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The month of January marks Thyroid Awareness Month. To help bring about that awareness, we’ve teamed up with doctors of color to keep you better informed about the conditions impacting our thyroid and overall health.
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Someone who has spoken out about how their health has been impacted by thyroid dysfunction is Adrienne Houghton. The Real co-host revealed in December that she has Hashimoto’s disease, and one side effect she has noticed since her diagnosis, and seemingly other people have observed and been obsessed with, is weight gain.
“I’m not pregnant! I have Hashimoto’s!” she said. “It’s hypothyroidism. Yes, I have a fat neck! There is a reason!”
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is quite the tricky disease. It involves antithyroid antibodies attacking the thyroid tissue, and for a number of women, they aren’t diagnosed until the autoimmune disease has progressed. Women, who are more likely to be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s than men (the ratio is “at least 10:1“), are often diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 50. More and more women are being diagnosed with this disease, as Melynda Barnes, MD, Associate Clinical Director at Ro, says it is the most common cause of hypothyroidism, or too little hormones.
“In Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the immune system attacks the thyroid gland causing a gradual decline in thyroid function,” says Barnes. “The cause of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is thought to be a combination of genetics and environmental factors. There is a familial association between Graves’ and Hashimoto’s and sometimes a patient can start with Graves’, which turns into Hashimoto’s and vice versa.”
Weight gain specifically, along with fatigue, constipation and more, is an early symptom of the disease (neck swelling is also a big one). It’s not necessarily a symptom for everyone (ask Zoe Saldana, who said she decided to eat as clean as possible to slow down symptoms of Hashimoto’s), but it’s commonly associated with the disease. It all has to do with the way in which one’s thyroid, which controls so much of how your body operates, functions when you have this particular disease.
“The reason why weight gain is associated with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis all relates to the function of the thyroid gland,” Barnes says. “The thyroid, via thyroid hormone, regulates your metabolism, heart rate, digestive function, muscle control, mood, bone maintenance and brain
development. Because the hormone levels are low, the metabolic rate slows down, which leads to weight gain.”
Another way to look at is, the less hormones being produced, the slower your body regulates some serious functions. When this occurs, one’s metabolism is lethargic, so weight loss becomes harder.
“When you have too much thyroid hormone you can experience symptoms such as palpitations, frequent bowel movements and unexplained weight loss. For patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with hypothyroidism, the symptoms are almost the opposite,” Barnes added. “Patients may experience weight gain, constipation, dry skin, irritability, cold intolerance, slow heart rate, fatigue, high cholesterol and heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding.”
Treatment for this disease includes thyroid hormone replacement therapy. An example of such therapy is taking a synthetic thyroid daily. But as for dealing with the rollercoaster weight gain while doing hormone replacement, those with Hashimoto’s are encouraged to get active at a reasonable rate. It’s not suggested that you do anything too extreme, as thyroid dysfunction can already heavily impact energy levels. A healthier diet is also encouraged. Increasing your protein intake, opting for healthy fats, veggies and lean meats, as well as dumping sugar, processed foods, dairy and simple carbs (i.e., rice) is recommended.
