Multiple questions

[MeganChar1]

What is the best multivitamin for Hashimotos?

I’ve also just been referred to endo due to a previous miscarriage and wanting to conceive in future. What kind of tests/support would I receive with this through nhs and would they monitor me fully through pregnancy? I wasn’t referred to one before when I was pregnant and I now know I should have been.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into underactive thyroid and pregnancy and I’m prescribed levothyroxine.

Would they also test for low dhea and low progesterone which can be linked to thyroid problems?

Thanks

[greygoose]

There is no best multi-vit for Hashi's. Nor for anything else, come to that. You shouldn't be taking a multivitamin for all sorts of reasons.

* If your multi contains iron, it will block the absorption of all the vitamins - you won't absorb a single one! Iron should be taken at least two hours away from any other supplement except vit C, which is necessary to aid absorption of iron, and protect the stomach.

* If your multi also contains calcium, the iron and calcium will bind together and you won't be able to absorb either of them.

* Multi's often contain things you shouldn't take or don't need : calcium, iodine, copper. These things should be tested before supplementing.

* Multi's often contain the cheapest, least absorbable form of the supplement : magnesium oxide, instead of magnesium citrate or one of the other good forms; cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin; folic acid instead of methylfolate; etc. etc. etc. This is especially true of supermarket multis.

* Multi's do not contain enough of anything to help a true deficiency, even if you could absorb them.

* When taking several supplements, you should start them individually at two weekly intervals, not all at once as you would with a multi. Because, if you start them all at once, and something doesn't agree with you, you won't know which one it is and you'll be back to square one.

* Most supplements should be taken at least two hours away from thyroid hormone, but some - iron, vit D, magnesium and calcium (should you really need to take it) should be taken at least four hours away from thyroid hormone.

* The magnesium you take - and just about everybody needs to take it - should be chosen according to what you want it to do:

Magnesium citrate: mild laxative, best for constipation.

Magnesium taurate: best for cardiovascular health.

Magnesium malate: best for fatigue – helps make ATP energy.

Magnesium glycinate: most bioavailable and absorbable form, non-laxative.

Magnesium chloride: for detoxing the cells and tissues, aids kidney function and can boost a sluggish metabolism.

Magnesium carbonate: good for people suffering with indigestion and acid reflux as it contains antacid properties.

Worst forms of magnesium: oxide, sulphate, glutamate and aspartate.

With a multivitamin, you are just throwing your money down the drain, at best, and doing actual harm at worst. Far better to get tested for vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin, and build up your supplementation program based on the results. A vitamin or a mineral is only going to help you if you need it, anyway. More of something you don’t need is not better, it's either pointless or even dangerous, as with iodine, calcium, iron or vit D.

[Alanna012 in reply to greygoose]

So does that include these specialist thyroid ones as well? One would assume (as they do claim) that they are prepared with the thyroid in mind. There are loads of them, I've seen some as much as £60

[greygoose in reply to Alanna012]

Oh, it most definitely includes those, yes! They are not prepared with the thyroid in mind, they are prepared with profit in mind. They are aimed at what we call the 'worried well', that is people who do not have a specific health problem, but need to feel that they are doing their best to keep it that way. These thyroid preparations will not help anyone who has hypothyroidism, but could make them worse. They all contain iodine. And, no hypo should take iodine unless it has been proved, by testing, that their thyroid problem is caused by iodine deficiency. And, that certainly isn't the case with Hashi's. In fact, excess iodine can trigger Hashi's.

The only supplements I would recommend that contain more than one nutrient, are vit D with vit K2-MK7, and a B complex. Start adding other things and it all gets too complicated to be efficient. After all, there's only so much you can put in one pill.

[Alanna012 in reply to greygoose]

All these companies must be raking it in then, as I see so many supplement multivits aimed at those with thyroid illness, even some from respected nutritionists.

I must admit it is tempting to think there might be one tablet you just pop in your mouth and don't have to worry about again as opposed to taking separate vits at different times while also timing thyroid meds! I always forget at least one.

[greygoose in reply to Alanna012]

Yes, me too. But, as long as you usually take them, you should be ok. As they always say, if something sounds too good to be true, then it usually is! That just about sums up multi-vits.