not change. The doctor told James to make some changes in the diet because nothing will happen if the food being burned is just resupplied into the body.

The doctor referred James to a dietitian. The two had a long talk about the food that was bad and this should be cut down. These should be replaced with those that are much healthier so the level of bad cholesterol can be lowered.

The plan on paper looked very simple. James will have to eat food that is low in fat and no longer that rich in carbohydrates. During breakfast, this person can eat the yellow portion of the egg but not the white one.

Instead of having coffee in the morning, this should be changed with unsweetened tea. There are times that James likes to eat cereals with the kids but the milk this individual will consume is not the regular one but is non-fat.

During lunchtime, something heaver can be eaten. Chicken can only be consumed without the skin. The portion of steak should be reduced and mixed with a lot of vegetables and side dishes.

It will take some time to adjust to the new regimen and people like James who are new to this will feel hungry in the late afternoon. Having some carrot sticks or an apple is much better than having a donut that has a lot of sugar.

Instead of having a cola with the snack, this has to be changed with either water or fruit juice and not the artificial one but made of real fruits.

The program continues on to dinner, which can be fish or pasta with some sidings. The person will be sleeping for the next 6 to 8 hours after the meal so there is no need to fill it up.

Drinking a glass of red wine is safe. This is better than drinking beer, which is something James had to give up.

James to follow the plan even when dining out in a party or eating in a restaurant. There is no day offs for someone who is at risk of heart disease or high blood pressure and this wasnt only for himself but also for the family.

The next checkup with the doctor showed significant results. The LDL was much lower than the HDL, which was good for someone at that age. The diet program chosen by James is just one of many out there in the market. It takes some time to find the right program to be able to lower the cholesterol and be healthy again.