If you want to understand how your body works and make sure you can enhance its function in the best way possible, it is essential to gain a better understanding of the thyroid gland. According to WebMD, this gland is mainly responsible for regulating your metabolism, and it’s one of the most important organs in the body.
About Thyroid-Related Functions
Through the action of two essential hormones known as T3 and T4, the gland keeps your metabolism under control by regulating the way your body processes food. As you consume food, the body breaks it down into proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other compounds, and the way the body deals with carbs determines how your metabolism works.
The metabolism is simply the process through which your body converts food into energy, and the T3 and T4 hormones play a vital role in that. As a result, having an underactive or overactive thyroid can contribute to whether or not you feel tired, and whether your energy levels can get you through the day. The experts at Endocrineweb are able to tell us all about the various disorders that are associated with these imbalances.
Understanding the Main Disorders
The most common disorders have to do with the amount of thyroid-produced hormone that the organ is capable of generating. A higher than normal amount leads to hyper- and a lower amount leads to hypo-thyroidism.
Stemming from these two essential problems are a variety of complications you need to be aware of. Goitres are just one of them, involving a bulge forming in the neck as a result of an overly enlarged gland. Other disorders that are important to mention also include solitary nodules, thyroiditis-related problems (inflammations of the endocrine gland) and various types of cancer.
Thyroid-induced cancer is quite common, and can happen at any age. Although it can be extremely dangerous if left untreated, the chances of successful long term treatment are excellent.