The thyroid gland is one of the important glands in the human body. Sitting in your neck, this butterfly-shaped gland primarily controls your body’s metabolism. Through the actions of its two hormones, the thyroid gland can speed up your metabolism or slow it down. This means that your cells will produce more energy or less. It also affects your body’s growth rate and has a host of other effects on the body. There are minor changes in thyroid activity occurring throughout the day but we never give our thyroid gland much thought until it become dysfunctional. With minor problems, there may be little to no symptoms. But once the thyroid activity is significantly affected, the symptoms become obvious, causes significant discomfort and can have severe consequences.

continue reading Five Signs Of Thyroid Dysfunction

Diabetes mellitus is a global problem largely associated with diet and lifestyle, although genetic factors are just as important. With some 26 million American living with diabetes, it has become one of the major chronic diseases of today along with coronary artery disease and high blood cholesterol. The even more concerning factor is that there are some 79 million Americans with prediabetes, and it is not just the middle aged or elderly. Studies have revealed that approximately 35% of Americans older than 20 years of age (just over 1 out of 3 people) are suffering with prediabetes and many do not even know that they have the condition. Eventually these people will become diabetic without quick intervention.

continue reading How To Avoid Diabetes And Cure Prediabetes

With summer around the corner and erratic weather conditions becoming somewhat of the norm, heat waves are a more common occurrence these days. While it may seem like a good idea to spend the day outdoors, you may be at risk of heat-related illnesses. Your body has several ways to keep cool in order to prevent overheating, but sometimes this is not enough. When dealing with hot weather that you are not acclimatized to, try not to do what you normally would on a hot summer’s day. The reality is that a little too much of ‘fun in the sun’ can be dangerous and even life-threatening.

continue reading How To Prevent A Heat Stroke And Stop It

Hunger is one sensation that we all understand from the time of birth. It compels us to find food and eat it, or as is the case with infants, to alert caregivers about the desire to feed. What we all expect is to feel satisfied after eating which means that the sensation of hunger subsides. Both satiety and hunger are at two ends of the spectrum governed by specific centers in the brain. However, there are instances where a person may continue to feel hungry after eating. Or at times hunger starts after eating. This is not considered to be normal.

So why would a person feel hungry after eating? It is often not serious. Eating a little more or having another meal may do the trick. But there are also instances where hunger can be a sign of certain diseases. If the feeling of hunger after eating recurs frequently or leads to changes in appetite then it needs to be investigated further. Naturally a person may start to eat more on a daily basis and would even gain weight. However, in some diseases the constant hunger and increased appetite may not lead to weight gain. In fact a person may be losing weight instead.

continue reading Hungry After Eating? 7 Common and Unusual Reasons

Glucose is the basic fuel used by the cells of the body to produce energy. Although the body stores some glucose as glycogen and can use fat and even protein for energy production, we largely depend on a constant glucose supply from food. As the blood glucose levels drop to lower levels, a person feels tired, irritable, sleepy and has difficulty concentrating.

Normally the body keeps the glucose levels in the blood within a narrow range. This ensures that blood glucose levels does not drop to dangerously low levels in a healthy person. But even at lower levels within the normal range, a person may experience symptoms that we tend to attribute to hunger and low blood glucose levels.

continue reading Tips to Maintain Blood Glucose Levels Throughout the Day