I am hypothyroid and according to my iron panel all my indicators are about half of the optimal. However, my ferritin is 101, which according to my doctor is about the top of the optimal. So, it looks like I need to reduce inflammation, which should reduce ferritin. This in turn will mean I will be able supplement and bring my iron panel into the optimal ranges without pushing ferritin over the optimal max. The hope is that it would allow me to tolerate higher doses of T3 - it will actually get to the cells.
So the question is, what are some of the best ways to lower inflammation brought on by hypothyroidism?
For example, I've taken a good fish oil before and heard krill oil might be even better but it's expensive.
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ak_83
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Fish oil is typically rancid. Krill is safer. Everyone's selling something that allegedly lowers inflammation, inflammation being the current health buzzword.
Tumeric (curcumin) is supposed to help, but some studies show it's hard to actually difficult to assimilate enough to make a difference. That was my experience with an expensive brand with standardized potency.
Bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapple, has been shown to reduce inflammation of arthritis & other inflammatory conditions. The most effective is made from the stems, not the fruit.
Boswellia, frankincense, is an anti-inflammatory. Problem is standardized doses because it depends on the location of the source & how it's manufactured.
Ginger's another. Hard to ingest enough ginger & there's the problem again with standardization. Personally, I think fresh, organic ginger's the best way to take it in tea or cooking, if you like ginger.
There are also essential oils that supposedly help--peppermint, eucalyptus, sweet orange, lemon, rosemary, ginger. Before using essential oils, read about how to dilute to use topically. You can also put them in a diffuser to breath in.
I question if the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory supplements has to do with where the inflammation is. Maybe some work better on certain types of inflammation.
""I am hypothyroid and according to my iron panel all my indicators are about half of the optimal. However, my ferritin is 101, which according to my doctor is about the top of the optimal. So, it looks like I need to reduce inflammation, which should reduce ferritin.""
The logic seems a bit confusing..
but somewhat typical of a GP. I'm more concerned about the 'halfway in the range' to be honest, especially as you should be aiming for optimal in all your labs!
Supplementing can bring up your iron levels, which is why it's important to regularly check them. If this hasn't been something that you've done, there is a condition called haemachromatosis which can occur in hypothyroidism, but I suspect that 101 would be extremely conservative for that (?)
If you're a woman and still menstruating the iron levels should start to drop quite quickly if you've come off supplements. If this doesn't apply, then there are things that'll chelate the iron..
Milk thistle comes highly recommended, as does turmeric for blocking iron absorption. They'll also help with inflammation. Green tea will also bind to iron and is an antioxidant.
Not sure you need to be doing that though... it's important we see the ranges..
If you post all your results including ranges and your antibodies, that should give a clearer picture.. also inflammatory markers and liver panel.
I just checked and can see I should not have assumed that you are trying to lower iron.... sorry
Best to see your panel then. My ferritin and iron are in synch so it seemed odd. Not sure that high ferritin with middling iron is a marker for inflammation though?
Hi AK, I agree with G2G2 that inflammation is difficult to reduce with supplements. I'm sure we have all tried all sorts of antinflammatories. I think it's a global problem. We've learned if you have inflammation anywhere you will also have brain inflammation which construes all sorts of symptoms. It might help to look at your diet to see how many inflammatory foods you might be ingesting. Polyunsaturated fats are one of those.
I think proteolytic enzymes go after inflammation in the bloodstream. Izabella Wentz recommended Wobenzym which is one of those.
Just a word of caution: Wobenzym used to be sold in Germany, however the original Wobenzym N lost its licence in 2005 as a medication due to the lack of efficacy! The company immediately launched a new product which is now sold as food supplement and I think you can buy similar products on Amazon. The efficacy of these enzymes (combination of enzymes derived from pineapple, papaya and pig pancreas!) has not been scientifically proven, so I would not recommend spending any money on this.
I am very happy that the enzyme therapy makes a difference to you, but sadly it does not work for everyone. And if a health authority withdraws a supplement due to the lack of efficacy, I would take notice.
Yes, Isabella is a pharmacist but she is also a bestselling author and sells books and supplements (she also has an enzyme preparation listed on her site), so her motifs may not be as altruistic as we may believe.
Here is an analysis from another pharmacist you may also find interesting.
In the end, everyone is free to decide for themselves if and why they are taking certain supplements. All I am doing is providing additional information for people to make an informed decision.
I read about asprin the other day and it wasn't the first time I have read it I will check if I bookmarked it
Flaxseeds are goitrogenic my daughter consumed a handful of them as a laxative and it set her recovery back, she developed hypothyroidism from being on a strict vegan gluten free diet for 2 .5 years
In UK iodine is added to white bread so she wasn't benefitting from that
My daughter has an oil based liquid iron tonic from sup a drug which she finds she absorbs easily
I know flaxseeds are goitrogen, but you shouldn't believe all you read about goitrogens. You would have to consume an awful lot of them, over a long period, to make you hypo - and I can imagine anyone doing that with flaxseeds. And, if it were a goitrogen that made you hypo, you would become euthyroid again when you stopped it.
I doubt a strict vegan, gluten-free diet for only 2.5 years would make her hypo if she didn't have the beginnings of hypo to start with - unless it was very low calorie. It's not just bread you get iodine frome, lots of foods contain iodine. And, if it were low iodine that made her hypo, she should have become euthyroid once she started eating normally.
I don't know anything about tonics from sup a drug, but you should be very careful about the ingredients.
It would be helpful if you gave the results of your whole iron panel, not just the ferritin., and if you have it then a result for haemoglobin would help too. We would need reference ranges as well. I'm surprised about a doctor mentioning "optimal" in connection with a nutrient. Most of them don't seem to understand the concept. They just think "Oh, it's in range so it's fine". Some of them even think a ferritin level below range is fine too, the attitude seeming to be "It's close enough".
These are 6 months old, so I'll need to rest these as I've gone on the slow release t3 and have been supplementing with B12 and Folate. I'll create another post with all my fresh bloods in a few weeks.
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