By: Hana Dawood

As you go about your day, you may forget that a small, often overlooked gland at the base of your neck plays a critical role in maintaining your body’s balance. From appetite to body temperature to bone development, your thyroid plays an extensive role in each of these processes. 

Let’s cover the basic functions of your thyroid. Thyroid produces two different hormones: thyroxine (t4), and triiodothyronine (t3), which is crucial for thermoregulation. These hormones regulate how the body maintains its energy, heart rate and overall energy levels. They also support the nervous system, maintaining cognitive roles such as emotions and memories. In addition, these hormones play a huge role in metabolism which determines how quickly foods can be absorbed or processed which ultimately drives your appetite. These mentioned functions touch only the surface in the various processes that the thyroid has an influence on. As research is progressing, there are more and more discoveries on the thyroid’s impact on the body’s processes in balance.

In short, we often take our thyroid for granted. When people’s thyroids go out of balance, they start experiencing a whole range of symptoms. Though thyroid conditions are common among Americans, it is important to know the signs and symptoms. One of the most common thyroid conditions is hypothyroidism, which is marked by an abnormally low activity of the thyroid. Symptoms can include constipation, slow speech, slow pulse, etc. Hypothyroidism can be due to an autoimmune condition, or when the pituitary gland does not produce enough thyroid stimulating hormone. One individual diagnosed with hypothyroidism at age 15 reported falling asleep throughout the day and waking up without a voice, symptoms that significantly impacted her quality of life. The opposite condition can also occur. Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid is overly active. Causes of this disease can also be due to an autoimmune disorder or consuming too much iodine in your diet or even taking too much thyroid medication when treating an underactive thyroid. Symptoms can include nervousness, heart palpitations, weight loss, high blood pressure etc. If these conditions progress without treatment, they can lead to much bigger problems. This highlights how a single, small gland can disrupt, or restore, the body’s overall balance in day-to-day life.