Is Your Weight Loss Canary Suffering?

There’s no doubt that thyroid disease is on the rise. Now the question is why?

The reason your weight loss attempts might not be working is because your weight loss canary might be suffering…let me explain.

From the research I’ve reviewed and the patients I’ve seen in the last 20 years, it’s clear to me that the thyroid gland is your body’s own yellow canary. It’s sensitive to many different influences—your diet, your lifestyle, and the world around you. And all of these influences can affect how well your thyroid functions.

Remember how miners used to detect toxic methane gas and carbon monoxide? They sent bright yellow canaries into the mines. Canaries are highly sensitive to these gasses—so much so that they die when exposed to them. Their deaths served as a warning system for miners so they do not enter and become exposed to poisonous air.

So, it’s not surprising that as we eat more toxic foods and are increasingly exposed to pollution, petrochemical and industrial wastes, and heavy metals that thyroid problems have also skyrocketed. In fact, more than 20 percent of women and 10 percent of men in the United States have thyroid dysfunctions—and half of them don’t even know it!

But exactly how does your environment affect your thyroid?

We now have substantial research to demonstrate that environmental chemicals have a direct impact on the thyroid gland. It’s clear that PCBs and other industrial petrochemical toxins can lower thyroid function, as well as other pollutants such as chlorine, fluoride, and bromide.

Since the thyroid produces hormones that manage your metabolism, anything that affects your thyroid will ultimately affect your metabolism. In fact, there’s evidence that toxins boost the excretion of thyroid hormones, leaving you with less of this hormone to control your metabolism—and a decreased ability to burn fat.

The truth is, your thyroid plays a huge role in weight control, and in determining your metabolic rate.

The question is not if, but how much is today’s obesity epidemic linked to the harmful effects of environmental toxins on metabolism.

I’ve seen so many patients struggle with their weight, only to have the pounds melt off when we addressed their thyroid problems.

True, not everyone’s weight problems are caused by thyroid dysfunction—but if you’re overweight, you should consider the connection. That’s why the best medical doctors always check their patients’ thyroid functions and will consider all the possible causes of subtle thyroid imbalance, including toxins, food allergies, nutritional deficiencies, and stress.

Now let’s talk about some of those other factors.

For example, food allergies, like sensitivities to gluten and other foods, also negatively affect thyroid function—and are frequently undiagnosed. Likewise, deficiencies in nutrients important to good thyroid function—like selenium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids. and iodine and tyrosine—can also trigger thyroid problems.

With all of these factors that can affect your thyroid, it’s clear that we need a new approach to the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease. Many doctors can miss the subtle signs of thyroid problems, and conventional medicine often treats low thyroid function with inadequate, one-size-fits-all drugs like Synthroid.

However, thyroid dysfunction requires a more personalized, integrative approach—one that you can help control by becoming an active partner in your care. First, keep an eye out for the symptoms of a low thyroid function, including:

• fatigue
• sluggishness
• trouble getting up in the morning
• depression
• dry skin
• dry hair
• constipation
• fluid retention
• menstrual problems and PMS
• hair loss
• cracked or chipping fingernails
• low sex drive
• weight gain
• muscle aches
• cramps

Yes, a lot of those symptoms are pretty common and vague—which is one reason why thyroid dysfunction often goes undetected. But if you notice any of these signs, bring them to your doctor’s attention, and ask him or her to test your thyroid function.

If you are diagnosed with low thyroid function, the following steps recommended:

Remember, thyroid hormone is the master metabolism hormone. If your thyroid is out of balance, your metabolism is out of balance, too.

Do you have a dysfunctional thyroid?

Know that the problem can be fixed. By following the program here you can get your thyroid working properly, keep your weight under control and start feeling better today.

About the author…

Holistic Weight Loss Program

Holistic Weight Loss Program With a Raw and Living Diet

Article contributed by Carmelita M. Brown

One of the first questions a Nutritionist, Wellness Coach, or Fitness Trainer usually asks his or her client is: How many weight-loss programs have you tried over the years? Well, lets take that a step further and ask: How many of these weight-loss programs have taken a holistic approach and demonstrate how you can incorporate more raw and living foods in your diet? To fully understand the impact of a holistic weight-loss program with raw foods or living foods, lets take a deeper look at the word holistic.

Holistic means considering all factors in a whole system without dividing components. Weight-loss is a science and like any science it is made up of systems and all systems must be considered as a whole.Accordingly, holistic weight-loss is the only way we can experience permanent weight management meaning that we will lose weight and keep it off. A holistic weight-loss program that includes how to safely transition to the raw food diet and increase your vibration focuses on the whole person.

If a weight-loss program does not focus on restoring your health, fitness, power, and resolution, it is a temporary and quick-fix to what can become or is a lifelong battle. Holistic weight-loss is essential for permanent weight management. No one wants to continue on the yo-yo dieting rollercoaster; therefore, one must take control by developing a holistic weight-loss program which incorporates the raw food diet with the help of a Holistic Nutritionist, Wellness Coach, or Fitness Trainer. And the average run of the mill program will not do. A holistic weight-loss program with raw and living foods is vital in order to support your complete success in losing weight.

Again, holistic weight-loss programs which incorporate eating more raw foods consider the whole person-emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. More often than not when a person gains weight, there is more to the problem than just avoid eating too much junk food. Many times there are food addictions involved, emotional stress, and spiritual disconnection. A holistic weight-loss program allows the client to identify these factors in order to lead the individual on a path to optimal health. Weight-loss programs which omit addressing the whole person and the raw food diet  have often resulted in compromising your health. Weight-loss programs that do not consider the whole person are destructive for several reasons:

1. Many people who are overweight, obese, or morbidly obese have underlining issues related to the health of the whole person.
2. These underlining issues may include stress, low self-esteem, a poor self-concept, food addictions, emotional eating…all that must be addressed during the weight-loss process.
3. Studies and case reviews have shown that people who are overweight, obese, or morbidly obese develop a distorted body image even after they have lost weight.
4. Many people view a diet as a temporary and quick way to lose weight and do not understand the importance of holistic nutrition and whole foods.
5. People who join many diet programs with pre-packaged foods or special supplements to suppress the appetite are suffering from malnutrition.
6. Because such programs cause malnutrition, many people can not keep up the diet for the rest of their lives and eventually gain all the weight back and more.
7. Detoxification is important to the weight-loss process because a toxic body is not a healthy body and an unhealthy body will not maintain weight-loss.
8. The body is designed to metabolize whole and natural foods. It is all the additives and processed foods our body cannot recognize. Truth: You have to exercise.
9. Exercise is a part of fitness. Exercise works to reduce body fat and body size. 10. Exercise can help remove toxins11. Exercise restores our energy levels and helps us to produce lean muscle. Lean muscle helps us burn more calories and more fat.

Truth: You must get educated about weight loss. When considering these factors, if losing weight has been a battle for you, you can empower yourself. We can empower ourselves by learning as much as possible about holistic health, nutrition, and how the body works. Knowledge is power. Once we have the knowledge, we know exactly how to develop our own holistic weight-loss program.

By developing our own holistic weight-loss program, we will empower ourselves with knowledge that will allow us know why we are doing what we are doing. We will have a plan that works for us. By developing our own weight-loss program with a holistic approach, we will have a plan based on the science of losing weight. And most importantly, we will have a health and wellness plan we can commit to for our entire lives.

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