Thyroid and Metabolism (Nursing)

00:01 Hi, I'm Doctor Rhonda Lawes and this is an introduction to the thyroid and your metabolism. Now the thyroid has a significant impact on metabolism.

00:10 Think of it in three main areas: your body's energy and production and how it uses that, your cell function speed and specific effects on other body systems. So when we're talking about energy production and usage, it's your thyroid hormones that control how quickly your cells can convert nutrients into energy, because these hormones influence how much energy your body uses, even at rest or your basal metabolic rate.

00:36 So this is going to affect how quickly you burn calories.

00:40 Now when we talk about cell function speed, I want you to think of your thyroid hormones like a thermostat for your cells.

00:46 They regulate how fast or slow the cellular processes happen.

00:50 And this affects everything from your heart rate to your speed of digestion.

00:55 And finally, let's look at specific effects on certain body systems. Let's start from the top and work our way down.

01:02 When it comes to the brain and your thyroid hormones, it impacts brain development and function.

01:08 Your heart, it can control your heart rate and the strength of your heartbeats. What about your digestive system? Well, the thyroid hormones influence how quickly food moves through your system.

01:20 When it comes to your muscles, it will affect muscle contractions and relaxation. Temperature control is a big deal.

01:27 These hormones regulate how much heat your body can produce.

01:31 And finally, in your bones, the thyroid hormones can control how quickly bone is broken down and rebuilt.

01:38 Now, if a client has a thyroid imbalance, they're either going to have one of two things. They're either going to have too much thyroid hormone, which is hyperthyroidism, or too little thyroid hormone, which is hypothyroidism.

01:53 Well, since we've just discussed the effects of thyroid in the body.

01:57 When someone has hyperthyroidism, it makes sense that their metabolism is going to be sped way up. That'll lead to weight loss, but also anxiety, rapid heartbeat, and the worst case scenario is thyrotoxicosis. If the client doesn't have enough thyroid hormone or hypothyroidism, everything slows down. Their metabolism slows down, which means they're going to gain weight.

02:24 They're going to be really tired, they're super sensitive to cold.

02:28 And their worst case scenario is a development of a life threatening myxedema coma. So imbalance, you either have too much or too little and better than just memorizing things is keeping in mind if you know what the thyroid hormone does, then it will be obvious what the symptoms will be for hyperthyroidism and for hypothyroidism. So remember, keep in mind that the thyroid hormones are like the body's gas pedal.

02:53 They control how fast or slow your body's processes run.