Overcome a slow metabolism – by getting a thyroxin boost

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Overcome a SLOW METABOLISM – by getting a thyroxin boost

The warmer your blood, the more thyroxin molecules jump the thyroid binding globulin ship, they then whip your cells into shape, boosting your metabolism.

Do you feel like your metabolism is on some kind of go slow ? The cell’s in your body, are in no particular rush to burn through the calories that you provide.

Leaving you with lots of spare calories……

Which are then squirreled away for that rainy day, which never happens, leaving you with a not so sexy, chick magnet aka a spare tyre.

Eish !

Go thyroxin

The hormone that is often fingered for slow metabolism, is the thyroid hormone, thyroxin. I like to think of the thyroid hormone, as your cells personal trainer. When a “personal trainer” blasts the whistle – you are obligated, to lift up your game and get hustling.

Cells subject to drills instigated by the thyroid hormone – burn through lots of fuel, they have to.

GO THYROXIN.

So what gets the thyroid hormone going ?

Thyroxin is hot blooded

Scientists from Australia have discovered the thyroid hormone/coach is more likely to show up…… when you are HOT. The team found that a body temperature of 39°C, results in a 23 % increase in thyroxine levels in the blood.

I know, it sounds rather odd – exercising in the heat.

The reason for this peculiarity……. is the thyroid hormone, zoots around your body in a specially designed speed boat, known as the thyroid-binding globulin (TBG for short). Now thyroid-binding globulin is custom designed, so that only thyroid hormones can fit.

And the fit is pretty snug.

Except when things heat up a bit. When thyroxin begins sweating – he finds it a lot easier to slip out of the boat. And ones he gets out – he begins whipping all the cells he meets, into shape.

Probably a good thing

A temperature rise is a signal that the body is under attack. This ability of thyroxin, to slip out the boat when things heat up, ends up being a good thing.

War time calls for extra effort. The extra effort, brings victory.

Of course, pushing too hard – can be disastrous. A problem which can arise if temperatures rise too high. This is what happens in babies who suffer from febrile seizures, the spiking fever causes brain cells to over do it, resulting in a convulsive episode.

Mother Nature knows how to turn that dial

If hot makes, thyroxin sweaty and slippy………….. cold makes thyroxin frigid and sticky.

Frigid temperatures keep the personal trainer in the boat. With no thyroid hormone blowing the whistle, body cells rest on their laurels. They’re not motivated to get cracking, so the body’s metabolism ends up being extremely low. This allows animals that need to, to hibernate.

So can you turn the temperature dial ?

Heating things up is complicated

You are not a cold blooded lizard – you’re warm blooded, which makes fiddling with your temperature dial, “difficult”.

As a warm blooded being, you come with a very sophisticated temperature regulating system, built in. Sitting in a cold room, does not cool your blood off, in fact, sitting in a cold room will get your body fired up in response to the chill. Likewise, sitting in a hot room, does not heat your blood up.

BUT….you can warm things up a little.

NOTE : You’re not going to drive the temperature sky high, this requires input from the immune system and the presence of a nasty bug, something I would recommend you try to avoid.

Warming things up a little

There are a few things you can do to marginally warm your blood up, enough to warm the cockles of your heart, so that a few thyroxine molecules jump ship and give your metabolism a boost.

A bout of vigorous exercise will get your temperature rising, so will
A short stint in a sauna or hot tub
A seriously spicy meal

As an added benefit, whilst you’re all hot and bothered, you’re very unlikely to feel like filling up.

Hot is a fabulous appetite suppressant.

Just don’t overdo it. Your sophisticated temperature regulation system requires you to be adequately hydrated and aerated, to keep you cool. So when you’re heating things up, make sure you keep your cool.

Boost your body

Make your thyroxin hormone HOT & SWEATY.

Temperature-responsive release of thyroxine and its environmental adaptation in Australians. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2014) 281 (1779): 20132747 X. Qi, W. L. Chan, R. J. Read, A. Zhou, R. W. Carrell.