Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits near the front of your throat.  In a healthy individual you would never really notice it being there.  Its job is to create hormones that help to regulate your body's metabolism.  It also plays a role in your immune function, affecting levels of sex hormones in your system, energy levels and much more.

Many of us have heard about the autoimmune disorders called Hashimoto's disease and Graves' disease.  Both are the result of a thyroid gland that is either not working hard enough or working too hard, respectively.  It all has to do with how much thyroid hormone is being produced.  Not enough leads to Hashimoto's (hypothyroidism) and too much leads to Graves' (hyperthyroidism).

A third condition that can develop in the thyroid gland is Goiter.  This is a non-cancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland because of insufficient iodine in the diet.  Sources of iodine in the diet could include...