 Thyroid disease assumes various forms, the most frequent being hypothyroidism, also known as thyrotoxicosis or exophthalmic goiter, resulting from the withering or atrophy of the thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism is a serious condition of the body, which results from the over activity of the thyroid gland. Women in their middle age are more prone to thyroid diseases, who are over worked and who do not get any relaxation; either at the menopause or thereafter, or when there is any extra physical strain on the body.
Symptoms of Thyroid:
In hypothyroidism, the basal metabolism decreases below normal, with the result the patient tends to be slow in his movements.
The patient is also susceptible to cold, constipation and puts on weight.
Other symptoms include dry, scaly and thickened hair, puffiness in the face.
The pulse is slow and the patient often complains of vague pains in the back and stiffness in the joints.
He is also usually nervous, weak, sensitive to heat, sweats frequently, is over active because the heart gets enlarged and often underweight.
There might be slight tremor in the fingers and palpitation of the heart.
In many cases, there may be bulging of the eyes and passing excessive quantity of urine.
The pulse rate is rapid and may also be irregular.
Causes of Thyroid:
The main cause of hypothyroidism is insufficient production of thyroid hormone.
Other causes of this disease are some pituitary deficiency and inborn error of the
thyroid gland.
There are also excess amounts of thyroid hormone produced by the overactive gland, raising the metabolic rate of the body.
Another important cause of this disease is physical or emotional stress.
Heredity also plays a role and the disease seems to run in families.
The real cause of thyroid disease, however, is wrong feeding habits over a long period of faulty style of living, together with suppressive medical treatment of other diseases in the past.
Sometimes the thyroid glands become overworked if the excessive quantities of foods are consumed, resulting in the clogging of the intestinal tract with toxic matter. The overworking of the thyroid gland is further complicated by wrong living habits and excessive emotionalism, both of which weaken the system.
Treatment of Thyroid by Nature Cure:
Great care must be taken, never to allow the body to become exhausted and any irritation likely to cause emotional upset should be avoided. The only real treatment for any of the thyroid disease is the cleansing of the system and adoption of a rational dietary hereafter, combined with adequate rest and relaxation. The cure of thyroid disease is not a speedy one and there is often a recurrence of symptoms but these should gradually become less pronounced. Here are the recommended treatments for thyroid:
Diet:
To begin with, strict adherence to diet is essential for one year for complete cure and the patient should take juices of fresh fruits such as orange, apple, pineapple and grapes every two hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for five days.
The bowels should be cleansed daily with warm-water enema.
After the juice fast, the patient may spend further three days on fruits and milk, taking three meals a day of juicy fruits with a glass of milk, at five-hourly intervals.
Thereafter, he may adopt a well-balanced diet consisting of seeds; nuts and grains, vegetables, fruits and the starch element should be confined to whole-wheat products and potatoes. The protein foods should be confined to cheese, peas, beans, lentils and nuts.
Certain foods and fruits are however, extremely injurious for thyroid patients and should be avoided by them. These include white flour products, white sugar, flesh foods, fried and greasy foods, preserves, condiments, tea, coffee and alcohol.
Exercises:
The patient should take plenty of rest and spend a day in bed every week for the first two months of the treatment. He should take physical exercise after the symptoms subside.
There might be slight recurrence of this extremely nervous complaint for some time, but the attacks will become less severe and of short duration as the treatment progresses.
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