How to Treat Thyroid Disorders
Your thyroid is the neck gland located near your voice box and trachea, and its hormones are responsible for regulating your metabolism and helping regulate oxygen throughout your body. When thyroid disorders occur, it can affect your overall health. Common thyroid disorders include hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid, hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid, goiter and thyroid nodules, which are abnormal growths that are formed on your thyroid gland. If you are diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, there are conventional and alternative treatments you can use to aid in curing your condition.
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Things You'll Need
- Vitamin A foods
- Bladderwrack supplements
- Mullein tea
- Lemon balm extract
- Spirulina supplements
- Evening primrose oil supplements
Instructions
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Ask your doctor to prescribe the drug levothyroxine for your thyroid disorder. It aids in regulating your hormone and cholesterol levels. Symptoms of your condition may be eased within a two-week time period, but the likelihood is that you will have to stay on levothyroxine indefinitely.
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Eat more foods that are full of Vitamin A. Examples of Vitamin A-rich foods are apricots, mangoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, red peppers, green leafy vegetables, watercress, eggs and pasteurized cream.
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Take bladderwrack supplements. Bladderwrack, which comes from a brown seaweed plant, has plentiful amounts of iodine, which your body needs for the formation of thyroid hormones. You should not take bladderwrack if you have an allergy to iodine, are going to have any kind of surgery within a two-week time period or are pregnant or are nursing. Bladderwrack can be found in health food stores.
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Sip mullein tea. Drinking this herbal tea can aid in making your thyroid function normally. Mullein comes from the flowers of a plant found near the Mediterranean region and used for medicinal purposes. You should not take mullein if you are pregnant or are nursing. You can find mullein tea bags in health food stores. If you find the taste unpleasant, you can opt to take it in capsule form instead.
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Take lemon balm extract for hyperthyroidism; it works to keep thyroid hormones from overproducing. Lemon balm comes from a perennial plant used for medicinal purposes since the time of ancient Greece. You can find it at health food stores. Use as directed by the individual product you choose. You should avoid lemon balm if you are going to have any kind of surgery within two weeks or are pregnant or nursing.
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Take spirulina supplements. Spirulina is an algae historically found in parts of Africa and Mexico. One of its benefits includes regulating your thyroid. Talk with your doctor before taking spirulina supplements if you are pregnant or are breastfeeding, or take the prescription drugs Prednisone, Enbrel, CellCept, Humira, Remicade, Imuran, Methotrexate, Neoral or Arava. You can find spirulina at health food stores.
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Normalize your thyroid with evening primrose oil supplements. Evening primrose is derived from the seeds of a North American yellow-flowered plant with medicinal properties. You should not take evening primrose oil if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, take warfarin or aspirin or are being treated for alcohol dependence, liver problems, epilepsy, diabetes or schizophrenia. Evening primrose oil supplements can be found in health food stores.
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Tips & Warnings
Always consult your doctor before using any alternative remedy. Make certain that you are carefully monitored while using any alternative remedy.
