Hello,
I have Hashi's thyroid and have started taking Higher Nature Thyroid Support which includes Iodine. Also, I have started reading the book "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis - The Root Cause" by Isabella Wentz who advises not to take Iodine as it could make the problem worse. Can someone please advise if I should stop taking the Thyroid Support supplements? Thanks so much, Jo.
The thyroid gland uses iodine as raw material for making thyroid hormones. If the thyroid gland is being attacked and is dying then it doesnt matter how much iodine it has, it cant make hormones.
Sometimes hypothyroidism is caused by lack of raw materials like iodine, but auoto immune diseases actually kill the thyroid and i belive that iodine increases the activity of the antibodies.
X. G
Hi Jostafford0,
I'd looked at Izabella Wentz' books as well, as I THINK(?) I have Graves AND Hashimotos - mildly elevated TPO antibodies on the last bloods done in January.
I had taken supplements that included iodine, but within a very short space of time (hours) my joints were painful, so I stopped taking them!
At the risk of hi-jacking the post though, does Galathea's comment indicate that, if an individual has an autoimmune thyroid disorder, the thyroid gland will eventually die off anyway. Or is it possible to stave off this inevitable event by keeping the antibodies as low as possible through diet and supplements?
Arab. 🤔
>Or is it possible to stave off this inevitable event by keeping the antibodies as low as possible through diet and supplements?
That's the hope, and hope isn't a bad thing, but there are a heck of a lot of "hucksters" riding the band wagon, with a never-ending list of points to fail on.
You're right SmallBlueThing,
Hope and positivity are essential! I have both!
Arab. 😉👍
You should consider carefully before taking iodine if you have hashis.
First, do you think you were iodine deficient? Did you never drink milk, only rarely ate fish, and never took supps with iodine? If there is no evidence or history suggesting iodine deficiency, definitely don!t take supps.
Generally the medics say that iodine shouldn't be taken with Hashis. Levo supplies some iodine and you shouldn't take supps.
One medic suggests that if you take selenium and iodine together it is ok, but that!s just a theory plus observation in clinical practice. You could read up on it and consider.
If you think you were iodine deficient at diagnosis, you might read up on the evidence, which is complex, and consider giving a little iodine supplementation a go. It might "uncover" your hypo ... make your tsh rise. But it might not necessarily increase your antibodies.
This is one more are in thyroid meds where the research is plentiful but clear answers are few.
I
Hi Aspmama, thank you for your reply.
I've never liked milk and therefore didn't drink much of it as a child, I was vegetarian for 8 years in my 20's and didn't each much fish or protein for that matter. I have always eaten healthily though with fat free meals and lots of fruit and veg, I also exercised daily. I first noticed things were going wrong in my 20's when I couldn't tolerate stress at work and I started getting hypoglycaemic on a daily basis. I also noticed a vitiligo patch on my back. It wasn't until I was 34 that I was diagnosed with an under-active thyroid and put on Levothyroxine, then a few years later was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, endometriosis and interstitial cystitis. I'm now 43 and still suffer with tiredness which I have suffered with since I was a teenager. The only time I have ever felt ok was when I was on the combined pill but I had to come off it due to migraines. I will be grateful for advice on any of these matters as I've got nowhere with my GP and I am now going it alone :o)
Thank you
Jo
Fat-free is NOT healthy. The body needs fat, good fat - animal fat, butter, olive oïl, etc. If you cut all fat out of your diet for long enough, it will kill you. What you need to avoid are seed oils - sunflower seed, rapeseed, etc. due to the processes they go through to become oils.
If you are taking Levo, then you are already taking iodine. Every molecule of T4 contains 4 atoms of iodine. Every time a molecule of T4 is convert into T3, one atom of iodine is released into the blood and recycled.
Too much iodine is as bad - if not worse - than too little. And I Don't actually think you need anything to 'support' (which can normally be taken to mean 'stimulate') your thyroid, because - apart from being attacked by the Hashi's - your thyroid is perfectly healthy. Hashi's is an autoimmune disease, not thyroid disease. 
Hi Greygoose, thank you so much for your reply.
Fortunately I realised in my 30's that the diet in my 20's was completely wrong although at the time I thought I was the healthiest person I know. I'm beginning to understand my disease although my GP nor my Endo ever explained it to me clearly. I didn't know there are things I can do to try and reverse my immune system attacking my thyroid. I've given up gluten, cut down on dairy (and will exclude this at some point in the future) and gave up coffee yesterday. My stomach has been bloated and gassy for years but I just put it down to my colitis, however the bloatedness and gas has reduced so much since giving up gluten! I will bin the thyroid support I bought as it sounds like I would do more harm than good taking it.
Many thanks,
Jo
Iodine
Hashimoto's and iodine
Iodine
Iodine
