Having a healthy and functioning thyroid as a pregnant person is necessary for prenatal development — from the moment of conception. This is because the thyroid only starts developing and functioning around the beginning of the second trimester, when the embryo becomes a fetus (1). Even in the second and…

Thyroid function changes with age. Typically TSH increases, while T4 levels stay mostly unchanged, and T3 levels drop (1, 2). Most hypothyroidism diagnoses occur during middle age. Signs of hypothyroidism in middle-aged people Symptoms of an underactive thyroid can often be confused with symptoms of heart problems, neurological disorders, or gastrointestinal disorders (3). The most common…

Thyroid activity changes as people age — the organ slowly becomes less active (1). Aging-related changes in the thyroid Several changes in the thyroid are likely to occur with age (2–6): The thyroid becomes smaller and harder to feel in the neck TPO and Tg antibodies (a sign of Hashimoto’s) become more frequent over the…

Incorporating seaweed into the diet can be beneficial, as it contains nutrients including iodine (1). Seaweed is an umbrella term for different types of sea vegetables. Kelp is a popular type of brown seaweed. But there are some risks that come with eating seaweed — the concentration of iodine and…

If a person loses a lot of blood while giving birth, the pituitary gland can get harmed — this is known as Sheehan’s syndrome (postpartum pituitary necrosis). Damage to the pituitary gland can prevent it from producing hormones, including TSH and prolactin (1). Signs and symptoms of Sheehan’s syndrome can…

Thyroid hormone deficiency present at birth — Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a condition where there is a lack of thyroid hormones in a baby from the moment of birth (1). Thyroid hormones are essential for normal human growth and development, especially during the first few years of life. …

In the past few months there has been a lot of attention on supplements that can improve your ability to fight colds. Supplements can help strengthen your immune system and many of them are taken to improve thyroid function. Recent research has shown that vitamin D and zinc are two…

Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (also known as morning sickness) are common — occurring in 8 in 10 pregnant people (1). Sickness usually improves and stops around weeks 16 to 20 (1). For about 3 in 100 pregnant people, nausea and vomiting are very severe — this is known as…

When you’re diagnosed with a chronic illness, it usually plays a dominant role in your day-to-day life. Taking medication on time, tracking health habits, planning, worrying. It’s important to have downtime, when you can enjoy and produce more feel-good molecules. In 1976, Norman Cousins published an account of Adam Smith…