Advice regarding when to take vitamins - Thyroid UK

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Advice regarding when to take vitamins

TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
15 Replies

Hi all, my Mum, bless her, took our little conversation to heart about me considering taking vitamins to assist with my Hashi's, and went out and bought me some vitamins from the Internet, Amazon I think :-)

I was planning on doing some more research, and looking at quality brands and ingredients, but as I have these now I will take them and see if I notice any changes.

I currently take 2.5 grains per day at around 06:00-07:00, 14-15:00 and 23:00. As these tablets are "take daily before food" I was planning on taking 2 tablets with my NDT in the morning, which is about an hour or so before breakfast.

Here's a photo of the ingredients etc, there's no iron here, but can anyone see anything that will clash with taking my Thiroyd NDT?

Many Thanks

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TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
TeaEarlGreyHot
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15 Replies
SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

TeaEarlGreyHot Nutri Advanced is a good brand, I use some of their supplements. However, this contains iodine and unless we're tested and found to be deficient iodine isn't a good idea, particularly so if you are Hashi's, which I see that you are, as it can make things worse.

Whether or not you decide to take these, any and all supplements should be taken at least two hours away from any thyroid meds, and as these contain calcium (which should be tested for and only supplemented if deficient) and magnesium, both these must be taken at least 4 hours away from thyroid meds.

TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
TeaEarlGreyHot in reply to SeasideSusie

Thanks for the info re iodine, that was something I really wasn't aware of.

Looks like I have a day time window of around 11:00 to take supplements with calcium and/or magnesium in then. I don't drink milk at all, so I should be ok with a small calcium boost.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

I think you might do better to return these and start again

Explain to your mum you just learnt about iodine

Really not a good idea if have Hashimoto's

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

Kipsy profile image
Kipsy in reply to SlowDragon

I have made a few costly mistakes ( buying some supplements that I saw eg L-tyrosine and had vaguely heard of in Isabella Wentz's Hashimoto's Protocol but then found I couldn't use) but I think Slowdragon is absolutely right. Iodine is a real no-no for us Hashis sufferers and it's not worth making the condition worse by taking it. Your mum sounds lovely though TeaEarlGreyHot 😀

TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
TeaEarlGreyHot in reply to Kipsy

I spoke to her yesterday and she did get them from Amazon, so returning should be without issue. Iodine seems to be in pretty much all the generic "thyroid support" supplements, so I think it's better to go down the standard zinc/selenium/Vits B&D route. She really is Kipsy :-)

LuckyKat profile image
LuckyKat

Hi, I have Hashimotos and have taken much more iodine than that. There is a lot of mis-information about it, but it has been wonderful for me and my family. Do your own research and make your own mind up.

Look up Dr David Brownstein and there is a lot of information here as a starting point:

healyourselfathome.com/how/...

TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
TeaEarlGreyHot in reply to LuckyKat

Thanks LuckyKat. I will definitely do some more reading on the subject. I've only read a couple of articles so far so need a few more to get a good balanced perspective.

researcherUK profile image
researcherUK in reply to TeaEarlGreyHot

Iodine is a controversial topic and you'll hear two contradicting views with the majority of views expressed on this forum to be leaning towards a No-No.

This doesn't mean there aren't any other views.

Let me share with you what I have found out about it and my personal experience without trying to influence you either way. If you have the time carry on reading as this small engagement with what's out there could spare you some research time and will perhaps give you the balanced perspective that you are aiming to achieve.

Fact: Every cell in the body needs iodine and has an iodine receptor.

Dr Brownstein wrote extensively on the topic and has many doctors and patients following his protocols.

We are all exposed to halogens fluorine, chlorine, and the famous bromine (added to bread and most processed food).

Bromide can be found in carpeting, furniture, mattresses, clothing, computers, iPhones, and automobiles – just to name a few.

All these compete with iodine. Having these toxic halides on all of the iodine receptors impair our health and are the major contributors to the predisposition to all auto-immune diseases and even cancers.

Dr Jonathan Wright, MD, an auto-immune specialist, followed a protocol to treat Graves' disease with iodine (reference Dr Mark Starr's book, Hypothyroidism Type 2, page 247. Dr Wright is also the author of the book "Why Stomach Acid is Good for you"

Dr Mark Starr added iodine to the treatment of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's with NDT ( NDT is another controversial treatment with Hashimoto's).

Dr Kharrazian and Dr Kresser are amongst those who say that iodine should be prevented as it pushes the production of anti-bodies and stopped at that without explaining the reasons for this mechanism.

Dr Starr; however, found the connection when he mentioned: "I stopped giving iodine to new patients with gluten intolerance who had not previously taken iodine. After the patient's health has improved, I try small doses of different iodine. If they tolerate small dosages, I increase the iodine very slowly over a period of months" same book, page 245.

Dr Izabella Went, who has Hashimoto's, experimented and indicated, and only very recently in her symposium, that Hashimoto's sufferers can take up to 225 mcg of iodine per day.

I personally took liquid iodine supplements 225mcg for 5 years and I now continue to top up my levels using organic seaweed. Along with that I take all the needed iodine co-factors with it such as 200mcg selenium and high doses of b-complex as well as high doses of vitamin C.

It is a personal decision and in my case, I did the research and I am one of many who take iodine. I also take tyrosine and I have found them and both to be very helpful for my adrenals. There is so much information out there and it can be really confusing.

Good Luck!

TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
TeaEarlGreyHot in reply to researcherUK

Thank-you for taking the time to reply, yes it definitely confusing!

I've been doing a bit of research in the meantime, and in my currently very basic understanding, it does seem like the co-factors play a fundamental role in whether iodine can/may be beneficial for people with Hashi's. Most notably a reasonably high dose of Selenium seems to be important in countering the negative effects of iodine and promoting the useful ones.

I'll do some more research to see which side of the argument I come down on. As with a lot of "things thyroid" people experience different outcomes so it a case of "what works for you" :-)

Phoenix605 profile image
Phoenix605 in reply to TeaEarlGreyHot

Hi, I dont know a lot about iodine other than the fact that a lot of salt is iodised in order to overcome the western populations tendency to iodine deficiency. Everyone I know is either salt on everything or salt on nothing, so how much you use is worth taking into consideration.

I know medichecks certainly offer an iodine test, if they dont do a specific combination of tests you want they will tailor one if you ask, think blue horizons might too.

Phoenix605 profile image
Phoenix605 in reply to TeaEarlGreyHot

sorry pasted in the right place now, Doh!!

Abi-Abster profile image
Abi-Abster

Your mum did a great job with those particular supplements - they're excellent, and kept me propped up on and off for years before I had to turn to the internet for T3. But then I don't have Hashimoto's.

Bless your mum, she must have really done her homework. So sweet! How lovely of her.

TeaEarlGreyHot profile image
TeaEarlGreyHot in reply to Abi-Abster

I think she did too :-) It does appear however that higher doses of Iodine are detrimental to people with Hashi's as it will likely increase the level of antibodies attacking the thyroid. Whether that is the levels found in multivitamins or not I don't know, but the general advice to people with Hashi's seems to be to avoid supplementing iodine as there will already been enough in a balanced diet and you don't want to give the antibodies any sort of boost.

Abi-Abster profile image
Abi-Abster in reply to TeaEarlGreyHot

Interesting and not something I know anything about - like I said, I don't have Hashi's.

Still, bless your mum: it's the thought that counts (aw...).

Kipsy profile image
Kipsy in reply to TeaEarlGreyHot

My antibodies dropped from approx 700 to 500 and I think taking 200mcg of selenium really helped that (possibly got Gf also helped.) I guess if I'd taken iodine too, the selenium might have all been used by trying to counterbalance the iodine??? Maybe the antibodies would have remained at 700 as a result of them not being flooded by the selenium??? I may be completely wrong. TBH, I get so confused too! I think you have to just do your research and go with what feels right for you.

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