Tiny thyroid can be big problem when it's off kilter

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Growing up, my Sherman tank-like aunt constantly blamed her thyroid for inability to lose weight. The thyroid is a smalll, butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the neck. It controls a number body systems.

According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, as many as 27 million Americans suffer from some type of thyroid disorders. And half of these folks don't even know what they are missing. But their bodies do. For while this little, butterfly-shaped gland at the base of our neck, weighing in at barely an ounce, seems both delicate and innocuous, when not in hormonally balanced harmony, it packs a wallop. More