Re: thyroid, brain temperature & more

Hi Ginagirl,

Love your post. So very interesting! This is another slight angle regarding our little butterfly, the thyroid.

One can imagine the thyroid gland as a furnace and the pituitary gland as the thermostat. The hypothalamus would be the person who regulates the thermostat since it tells the pituitary gland at what level the thyroid should be set.

I imagine Iodine as lumps of coal. Instead of electricity we get Tn… t2t

3 lumps of Iodine = T3
4 lumps of Iodine = T4

So iodine molecules are added to make T3 (triiodothyronine), and four for T4 (thyroxine) -- the two key hormones produced by the thyroid gland -- so iodine is essential to the production of these two hormones of the master gland of metabolism.

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/vitaminsupplement/a/iodine.htm


The thyroid gland is under the control of the pituitary gland, a small gland the size of a peanut at the base of the brain (shown here in orange). When the level of thyroid hormones (T3 & T4) drops too low, the pituitary gland produces Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) which stimulates the thyroid gland to produce more hormones. Under the influence of TSH, the thyroid will manufacture and secrete T3 and T4 thereby raising their blood levels.

The pituitary senses this and responds by decreasing its TSH production. Thyroid hormones are like heat. When the heat gets back to the thermostat, it turns the thermostat off. As the room cools (the thyroid hormone levels drop), the thermostat turns back on (TSH increases) and the furnace produces more heat (thyroid hormones).

The pituitary gland itself is regulated by another gland, known as the hypothalamus (shown in our picture in light blue). The hypothalamus is part of the brain and produces TSH Releasing Hormone (TRH) which tells the pituitary gland to stimulate the thyroid gland (release TSH).

http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/how-your-thyroid-works


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