High cholesterol, low energy?
Get a thyroid test!
A poorly-functioning thyroid gland can cause a long list of mysterious symptoms. It could produce one or many of these: Fatigue, weakness, infertility, coarse skin, hoarse voice, cold intolerance, depression, mood swings, memory loss, decreased concentration, or painful joints, to name a few.
The most serious effect of mild thyroid failure is without symptoms. An elevation of cholesterol is one of the characteristic features of an underactive thyroid gland, according to the Thyroid Foundation of America in Boston. Millions of North Americans have the condition and are not aware that a sluggish thyroid is hiking their cholesterol and harming their hearts.
Doctors quoted in Prevention magazine recommend that the simple TSH test be done each time a cholesterol test is ordered. It can be done with the same blood sample and is very inexpensive. Usually, however, physicians don't order the test unless they suspect an under-active thyroid.
The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that healthy adults be screened for cholesterol levels at age 20 and every 5 years thereafter. The 5-year schedule works for thyroid screening as well because thyroid disease is a slow-growing affliction.
The incidence of thyroid problems increases with age. So the number of young people detected would not be large. But recognizing the condition early would prevent problems with cholesterol and conception. By age 35, five to seven percent of women have mild thyroid dysfunction. It is simply treated with a mild medication.
The most serious effect of mild thyroid failure is without symptoms. An elevation of cholesterol is one of the characteristic features of an underactive thyroid gland, according to the Thyroid Foundation of America in Boston. Millions of North Americans have the condition and are not aware that a sluggish thyroid is hiking their cholesterol and harming their hearts.
Doctors quoted in Prevention magazine recommend that the simple TSH test be done each time a cholesterol test is ordered. It can be done with the same blood sample and is very inexpensive. Usually, however, physicians don't order the test unless they suspect an under-active thyroid.
The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that healthy adults be screened for cholesterol levels at age 20 and every 5 years thereafter. The 5-year schedule works for thyroid screening as well because thyroid disease is a slow-growing affliction.
The incidence of thyroid problems increases with age. So the number of young people detected would not be large. But recognizing the condition early would prevent problems with cholesterol and conception. By age 35, five to seven percent of women have mild thyroid dysfunction. It is simply treated with a mild medication.
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