About the Thyroid

What Should I Care About My Thyroid?

Your thyroid is a bow-tie shaped endocrine gland located just below your larynx in your neck. It weighs less than one ounce and the hormones that it excretes are essential to every cell and organ in your body. The hormones that the thyroid produces help to keep body temperature regulated and make energy.

Grading Of Goiters (using the Kilpatrik scale). There are 5 grades of goiters. They are based on the ability to see the goiter or the ability to palpate it.

1. Grade 0 - The goiter is not visible with the next extended and it is not palpable.
2. Grade 1 - the goiter is not visible but it palpable.
3. Grade 2 - the goiter is visible when the next is extended and when you are swallowing.
4. Grade 3 - the goiter is visible in all positions.
5. Grade 4 - a large goiter

Who Gets Thyroid Disease? Risk Factors.

It is estimated that 10% of Americans have a thyroid disease. Many people do not know they have this disease. You may be one of them. The following are risk factors are thyroid disease.

o And women are 6 to 8 times more likely to it than men.
o Being over the age of 50
o A previous history of any autoimmune disease
o You have a family history of thyroid disease
o Any surgery in the neck area
o The risk of any autoimmune disease increases during pregnancy and for the first year postpartum.
o Smoking increases your risk.
o Excess (or deficiency) iodine intake
o Some medications, herbs, and drugs
o Some foods (broccoli, turnips, radishes and others)
o Radiation to the neck area (can include treatment for cancers or accidental exposure like to Chernobyl in 1986).

The Proper Way To Take Your Thyroid Medications

1. Always take your thyroid medications on an empty stomach.
2. You will take these pills for the rest of your life, so do not allow yourself to run out. Fill your prescription early.
3. Take it the same time every day.
4. Store your pills in the original bottle and keep it tightly closed.
5. Store your pills in a cooler place (less than 80 degree Fahrenheit).
6. Never store your pills in the bathroom or kitchen. Both areas are too damp and warm. The best place to store them is in your bedroom.
7. Keep your medications out of the reach of children.
8. Never take your pill with milk or soy milk.
9. Never try to take your pill without a liquid (water is probably best). Drink at least 8 oz. of fluid with your pill. These pills have a tendency to stick in your throat with insufficient fluid.
10. If you have trouble swallowing your pill you can crush it and eat with a very small amount of applesauce.
11. Another option if you have trouble swallowing your pill is to chew your pill. Thyroid pills have very little flavor.
12. Many other prescription medications interfere with the absorption of your thyroid medications. Always take your thyroid medication at least four hours either before or after any other prescription medication. (this includes multi-vitamin and minerals and pre-natal vitamins.)

Call Your Doctor If

If you are taking a thyroid medicine you should know when to call your doctor. It is important to know the signs/symptoms that are important.

Call your doctor if:

1. You develop confusion.
2. Your heart is beating too fast, too hard, or feels like it is skipping a beat.
3. You have shortness of breath
4. You feel that your blood sugar is too low (shakiness, tiredness, or sweating)
5. You lose weight without trying
6. You have diarrhea unrelieved by anti-diarrhea medication
7. You have nausea unrelieved by anti-nausea medication.

Weight Loss After Pregnancy - How Your Emotions Can Help You Lose the Baby Fat (Part 2)

If I were to tell you to look up, were would your eyes go? Would they move toward the ground or the sky? If you said the sky the only reason you are able to do so is because you have attached a certain meaning to the word "up". This concept becomes important because it illustrates how powerful the meanings we attach to things are.

What Drives Your Action?

In all honesty, your motivation to take action or do nothing is driven by the meaning you attach to various occurrences in your life. Have you experienced a setback in your weight loss journey? Let me ask you; is this the end or the beginning? Is this a sign that you will never reach your goals or an indication that you are one step closer to finding the diet and fitness routine that will work successfully for you?

What Does It All Mean?

Consider this, if the meaning you attach to an event in your life, no matter how large or small, is that this is the end, how likely are you to take action toward achieving your goal? How likely are you to push through the pain of exercise or the acquired taste of health food?

However, if the meaning you attach is that you are one step closer, then you would agree that you are much more likely to take massive action in the direction of your goal. Are you a failure or a success?

You see in any game, if a team is down by 50 points at halftime, they have two choices.

1. They can give up, take their star players out of the game and suffer through the next half.

2. They can see themselves as having the best chance to stage the greatest comeback in sports history.

This is best illustrated in a quote I once heard from a military general who was addressing his soldiers. "Gentlemen for the first time in this campaign, we find ourselves surrounded on the north, the south, the east and the west. We are now able to attack the enemy in all directions."

So, what about you? Do the meanings you attach to events and situations in your life empower you to act or leave you sitting on the sidelines asking yourself why does this always happens to me? The good news is that I truly believe that for you, this is the beginning, a fresh start to a happier and healthier you.

Webster Technique During Pregnancy - How Chiropractic Care Leads To Healthy Babies

The Webster Technique is known after Dr. Larry Webster, who developed this technique in 1978. Dr. Webster was a renowned pediatrician and chiropractor who founded the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, or ICPA. The Webster Technique is one of the most popular of all the chiropractic pediatric treatments. It is a well known technique that has been featured on various Television shows like The Learning Channel. It has also been featured in magazines like Mothering and Midwife Today. The Webster technique addresses the causes of 'intrauterine constraint' which is defined as any external force hampering the development of the fetus by constraining its natural movement. Adopting this technique may help to relieve mental and physical stress on the mother and the unborn child. It helps to convert breech pregnancies to cephalic presentation. American medical practitioners have been using the technique for more than thirty years and it has proven to be very successful.

Intrauterine constraint results in abnormal development of the fetus because it prevents the head-down position which may present complications during birth of the child. The Webster Technique deals with the complications at the outset thus making the birthing and labor process easier for the mother and child. The chiropractor will help to prevent to the potential birth defects which will allow the child to lead a healthy life.

Although the Webster Technique has been successful, it still has its critics. These critics are against using any type of chiropractic care for pregnant women or the unborn child, because they feel that it is detrimental to their growth. Doubts have been raised whether this method actually helps to remove intrauterine constraints during pregnancy. Chiropractic care for newborns aims to correct misalignments in the spine by light pushing of the affected part. It is a gentle way of correcting misalignments that might have occurred during the childbirth. This may prove helpful to prevent scoliosis and other problems of the nervous system occurring in later life. Breech delivery is not something an expectant mother wants and therefore the Webster Technique may prove to be helpful to avoid such type of complications.

It is advisable for the mother-to-be to consult with her gynecologist before deciding to take chiropractic care. Moreover, chiropractic care during pregnancy may not be suitable for all pregnant women because not all criticisms of the technique are unfounded. Some of the concerns raised by the critics are genuine. There may be different positions the fetus may take which may create complications during the later stages of pregnancy and require immediate medical attention. Since the Webster Technique can be used for breech pregnancies only, if other complications arise, it is advisable to proceed with alternate methods of treatment as per the doctor's suggestions.

Weight Loss After Pregnancy - Stunning Tricks That Will Help You Lose Weight After Pregnancy

Are you confused? You don't have to be. I know since you have this article in your hands, you are very close to achieving your dream weight. I can imagine you thinking how much better in shape you were before you finally settled to have a baby with your spouse. Having children is a good thing but most women don't like the weight gain during this time and the only thing most women want to do is get delivered of the baby and make sure they get back to their former weight level.

The loss of weight after pregnancy could be some issue in itself if not handled properly. There have been issues of women who tried and somewhere along the way, they gave up and ended up having more weight than they could imagine. This is because most engage their selves in unrealistic ventures, like using multivitamins without working out, eating less than they would have loved to and stuffs like that. These are old techniques that never worked for anyone so why keep doing the same thing and expecting different results? I will share with you some shunning tricks that will help you lose weight after pregnancy and these tips are what everyone could practice.

Determination and Discipline
Now this is no; formula neither is it a multivitamin. It is more of a principle that will work for everyone that will lose weight eventually. Most people never reach their expected weight after pregnancy because they got tired or just gave up. You have to be determined and be disciplined because you will need to be giving your body some things that it's not used to. So if you are not determined and disciplined, you will just not get anywhere with this. Now when you think you have faced enough trauma from this weight gain problem and you are ready for weight loss, then move on to the next tips.

Eat When You Are Hungry
This is the bottom line of fat accumulation. If everyone understood this principle and worked with it, no one will have to worry about losing weight. When you eat as you are hungry, your body is in a relaxed mode. Body metabolism proceeds and unnecessary food is passed out, the useful ones are used and converted to energy. You have energy to work out and do exercise, you don't get tired easily and this way, you end up burning fat. On the other hand, if you refuse to eat when you are hungry, your body switches to a protective or defensive mode and in this mode, it stores up more food and metabolism is slowed down. The food ingested is stored straight as fat and this is because your body kind of feels that there is not going to be enough food when needed so it has to keep some for the rainy day. This will give you more weight than you could bargain for after pregnancy.

Drink a lot of Liquids
Taking liquids could help reduce your appetite and therefore reduce your food intake. Remember, above, we only said "Eat when you are hungry" and not "Eat when you are not hungry". If you eat when your body is not asking for food, the food is just going to be a waste. Taking liquids like juice, water, protein shakes could help balance up when you are not eating solid food while eliminating hunger. The main idea is to make sure you have something in your mouth whenever your body says "I am Hungry!". Liquids will help us cover for this. Also avoid taking coffee, take tea instead as it contains caffeine that your body is more accustomed to and it also contains antioxidants that serves the purposed of making the body feel better.

Exercise
Never forget to work out daily. If you don't have a gym at home, go and register yourself at a gym place. It will do you a lot of good to work out as this will make sure you use up all the energy that have been made available through body metabolism.

If the following tips are followed strictly, then you will soon smile as you will see the weight you have gained during pregnancy burn till its no more there. Do not forget to keep the routine, stopping at any point will make you go back to square one, you are expected to make this a way of life.

Protein's Role in a Healthy Pregnancy Diet

While the actual recommended amount of protein might vary from doctor to doctor, all health care providers agree protein is a vital component of a healthy pregnancy diet. Protein supports a wide variety of important body functions for expectant mothers, while providing the raw materials necessary to build a healthy new human life.

Daily Recommendations for Pregnant Women

The recommendation of protein as part of a daily diet for a pregnant woman fluctuates. These fluctuations are reflection of the ever-changing food pyramid recommended by the USDA, the care provider's personal leanings and the latest medical research.

Some providers recommend as little as 40-50 grams of protein daily, while others bombard women with a minimum recommended amount of 90+ grams daily as part of a healthy pregnancy diet.

Most doctors recommend moderation, which splits the difference between these high and low numbers landing at 60 grams of protein daily. This amount stays steady as part of diet during first trimester pregnancy as well as every subsequent trimester. Protein needs to be high priority from pregnancy's beginning to its end.

Getting adequate protein is of such vital importance that some doctors even go so far as to advise against a vegetarian diet in pregnancy.

The body uses protein in many ways. During pregnancy, the multi-tasking elements of protein's nutritive powers are pushed to the limit.

Waste Removal Systems Have Added Strain for Pregnant Women

During pregnancy, mom's waste removal systems kick into over drive. This means the kidneys, liver, blood stream and all other body components used to scour toxic substances from the body need extra support.

Protein is a key player in waste removal. As protein digests, it is broken into small pieces. The smallest of these elements are indigestible sponge-like molecules. The body uses these protein sponges to soak up and remove waste particles from the blood stream.

Without adequate proteins, wastes build up resulting in fatigue, swelling and potentially the life-threatening complication, toxemia. Research in this aspect of protein's benefits is still ongoing.

Fetal Development and Protein

Proteins are made of long strands of amino acids as well as vital fatty acids like omega-3. Both nutrients play important roles for mother and baby.

Amino acids are the basic building blocks of life. Trying to develop a healthy baby without amino acids would be like trying to build a log cabin without logs.

Maintain Steady Blood Sugars with Protein

Proteins also help mom's body to maintain normal blood sugar levels. This helps with mood swings, energy levels, appetite control and even reduces or eliminates morning sickness.

As you can see, protein is a vital part of a healthy pregnancy diet for both mother and child.

Depression - How Gratitude Helps

Why is gratitude the single most powerful attitude to take to come out of depression? Keeping a gratitude journal means that each morning and/or evening you list at least three small things, different things, that you were grateful for during the day.

Very often we are put off by the word gratitude because we associate it with a phrase such as "you should be grateful for what you've got". This is not what this exercise is about at all.

Grateful yes, but "should" is a word that needs deleting from the vocabulary surrounding someone in depression. The word "should" is to be replaced by the word "could", giving power back to the person thinking this thought. "Could" gives a sense of possibility and hope whereas "should" feels like an obligation.

Each time we appreciate something it appreciates in value. To be grateful for the sunrise as you watch the day dawning will allow the moment to be that much more intense, that much more important.

To be grateful for a text from a friend adds an extra layer of specialness to it.

To be grateful for hot water as you wash your face in the morning brings a more intense feel to the warmth as you splash away the soap.

Gratitude magnifies the moment. A positive moment.

It is the opposite of the usual depressive thoughts that constantly bombard the mind of someone in depression. These thoughts seem out of your control and actively deciding to be grateful counteracts this and brings more stability; more balance in the mind.

When you are out walking take note of your surroundings. Stop from time to time to touch the foliage. Bend down and literally smell the roses. Pick a stalk from a lavender bush and inhale the aroma. Be thankful as you do this. Appreciate the tiny lift it gives to your mood and watch that multiply as you say in your mind "thank you".

Buy yourself a gratitude journal. Make sure it's an attractive one and fill its pages with appreciative thoughts.

Each night, before going to sleep write down three to five different small things you were grateful for during the day. Not only will this lift your mood it will also set you in the right frame of mind for settling down to sleep.

To be grateful is the quickest, easiest way to lift your spirits just a tiny bit and that tiny bit is hugely important for someone in depression.

How to Stay Fertile Longer?

According to American Fertility Association a woman's fertility begins to decline in the late 20's, drops more sharply after 35 and plummets when she hits 40. After the age 30, the probability of getting pregnant naturally drops by 3%-5% per year and even faster after the age of 40! A healthy 30 year old woman has 20% chance of getting pregnant in any given month, by the time she turns 40 the chances drop to 5%.!

But don't throw the towel in just yet! There is hope. What these studies didn't tell you is the reason why the fertility is dropping with advanced age.

Women are born will all of their eggs while men start producing their sperm in puberty. We've had those eggs around for a long time and everything we've ingested or inhaled or smeared on our skin over the course of our life has either left a positive or a negative mark on all body cells including the eggs and sperm.

Most of the fertility issues arising with age have to do with accumulation of toxins due to a longer exposure and prolonged lack of necessary nutrients which in turn results in poor energy production, and faster aging and deterioration of the cells including eggs and sperm.

Aged cells are no longer plump and efficient. This means that they are slow on the uptake of nutrients and removal of toxic waists. Their membranes are no longer as efficient as they used to be and they don't communicate all too well anymore. Cells communicate with the other cells through nerve impulses and chemicals they release into the bloodstream letting the body know what they require for optimal function and cell repair. Aged cells don't do that quite as well anymore.

Even if in this poor state of health conception occurs the likelihood of miscarriages and abnormalities is higher. But when the toxins are removed and the nutritional deficiencies addressed your chance of a healthy pregnancy and conception is significantly better. In fact many couples well into their 40s use a natural fertility program successfully.

However you have to stay realistic and depending on your age, state of health and genetic inheritance you may still require other options. Just because you waited a bit longer to have babies does not mean that you should rush now and skip preconception care. Take the time to give yourself and your baby the best possible chance of a successful and healthy conception and pregnancy.

How does preconception care increase your chances of a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby?

1. You know exactly which foods and substances are deteriorating your fertility and are contributing to ageing and as such you know what to avoid.

2. The detox allows your body to start with cell repair and toxin removal.

3. The fertility diet ensures you are getting enough building blocks required for optimal health of your eggs and sperm, as well as to sustain a healthy pregnancy.

4. All the nutrients required for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy development and growth of your baby are present.

At this point many of my patients say:

"I already have a good diet, eat healthily and exercise"

Many people don't realize that many foods labeled as "healthy" are actually not. If you look closely at the ingredients you'll see all sorts of additives and colors and sometimes even artificial sweeteners which are very toxic to the body. This is very common among vegetarians and vegans who think they have a very healthy diet by avoiding animal products but don't pay much attention at the ingredients of the "fake ham" or "fake sausages" and similar products which miraculously taste just like the "real thing" but with no traces of animal product.

Moreover, even if you eat non processed food and where possible organic, the nutrient content of the food is not what it used to be 100's of years ago. These days food can be picked or caught today in one country and flown out to another part of the world tomorrow so that you can buy it in the supermarket.

In that short space of time that food has been either frozen, or refrigerated, packaged in plastic, gassed, X-rayed, possibly sprayed or waxed to stay fresh for longer. By the time that food is in your plate it has lost half its nutrients and possibly contains a myriad of toxins your liver will have to deal with.

Another common misconception is when people think they eat very healthily by only eating sea food. Deep sea fish which lives for long time is loaded with mercury as are all the mussels and sea creatures without scales. This does not make Cray fish and shrimps healthy either as they crawl on the bottom of the sea and eat the sediment.

Unfortunately our seas are polluted with jet fuel which is rich in heavy metals, which have been found to be a big culprit in infertility. Even the purest organic diet, with cleanest water and toxin free environment may not meet the individual requirements for nutrients and supplementation for optimal preconception care is often required.

By putting simple steps into place not only will you be increasing your chances of getting pregnant naturally but you will also help turn back the hands of time on your appearance. The beauty is not skin deep and the youthful appearance doesn't come from a jar or a bottle!
It comes from modifying your diet by avoiding:

1. fast food
2. fatty food
3. simple carbs (sugary foods)
4. white flour
5. soft drinks
6. coffee
7. alcohol
8. tap water
9. smoking

And modifying your lifestyle;

1. minimum of 7-9 hours of sleep
2. regular exercise
3. reduced exposure to environmental toxins and radiation

A study by Foresight, the Association for Pre-conceptual healthcare in the United Kingdom demonstrated an astounding success rate of 81% of conceptions among couples previously diagnosed as infertile. Women who participated in the study were between 25 and 45 years old and Men between 25 and 59 years old."

So as you can see it is possible to conceive despite of advanced age as long as you give your body what it needs to do its antiageing and healing work naturally.

And remember if you want a complete guide with step-by-step instructions on how stay fertile longer, see my "Natural Fertility Prescription Program".