Ashwagandha? Anybody heard of this as a treatment for hypothyroidism

[BlueKeith]

Was talking to someone at work who's wife has hypothyroidism like myself and she takes Ashwagandha for the condition . Apparently improved all her symptoms massively. Has anyone heard of this and if so has it helped much at all?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Stubbo46

You have to be careful with Ashwagandha so I suggest you do some research.

It is an adaptogenic herb which is said to reduce stress. Although it is said to be balancing it is known to reduce cortisol levels so if you decide you want to take it then it would be a good idea to do a 24 hour saliva adrenal test first, one that measures both cortisol and DHEA. Regenerus and Genova Diagnostics both do this test.

[BlueKeith in reply to SeasideSusie]

Will look into it then. I'm not doing too bad to be honest apart from having the odd day where I go into a trance. Will probably give it a miss. Thanks

[radd]

Stubbo46,

When we have suffered long term hypothyroidism our adrenal health can be compromised after years of propping up a failing thyroid gland.

Ashwagandha is popular for supporting adrenal health but will not replace missing thyroid hormones. It is used as an addition to thyroid hormone replacement meds and a SsS said it can be useful in lowering high cortisol and improving connections between the thyroid and adrenal systems, ie just making everything work better.

[BlueKeith]

Thanks for that.

[Minnie43]

I wanted to try this but was told that may not be suitable when your on levo I'm not sure if that is correct 🤔

[JennyWrenn4 in reply to Minnie43]

I have heard this too. Would like to try it but not prepared to take a chance

[Minnie43 in reply to JennyWrenn4]

Totally agree its a shame because it has good reviews

[greygoose in reply to Minnie43]

Ah, but does it have good reviews from people with hypothyroidism?

I've never heard of ashwagandha as a 'treatment' for hypo. If you are hypo it means that your thyroid hormones are low. And you can only replace a hormone with a hormone. So, I don't see how it can be a treatment for hypo. And, it certainly wouldn't be a cure.

[Minnie43 in reply to greygoose]

I was told it can send your tsh lower and so of your already on levo could be to much but I'm not sure that's correct

[mistydog]

I believe it's used for high blood pressure. I was considering taking it for that, myself.

[teenarocks]

A natural health doctor gave me ashwagandha to help my hypo thyroid (Hashimoto's). I was already taking thyroid hormone. The ashwagandha caused me to feel very hyper, shaky, anxious. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. I researched it and found this was a possible side effect. I had to stop taking it. Wouldn't touch the stuff now.

[Chett]

I take it off and on. Doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.

[Sinkingfast]

I understand it to be part of the nightshade family - I tried it becoz of the good things I heard, but reacted badly. I'm very sensitive to nightshade, so this would make sense in my case.

[BlueKeith in reply to Sinkingfast]

Thanks all for advice. Just been googling it and found this.An 8-week study in 50 people with hypothyroidism found that taking 600 mg of ashwagandha root extract daily led to significant improvements in thyroid levels, compared to taking a placebo (6Trusted Source).

Those in the ashwagandha group showed significant increases in triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) levels of 41.5% and 19.6%, respectively. Furthermore, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels decreased by 17.5% (6Trusted Source).

Ashwagandha’s cortisol-lowering effects may be responsible.

Chronic stress increases cortisol levels, leading to lower levels of T3 and T4. Ashwagandha appears to stimulate your endocrine system, boosting thyroid hormone levels by reducing cortisol

[eiddew in reply to BlueKeith]

Hi Stubbo46

Just want to add the reference. The subjects are in the "subclinical" hypo category.

I can't access the full text, so can't see the full data.

liebertpub.com/doi/full/10....

[radd in reply to eiddew]

eiddew,

If you search under something like Google Scholar there are several Ashwagandha research papers showing improved thyroid performance in people with subclinical hypothyroidism.

Ashwagandha is thought to regulate the HPT axis as well as the HPA axis (this is old news) but of course we need a working thyroid gland to actually benefit in this way. It can also lower TSH so no good if you are held to dose ransom by a TSH worshipping GP.

[Imaaan]

I've read somewhere in the past that it can help increase thyroxine but I personally use it for my adrenals. Cautionary note, I couldn't tolerate anything above 300 something. My heart would go into overdrive and it would affect my sleep. Recently found out on here if I recall that it can affect your blood pressure and my blood pressure in on the lower side. I started only on 125 but was able to increase in ashwagandha the 300 range for the last 2 months. Go slow if you do give it a go

[BlueKeith]

Thanks imaaan