Have you tried dieting and dieting with out result? Do you feel tired, rundown and listless? The origin of your problem may be an under active thyroid gland. Find out the connection along with the cure.

If you diet continually, if you go from one diet regime to yet another, if you exercise often and still don't shed pounds, it might be that you have a condition known as hypothyroidism. The thyroid gland controls your metabolism. Your metabolism is what determines how quickly your system changes food into energy. A slow rate of metabolism won't just cause you to burn foods slowly, it'll make you feel listless and tired.

One of the complications having a sluggish metabolic rate resulting from an under effective thyroid gland is that overweight persons try to lose body weight by consuming fewer calories. Consuming too few calories can force the system into a hoarding mode in which the entire body tries to conserve energy by slowing down even more. This brings about more weight gain as well as much more tiredness and sluggishness. If your system enters this hoarding mode, it will probably be essentially impossible to lose weight by staying on a diet.

The good news is that if you are overweight due to an under active thyroid gland, there is hope. Those diets you've tried won't work in your case. As we've pointed out, just minimizing calories can actually have the opposite effect. The answer is really a eating plan specifically developed to improve thyroid activity and turbocharge your rate of metabolism. Once you increase your metabolism, you'll have a fighting chance at losing excess weight.

An increasing number of persons are discovering their body weight problems actually are thyroid gland problems. Coupled with the weight gain they also suffer from depression, intolerance to cold, a continuous sensation of low energy. In addition they have a decreased interest in sex, their feet and hands get puffy and swollen and occasionally their skin is dry and pale. These are all signs of a sluggish metabolic rate caused by an under effective thyroid gland.

Some causes of hypothyroidism are thyroid exhaustion caused by high sugar, caffeine and alcohol intake. What's more eating too much processed, unnatural food can make things worse. These generally will not supply enough nutrition for the body.

Some very helpful supplements include:

1. 2000 - 3000 mg. of kelp each day (kelp is rich in iodine, folic acid and vitamin B)

2. 2000 mg. vitamin C, to help the adrenal glands

3. L tyrosine, 500 mg. twice every day, taken on an empty stomach, and not with milk.

You are able to also adjust your eating plan to incorporate foods that naturally increase thyroid activity. You must eat foods that are abundant in iodine such as eggs, fresh fish and cheddar cheese. Also consume food rich in selenium, an anti-oxidant. These include things like walnuts, Brazil nuts, onions, garlic and soybeans. Tuna, cod fish and oats also have selenium. Stay clear of junk foods, fast food, and particular vegetables that contain large amounts of iron.