Fatigued? Overwhelmed? Are you steadily gaining weight? You may be among thousands of women with sub-clinical hypothyroidism.

More women than ever are walking (or I prefer “dragging”) around with symptoms of hypothyroidism, a thyroid gland that is functioning below optimum. Many women experience symptoms of low thyroid long before their conventional lab tests will show it. A routine lab test, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) can usually indicate the overall health of your thyroid gland.

Since the messaging systems in your body are intricately connected, thyroid function is dependent on the proper function of your adrenal glands and how they relate to daily stressors. Adrenal glands produce sex hormones, stress hormones, and other hormones for specific bodily functions. Often it is the overall depletion of your adrenal glands through chronic stress that sets you up for increased stress on our thyroid gland, and eventually thyroid hypo-function.

Many women know that they are stressed, yet they don’t stop their busy routine to make some much needed changes. The first step is to ensure that you are supporting your body with the proper nutrition to maintain your current high stress lifestyle. “Pushing through” the stress and fatigue, and continuing to maintain a lifestyle of such demand will leave you depleted in the long run.

Take time today in your busy schedule to properly support your body with nourishing foods. Get the exercise and rest you deserve, and ask for help from loved ones when you need it. Doing this will potentially prevent thyroid dysfunction and support hormone balance for years to come.

Dr. Purcell has a women’s specialty practice in Costa Mesa, CA. You can learn more about natural medicine and Dr. Purcell on the web at www.PortalToHealing.com