The Hidden Cause of Fatigue

A Dangerous Cause of Fatigue Doctors Often Miss

Do you feel tired or dragged out during the day… even after a good night’s sleep? Do you find yourself ready for bed hours sooner than you used to? Or maybe you just don’t feel very energized.

If so, you may be one of more than 12 millio
Americans with an underactive thyroid.

That’s right… 12 million. And if you’re a woman over 60, you have about a 1 in 5 chance of thyroid problems. What’s even worse, most people with underactive thyroids don’t even know it.

That’s because the signs are vague. You may feel cold, lose your appetite, feel “pins and needles” in your hands and feet… or just simply lack energy. No wonder doctors overlook this condition so often!

Your thyroid is a tiny gland, but it has a big job. It controls your metabolism. That’s why an underactive thyroid leaves you feeling so tired.

Normally, your thyroid makes two hormones – called T3 and T4. It produces about 20 times more T4 tha
T3.
T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone. It goes to work immediately. Your body converts T4 to T3 as needed. So your body should always have plenty of thyroid hormone on hand to keep your metabolism in balance.

But when your thyroid doesn’t produce enough of these hormones, you can run through your “reserve”… and your metabolism begins to slow.

This isn’t a problem you should ignore. It’s worse than just feeling a little sluggish. An underactive thyroid can lead to memory and cognition problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

It can even lower your heart rate, slowing delivery of oxygen and nutrition to your muscles and organs.

The #1 cause of underactive thyroid, worldwide, is a shortage of iodine. Iodine is a major component of thyroid hormones. Your body can’t make iodine, so you have to get it from your food – or from supplements.

But if your thyroid doesn’t get enough raw material – iodine – it can’t make enough thyroid hormone. And that’s when your metabolism starts slowing down. It’s almost like being set to run in slow motion.

Our main source of iodine here in the U.S. is iodized table salt. And though we’ve cut back on salt, you can still get a good amount of iodine from foods.

For example, a cup of low-fat yogurt provides more than half your daily requirement of iodine. 2% milk, eggs and strawberries are other good sources.

But the biggest cause of thyroid trouble in America isn’t a lack of iodine. It’s your own immune system.

Sometimes, a person’s system gets out of whack and attacks their own body. And some of these autoimmune disorders target the thyroid. When that happens, your thyroid may not make enough of the hormones that keep your metabolism humming along.

That’s when you start to feel cold… tired… and run out of energy.

Adding iodine won’t help if this is the problem. But a supplement containing thymus substance may.

We’ve long known from animal studies that thymus substance may help build up the thyroid gland.1 It’s also an immune-system booster,2 which is key when your immune system is out of whack.

If you’ve been fatigued, and simply have no good explanation, see your doctor. They can test you for thyroid hormone levels. In a short time, you could have your old energy back.

Stay Healthy,
Dr Kenneth Woliner, M.D.
Best Life Herbals

1 Downs, A.W. and Eddy, N.B., “Effect of Subcutaneous Injections of Thymus Substance in Young Rabbits,” Endocrinology. July 1, 1920;4(3):420-428.
2 “Thymus Extract,” WebMD.com.