January is Thyroid Awareness month. This tiny gland located in the front of the neck is responsible for producing hormones that play a key role in regulating many important functions in our body including blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and metabolism.

Your thyroid could be overactive or underactive. An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) is where your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones. Common signs of an underactive thyroid are often tiredness, weight gain and feeling depressed.  An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) means your thyroid gland is producing too much hormone. Common symptoms of an overactive thyroid include nervousness, anxiety and irritability. 

Your diet has a huge impact on your thyroid health. Eating Vitamin D rich foods such as fatty fish like salmon, drinking plenty of milk and consuming other dairy products are ways to eat to protect your thyroid. In addition to diet, being in the sun produces vitamin D in your body which serves to further protect your thyroid. Checking vitamin D levels once or in cases where your levels are low, twice a year, to help you to track your levels of this very important vitamin.  In addition to vitamin D, Selenium, Zinc and essential fatty acids are also beneficial to thyroid health.  

Diet is important for thyroid health as is lifestyle.  Daily exercise can boost thyroid hormone levels as it helps to stimulate the thyroid gland which in turn increases metabolism. Decreasing stress is important as stress can increase cortisol levels which can in turn decrease the production of the key thyroid stimulating hormone.