Your Thyroid: Fine Tune Your Metabolic Engine

Unless you have a specific reason to think about your thyroid, chances are pretty good that you generally don't.

This butterfly-shaped organ, located at the base of your throat, is critical for daily energy, metabolism, and overall mental and physical well-being.

In fact, given the thyroid’s importance, it may be surprising that habits and nutrients that support it aren’t more top of mind.

So, what can you do to keep this metabolic engine finely tuned? As it turns out, the options are pretty easy to incorporate into your regular schedule.

Cultivate Healthy Habits
The problem with habits is that they become so, well, habitual. The good news is that it may take only about three weeks of consistent effort to create a new, positive habit. For instance, getting more exercise into your life can feel a little daunting, but it doesn’t have to. You don’t have to start running marathons or bench-pressing massive weights. Even light workouts like gentle yoga or daily walking can boost metabolism and support healthy thyroid function.

Consider Your Diet
What we eat does a lot more than potentially affect our weight; it can also set up a variety of stresses in the body and mind. Not only are these stresses tiring unto themselves, but they can set the stage for indulging in too many snacks and generally sedentary behavior to alleviate the general sense of unease that they cause. But adding whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins, can change that dynamic. They are naturally energizing and support your health without adding to a burden of physical or mental stresses.

Get Some Key Nutrients
If you’ve been feeling a bit of brain fog lately, noticed that your metabolism just isn’t what you’d like it to be, or if occasional stress seems to set you back further than you think it should, your thyroid may need a specific nutrient intervention.

Which nutrients, exactly? Iodine for one. This mineral is so critical to healthy thyroid function that it was added to table salt because many people—especially those who lived inland, away from saltwater fish—couldn’t get enough of it in their diets otherwise. But the use of table salt has declined, and some estimates state that dietary iodine has decreased by almost 50 percent in the past 30 years or so.

Another nutrient for the thyroid is L-tyrosine. This amino acid, found in cheese, poultry, nuts, and avocados, is necessary for the body to support the production of thyroid hormones T3 and T4. L-tyrosine also helps maintain healthy noradrenaline and dopamine levels, making it a vital component for mind and body health, and directly tied to how energized you feel day to day.

Even if you have a wide-ranging diet and enjoy foods with iodine and L-tyrosine, your nutritional mileage, so to speak, will vary. One way to ensure you get both of these ingredients at consistent levels is by supplementing with Thyroid Care . Thyroid Care contains three different forms of iodine, plus valuable L-tyrosine as its partner. It’s an easy addition to your daily regimen, and along with other lifestyle measures, can help you keep your thyroid—your metabolic engine—finely tuned and working smoothly.