Mar 30, 2022
Disclaimer
Our Integrative Medical Advisory team has developed or collected these protocols from practitioners and supplier partners to help health care practitioners make decisions when building treatment plans. By following this protocol, you understand and accept that the recommendations in the protocol are for initial guidance and need to seek medical professional advise.
Thyroid Support
Suboptimal or underactive thyroid function can lead to a condition known as hypothyroidism, which affects approximately 4.6% of people in the US (age 12 and older). (4) Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most common cause of an underactive thyroid in developed countries, while iodine deficiency is the most common cause worldwide. (10) Other causes might include goiter, genetic disorders, or radiation treatment/exposure.
Conventional treatment tends to focus on replacing the low levels of thyroid hormones with pharmaceutical sources such as levothyroxine. Supporting thyroid function can be achieved through other methods as well. Based on current research findings, the ingredients in the protocol below have demonstrated efficacy in improving a variety of factors associated with an underactive or suppressed thyroid.
Selenium
200 μg, total per day of selenomethionine, minimum 3 months (1)(8)(16)
- A decrease between 20% and 63.6% in anti-TPO marker was observed (1)(8)(16)(20)
- Meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials found supplementation of selenium to decreased TPOAb (serum thyroid peroxidase) in people receiving LT4 therapy and newly diagnosed untreated patients (20)
- Meta-analysis of 4 studies found selenium decreased TPOab and increased chance of reporting improved well-being or mood compared to control while having no impact on LT4 therapy in patients with Hashimoto’s (18)
- 17.2% of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and mild subclinical hypothyroidism demonstrated restored euthyroidism, and 31.3% of patients responded to treatment (83 mcg selenomethionine/day for four months) compared to 3.1% in control (16)
- Decreased anti-TPO (anti-thyroid peroxidase) in women with Hashimoto’s who were given 200 mcg of l-selenomethionine per day for 6 months (8)
- Zinc, in addition to selenium supplementation, increased fT3 mean serum, fT4 mean serum, and decreased TSH; when compared to selenium alone, additional zinc improved thyroid function in overweight or obese female hypothyroid patients (7)
Vitamin D
2000 IU, total per day, minimum 6 months (5)(6)(9)
- It has been demonstrated that low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is related to thyroid auto-immune diseases like Hashimotos (19)
- Vitamin D has been linked to a decrease in thyroid autoimmunity in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis treated with levothyroxine. The impact is more significant for thyroid peroxidase than thyroglobulin antibodies (5)(6)(9)
- The combination of Simvastatin and vitamin D supplementation had a stronger effect in reducing concentrations of thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies than vitamin D supplementation alone (6)
- Improved disease control in female patients with Hashimoto’s demonstrated by a decrease in Th17/Tr1 ratio compared to placebo when given 50,000 IU once per week for 6 months as cholecalciferol (11)
- Women treated with levothyroxine demonstrated reduced thyroid autoimmunity when given 2000 IU per day of vitamin D compared to control as demonstrated by a decrease in titers for thyroid antibodies and improved thyroid peroxidase to thyroglobulin (5)
- Patients with Hashimoto’s who have a euthyroid state were tested for vitamin D deficiency and found that 85.3% of patients were deficient at the beginning of the study; supplementation improved condition as shown by a decrease in serum anti-tpo by 20.3% when supplemented 1200-4000 IU of vitamin D for 4 months (9)
Myo-inositol
600 mg, total per day, minimum 6 months (12)(13)(14)(15)
- Thyroid nodules decreased in size, number, and elasticity and TSH decreased in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism when given myo-inositol with selenium for 6 months (14)
- Myo-inositol supplementation in addition to selenium decreased TSH, TPOAb, and TgAb, as well as decreased size and stiffness of thyroid nodules compared to selenium alone (13)
- Supplementation was effective in achieving euthyroidism for patients with Hashimoto’s as shown by improved thyroid panel (TSH, TPOAb, TgAb, fT3, fT4) and improved QOL (12)
- When given in addition to selenomethionine, myo-inositol supplementation decreased TSH more effectively compared to selenomethionine alone in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (15)
Ashwagandha
600 mg once per day for a minimum of 8 weeks (17)
- 600 mg per day of ashwagandha was effective for achieving euthyroidism as shown by improved TSH, T3, and T4 compared to placebo in patients with subclinical hypothyroid (17)
- Patients with bipolar disorder experienced secondary thyroid benefits as shown by improved TSH and T4 compared to baseline when given ashwagandha extract for 8 weeks (2)