Interestingly, research of rural Mayan Indians in South America revealed that they do not experience any symptoms of the menopause. Mayan women viewed the menopause as an event that not only makes them accepted as respectable elders, but also relieves them of the responsibility of having children. The researchers concluded that the main reason why these women did not experience any menopausal symptoms probably has to do with their attitude to the event.

What is the menopause?

The menopause is defined as a cessation of menstruation or ‘periods’ and usually occurs within a few years of the 50th birthday of most women. Twelve months without a period is the commonly accepted medical rule for diagnosing the menopause.

Symptoms of the menopause

    The common symptoms include:

    Hot flashes – excessive heat and sweating;

    Vaginal dryness;

    Forgetfulness and poor concentration;

    Frequent urinary tract infections;

    Headaches and palpitations;

    Cold hands and feet;

    Irritability and mood swings and poor sleep;

Symptoms of osteoporosis.

Causes of the menopause

The menopause is believed to occur when the eggs (ova) in the woman have been depleted. At birth, a woman had about one million eggs in her ovaries. By puberty, the number is decreased to about 400,000. Only about 400 of these eggs will mature during a woman’s reproductive years. At the onset of the menopause, the ova cease to function and this results in a reduction in the production of the main female hormones – estrogen and progesterone, and menstruation ceases. Interestingly, though, other tissues, including the fat cells in the body, continue to produce some estrogen.

Medical interventions like surgery, drugs, radiation, as well as a number of diseases, may also prematurely bring on the menopause.

Managing the menopause naturally

Have a medical check-up:

I recommend that at the start of the menopause it is useful to do a routine evaluation, including breast and pelvic examination, blood tests of your hormone levels and if indicated a test for osteoporosis.

Diet

Increase the amounts of plant foods, especially those containing phytoestrogens (estrogen-like substances in plants). These include soy, nuts, whole grains, parsley and fennel. Eat lots of vegetables and fresh fruit and drink green tea. Menopausal symptoms are less in cultures where a predominantly plant-based diet is consumed. Decrease your intake of animal foods, dairy and hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Detoxify

Thousands of chemicals in our food, air, water, household and environment have hormonal-like properties and may significantly contribute to disturbance in the delicate hormonal balance of today’s woman. A programme of detoxification (cleansing) can help to reduce hormonal toxicity.

Nutritional supplements

Nutritional supplements especially vitamins E and C, omega-3 fats and magnesium are helpful in reducing menopausal symptoms.

Herbs

Many herbs help to balance the female glandular system These include dong quai, black cohosh, chaste berry, evening primrose and ginkgo biloba. There is now scientific evidence on how some of these herbs act. For example, black cohosh has been shown to balance blood flow, as well as a hormone called leutenising hormone, while reducing inflammation. Dong quai, on the other hand, improves the balance between estrogen and progesterone.

Lifestyle modification

There is an area in the brain called the hypothalamus, which controls many body functions, including body temperature, metabolism, mood, stress reactions and hormones. Many of the symptoms of the menopause seem to be related to alterations in the function of the hypothalamus.

Several natural-lifestyle measures stimulate the body’s production of substances called endorphins that balance the functions of the hypothalamus and can have a positive impact on the symptoms of the menopause. These include:

Exercise: Studies clearly show that regular exercise decreases the incidence of hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Avoid cigarette smoke: Smoking significantly increases the risk of an early menopause while worsening its symptoms.

Manage stress effectively: This is extremely important and will make this period of adjustment much easier. Practices like yoga, tai chi and meditation are particularly useful.

Hormone replacement therapy

This is a controversial issue. In my opinion, hormone replacement therapy is very useful and safe if the following principles are followed:

Have your hormones measured first to determine what needs balancing. A blood or saliva test of your estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone and thyroid hormones should be done.

Use bio-identical hormones. This means giving back to the body the exact substance that it normally produces, not a drug that is not the same. These drugs invariable carry a high risk of bad side effects and have unfortunately given HRT a bad reputation. These bioidentical hormones are probably best administered as a cream or gel that is absorbed through the skin.

Estrogens, progesterone and testosterone can all be given in this way and are available. Natural progesterone cream is a particularly useful and safe alternative to the synthetic estrogen or progestin drugs often prescribed. Follow the directions of a trained health practitioner.

Monitor your hormone levels and adjust dosages to bring your levels to normal.

So, don’t despair, you can manage your menopause safely and naturally. The Gleaner

Despite much publicity about healthy eating and activities, the study found that from 2008 to 2011, the region’s children are still not getting enough fruits and vegetables and are spending more time in front of a TV or computer screen than participating in physical activity.

The biggest surprise was related to parent-perception. More than 60 percent of respondents considered to have overweight or obese children, didn’t perceive their kids as having any weight problem. In addition, between 7 and 8 percent of parents of overweight and obese children thought their child was underweight.

“The most surprising thing is that parents were unaware,” says Marin Gilbert, dietitian for Dayton Children’s. “It’s all relative. If one-third of kids are overweight and that’s who you’re looking at, your child may not seem that different.”

The Ohio Department of Health’s Report on the Body Mass Index of Third Graders from 2004 to 2010 found similar results. The numbers in the Miami Valley region reflect the same trend happening on a national level.

Being overweight during childhood puts kids at risk for developing diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other serious illnesses.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, which increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese.

5-2-1-Almost None

In 2010, Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County conducted a Community Health Assessment. The survey found 55 percent of a person’s health status depends on lifestyle issues.

“If we are going to get healthier, we need to seize the opportunity to live a healthier lifestyle,” said Jim Gross, health commissioner for Montgomery County. “We’re beginning to see signs that people realize if they want to be healthier, they need to be active and aware of not only what they eat, but how much they eat.”

In response to the growing obesity epidemic, Montgomery County started an organization called GetUp Montgomery County to encourage kids and families to become more physically active and eat a more nutritious diet on a daily basis.

GetUp promotes a simple message — “5-2-1-Almost None” — stressing the importance of having five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, less than two hours of screen time, one hour a day of physical activity and almost no sugary drinks. “We call it our healthy lifestyle prescription,” Gross said.

GetUp promotes the “5-2-1-Almost None” message through partners in six separate sectors: early childhood, school, after school, worksite, health-care professionals and the community at large, which includes faith-based organizations, YMCAs, recreation departments. The goal is to deliver a consistent message not only to kids, but parents, caregivers and program leaders.

“The Get Up process is a way to institutionalize for young kids a way of life, which will then become a habit that hopefully they will continue. This has implications on the community because we will have healthier people down the road and medical costs will go down and result in a more active, involved, dynamic community,” said Bill Wharton, spokesperson for Public Health-Dayton and Montgomery County.

Reading, writing 
and nutrition

The recent passage of child nutrition laws, both on a national and state level, point to the importance of reaching kids at school. In 2010, Ohio passed the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children legislation which provides nutritional standards for schools, mandated exercise at all grade levels and measurement of BMI to track results. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, signed by President Obama, also aims to make school lunches more available and nutritious.

“Schools definitely have a role to play. We can educate kids on wellness and making good choices through conversations in the classrooms,” said Rusty Clifford, superintendent of West Carrollton Schools. “The other part is role modeling. We’re strong proponents of healthy choices and healthy lifestyles, not only educating about it, but living it. We’re changing the culture and the conversation.”

The district holds an annual health and wellness fair for faculty and staff as well as a separate fair for the district’s middle school. At the fair, sixth, seventh and eighth graders learn about fitness, food, good choices, nutrition and smoking.

At the elementary level, West Carrolton has a fresh fruits and vegetable program so students get to try fresh produce each week. Frank Nicholas Elementary School received a grant to cover the cost of the tastings three times a week.

The program was so well-received that the district decided to cover the cost for the remaining elementary schools to sample fruits and vegetables once a week.

“By the time kids get to fifth grade, they’ve tasted probably all the types of produce available. The kids love it,” Clifford said.

Getting kids to eat healthy requires a partnership. Louise Easterly, supervisor for Food and Nutrition for Kettering Schools, said the challenge at lunchtime is finding healthy foods that kids will actually eat.

“It’s hard to get kids to eat foods at school that they aren’t eating at home.”

The Body Shop

The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton offers a program for overweight or obese kids and their parents called The Body Shop. The eight-week program is a nutrition, exercise and lifestyle coaching program for kids ages 7 to 12 with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 85 percent.

During the program, kids work with a dietitian, physical activities leader and counselor to learn about choosing foods, developing regular exercise habits and improving their self-esteem through goal-setting. Parents also work with a clinical psychologist to assist their children in meeting their weight-loss goals.

“The Body Shop is a safe environment where kids can be around other students who are going through the same thing and not feel self-conscious,” said Marin Gilbert, dietitian and Body Shop leader.

As part of the program, Gilbert said, kids set two small goals each week like eating breakfast every day, adding a fruit or vegetable to their diet or going for a walk.

 “A child’s metabolism is the fastest it will ever be because they’re growing, so small changes can make a big difference,” she said.

Each day, kids record what they’re eating, along with their activity level and then discuss their progress with their parents every night. When the child sticks to their goals, parents offer small, immediate rewards and incentives like a walk in the park, playing basketball or points toward a movie rental. If the goal wasn’t reached, the parents discuss how to make sure they reach their goal tomorrow.

“It’s important to have the parents and kids meet each night so that any problems can be addressed immediately before the next week’s meeting and kids don’t have to miss a week of healthy eating,” Gilbert said.

The program is offered three times a year. Grant funding is available, which reduces the cost of the program if attendance requirements are met. Classes are held Tuesdays 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For kids who are older than 12 or do not qualify for The Body Shop, Dayton Children’s also has a nutrition clinic where families can meet with a dietitian one-on-one. Grant funding is available to help with the cost of these visits. By Christy Schulte, Springfield News-Sun

Obesity is all over the media – newspaper and magazine articles talk about high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and more unusual illnesses linked to obesity, such as sleep apnoea; there are suggested diets and exercise plans to help reduce fat at every turn and; popular, humiliating television shows enforce strict weight-loss regimens on the morbidly obese while providing entertainment.

But while research shows obese people often have metabolic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, this is not the whole picture. What’s rarely, if ever, mentioned in the popular press (although it’s receiving growing interest in scientific circles) is the phenomenon of the metabolically healthy obese.

In most obese people, we can find evidence of metabolic abnormalities that result from the excess fat they carry. We can measure that these people need more of a hormone called insulin from their pancreas when they eat, to help burn up glucose in their cells. We call this phenomenon “insulin resistance”. It’s insulin resistance that eventually causes obesity-related complications such as high blood pressure, high blood fat levels, diabetes and heart disease.

There has, of course, always been something of a paradox around fatness and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tables survival curves, which show how long people live at different body weights. In the Life Insurance Tables, being overweight in itself is not actually a risk for early death – certainly not when compared with being underweight. This may, in part, relate to the fact that serious illnesses are often heralded by long-term insidious weight loss, particularly as we get older. It’s only at obese levels of weight that mortality is clearly higher.

Up to two-thirds of adults are now overweight or obese – why is obesity so common? Evolution gave many of us particularly good “thrifty” genes that help us to eat fast, store fat easily and not waste energy in futile exercise. Theses genes were very important in times of famine because they ensured people had enough energy (or fat) stored to raise their young and still be healthy.

Unfortunately, the environment has recently been giving us too many opportunities to grow that fat store, and, for some, the consequences of excess fat are – as we hear so often – dangerous for health.

But while being in the obese range (Body Mass Index or BMI – weight in kilogram² divided by height in centimetres – of 30 and over) increases mortality, there are some people in that category who are somehow protected from the risks of metabolic harm. The most fascinating part of this is evidence suggests that up to a third of people who are obese are metabolically healthy. But there’s not yet universal agreement on the percentage of people who are in this group so research to identify them is important.

Of course, being active and exercising even if your weight remains high is better than not being active at all. But exercise doesn’t appear to explain why some obese people are healthy, as many obese people are quite sedentary.

For metabolically healthy obese people, a strong lifelong focus on losing weight may be misplaced if there are no other disease risks attributed to their weight. But it’s also important to research whether these people are, in fact, permanently protected from insulin resistance and its metabolic consequences, particularly if they gain more weight as they age.

This is of great important because if some people are really protected from obesity-related health risks in the long term, obesity treatment could benefit from understanding how that protection works.

Our research group at the Garvan Institute studied the short-term effect of weight gain by overfeeding healthy individuals (some of whom were overweight or obese) for one month. We studied them before and after they ate about 1,000 kJ extra every day – some of it in high-fat snacks. On average, there was a deterioration in our subjects’ insulin sensitivity and they gained extra liver fat as they gained weight.

But responses varied and some people remained insulin sensitive despite their weight gain. We are now planning a longer study to follow up subjects we tested five years ago to see what has happened to their metabolism as they gained (or possibly lost) weight over time.

If we can find out what protects some people from the common metabolic consequences of obesity such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, we’ll be better able to treat obese people with these problems. This fascinating puzzle will take time to resolve but what we do know is that not all obesity is unhealthy. By Lesley Campbell, PhysOrg

“Laughter is the best medicine, unless you’re diabetic; then insulin comes pretty high on the list.” Jasper Carott

Diabetes mellitus is a growing problem in India. With an estimated 50.8 million people living with diabetes, India has the largest diabetic population. In a diabetic, the high glucose levels in the blood can cause harm to most organs like the heart, arteries and veins, the eyes, kidneys, brain and nerves.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of blindness. Diabetic eye disease primarily encompasses diabetic retinopathy and cataract, which lead to either reversible or irreversible loss of vision.

The longer the duration of diabetes, the greater is the risk of developing diabetic eye disease.

Progression is rapid in patients with uncontrolled blood sugar. Similarly high blood pressure, increased blood lipid, renal disease, pregnancy, anaemia and smoking also have an adverse effect in the progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy

The retina is the back portion of the eye. The retina along with optic nerve connects the eye to the brain. The high blood sugar damages the cells lining the walls of the arteries and the veins of the retina. These small blood vessels may balloon in some places to form micro-aneurysms that leak fluid, blood and fat into surrounding tissues. The fluid accumulation leads to thickening of retina. When it affects the central part of the retina known as the macula, there will be a drop in vision. The function of blood is to supply oxygen to the tissues. Since the blood vessels of the retina are damaged, the oxygen supply to the retina is deprived. New blood vessels start growing in an effort to supply nutrients and oxygen to the tissues. These new vessels grow on the surface of the retina and into the vitreous, a jelly-like fluid inside the eye. Unfortunately these new vessels are extremely fragile and leaky, leading to bleeding inside the eye or vitreous haemorrhage. Scar tissue also accompanies the growth of new vessels. In advanced stages this scar tissue can contract pulling the retina along, leading to detachment.

Cataract

The lens helps in focusing light rays to get clear vision. When this lens gets opacified, it results in a cataract. In addition diabetic patients develop earlier cataracts and may require surgery to replace it with a new intra ocular lens. Sometimes, in uncontrolled diabetes, high blood sugar causes swelling of the lens. This results in temporary blurring of vision. Once the blood sugar is brought under control and remains stable for one week, vision will improve.

Treatment options

Timely treatment helps prevent further vision loss. Laser remains the mainstay of treatment for diabetic retinopathy.

For fluid accumulation in macula, laser photocoagulation in focal or grid pattern can be applied. For new vessel formation (proliferative diabetic retinopathy), panretinal laser photocoagulation reduces the oxygen demand for retina.

Hence the impulse to form new vessels is knocked off. Laser treatment is often done to prevent complications related to diabetic retinopathy but not to improve vision.

Steroids and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs are being injected directly into the eye these days in patients with certain types of macular thickening. This blocks vascular endothelial growth factor, which plays a role in the growth of new vessels.

These injections help reduce blood vessel leakage and formation of abnormal new vessels. If needed these injections are repeated at intervals of 4-6 weeks.

For advanced diabetic eye disease, surgical intervention is considered. Sutureless vitrectomy is the latest procedure in which blood and scar tissue inside the eye is removed. Laser treatment is often combined with surgery in such patients. Cataract needs surgical removal.

Hence diabetic eye problems are treatable if diagnosed early. Diabetic patients should undergo yearly examinations even if they have good vision.

Last but not the least, lifestyle management helps reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes. It can also slow or halt progression of pre-diabetes to diabetes.

Symptoms

In early stages there will not be any blurring of vision.

If the patient develops fluid accumulation in the macula they will find a drop in vision.

Sudden deterioration in vision in advanced stage can occur due to bleeding inside the eye and retinal detachment.

Temporary change in refractive error sometimes occurs due to rapid shift in blood sugar.

Glare and blurring of vision could be noticed due to cataract.

When to consult an ophthalmologist?

Don’t wait for symptoms. If you are diabetic, undergo a detailed eye examination during diagnosis itself. A yearly follow up is mandatory.

If you have diabetic retinopathy further follow up is as per ophthalmologist’s advice.

Patients who undergo laser treatment should have follow up every three months.

Diabetic patients who become pregnant are also at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. Seek an ophthalmologist’s opinion in the first trimester.

Diabetic retinopathy patients with hypertension or renal disease should have regular ophthalmic check up every six months.

Preventive measures

Strict control of blood sugar is the mainstay. Your HbA1C levels should be around six per cent.

A healthy lifestyle including diet control and regular exercise helps avoid further complications.

Intensive control of blood pressure, renal function and serum lipid levels.

Blood haemoglobin should be within normal limits. Avoid smoking. By Dr. Mohan Rajan, Dr. Kavitha, Dr Siddharth Ravishankar, The Hindu

They also told a conference that grip strength in middle-age was linked to the chance of a stroke.

The scientists said more studies were needed to understand what was happening.

Experts said the findings raised important questions, but more research was needed.

Suggestions of a link between slow walking speed and poor health have been made before.

A study, published in the British Medical Journal in 2009, said there was a “strong association” between slow walking speed and death from heart attacks and other heart problems. A Journal of the American Medical Association study suggested a link between walking faster over the age of 65 and a longer life.

Dr Erica Camargo, who conducted the latest study at the Boston Medical Centre, said: “While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren’t sure until now how it impacted people of middle age.”

Brain scans, walking speed and grip strength were recorded for 2,410 people who were, on average, 62 years old.

Results presented at the Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting said that 11 years later, 34 people had developed dementia and 79 had had a stroke.

The researchers said slower walking speeds were linked to a higher risk of dementia and stronger grip with a lower risk of stroke.

Dr Camargo said: “These are basic office tests which can provide insight into risk of dementia and stroke and can be easily performed by a neurologist or general practitioner.

“Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength.”

The findings have not yet, however, been published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Dr Marie Janson, director of development at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Although this study has yet to be published in full, it does raise some important questions about whether physical problems, such as difficulty walking, could precede other symptoms associated with dementia.

“Further study could shed new insight into how walking speed and dementia may be linked.”

Dr Anne Corbett, research manager at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Before people take stock in the strength of a handshake or the speed you cross the road, more research is needed to understand why and what other factors are involved.

“The good news is that there are many things you can do to reduce your risk of developing dementia.

“We recommend you eat a healthy balanced diet, don’t smoke, maintain a healthy weight, take regular exercise; and get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly.”

The Stroke Association’s Dr Sharlin Ahmed, said: “Around a third of those who have a stroke are left with some kind of physical disability, including hand weakness and difficulty walking. However, this is the first time we have seen research that looks at the presence of related symptoms before a stroke.

“This is an interesting study, but a lot more research is needed before we can conclude that strength of grip or walking speed can determine the risk of stroke.” Joy Online

In findings published in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers who studied nearly 200 people found that those with a pet had higher heart rate variability than those without one.

It means their hearts respond better to body’s changing requirements, such as beating faster during stressful situations.

Reduced heart rate variability has been linked to a higher risk of dying from heart disease.

“Among patients with coronary artery disease, pet owners exhibit a greater 1-year survival rate than nonowners,” wrote lead author Naoko Aiba at Kitasato University in Kanagawa, near Tokyo.

For the study, Aiba’s team monitored 191 people with diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol over 24 hours, using a heart monitor. Their mean age range was from roughly 60 years-old up to nearly 80.

For pet owners, about 5% of their heartbeats differed by 50 milliseconds in length. For non-pet owners, it was 2.5%, which means their heart rate changed less. So far, nobody knows what caused the difference. It could be due to the pets somehow, or it could be there are differences between people who choose to get a pet and people who don’t. The Times of India

The strength of our bones is determined early in life. The more bone mass we put on when young, the smaller the risk of fractures as we grow older.

Previous research has shown that exercise before and during puberty is particularly important for bone development.

Now researchers at the University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy have shown that exercise in the early twenties also aids bone growth, countering the risk of broken bones later in life.

Mattias Lorentzon and his colleagues at the Sahlgrenska Academy’s Centre for Bone and Arthritis Research show in a study of 833 Swedish men that those who increased their levels of physical activity between the ages of 19 and 24 also increased their bone density in the hips, lumbar spine, arms and lower legs – while those who decreased their physical activity during this period had significantly more brittle bones.

“The men who increased or maintained high levels of physical activity also developed larger and thicker bones in their lower arms and legs,” said Lorentzon.

“These findings suggest that maintaining or, ideally, increasing physical activity can improve bone growth in our youth, which probably reduces the risk of fractures later on,” Lorentzon added. Indian Express

University of Pennsylvania researchers found that infants aged between six and nine months can grasp the meaning of common words months before they can speak them.

It was widely believed that babies can comprehend elements of the sounds of their native language but not their meaning.

In the first demonstration that babies can understand such words, the researchers tested 33 six- to nine-month-old babies in controlled conditions.

The study involved showing the babies a screen with images of two objects and tracking their eye movements when a parent asked them about one of the objects, such as “Where is the apple?”

The results, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the babies were more likely to fix their gaze on the correct picture, indicating that they understood that the word was associated with the appropriate object.

“There had been a few demonstrations of understanding before, involving words like mommy and daddy,” lead researcher Dr. Daniel Swingley said. “Our study is different in looking at more generic words, words that refer to categories.”

Swingley added, “I think this study presents a great message to parents: You can talk to your babies, and they’re going to understand a bit of what you’re saying. They’re not going to give us back witty repartee, but they understand some of it. And the more they know, the more they can build on what they know.” Fox News

Thyroid disorder is the second most common endocrine gland disease in humans; the first being diabetes mellitus. However, unlike diabetes, thyroid disorder has a distinct gender bias! Thyroid problems are significantly higher among women; be it thyroid over-activity, under-activity or swelling. This is thought to be due the influence of sex hormones, though the exact reason is not yet clear. But all thyroid disorders are 5- 10 times more common in women than men.

More people are being diagnosed with thyroid problems. Whether this is a true increase or if more patients are being detected due to increased use of thyroid tests is a difficult question to answer as there is not enough data from Indian adults. A community cross-sectional study done in the iodine deficient adult population in Kochi showed that both hypo and hyperthyroidism were significantly higher among women more than 40 years old.

Women had significantly higher prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disorders than men. This study also showed that, other than gender, increasing age was a major determinant of thyroid disorders, though goitre was more common among younger people. With an increasing aged population, the findings of this study — a majority of the thyroid dysfunctions being undetected, especially among older women — become more relevant.

Care after childbirth

This may be due to reasons distinctive to our society. After the reproductive period, women do not get enough attention and healthcare from their family or from society. They tend to ignore their own health as they are busy managing the house, looking after children and grandchildren. In addition, many subtle health problems produced by thyroid disorders are attributed to ageing and/or menopause and ignored.

However, long standing undetected thyroid dysfunctions can have long-term implications on health. Sub-clinical hypo and hyperthyroidism contribute to morbidity rates due to osteoporosis and hypercholestrelemia, especially in middle-aged women. Previous studies on pregnant mothers have shown that iodine deficiency and undetected thyroid disorders are quite common. This high prevalence of thyroid problem among reproductive age group women and expectant mothers is important considering that maternal iodine status and thyroid function status have a serious bearing on the well-being and intelligence of the child. Severe iodine deficiency in pregnant women can cause serious damage to the developing brain of the baby and result in a condition called cretinism which is characterised by mental and physical retardation.

Hence, it is vital that women planning a pregnancy take iodised salt to prevent deficiency and check the thyroid function status. Fortunately, most thyroid disorders have easy and effective treatment.

Thyroid disorders

Symptoms include obesity, depression, fatigue, high cholesterol, infertility, recurrent miscarriage, memory problems, menstrual problems, difficult menopause, muscle aches, joint pains, hair loss, puffiness, constipation, Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, obesity and inability to lose weight despite of diet and exercise.

“3 Ts” of Thyroid Health:

Three easy steps to enable patients and physicians to keep thyroids functioning well:

Test your thyroid: Knowing the symptoms and risk factors is half the battle. If you have any of the symptoms or are over 35, ask your doctor to do a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) blood test.

Take Your Medicine: If you are on therapy, take your medicine every day, as directed by your doctor. Staying on the same dose of thyroid medicine prescribed by your doctor is also critical for optimal disease management, so check your prescription at every repurchase to make sure it is correct; each strength may be of a different colour!

Track Your Condition: See your doctor regularly and get a TSH test every 6-12 months. Report any recurrence of symptoms — or new symptoms — to your doctor immediately. By Dr. R. V. Jayakumar, The Hindu