Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) with Levothyroxine

[Yensenov]

Since 2 months ago, I started adding betaine hcl (648 mg) 3 capsules after each meal and seen many improvements in my thyroid symptoms (less brain fog, better skin tone and hair, mild muscle gain, lower joint pain, better stool obviously, less bloating and some more improvements). I was wondering, since everything I put in my body requires acid to be properly metabolized, I decided to apply the same for my medication. Currently I'm on 125 mcg levothyroxine (Berlin-Chemie). I've read a study that used 500 mg ascorbic acid diluted in 120 ml (4 oz.) of water to be taken with thyroid meds. It worked to lower TSH by increasing absorption of medication by up to 70% in some cases. For the past 2 weeks I took my meds every morning with 500 mg pharmaceutical grade ascorbic acid diluted in 100 ml of water. I've noticed my symptoms improved further by doing so. I have a theory that it's not necessarily the result of better absorption, but mechanism of lower ph affecting metabolism of thyroid medication and its uptake in cells. Would like hear your thoughts on this.

[greygoose]

I can't see how increasing acid levels in your stomach would directly affect absorption at a cellular level. But, if you're absorbing more of your levo at gut level, that gives you more hormone in the blood and therefore a greater chance of some of it entering the cells.

Also, the aim is not just to reduce the TSH, but to increase levels of hormone in the blood so that the pituitary will recognise it and therefore reduce production of TSH - it's the level of the actual thyroid hormones that counts, not the TSH as such. TSH does not cause symptoms no matter what its level.

[Yensenov in reply to greygoose]

I have congenital hypothyroidism. Done countless tests throughout my life. I don't judge by lab results no more. Symptoms definitely improved after combing with ascorbic acid solution (ph 2.2). What you say makes sense. More hormones have greater chance of entering cells. However, I used to take higher doses of t4 (175-200 mcg), that supposed to increase uptake of hormones and improve symptoms, which it never did. Taking acid (ascorbic, citric, acv and others) will change the ph of blood, affecting metabolism of nutrients, hormones. Obviously, I can't prove anything, that's just my pure guess. Try for yourself to see the difference Thanks for taking time to reply!

[greygoose in reply to Yensenov]

If you don't judge by lab results anymore, why are you talking about reducing the TSH?

I'm pretty sure that taking vit C does not change the ph of the blood. The body keeps a tight control on ph levels. But, what can happen is that being hypo reduces your secretion of stomach acid. Levo is T4 bound to a sodium molecule, and you need stomach acid to remove that sodium molecule so that the T4 can be absorbed through the gut. Taking vit C increases, temporarily, the level of acid in the stomach.

And I have tried it myself. I often advise people to try it to increase absorption at gut level. It doesn't do anything for me, personally, because absorption is not my problem. But it does help a lot of people with low stomach acid.

[MaisieGray in reply to Yensenov]

The nature of food ingested will affect the ph value of urine excreted, but not the blood. It used to be something called the ASH value, but nowadays foods are graded based on their potential renal acid load (PRAL). The PRAL of a particular food is the amount of acid that is expected to reach the kidneys after the body metabolizes that food. Normally, the kidneys keep the blood's pH constant by getting rid of excess acid or alkali through the urine. Acidic nutrients such as protein, phosphorus and sulfur increase the amount of acid the kidneys must filter out. Meats and grains, which tend to contain these nutrients, are therefore given a positive PRAL score. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables are high in alkaline nutrients such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. These ultimately reduce the amount of acid that the kidneys will need to filter out, and are thus given a negative PRAL score.