If you were diagnosed with thyroid disease, one of the first questions you might have asked was whether you could be treated naturally.
The vast majority of people prefer natural treatments when given a choice. Most thyroid patients are not given that choice. In this article I’ll explain what natural thyroid treatment is and help you know if it could be right for you.
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People don’t always mean the same thing even when they say the same words.
When some talk about natural thyroid treatment, they refer to natural medication rather than synthetic. Others refer to allowing their body to heal itself thereby making medication unnecessary. I’ll explain both and talk about how they are options for most people.
Thyroid medication comes in two main categories called natural and synthetic. Natural refers to natural desiccated thyroid, or NDT. This is a medication that is made from pig thyroid tissue that is freeze dried, then powdered and made into tablets. Pigs thyroid glands happen to produce the same hormones that humans make. Natural thyroid contains three active hormones called T4, T3, and T2.
Synthetic thyroid refers to hormones that are made in laboratories and contain either just T4 or just T3.
The same categories are used for hormone replacement medicines although the categories are not used in the same way. When we talk about natural hormones we’re still talking about hormones that are made in the laboratory but we mean those that are made in the same molecular or form as they are made in the human body. The other term here used is bioidentical – the hormones are biologically identical to what the body makes on its own.
By that definition, all thyroid medicines are natural. However NDT can still have advantages over synthetic thyroid. One main advantage is that it contains all three active hormones, not just one of the three.
Nearly everyone prescribed thyroid hormones receives a T4 only medication such as Synthroid. There are many cases where people feel better if they also receive T3. With synthetic hormones, one can prescribe two pills, one for each. Yet there is no way with synthetic hormones to include T2.
The other difference is that NDT has the hormones bound up with carrier proteins. That makes them slow to absorb and causes them to create more steady blood levels.
There is an idea that synthetic hormones are superior and that they have higher quality control. Yet recent large studies have shown as not to be the case.
In a study done in California by Kaiser Permanente, large numbers of patients on thyroid treatments were monitored for several years. One group was a natural thyroid, the other was taking synthetic. The researchers found that those on natural treatment did not have a harder time stabilizing their levels than those on the synthetics.
There is a small subset of people that does better on T4 only medication. Yet the vast majority can do equally well or better on natural thyroid. A recent study took a group of people on third medications and changed them back-and-forth between T4 only and natural thyroid.
The researchers asked them at various points how well they felt and gave quizzes to see how good their cognitive function was. The overwhelming majority of people said that they felt better taking natural thyroid even though they did not know which pill they were taking.
If someone is on synthetic thyroid and they do wish to change, it requires working with a Doctor who is familiar with the use of natural thyroid and knows how to convert someone. Well converting one should expect to do several retests and small adjustments to get things just right. There are known comparative potencies between natural and synthetic, yet people may need more or less of one than they need of the other.
Others you talk about treating their thyroid naturally, mean they wish for their thyroid to heal and them not to need medications at all.
Our most recent studies suggest that this is more possible than we thought in the past. The concept is called Deprescribing. Were familiar with the idea of prescribing, or a doctor has someone start a medication. But all too often people are left on medicines that are no longer necessary for them.
We now know that about a third of people with most types of thyroid disease spontaneously recover in any given year. We also know that the vast majority of those who were started on third medication probably never needed them in the first place. Only those with the most severe and rarer types of thyroid disease stand to benefit from medication.
The other factor making treatment without medication more viable is the fact that new studies show that diet can often reverse thyroid disease. The three most common types of lasting thyroid disease include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, and subclinical hypothyroidism. All of these conditions have been studied and all have been shown to respond well to diet therapy.
The exact results vary per study and per condition but typically 60 to 80% of participants find the thyroid disease can be reversed within 2 to 3 months. Roughly 90 to 95% of participants find at least improvements in thyroid function from diet therapy.
The advantage of diet therapy over medication is that it can treat the cause and reverse symptoms, and lower the risk of disease progression. For most people, medication’s cannot do this even when they are used appropriately.
The dietary approach that’s been clinically proven to work involves regulation of iodine intake. The thyroid needs iodine in order to work and make hormones. Yet for many people, even a slight excess of iodine can strain the thyroid and cause it to slow down. Thankfully most thyroid problems caused by extra iodine can be reversed if iodine is lowered to a significant enough level.
Please look to my most recent book, the Thyroid Reset Diet for details on how to go about this approach and meal plans and recipes.
Back to the original question, yes thyroid disease can be treated naturally. For those who need to remain on medication, natural medications can be used effectively. Natural thyroid medications are readily available, they are well standardized, and they are effective. They can work for nearly anyone as well we’re often better than synthetic hormones.
For those who are not yet on medication or wish to need less or none – diet therapy can often reverse disease and almost always greatly improve thyroid function.
Try the Thyroid Quiz today (Click Here: Take the quiz) to learn more about your thyroid and the impact it may be having on your overall health.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:
1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need A Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz Now
3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here
Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.
Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.
