Black cumin seed oil - reduces TSH in case study

[Danielj1]

drhedberg.com/black-cumin-s...

I have a 2 month supply and will give this a go. I have not seen this mentioned here much if at all.

I will diarise another blood test in 2 months and see if this helps...

[Danielj1]

soniamcnaughton.com/2017/02...

And it seems reduces antibodies and raises t3 - what is not to like.

Not really suggesting anyone else tries this of course - I guess Research is at a very early stage before wider approval is reached...

[greygoose]

It's not mentioned much, but it is mentioned :

healthunlocked.com/search/b...

Opinions vary. It would be good if you could keep us up-dated on your progress.

[Danielj1 in reply to greygoose]

I have made contact with a group who are trialling use of this in their practice - some interesting results and I will share my progress and see what conclusions can be drawn...

[Danielj1]

There are loads of alternatives googol, ashgawanda, curcumin, celery juice you name it. ( excuse my spelling).

I live by my hunches and none of the above seem to have utterly specific measurable Thyroid specific results like for example selenium does.

My hunch tells me this is going to work too.

I have already tried all the main supplements and will keep things constant for changing diet etc so it’s a fair trial.

Supplements will be

Black cumin seed oil

Zinc and copper

Selenium

Vit c

Orange juice and hydrolysed collagen

Cod liver oil

500 magnesium

[Danielj1]

Ran 8.4km with dog today - nice and easy.

Does not sound a lot except when you find all you are able to do is walk for months on end - it actually is progress.

Have bought some dessicated beef liver capsules from Organic farm in Argentina.

Will replace D vits that are synthetic with this. There is some stunning research on its effectiveness.

Still not 100% convinced on collagen powder that cost me over 30 quid to import from USA for a small

Jar. Once this is gone I may drop this.

I will commit to the 2 month trial- the only remaining thing I think I can do after that is to double the kelp dose to 400mcg a day by taking 2 capsules.

From a thorough research of all the other items taking any more is counter productive.

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Week 2 up to 2 capsules a day

[christa1 in reply to Danielj1]

hi danielj,

I try the hardest to have 1-2 tsp of oil every morning. sadly it is easily to forget, as my oil came in small plastic bottles and were rancid from the start! but I will finish them and then get a TFT done to see how stable I was.

I am on 1.5 grains of thyroid-s.

my energy level drags on the ground and I just can't pick it up anymore!

chin up, it looks, that you are doing well!!👍

[Danielj1]

Nice to hear your update!

I went for standard strength - there is a strong and super strong - trust me these are more than potent enough.

I do take them with food - says I am supposed to take them before

Eating - will try. I still think this will deliver for me - feels way stronger than all the other types of supplements out there - zinc /d etc.

I paid more for brand with more potency - cold pressed oil etc.

Not sure bottled oil appeals - especially hearing your story....

[christa1 in reply to Danielj1]

my little bottles come from some Arabian country (Haifa comes to mind), have to check when I pour some down....and finishing them,..

I bought some in a health shop. hopfully the new bottle will not be rancid. glass bottles are better, but way more expensive. when I finish the bottles (3 altogether) I will go your way! capsules.

had to stop selenium for my hashi's as the bloodtest shown to be over the range. so, I hope the neem oil is the way to go.

I also do sauna twice a week to help getting rid of impurity's in the body.

infrared home sauna. don't really know why I sit here (now) while the temperatures outside clime up into the 36+degrees.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to christa1]

I don't think that Israel will be too happy at being called Arabian... (Guess they are more involved with other things to worry too, too much.)

[christa1 in reply to helvella]

yes, just checked, not neem, Kalonji (Nigella) oil from India . the writing is mighty pretty, like Arabian. 100% pure oil.

[Danielj1]

Ok, 2 weeks in.

Did 5 mile fastish treadmill session - not done for 6 months and felt rather comfortable.

So what defines success?

That would not have been thinkable 3 weeks ago....

I will bash on with all this stuff until I get 100% of my old life back - I am not after running full marathons but just about everything else.

It is clear already that these may not suit everyone - studies have proved they reduce blood sugar levels and this has been very obvious - so consistent fuelling remains a priority. Shame, otherwise they are very much trouble free so far.

What I have also started from yesterday is taking them well before breakfast as recommended. Trial and error as they say.

[Danielj1]

Another lesson learned along the way - see what happens for a week when the vit D bottle is ignored for a week. That is very important too.

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Week 3 update

I have to believe my TSH is now down a lot - this is as good as I have felt in a long time - if that corresponds with a non sub2 TSH then I suspect I have never been sub2 in my adult life

Well I have been looking at lots of supplements and this so far is proving a keeper.

These private blood tests do mount up so will do TPO in new year.

[christa1]

keep it up danielj.

I slacked off again, forgot to take my black seed oil for 3 days, continue today again. I guess taking capsules is easier to swallow than my rancit oil! still have 3 more weeks of the old oil until I get to the new bottle.

my vitamin tests came out on the lower range. cutting off the vits 5 days prior to the blood test.

[Danielj1 in reply to christa1]

They put a real strain on my blood sugar in the first few days and I wonder if this might be a barrier for some ?

Now my body has got used to the hit I am not running for. A banana at 11am

Capsules make it all very easy

[christa1]

I might go for the capsules next time, even if there have to be preservatives of some sort in them. the oil and the seeds are just not up my allee. 😐

[Danielj1 in reply to christa1]

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

Had a great 5 mile training run again today - boy are these pills helping.

I may be an exception on these threads targeting competitive 5k road racing as a recovery target but I need to get all the help I can.

Some interesting research on how the seed oil can assist in developing stronger performance in women...

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

There is definitely a small warming effect for basal temp. Monitoring - just a few tenths of a degree C from 36.1 to 36.3 or 36.5 on a best day

This very much helps with weight loss and overall health

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Now added magnesium spray as an add on plus defatted beef liver capsules - such a very powerful impact alongside the seed oil I can only describe it feels like going back up to 75 thyoroxine dose that I had felt overwhelming last month - interested to retest TSH and see whether if I remain on these supplements I can reduce dose to 25...

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

On the home rower for timed interval session - first row in 3 months.

A lot of progress to report. Happy days as these supplements are working based on the strict evidence of sustained rowing paces.

Will do 5k race today and report back.

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Approximately 1 minute off my post thyroxine fuelled 5k PB. Done next to zero training in the month since I did the last one and so I wonder if I am allowed to infer some benefits from supplements etc...

Also more interesting was that it was freezing cold and I had shorts/tee shirt only and barely felt the cold. As many in here will know this is not to be sniffed at

[Saya85]

Wow this was timely!

My sister has just begged me to try black cumin seed oil also. (Hers is cold pressed from Egypt) - it’s not so strong tasting and once washed down with water it virtually disappears.

In our culture black seed oil is notorious for many health benefits.

My nephew with severe allergies has also been using it and it’s working wonders.

Def does appear to have an effect on immune system. I guess having with food would sort out the blood sugar issues. Tbh I need a controlled sugar diet anyway.

I was wanting to start taking it anyway but seeing as I’ve come across your post about it directly related to TsH I’m even more enthused to try it!

Thanks - this forum is a godsend

[Danielj1]

Do bear in mind I have doubled up the dose of the standard strength and take in the morning on empty stomach. 2 pills have much greater impact than one. Once these run out I am using the high strength version but will only take one pill. I am now seriously wondering about dropping thyroxine dose back to 25 as I feel so fully medicated.

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

9 mile run this morning in the gorgeous crisp winter sunshine along the beach.

Very little effort - fuelled with 2 black coffees , large OJ and banana.

This was so unthinkable even 2 months ago, I may consider getting my life back and aim for a March HM race.

The cumin seed oil makes a huge improvement to breathing and ease of aerobic exercise. I imagine this would be of real interest to the asthma suffering community ?

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

activationproducts.com/blog...

You can argue asthma issues are of no interest to a thyroid board - or you can say if a supplement makes exercise easier to undertake it is of potential interest ......

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Monthly update - 9.3 mile gentle run today, longest for a couple of years.

All I can say is the right diet/supplements absolutely makes the difference - no question.

Changed my list slightly if anyone is interested at all:

- eggs /kelp supplements are entirely out, alcohol next to nothing really now

Keep everything else just as before.

If anyone is wondering who has not started down this route - if I had to describe the effect of the different supplements in terms of health - it feels like zinc/selenium/b/c moderate the symptoms without necessarily getting the old energy and drive back.

The combination of magnesium citrate, magnesium oil, black cumin seed oil and dried cows liver capsules does the latter in spades - and so I will try my best to make everyone aware what a marvellous help in combination these are over and above the most widely recommended supplements.

A final thought on iron as I see this come up in a lot of conversations here. The magnesium protocol I try to follow are very clear in their advice on iron supplements and I have to say I do now side with them.

We all have to work out what works for us individually

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Decided to really step on the gas today and see what happened in my 45 minute treadmill session - got to 6 minute mile pace for sections at the end and overall 0.5 miles further distance than done to date since this starting on levo.

Very very tough and very very enjoyable. This is not a recommendation for anyone else of course

If this rate of progression continues I may well start to lose interest in tracking tsh / t3 and T4 and tpo etc.

I will monitor against aerobic performance / HR stats/ stamina / lactic thresholds as I used to from years ago.

Perhaps once a year check in on thyroid stats - who knows.

I will try to keep this thread going periodically just to show what is possible from someone who started levo journey with tsh of 30 almost exactly one year ago.

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

I also wonder that I will never really be able to convince anyone that the black cumin seed oil was responsible given all the other variables that moved in the interim - adding magnesium , reducing alcohol and add plenty of beef liver.

That is life as they say.

I am certainly not looking for any more supplements thank goodness - and the time researching them has been incredibly time consuming.

[Pops777 in reply to Danielj1]

Hi Danielj1

Been reading your journey & feel more hopeful of a positive outcome in future. I have been told to add Black seed to my existing Vits/supplements by nutritionalist. Can I ask if you experienced Palpatations on Black seed ...I am slightly cautious as I started it ( 450 mg capsule ) - but couldn't sleep & the last time had most awful Palpatations & got out of breath going upstairs. Is there a certain time /dose to start at. Can you take it with other supplements....it truly appears to be a wonder drug that would benefit. I have very high Graves antibodies still even after Radioiodine 😕.

Currently on VitD/K2, Vit C, Omega 7, Calmeze ( magnesium drink with Theanine ), Selinium. Also on autoimmune diet.

Hope you are still doing good ?

Many thanks if you read / respond to this.

It appears to be a journey many of us are on.

[Danielj1 in reply to Pops777]

Hi and good luck with all your efforts at the moment.

Some thoughts on black cumin seed oil

Start lowest dose in capsules format

Wait 4 weeks until well tolerated

Increase dose and again track for 4 weeks until well tolerated

At this point, you may be at a strong enough level to be having good effects

To give you an idea how strong these are I can comfortably drink 5 strong coffees within a day or take strong double espressos and feel fine.

These capsules had the effect of taking blood sugar out of the blood and causing a blood sugar dip - so I needed a mid morning banana to maintain energy. I think this is why they are much loved by those with certain types of blood sugar complaints.

If they had this noticeable effect on me I can imagine they can be seen as very strong for others with more sensitivity than me to blood sugar swings.

The jury is out for me. I have yet to prove categorically they have moved things forwards but I remain determined to do so.

It will just take more time.

As I say good luck.

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

You must take them on waking before eating - I would not dream of taking them late in the day

[Pops777 in reply to Danielj1]

Thanks for the info. Scary stuff !! Think I might get the oil instead...easier to moderate dose. I take Thyroxine on waking - do you know about taking it at same time ?

[Danielj1 in reply to Pops777]

I think that is fine

As soon as I get used to my new levo dose and consolidate tsh under 3 I will crack on again as I hope cumin will be source of getting tpo down to nicer levels

[Danielj1]

I do not use this brand I’m afraid.

The exciting news for me is that 6 months down the line I passed the annual medical blood tests liver enzymes function with flying colours - have not achieved that in 10+ years of these tests - I had read they are marvellous for the liver and nice to have clear evidence some good has taken place.

Nothing guaranteed of course so would never recommend them unless you really feel you can justify it!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Danielj1]

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