Thyroxine

[DinahK]

I believe if I take enough kelp I will be able to quit my daily 150mcg dose of Thyroxine. Anybody agree or disagree?

[shaws Administrator]

I disagree. Kelp if you don't have hypothyroidism might keep your thyroid healthy as iodine is needed by all of our glands but if you've been diagnosed as hypo you need the synthetic hormone levothyroxine which is T4 and converts to the active hormone which is T3. T3 is needed in all our receptor cells. In that case kelp cannot be used (I believe).

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions"

[rosetrees]

You might well be able to reduce your thyroxine? Just a thought, but maybe consider taking tyrosine with your kelp. T4 and T3 are, I think, basically tyrosine with added iodine molecules. If you take both kelp (iodine source) and tyrosine you give your body the building blocks for T4 and T3. (not to mention T2 and T1 - oh, I just did!)

[Clutter]

DinahK, I disagree. Iodine is not hormone replacement. 100mcg Levothyroxine contains 65mcg iodine by weight so 150mcg Levothyroxine should be providing your daily requirement of iodine.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[shaws Administrator]

This is from the NHS.

Answer

Both UK and American medicines information resources caution or advise against the concurrent use of levothyroxine and kelp products (1, 4, 5).

Evidence of Interaction

There are no reports of an actual interaction between levothyroxine and kelp preparations in the current literature. However, the use of kelp products has been associated with the development of thyroid disorders, mainly hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. This effect has been attributed to the iodine contained in these products (1, 2, 4-7). Several case reports about this association have been published (1, 4).

Conclusion

Patients should be advised to avoid kelp ingestion while taking levothyroxine therapy. Kelp products should probably be avoided in patients suffering from thyroid disorders regardless of whether they are taking thyroid supplementation or not as kelp can aggravate existing thyroid disorders and alter thyroid function tests (TFTs) (4-6).

[greygoose]

I strongly disagree. But I'd be interested to know why you think that.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

DinahK ,

Reductio ad absurdum.

We know nothing nothing about you.

Maybe you have NO thyroid tissue whatsoever. Nothing that can take in iodine (and other things) and put out thyroid hormones. So precisely how can any amount of iodine replace the thyroid hormone?