Almost all the metabolic processes in a person's body are influenced by the hormones produced by the thyroid gland. The most common types of thyroid diseases caused due to dysfunctional thyroid glands are thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, goiter, thyroiditis, and thyroid cancer. 

Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid gland is underactive and the amount of hormones produced is insufficient. Hypothyroidism can be caused due to multiple reasons such as iodine deficiency, radiation or surgery on the thyroid gland, and drugs such as lithium and phenylbutazone. You should note that treating thyroid is not a speedy process and a reoccurrence of symptoms might also take place. However with the appropriate remedies and proper diet control, one can make sure that these symptoms are less pronounced. 

Ayurveda:
According to ayurveda, imbalance or disequilibrium in the doshas is the main cause of hypothyroidism. The kapha dosha i. E. The dosha responsible for body fluids and lubrication and pitta dosha i. E. The dosha responsible for fire and water body humors, are vitiated. Lifestyle and diet discrepancies further promote imbalances in the doshas. Hypothyroidism is categorized under the yapya diseases which recur once you cease to take the treatment. 

Treatments:
1. It is essential to consume adequate quantities of milk. 
2. Apart from that, coconut oil is one of the best remedies for a hypothyroid patient, since it increases slow and sluggish metabolism. Coconut contains mcfas i. E. Medium chain fatty acids and mtcs i. E. Medium chain triglycerides in abundance which help the metabolism be revved up. 
3. Ayurvedic herbs useful for treating hypothyroidism are kanchnar, bauhinia variegata i. E. Purple mountain ebony, jatamansi, brahmi, guggulu, shilajit, gokshura, and punarnava. 

Remedies:
1. Consume a mixture of indian gooseberry i. E. Amla churna with honey, daily before breakfast. 
2. One of the main causes of hypothyroidism is insufficient amount of iodine. Drinking the juice acquired from jalakumbhi i. E. Pistia stratiotes everyday in doses amounting from 11gm to 22gm increases the iodine content and helps treat hypothyroidism.

Ayurveda and Hypothyroidism

Can Exercise Help Control Blood Sugar Levels?

It is an established fact that regular physical exercise has wonderful effects on the overall health of a person. People of all ages can reap the benefits of exercise that take manifestation in all the various systems of the human body.

One such healthy effect of exercise is that it can help control blood sugar levels. For those who have been diagnosed with diabetes, exercise works like any other drug in keeping blood glucose at an optimal level. It also helps in preventing further health complications that may be caused by this condition, such as heart disease or strokes.

How does exercise control blood sugar?

Exercise affects the body's blood glucose levels in the following ways:

- Exercising increases insulin sensitivity, which makes the body more capable of using insulin to take up available excess glucose in the bloodstream.

- Muscle contractions during exercise stimulate the cells to use up glucose to produce energy.

- Heightened cardiovascular activity while exercising burns through blood glucose a lot faster.

It is necessary to keep checking blood sugar levels at regular intervals, especially if you suffer from diabetes. Working out has different effects on different individuals, depending on the duration and intensity of exercise and the overall health and medical history of the person.

What are the best ways to use exercise to reduce blood sugar levels?

It is important to chalk out a suitable exercise routine that is tailored specifically to your individual needs. Consult a health care specialist or physical therapist for formulating the best possible workout regime for your specific requirements.

Most experts recommend engaging in moderately intense exercise for a minimum of 150 minutes in a week.

A few examples of activities that fall under this category are as follows:

-Brisk walking
-Cycling
-Swimming
-Squats and lunges
-Stretching exercises
-Yoga

One thing that diabetes patients should always keep in mind is that over-exercising must be avoided. Excessively strenuous workouts can lead to hypoglycemia (deficiency of blood glucose) which is a highly unsavory condition.



Can Exercise Help Control Blood Sugar Levels?

When the sugar concentration in the blood increases suddenly and unreasonably, the resulting condition is known as diabetes. Sugar or glucose is generally used in order to provide much needed energy to our bodies. But when the pancreas dysfunctions, it leads to a problem in the insulin production. As a result, glucose or sugar gets directly absorbed into the blood, instead of getting absorbed by insulin. And this leads to the condition of diabetes.

Diabetes Treatment in Ayurveda
For Ayurvedic treatment of diabetes, the first step is usually dietary planning and lifestyle change. Adopting a more active lifestyle, and a healthy, balanced diet low on sugars and starches, is a must. You must begin by avoiding sugars in all forms. This means you will have to get rid of rice, potatoes, white bread, sugar coated cereals, bananas, colocasia and much more. Add a lot of green leafy vegetables to your diet to improve your nutritional status and metabolism. In addition to these, also add some herbs to your diet. Ayurvedic herbs that act as natural medicine for diabetes include turmeric, bitter gourd, gurmar leaves, bael, fenugreek and many more.

Apart from diabetes Ayurvedic treatment, you could also practice yoga, which can help you improve your health. Several yogic asanas help massage your internal organs so that they are healthier and can function much better. Some of the asanas are especially beneficial for the pancreas, which produces insulin. You may have to make some changes to your lifestyle as well. For starters, you will have to maintain a more active lifestyle. You will also have to avoid sleeping in the daytime. Avoid smoking and consuming alcohol and take extra care of your feet.

As an ancient science based on lifestyle related treatment methods that include herbs, massages and life changing tweaks, Ayurveda also provides various methods of managing this ailment. Here's how!

Bitter Gourd: Known as an ingredient that is rich in antioxidants, this can be consumed to take care of diabetes. You will need to first remove the peel of at least four to five bitter gourds before crushing them to create a paste. This paste has to be put through a sieve so that the juice of the gourds can be extracted. You will then have to drink this juice every morning, on an empty stomach.
Cinnamon: From treating coughs and colds to diabetes and other serious ailments, this is a wonder spice that can be found in most Indian kitchens. You can start by boiling a litre of water and letting it simmer on the gas for about twenty minutes. Thereafter, you can add three teaspoons of cinnamon powder to this simmering water. Strain this mixture and drink the entire batch every day to clear out the toxins.
Fenugreek Seeds: For this, you will need to take about four to five tablespoons of fenugreek seeds. These will have to be soaked in a glass of water or about 250ml of water, overnight. In the morning, the softened seeds will need to be crushed before the mixture is strained. The water that escapes should be collected and ingested every day for a period of two months.
Turmeric: Turmeric is a powerful and well-known ingredient that is used for curing and managing many ailments. You will need to mix about half a teaspoon of turmeric powder with one teaspoon of amla powder as well as half a tablespoon of methi seeds or fenugreek seeds powder. This concoction will have to mixed in half a glass of water and taken daily on an empty stomach. This can be used by patients suffering from heart ailments as well.
Diet: Cereals like ragi, corn, kulit, green millet, and barley are known to beneficial for patients suffering from diabetes. Leafy greens are also a must for such patients along with protein-rich foods like soya beans.

Diabetes - The Ayurvedic Remedies! 

Diabetes is one of the most common problems that are caused by obesity, unhealthy and inactive lifestyle. It is a metabolic disorder in which the body is unable to store and use energy from food. Being physically inactive and eating unhealthy food are primary causes of diabetes. It is a long term condition, which causes high or unstable blood sugar levels in the body.

When a patient suffers from low blood sugar it is called hypoglycemia and if the blood sugar levels are too high, it is called hyperglycemia. Both are extremely harmful for a patient.

Type 1 and type 2 and gestational diabetes:

Type 1

In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. The condition has no known cure and is usually hereditary in nature. Approximately 10% of those suffering from diabetes have type 1 diabetes. Patients with type 1 diabetes have to take regular medication, including insulin injections as well as take care of their diet.

Type 2

Type 2 diabetes happens when the body does not produce enough insulin for its proper functioning. 90% of all diabetic people suffer from type 2 diabetes. It is usually caused by poor lifestyle choices, like physical inactivity and unhealthy food habits. The disease lasts a lifetime and is usually progressive in nature, but can be managed by taking regular medication, choosing an active lifestyle and maintaining proper body weight.

Gestational diabetes

Diabetes during pregnancy is known as gestational diabetes. This has to be managed by taking medication or in extreme cases insulin shots. If undetected or untreated, gestational diabetes increases complications during childbirth, and causes unusual weight gain in the baby. However, gestational diabetes usually ends after the baby is born and women can go back to their normal lifestyle and eating habits post delivery.

Symptoms of diabetes

 Frequent urination
 Extreme hunger or thirst
 Weight loss
 Problems with vision
 Tingling or numbness of the extremities.
 Unexplained fatigue
 Dry skin
 Cuts or sores that heal slowly
 High number of infections

Who is at greatest risk for developing diabetes?

People who:

 Are 45 or over
 Are overweight
 Are habitually physically inactive
 Have previously been identified as having ifg (impaired fasting glucose) or igt (impaired glucose tolerance)
 Have a family history of diabetes
 Are members of certain ethnic groups (including asian american, african american, hispanic american, and native american)
 Have had gestational diabetes or have given birth to a child weighing more than 9 pounds
 Have elevated blood pressure
 Have an hdl cholesterol level (the good cholesterol) below 35 mg/dl and/or a triglyceride level above 250 mg/dl
 Have polycystic ovary syndrome
 Have a history of vascular disease

What is pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes is a condition of elevated blood glucose level that has not yet reached a diabetic level. Along with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes causes no symptoms. An individual may be pre-diabetic for years without knowing it. Pre-diabetes increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Weight loss and exercise may halt the onset of diabetes from pre-diabetes by returning blood glucose levels to a normal range.

Diabetes: At A Glance

The body has multiple chemicals called hormones, which regulate many of its functions. Increased or decreased levels of these hormones affect various functions including metabolism, growth and sexual functions. Thyroxin produced by the thyroid (situated in the front of the neck) is one such hormone, which has a significant role to play in metabolism.

Graves  disease is one of the main causes of hyperthyroidism, where there is excessive production of thyroid hormones. Graves  disease is an autoimmune disorder, wherein the body reacts against its own tissues. It is very common in women than men, especially after 20 years of age. Family history also has a strong correlation in developing Graves  disease. The high levels of thyroid hormone increase the rate of metabolism, thereby altering weight, mental energy levels, physical stamina, and also mood.

Thyroid hormone is related to metabolism and more amount of it lead to higher metabolism. This causes the following symptoms.

    Intolerance to heat
    Excessive sweating
    Nervousness and anxiety
    Inability sleep, as the mind is always excited
    Increased appetite (sometimes despite weight loss) due to higher metabolism
    Irregular menstrual cycles
    Palpitations (rapid, loud heartbeat)
    Irregular heartbeats (tachyarrhythmia)
    Fine tremors of the extended arms
    Breast enlargement in men, known as gynecomastia
    Extreme moodiness, causing irritability and anger
    Inability to focus and concentrate
    General fatigue and shortness of breath with any exertion
    Increased frequency of bowel movements

In addition, the eye symptoms are quite diagnostic including:

    Protrusion of the eyes (exophthalmos), giving an impression that they are going to fall out
    Double vision
    Excessive tearing
    Increased irritation in the eyes

Diagnosis: The first symptom would be the presence of an enlarged thyroid gland (front of the neck above the collarbone), and the some of the above symptoms would be present.
In addition, tests to check for thyroid gland functioning including T3 and T4 levels would reveal increased amounts of hormone in the blood stream.
As a confirmatory test, the radioactive iodine uptake test also is done, which will indicate increased uptake by the thyroid gland. This indicates that the gland is functioning at an increased pace and requires additional iodine for the production of thyroid hormones.

Treatment: There are two approaches to it, one to control the symptoms and the other to control the thyroid gland per se.

    Beta blockers are very useful in controlling rapid heart rate and anxiety.
    Prednisone may be used to control eye irritation and swelling
    Antithyroid drugs are used to control the production of thyroid
    Radioactive iodine is given orally to control excessive thyroid production
    In severe cases, thyroid gland may be surgically removed partially or completely

Graves  disease is not life-threatening and once symptoms are controlled, the patient s quality of life improves drastically.

Graves' Disease - Things You Should Know About It


Many overweight and obese people have darkened and a rather flaky texture behind neck, darkening in armpits and other parts of body with creases and folds like elbows, knees or knuckles. This is commonly mistaken as smudge of dirt, uncleanliness or lack of hygiene. Some people think that it is due to repeated friction caused by necklace or chains etc. In fact it is a sign of'diabetes' which is already developed or might develop in future.

This darkening is due to excessive cell growth and differentiation of fibroblasts caused by excess of insulin in the body especially in obese individuals and type 2 diabetes patients.

In obese individuals and type 2 diabetes patients excess amount of fat especially abdominal fat (tummy fat) causes resistance to action of insulin secreted by pancreas and tends to hamper its action. In return, body produces more and more insulin from pancreas to keep blood sugar under control. This excess amount of insulin secreted by body promotes this skin cell growth leading to the visible condition called'acanthosis nigricans' in medical terms.

After producing excess amount of insulin pancreas start exhausting, this converts into diabetes. At this stage diabetes can be prevented by simple lifestyle modifications &amp; focussed weight loss.

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Are Dark Cracks Behind Neck A Sign Of Diabetes?

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