WEIGHT LOSS: HYPOTHYROIDISM, THE UNDERLYING ISSUE: HOW BODY TEMPERATURE AFFECTS THYROID FUNCTION

Clinical hypothyroidism is called myxedema. Symptoms of myxedema include a slowed heart rate; low body temperature; sensitivity to cold; hypersensitivity to narcotics, barbiturates, and anesthetics; dry hair and skin; muscular weakness; depression; and not surprisingly, the tendency to gain weight.

If an individual recognizes himself in this clinical picture and asks his physician for a diagnosis, the physician will order a blood test that measures serum levels of T4 and T3 in the blood. This is where some of the confusion begins with the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Serum T3 levels may not be a good way to test thyroid hormone levels.3 Many doctors are beginning to believe that blood tests may have little to do with the efficiency with which T4 is converted to the active thyroid hormone T3, or with T3's uptake through the cell membrane and into the cell itself. Whereas relatively few people may be officially diagnosed with myxedema or hypothyroidism based on blood work or clinical observation, some clinicians have cited figures for subclinical hypothyroidism (not detected by the usual clinical tests) that range from 10 percent to 40 percent of the American population. Low thyroid function may not be readily apparent in these individuals through blood tests, but they may be experiencing the frustrating constellation of symptoms that portray a slightly dysfunctional thyroid gland.

It simply may not be adequate to test thyroid function through a blood test if the activity of the hormone takes place within the cell instead of the blood. We may need to look at symptoms that include," in addition to those listed above, low blood sugar; weakness; dry, coarse skin; lethargy; slow speech; and swelling of face and eyelids. But the most telling symptom of low thyroid may be body temperature.

According to Dr. Broda Barnes, a medical doctor who devoted years of his life to the study of the thyroid gland, the most reliable indicator of thyroid function is the basal temperature test. He believes hypothyroidism is a major health concern in this country and that many disease conditions, including the tendency to retain excess weight, can be directly laid at the feet of this one fairly simple health challenge.

One of the most fascinating books I have read on the subject of thyroid insufficiency was written by E. Denis Wilson, a medical doctor who coined a new phrase for subclinical hypothyroidism. He calls it "Wilson's Syndrome" (not to be confused with Wilson's Disease, which is a disease of copper metabolism). A syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that occur together and may be related to some type of biological dysfunction, in this case, thyroid enzyme dysfunction.

Dr. Wilson, author of Wilson's Syndrome: The Miracle of Feeling Well, considers the use of the early-morning temperature inadequate because the body's temperature naturally drops in the night to its lowest levels and may not rise to "normal" levels until three hours after awakening. He counsels patients to take their oral temperature three hours after waking and every three hours throughout the day. Oral daytime temperatures that average much below 98.6 degrees are problematic for the body, because low internal temperatures slow down the activity of the thousands of enzymes that are critically important for every chemical reaction that occurs in the body. It's easy to understand, given this model, the endless varieties of ways that hypothyroidism could have a negative impact on the body.

Dr. Wilson's list of symptoms of lowered thyroid hormone activity is so extensive that it ostensibly could include just about everyone. Where Dr. Wilson differs from many other practitioners is that weight management isn't high on his list. But the cluster of symptoms connected with Wilson's Syndrome may sound familiar to many people struggling with unresolved weight issues.

Fatigue Decreased memory or concentration

Headaches, including migraines

Insomnia and narcolepsy

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Anxiety and panic attacks

Irritability

Heat and/or cold intolerance

Dry hair or hair loss

Depression

Canker sores Bad breath

Inhibited sexual development

Cold hands and feet, including Raynaud's Phenomenon

Lack of coordination

Food intolerances

Abnormal sweating

(either decreased or increased

sweating)

Increased susceptibility to substance abuse

This list includes so many body parts and functions that it seems unlikely so many disparate conditions could be attributed to one problem—low thyroid function. But the issue with the thyroid can be explained by that one phrase, "low body temperature" (resulting from low thyroid function).

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