Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Thyroid and Women’s Health Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Thyroid health is important for our overall wellbeing. But did you know that it can also affect women’s health concerns? In general women are more likely to be diagnosed with thyroid issues. In fact, up to …
How the Thyroid Impacts Weight Management Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND One topic that comes up often around summertime is weight management. Everyone wants to be ready for the beach! And one part of managing our weight is by working with our thyroid. Everyone knows the …
weight management
Written by Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com
Almost everyone knows the thyroid controls weight. But did you know it also controls metabolism? What exactly is metabolism? In the medical world, it is known as basal metabolic rate or BMR. Basically, it’s the number of calories you use to just live. Sleeping, breathing and even sitting are all things that contribute to the BMR. Being very active and engaging in physical exercise will cause it to increase. BMR is usually calculated based on the following factors: age, gender, height and weight. (1) In addition to the thyroid, other hormones can and do affect weight. However as this is a series on the thyroid, I’ll focus solely on how thyroid affects weight.
To recap, the thyroid is in charge of BMR. Studies show that people with low thyroid function had lower BMRs, compared to those with a higher than normal amount of thyroid hormone, who had higher BMRs. (2) Meaning, those with a decreased thyroid function gained weight easily; while those with an increase in thyroid function were able to lose weight.
Now, it is very important to first determine if weight loss or weight gain is related to the thyroid. Blood work is always a great place to start. In the article regarding blood testing, I gave you some things you should go over with your doctor. After that, you’ll have some time in between doing blood work and getting results back. During that time, you should utilize it by starting a food diary or log of anything you eat throughout the day. It’s very important to be honest about what you’re eating if you want to try to balance your food intake. I know it might be embarrassing to write down or tell a nutritionist you had 4 slices of pizza, 3 times this week; but it’s easier to understand what we need to do when someone is honest about what they eat; rather than saying what they think we want to hear. Why do I seem to be harping on this issue? Even with a thyroid disorder, what we eat is one of the most important things to help regulate our weight. While it is true that having a lower/higher level of thyroid hormone will make it easier to gain or lose weight, it’s not the only concern regarding a healthy weight. Having a healthy or unhealthy relationship with food is just as important to talk about. (3) If you have a thyroid disorder and an unhealthy relationship with food, it’s like throwing gasoline on a fire; it will only make it worse.
Well first, get blood work down then do your food log. Once you have your blood work and food log feel free to contact an InViteⓇ Health nutritionist. I am always happy to go over your food log. Email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com, if you’re interested in working with me! Next, work with a nutritionist to determine what is going on with your thyroid. Is it higher than normal? Lower? Is there an autoimmune problem going on? All of these are topics we have covered in this series. Feel free to look back on any of our previous blogs!
In addition to working on the thyroid and what you are eating, there are supplements that studies show can help with weight loss and weight gain.
For weight loss the following have been found to be helpful, Green Tea: This has been found in studies to help with weight loss. (4)
See InViteⓇ Health’s Supplements: Green Tea Tx™ , Green Tea HxⓇ, and Green Tea Fat Burner
HOW GREEN TEA SUPPORTS FAT BURN AND WEIGHT LOSS >> Read Now!
For weight gain the following have been found to be helpful, CLA: in a study with obese men, they supplemented CLA for 4 weeks, which showed a decrease in belly fat. (5)
See InViteⓇ Health’s Supplements: CLA
Phase 2: A great addition to green tea, it has been found to potentially help both obesity and triglycerides. (6)
See InViteⓇ Health’s Supplements: Phase 2 Carb Controller
*The following smoothie recipes can be used as a meal replacement
Citrus Smoothie
Water
InViteⓇ Health Whey Protein
Oranges HxⓇ
Collagen HxⓇ
Add 1 dropper-full Green Tea Tx™
Open 1 capsule of Probiotic HxⓇ Weight into the shaker.
Shake well and enjoy over ice!
Detox Smoothie
Water
InViteⓇ Health Whey Protein
Collagen HxⓇ
Dr Pressman Daily Detox
Dr Pressman Organic Greens Plus
Open 1 capsule of Probiotic HxⓇ Weight into the shaker.
Shake well and enjoy over ice!
For more information see Allie Might’s podcast on this fantastic topic!
*The following smoothies will be best eaten in between meals for weight gain benefits (not instead or in place of one of the three meals eating each day)
Retro Weight Gainer
Milk of choice
Weight Management Powder
Cocoa HxⓇ
Dr Pressmen Organic Greens Plus
Collagen HxⓇ
1 Avocado, or banana or 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Superfood Weight Gainer
Milk of choice
Weight Management Powder
Reds HxⓇ
Greens HxⓇ
Collagen HxⓇ
https://www.garnethealth.org/news/basal-metabolic-rate-calculator
https://www.btf-thyroid.org/thyroid-and-weight-the-science
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-which-is-better-for-losing-weight-diet-or-exercise/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938410000703
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11477497/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15005645/#:~:text=Results%3A%20The%20results%20after%20eight, percent%20(p%3D0.35).
When your thyroid is underperforming, this is known as hypothyroidism. This can create symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, hair loss and more.
You’ve probably heard about how important the thyroid is for your overall health, but do you know why? Learn all about this powerful gland from Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND.
weight gain
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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It’s the holiday season. It’s a wonderful time of year, however there are all of those threats to your waistline, like your favorite pecan pie or cookies. It’s typical for people to gain weight over the holidays, anywhere from 2 to 6 pounds. Well, you don’t want that. It’s hard enough to keep your waistline down. We have a way of helping that. Today, we’re going to talk about how you can safely, efficiently and effectively help prevent that holiday weight gain.
Phase 2
Phase 2 Starch & Carb Neutralizer is one of my favorite supplements. There are many human clinical trials behind Phase 2, including over at the Mayo Clinic.
Phase 2 is derived from Phaseolus vulgarus, which is a type of bean. They wash this stuff out and it’s easy to remove because it’s water-soluble. You couldn’t eat enough beans to really make this worthwhile because the beans are a carbohydrate and have calories. Phase 2 has over 20 human clinical trials behind it. It’s so effective and so safe that the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows us to make claims with weight and to say that it’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).†
FENDING OFF FALL AND WINTER WEIGHT GAIN – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 203. Listen Now >>
How does Phase 2 work? It attaches to starch-digesting enzymes and it blocks the absorption of sugars. You can still taste the food, you’re just not absorbing as much sugar as you used to. In the research, they’ve clocked up to 500 fewer sugar calories absorbed every day. In your digestive tract, you release an enzyme from your pancreas called alpha-amylase enzyme. They liberate sugar from foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, cake and cookies. Sugar isn’t automatically absorbed and if it’s not picked up by the alpha-amylase, it passes right through you. That’s what’s happening with Phase 2. You’ll absorb enough sugar from healthy foods that suit your needs for your brain energy and muscle energy, but you’re not going to absorb that amazingly overabundant amount of sugar we Americans consume. So the Phase 2 attaches to the enzymes and the sugar molecules pass through you.†
Learn more about how Phase 2 can help you by tuning into the full podcast episode.
Trim Hx
There is another supplement that can be useful right now around the holiday season to help prevent that weight gain that accompanies the holidays and that’s called Trim Hx. It’s a type of ginger called Grains of Paradise, which helps convert white fat or belly fat into beige fat, which is the fat that gives you energy and endurance. One thing that Trim Hx will help you with is energy and endurance, but also burning fat.†
HOW TO FINALLY ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL WEIGHT LOSS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 164. Listen Now >>
The other ingredient in there is a plant called Griffonia simplicifolia, which supplies an alpha-amino acid called 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). What this does is it helps you control your appetite even further. This can help you accomplish two things: You’re going to eat less at your meal and you’re going to be happy with that. You’re not going to feel hungry after it. The second thing is that you’re also going to prevent in-between-meal snacking.†
There’s another benefit there. The 5-HTP helps you deal with stress. Stress makes food more fattening, not to mention that it steps on your immune system and your immune system won’t work so well. When you’re stressed out, you release cortisol from your adrenal glands, which can make food more fattening. So if you eat a cookie and you’re calm, it’s literally less fattening that if you eat a cookie and you’re stressed out because stress hormones pack calories onto your body.†
Tune into the full podcast episode to hear Jerry’s recommendations about how to take these supplements and to learn more about them.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
