Taking ashwagandha .

[sobs1962]

Has anyone had any experience regarding ashwagandha and how it can help with thyroid function. I'm currently taking 50mcg of levothyroxine and know that you need to be careful as ashwagandha can make you thyroid over perform. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[humanbean]

Ashwaghanda is an "adaptogen". You can find all sorts of nonsense written online about adaptogens that make them sound like magic.

Some adaptogens raise cortisol, some lower it. The effect a particular adaptogen has on cortisol seems to depend on the person taking it.

There is a relationship between thyroid hormones and cortisol. I suggest reading lots of sources on the subject of the connection between thyroid and adrenal health, don't just rely on one source :

ibrainandbody.com/the-stres...

hypothyroidmom.com/cortisol...

link.springer.com/article/1...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Have you ever had your cortisol levels tested? If you haven't then I would suggest avoiding adaptogens. If you have low cortisol already you could end up lowering it further. If you have high cortisol already you could end up raising it.

[Hypopotamus]

One word of caution about using any herbs is to make sure that what you are buying is potent enough. Outlets like Holland & Barrett in the UK sell all sorts of (expensive) herbs at potencies that simply won't be effective. I did contact them about this once, but of course never got a reply.

[Angel_of_the_North]

I find it useful for my low cortisol - although most people say it lowers cortisol. Haven't found that it makes any difference to thyroid, although it does make me feel mentally better as I really notice if I stop it.