If you complain of fatigue, difficulty losing weight, weight gain, hair loss, difficulty concentrating or depression, and thought your thyroid might be low but routine thyroid blood tests were normal, you’re not alone. An untold number of people experience the same problem and it’s due to the fact that we are in the midst of a thyroid epidemic – and the routine thyroid blood test frequently fails to detect it.

According to recent estimates, as much as 20% of the American population (mostly women) could have a low thyroid, and a large percentage might not even know it. Additionally, thyroid cancer has doubled in the past 10 years. What is causing this epidemic?

The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck, is the master gland of metabolism. When your thyroid doesn’t function, it can affect every aspect of your health, and in particular, weight, depression and energy levels.

Undiagnosed thyroid problems can dramatically increase your risk of obesity, heart disease, depression, anxiety, hair loss, sexual dysfunction, infertility and a host of other symptoms and health problems. So, the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms, and getting a proper diagnosis and treatment, is clear.

Hypothyroid Symptoms

Other studies have made similar associations between pesticides and thyroid disease. A 1998 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that 10 percent of pesticides tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were carcinogenic in laboratory rodents.

A 2003 report in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) – chemicals used to dilute pesticides – appear to affect the volume, hormone levels and the incidence of nodules in the thyroid glands of individuals most exposed to PCBs.