If you were diagnosed with thyroid disease, one of the first questions you might have asked was whether you could be treated naturally.
When given a choice, the vast majority of thyroid patients prefer natural treatments. However, most are not given that choice.
In this article I’ll explain:
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People don’t always mean the same thing, even when they say the same words.
When some talk about natural thyroid treatment, they refer to natural medication rather than synthetic. Others refer to allowing their body to heal itself, thereby making medication unnecessary. I’ll explain both and discuss how they are options for most people.
Thyroid medication comes in two main categories: natural and synthetic. Natural refers to natural desiccated thyroid or NDT.
NDT is a medication made from pig thyroid tissue that is freeze-dried, then powdered and made into tablets.
Pigs’ thyroid glands produce the same hormones as humans’ glands. The natural thyroid contains three active hormones: T4, T3, and T2.
Synthetic thyroid refers to hormones made in laboratories containing either T4 or just T3.
The categories natural and synthetic are also used for hormone replacement medicines like estrogen.
Although not in the same way. When we talk about natural hormones, we’re still talking about hormones made in the laboratory, but we mean those made in the same molecular or form as they are made in the human body.
The other term used here is bioidentical – the hormones are biologically identical to what the body makes on its own.
By that definition, all thyroid medicines are natural. However NDT can still have advantages over synthetic thyroid. One main advantage is that it contains all three active hormones: T2, T3, and T4.
Nearly everyone prescribed thyroid hormones receives a T4-only medication such as Synthroid. However, in many cases, people feel better if they also receive T3. With synthetic hormones, one can prescribe two pills, one for each. Yet, there is no way to include T2 with synthetic hormones.
The other difference is that NDT has the hormones bound up with carrier proteins. That makes them slow to absorb and causes them to create more steady blood levels.
There is an idea that synthetic hormones are superior and have higher quality control. Yet, recent large studies have shown that this is not the case.
In a study done in California by Kaiser Permanente, large numbers of patients on thyroid treatments were monitored for several years. One group was a natural thyroid; the other was taking synthetic. The researchers found that those on natural treatment had no harder time stabilizing their levels than those on the synthetics.
A small subset of people do better on T4-only medication, yet the vast majority can do equally well or better on natural thyroid.
A recent study took a group of people on third medications and switched them back and forth between T4-only and natural thyroid.
The researchers asked them how well they felt and gave quizzes to see how good their cognitive function was. The overwhelming majority of people said they felt better taking natural thyroid even though they did not know which pill they were taking.
If someone is on synthetic thyroid and wishes to change, it requires working with a Doctor who is familiar with the use of natural thyroid and knows how to convert someone.
When converting, one should expect several retests and adjustments to get things right. There are known comparative potencies between natural and synthetic thyroid, yet people may need more or less of one than they need of the other.
Others have a different thing in mind regarding natural thyroid treatment.
They mean that they wish for their thyroid to work by itself again so that they no longer need medication.
Our most recent studies suggest that this is more possible than we thought in the past.
The concept is called Deprescribing. We’re familiar with the idea of prescribing or having a doctor start someone on medication. But all too often, people are left on medicines that are no longer necessary for them.
We now know that about a third of people with most types of thyroid disease spontaneously recover in any given year. We also know that the vast majority of those who were started on thyroid medication probably never needed them in the first place.
Only those with the most severe and rarer types of thyroid disease stand to benefit from medication.
The other factor making treatment without medication more viable is the fact that new studies show that diet can often reverse thyroid disease.
The three most common types of lasting thyroid disease include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, and subclinical hypothyroidism. These conditions have been studied and shown to respond well to diet therapy.
The exact results vary per study and condition, but 60 to 80% of participants find the thyroid disease can be reversed within 2 to 3 months. Roughly 90 to 95% of participants find at least improvements in thyroid function from diet therapy.
Diet therapy has the advantage over medication in that it can treat the cause, reverse symptoms, and lower the risk of disease progression.
For most people, medications cannot do this even when they are used appropriately.
The dietary approach that’s been clinically proven to work involves regulating iodine intake.
The thyroid needs iodine to work and make hormones. Yet for many people, even a slight excess of iodine can strain the thyroid and cause it to slow down. Thankfully, most thyroid problems caused by extra iodine can be reversed if iodine is lowered to a significant enough level.
Please refer to my most recent book, The Thyroid Reset Diet, for details on this approach, meal plans, and recipes.
Back to the original question, thyroid disease can be treated naturally.
For those who need to remain on medication, natural medications can be used effectively. Natural thyroid medications are readily available, they are well standardized, and they are effective.
For many people, natural medication can work better than synthetic.
For those who are not yet on medication or wish to need less or none – diet therapy can often reverse disease and almost always significantly improve thyroid function.
Try the Thyroid Quiz today (Click Here: Take the quiz) to learn more about your thyroid and its possible impact on your overall health.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:
1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need A Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz Now
3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here
Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a board-certified Naturopathic Endocrinologist, and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, Metabolism Reset Diet, Thyroid Reset Diet, and the Healing Hormone Cookbook.
Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.
Dr. Alan Christianson
Alan Christianson is a Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD) who is a board-certified Naturopathic Endocrinologist with a focus on thyroid disorders. He is the author of The Metabolism Reset Diet and the New York Times bestselling book The Adrenal Reset Diet.
He founded Integrative Health, a physician group dedicated to helping people with thyroid disease and weight-loss resistance regain their health.
He has been named a Top Doctor in Phoenix magazine and has appeared on national TV shows and in numerous print media.
Dr. Christianson resides in the woods by a lake in Northern Minnesota with his wife Kirin.
