Know Your Thyroid

Today's super woman, balancing home and career may be more prone to thyroid disorders than she realizes. The pressures of multitasking put her system at risk, which goes up particularly for new mothers.

What is thyroid?
The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in front of the neck, which produces the hormones T3 and T4. The thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) produced by the pituitary gland controls their production.

What causes HYPOTHYROIDISM?
Stress makes the thyroid gland falter. It has a strong genetic basis and a gender bias, being more common among women.

What are the symptoms of hypothyroidism?
It is often linked to depression or abnormal cholesterol and sugar levels, particularly during pregnancy or lactation. There are a number of subtle symptoms which mimic hypothyroidism, the commonest being 'feeling drained or tired'. This is often accompanied by weight gain, swelling of the feet, body or face, water retention, irregular cycles, dry skin, constipation and hair loss.

How is it tested and treated?
Usually blood tests of Free T3, Free T4 and TSH are conducted. The thyroid hormone replacement (T4) pill has to be taken lifelong.

Tips to control hypothyroidism

• Eat right and less, walk more, sleep well, smile.
• Take medicine regularly.
• Drink boiled or mineral water; avoid water filters, which use iodine as disinfectants.
• Avoid iodine-rich foods like broccoli, soya, prawns, shellfish and crabs.
• Get Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3 levels checked, particularly if you're a vegetarian.
• Test your thyroid regularly and keep it in control.
• The winter season aggravates thyroid, so be careful.

Work those Flabby ABS

The relationship between women and a set of taut abs goes back a long way. Any expert will tell you that the abdominals are among the hardest muscles to exercise. Add to that a combination of factors – poor diet and lack of exercise – and getting a healthy and flat set of abs becomes that much harder. So then how important is it for women to work out this section of muscles? Is it for purely cosmetic reasons? For hardcore health reasons or a combination of both?

For many looking good goes beyond the face. It means looking good all over, and that includes abdominals as well. And for others, looking sexy and feeling healthy goes along the profession as they have to stay in shape. Women can attain that lean look without fearing that if they do stomach crunches; their abs will look ‘un-feminine’. The idea is to keep the muscles firm.

For most women, the rigors and rhythms of daily life leaves them little time to exercise. But yet, strong abs can actually increase one’s productivity by making your lower back stronger and less prone to injury. That means you save on medical bills and visits to the doctor. A strong set of abdominal muscles helps maintain the posture as well. Stabilizing core abdominal muscles stabilize the spine, which is involved in every movement that you do. In fact, if your core abdominal muscles are weak, you can get a jerk even while you are driving.

Working for your lower body, be it for your butt, abs or thighs, also has great health benefits. For women tend to put weight around those areas as they grow older and their metabolism slows down. Extra weight around the stomach combined with weak abdominal muscles puts a strain on the back muscles, puts a strain on and leads to an irregular curvature of the spine.