Is an iodine supplement safe to take with levothyroxine?

[helen28]

I read on internet that more iodine in the diet or a supplement of iodine can help hypothyroid sufferers with tiredness and fatigue so I bought a supplement called Iodine Plus Support. Has anybody else tried this?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Iodine is a deeply controversial subject. There are supporters and nay-sayers.

I suggest that you type "iodine" into the search box (top right of the page) and read some of the views.

For what it is worth, I think iodine is something to be very careful with. Do your research before taking any. (I wouldn't worry about the amount you'd get by using iodised salt in ordinary amounts.)

Are you referring to this product?:

L-Tyrosine 200 mg

Total Iodine/Iodide 12.5 mg

Iodide (as potassium iodide) 7.5 mg

Iodine 5mg

Selenium (as selenium aspartate) 200 mcg

As a dietary supplement‚ take 1-4 capsules with food per day

pureformulas.com/iodine-plu...

Typical recommended iodine intake is 150 micrograms a day. This product contains 12,500 micrograms. Which is about eight times as much. In ONE capsule. Or over 32 times as much in the recommended 4 a day.

I would be unlikely to take any iodine supplement without having had some form of iodine test.

As for the selenium - the maximum tolerable upper limit is sometimes said to be 400 micrograms. This product has that much in a single capsule. So, in the recommended four capsules a day, 1600 micrograms.

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/S...

For myself, I wouldn't take more than 200 micrograms of selenium a day. I would prefer to take 100 micrograms a day if I wanted to take any.

As for the tyrosine, this may be of some interest (though I am sure some would disagree with it!):

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Rod

[helen28 in reply to helvella]

This supplement says to take 3 capsules daily. It contains:

Vitamin C 600mg

liquorice 300mg

Siberian ginseng 300mg

L-glycine 60mg

L-Glutamine 60mg

L-tyrosine 60mg

kelp extract 4:1 (providing iodine) 45mg

selenium

zinc 10mg

copper 1.5mg

I took a few then stopped cos I wasn't sure

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to helen28]

45 milligrams is a lot of iodine. (Does that mean 45mg in one capsule or three?)

According to a research paper, even the Japanese who have very high iodine intake rarely exceed 3 milligrams a day!

thyroidresearchjournal.com/...

Does it say how much selenium?

Rod