Summer’s around the corner. No more hiding under bulky sweaters and coats. It’s time to trim the belly fat, get rid of the muffin top and show off in your favourite fitted clothes.
If you are like most people, you’ve tried a diet at some point in your lifetime. I work with people who are frustrated because they cannot ‘lose weight’. Or keep it off.
Eating less and exercising more gives them little or no results. Or they plateau. What used to work before doesn’t work now.
Is this you?
As medical science advances, we understand nutrition and metabolism in a whole new light.
The answer is simple: hormone levels change as you age.
And hormones control your metabolism.
If your hormones are out of whack, you cannot burn fat. If your hormones are out of whack, you can’t make energy.
Hormones are the chemistry of life. You feel and look younger when they are in balance.
THYROID:
Thyroid hormone is needed for cellular energy. It is important for fat burning, mood, temperature regulation and many other important body functions.
It appears to become less effective as you age.
When you get your levels checked, they are in the normal range.
This is very deceiving. Patients present with many the symptoms of low thyroid hormone despite having normal blood tests:
- Trouble losing weight
- Increasing weight without changing diet or exercise
- Fatigue
- Temperature dysregulation: feeling colder than everyone else
- Dry skin, brittle nails and hair loss
- Low mood
- Constipation
- Infertility
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Brain Fog
What is the explanation?
Very specific nutrients are required to produce thyroid hormone and for it to be converted into its active form.
The modern diet is calorie rich and nutrient poor.
Simple changes in diet can increase the availability of these nutrients for your body to produce and convert thyroid hormones more effectively.
Certain molecules from chemicals, plastics, environmental pollution, cosmetics can block the action of thyroid hormone at the cell receptor site where it is needed to ‘work’.
As you age, certain other hormone levels change in your body. And these affect how your thyroid hormone can be used, and what’s available to your cells to work.
The most important thing about thyroid hormone is to know that your thyroid gland produces thyroxine.
This hormone needs to be converted into triiodothyronine. It is this conversion that is critical to feeling well. Triiodothyronine is more metabolically active (by over 70%).
Checking blood levels of TSH is inadequate to fully understand the entire thyroid hormone system.
It is a complex process that requires a detailed assessment of your biochemistry and physiology through simple blood tests and urine testing.
Functional Medicine is focused on this: looking at a cellular level, and returning your body back to its best function.
What can you do now?
- Eat food in its natural form, and avoid chemicals. Not processed, and without additives, preservatives and chemicals. Use natural cleaners and avoid harsh solutions.
- Have a cup of green tea in the mornings, and eat 1 Brazil nut a day.
- Reduce your stress: stress hormones slow down your metabolism.
- Download more details on how to eat better for your metabolism at www.newrulesforbetterliving.com
- Call 403 237 2353 to join live workshops or webinars to learn more about metabolism and hormones.
Dr. Natasha Iyer, MD specializes in natural hormone rebalancing and weight loss. She presents workshops and seminars across the country, and coaches clients across the world to be healthier and leaner.