The thyroid is an endocrine gland in your neck that’s responsible for regulating the pace at which your metabolism is working. It basically uses the iodine you consume in foods to produce two main hormones called T3 and T4. Every single cell in your body responds to these hormones to either pick up the pace or slow down when it comes to converting oxygen and calories to energy.
More specifically, your thyroid hormones
Encourage normal growth and development in your whole body.
Speed up all of insulin’s activities.
Enhance body’s response to stress hormones.
Regulate your body temperature.
The most common cause of any abnormality with your thyroid is due to a genetic autoimmune disease where your body attacks its own cells. If your thyroid is working too slowly, your body isn’t able to transfer calories to energy, they and may be more easily stored as fat. That’s why people with hypothyroid may gain weight or have difficulty losing weight.
With hypothyroid, your ability to build up or break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates is slowed — and that ability is at the core of your metabolic rate.
But all hope isn’t lost with a thyroid diagnosis. By following a metabolism-boosting diet, you can still lose weight at a steady rate.
